Advanced Placement English Literature & Composition Entry Work Advanced Placement English Literature & Composition

What you will learn in AP English How to read with a critical eye How to discuss how meaning is created How to write clearly and effectively

Putting an analysis together … When you are reading a passage that has characters thinking or speaking or acting, and you are trying to figure out how to analyze them, in terms of psychology, or predictive traits, consider this anonymous saying to help you figure out which direction to head with your discussion. Do NOT quote this saying on your test. Be careful of your thoughts, for your thoughts become your words. Be careful of your words, for your words become your actions. Be careful of your actions, for your actions become your habits. Be careful of your habits, for your habits become your character. Be careful of your character, for your character becomes your destiny. For example: The third person limited omniscient point of view exposes Tanya’s judgmental thoughts through the clipped diction of her first impression mental notes, “Beak-nosed troll,” she thought. Based on her thoughts, her “kind” verbal response, “I am delighted to meet you,” demonstrates a self-serving falseness.

Voice Lessons – DICTION (intro) WORDS … what are they? They are sounds, letters, symbols that turn thoughts into language No distinction is too small Language is a source of limitless creativity

Voice Lessons – DICTION (notes) Diction refers to an author’s choice of words. You must “hear” and “feel” the words to understand their effects. Effective voice is shaped by words that are clear, concrete, and exact. Good writers employ words that evoke a specific effect. Specific diction brings the reader into the scene, enabling full participation in the writer’s world. Diction depends on topic, purpose and occasion. Topic determines specificity and sophistication Purpose  convince, entertain, amuse, plead, inform Occasion  formal, informal, colloquial, connotation, denotation

Voice Lessons – DETAIL (notes) Detail includes facts, observations and incidents used to develop a subject and impart voice. Detail brings life and color to description, focusing the reader’s attention and bringing the reader into the scene. Detail shapes reader attitude by focusing attention: the more specific the detail, the greater the focus on the object described. Detail can also state by understatement, by a lack of detail. Good writers choose detail with care, selecting those details which add meaning and avoiding those that trivialize or detract.

Voice Lessons – IMAGERY (notes) Imagery is the verbal representation of sensory experience. Good writer experiment with a variety of images and even purposefully intermingle the senses (giving smells a color, e.g., The soup looked so distasteful that it even smelled gray.) An image’s success in producing a sensory experience results from the specificity of the author’s diction and choice of detail. Imagery itself is not figurative, but may be used to impart figurative or symbolic meaning. (e.g., parched earth can be a metaphor for a character’s despair) Imagery contributes to voice by evoking vivid experience, conveying specific emotion, and suggesting a particular idea. Recognize and analyze nontraditional and nonfigurative imagery that is used to sharpen reader perception.

IMAGERY (notes, cont’d) Types of imagery: Visual (suggests a specific mental picture) Auditory (sound) Olfactory (smell) Gustatory (taste) Tactile (touch: hard, soft, wet, dry, hot, cold) Organic (hunger, thirst, fatigue, nausea) Kinesthetic (movement or tension in muscles or joints) Examples from ATKM: p. 43, 44, 78, 290, 331, 364-365 P.58 – fav quote, p.75 Jackie Horner

Voice Lesson – Syntax (intro) To work together, words need help Connecting words Punctuation All methods of punctuation POINT THE WAY for the reader Gathering Linking Separating Emphasizing Connecting words and punctuation given direction and timing to meaning and purpose Adherence to or departure from language conventions provides strategic options for communication between writers, readers and speakers.

Punctuate, v. Cue the imaginary interviewer: So when all is said and done, what have you learned here? The key to a successful relationship isn’t just in the words, it’s in the choice of punctuation. When you’re in love with someone, a well-placed question mark can be the difference between bliss and disaster and a deeply respected period or a cleverly inserted ellipsis can prevent all kinds of exclamations. The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan You’re upset. You’re upset? You’re … upset?

Voice Lesson – Syntax (punctuation) Period Full stop Comma Organize words, phrases or clauses – slight pause Semi-colon Swinging gate Colon Set off a list, balance two ideas of equal importance Dash Indicate additional information or an aside comment, if Dickinson, change direction Parenthesis Add a comment or explanatory note

Voice Lesson – Syntax (notes) Syntax means word arrangement within sentences, encompassing: - Word order - Sentence length - Sentence focus - Punctuation Why vary syntax? - Prevent reader complacency without causing distraction or confusion - Forestall boredom - Control emphasis Sentence focus is generally achieved by: Syntactic tension Periodic sentences (completion at the end of sentence) Loose sentences (completion at the beginning of the sentence) Repetition - Word - Phrase - Clause Emphasizes and focuses reader’s attention on its meaning Parallel grammatical forms Infinitives (to …) Gerunds (….ing) Prepositional phrases (by, with, on, etc.)

Voice Lessons - Tone (intro) When you understand how words, sentence structure, and details work together, you are understanding how meaning is created and how it is experienced in the minds of an audience.

Voice Lessons - Tone (Notes) Tone is the expression of attitude, the writer’s (or narrator’s) implied attitude toward his subject and audience. The writer creates tone by selection (diction) and arrangement (syntax) of words and by the purposeful use of details and images. Tone sets the relationship between the reader and writer. As the emotion growing out of the material and connecting the material to the reader, tone is the hallmark of the writer’s personality. Understanding tone is requisite to understanding meaning.