Everyone enjoys visiting Google and seeing a clever doodle celebrating a famous figure or event in human history, but the feminist collective SPARK noticed one glaring problem: the doodles didn’t reflect human diversity.
They write:
Now that the SPARK team has (almost) recovered from being totally mind-blown by the statistics we’ve uncovered, we’re demanding that Google make a concerted effort to change such a blatant imbalance. We want them to acknowledge the problem, but we also want more: we want Google to publicly commit to improving these numbers. We’d be happy to help out—in fact, we’ve already gotten a head start bycompiling a list of historical heroes that totally deserve Doodles, and that way Google has to do less research.
Discuss it here.
The creators of a new app called Spritz are claiming to have developed a program that will greatly increase our ability to read quickly, something seemingly quite necessary in an era in which we read 54,000 words a day.
Not everyone agrees that’s possible:
Keith Rayner, a psycholinguist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, told me that he thinks “all speed-reading claims are nonsensical.”
Spritz’ technique, called rapid serial visual presentation, or RSVP, isn’t new, and Rayner said it causes the same comprehension problems as other strategies.
“We’ve known forever that people can go fast with one word at a time,” he said. “But if you have them read more than single sentences, then comprehension breaks down because words are coming at you faster than you can deal with them.”
200, 000 have applied for a one way ticket to Mars, according to Mental Floss. Mars One Way” documents the thoughts and theories of Five hopeful Mars One astronauts as they contemplate the reality of leaving planet Earth forever, for a new home on Mars.
This movie on Vimeo explains why some would do so.
We will have three weeks of writing for AP Language before spring break, with a slight complication.
You will have the Louv analysis essay, two rhetorical devices, and one research paper due.
- March 9 at 1:00 p.m.–revision of the Carson analysis essay with CRISPING/cheat sheet considered
- March 16 at 1:00 p.m.– 2 rhetorical devices (You may also turn in the Louv essay for extra credit)
- March 23 at 1:00 p.m. —the research paper
You can download a cheat sheet for revising the Carson analysis essay here.
Background Information on the United Nations
- Structure of the United Nations
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- Timeline of Major Events in the UN
- Current UN Peacekeeping Operations
- The World Health Organization
Information for Class Activity
Your Sanders analysis revisions are due Monday (Periods 3/5) and Tuesday (Period 6). Please attach a new copy to the old copy with my comments when you turn it in during class.
As you revise, this guide may be useful.
Combine Sentences for More Effective Analysis
Avoid a string of short, disconnected sentences unless you intend to use them for effect. They tend to make your writing less natural. It also makes the writing choppy for the reader. See what I mean?
Example sentence: Sanders also uses the metaphor “the mind is like a cookie cutter and the land is dough.” This metaphor shows how we as Americans use the same shaped ideas everywhere we go even though the land we use changes.
Revision: Sanders metaphorically argues that Americans treat the land as “dough” cut by a “cookie cutter,” suggesting that we use the same ideas everywhere we go even as the land changes.
Rewrite a section of your text combining 2+ sentences into a more powerful sentence here:
Use Powerful Analysis That Makes a Claim
Make sure that your analysis actually says something more than identifying a device. Give it power.
Example Sentence: Sanders compares Americans with the Israelites searching for the Promised Land.
Revision: Sanders alludes to the biblical “Promised Land,” ironically juxtaposing the Israelites’ arduous journey for a homeland with Americans’ endless search for a place they’ll never find.
Analyzing Metaphors
There are two parts of a metaphor, the vehicle (the object whose attributes are borrowed) and the tenor (the subject to which attributes are ascribed). Thinking about each of those elements should make your argument better developed. Ask, why, for instance, Sanders chose to compare our imposition of values to a cookie cutter and dough.
Sample: Sanders alludes to the biblical “Promised Land,” ironically juxtaposing the Israelites’ arduous journey for a homeland with Americans’ endless search for a place they’ll never find.
Everything is an Argument
Topic sentences need to be arguments, not just subjects.
Example Topic Sentence: Sanders (paragraphs 2-3) addresses Rushdie’s argument that migration is beneficial.
Revision: Sanders argues (paragraphs 2-3) that Rushdie’s defense of migration ignores the damage migrants often do to the land and others.
Other Elements to Focus On
- Use plentiful detail from the text, analyzing how Sanders uses language and devices.
- Explain why he uses the specific details and language he uses, showing how it contributes to argument as a whole.
- Don’t use outside references, except in introduction and conclusion. Stick to the analyzing Sanders.
- Introductions are better when they start with specific details, then move to general claims.
