Revision Policy
- All revisions are at Mr. Pogreba’s discretion. He may decide that you cannot revise a paper because you:
- did not proofread your paper carefully.
- did not make substantial revisions of the paper between drafts.
- fell significantly short of the requirements of the assignment.
- violated the sacrosanct ten rules of paper writing.
- failed to incorporate class discussion/notes about the paper.
- All revisions will include previous drafts.
The Ten Rules of Paper Writing
The most important principle to keep in mind is that the paper I receive from you should not be a first, rough draft. It should reflect careful attention and editing.
- You will not submit a paper in the incorrect format. It will be double-spaced, in 10-point or 12-point font. This includes following the naming conventions for your file.
- The paper will meet the minimum requirements for words and/or paragraphs.
- You will attach all previous drafts when submitting revisions.
- You will include a header that provides your name, period number, the revision number, and the date the paper was submitted.
- Your paper should have at least an attempt at a clear thesis statement that previews the argument of the paper.
- You will not include filler phrases like “I believe”, “I think”, or “I will prove…”
- Your paper will demonstrate careful proofreading and editing.
- Your paper will not include the word “you” unless extraordinary circumstances arise.
- Your paper should reflect all of the suggestions offered by the teacher in previous drafts. If you don’t understand something, it’s your obligation to ask.
- The paper will include a works cited page and appropriate in-text citation, if required.
Late Policy
- You will have a 30-minute grace period before a paper is considered late.
- A late paper can be still be submitted, but you will not be able to revise it for a higher grade, nor will you receive feedback other than a score.
- Late papers can be submitted until the end of the quarter with no penalty. Once a paper is late, it must be submitted in a print format, handed to Mr. Pogreba in class.
Sample Header
Sample Student
Mr. Pogreba
Media in War Time Draft 3
04 October 2017
The Gatsby exam will be on Wednesday. You’ll be expected to write two brief essays (2-3 paragraphs, plus a thesis) in response to two of these questions:
- F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said that “there are no second acts in American lives.” Do the life and death of Jay Gatsby demonstrate this claim or refute it? Does the novel ultimately argue that one can never re-invent himself?
- How does the motif of accidents reflect the cynicism of the Modernist worldview?
- What is ultimately the most to blame for the tragic end of the novel: Tom’s philandering, Gatsby’s nostalgic desire for the past, Daisy’s selfishness, or Nick’s silence?
- Fitzgerald is known as the preeminent chronicler of the Jazz Age, perhaps better depicting its excesses and virtues better than anyone. How does Nick Caraway demonstrate both attraction to and repulsion from the lives of the incredibly rich inhabitants of Long Island?
- Does the novel argue that Jay Gatsby is a tragic hero responsible for his own downfall or is it a critique of a society in which romanticism is no longer allowed/permitted?
Your sixth major piece of writing, about welfare in the United States, is due Sunday, November 12 or Sunday, November 19 at 12:00 p.m. Please make sure to share it to my Google Docs account before then.
If you missed a day of the podcast about driverless cars, you can listen and download it here.
Your fourth essay prompt, about the role of the media when it comes to publication of sensitive photos, is available for download here.
- You can do some thinking about the essay, but don’t start until class on Monday. For reasons.
- Don’t look up outside information.
- Write brilliantly.
This essay will not be due until 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 29.
Below is the list of questions that could potentially appear on the AP Language Wilderness exam. The test will have two portions: one section in which you identify the author of a passage and one section in which you write fully-developed paragraph responses to four of these questions. For the paragraph portion, plan to write detailed, specific arguments that demonstrate knowledge of the text and our class discussions. During your answers, you will need to make reference to at least seven sources.
Potential Paragraph Responses
- Contrast the attitudes of John Muir and Aldo Leopold when it comes to the human response to nature. How does each see our role?
- Does the life led by Chris/Alex reflect Thoreau’s attitude about simplicity? Or does he go too far in his pursuit of uncomplicated, natural life?
- Why does Rachel Carson believe that the American definition of progress is threatening our future and what we should do to respond?
- Using at least three sources, make an argument for what should be done to the national parks.
- Chief Seattle asked, “what is there to life if a man cannot hear the lovely cry of the whippoorwill or the arguments of the frogs around a pond at night?” and Emerson argues that the solitude of nature is essential for the soul. Using these and at least one more source, discuss the argument that nature is necessary for a healthy soul.
- Explain Aldo Leopold’s idea of the Land Ethic and apply it to a contemporary environmental dispute.
- How does Henry David Thoreau use his examination of nature to explain human behavior?
- Time appears as a central concept in many of the pieces we read. Using at least three sources, discuss how environmental writers argue humans should adjust their perception of human time and the natural world.
- Using at least three authors, one of whom should be Wallace Stegner, explain how some authors believe that humans only tend to appreciate certain parts of aspects of nature.
- Using Thoreau and at least one other source, explain how writers who defend the natural world believe that simplifying our lives is essential for our survival.
