The Range of Examples

Fifth hour did not make it to this part yet, but I'm going to include them in this part of our agenda from today.

There are many ways to compose an argument, especially if you have a non-timed argument (minimum 6 paragraphs with a full counterclaim and example) or a timed argument (join the counterclaim and rebuttal sections together and ditch the counterclaim specific example). In either circumstance, the best way to commence an argument is with an example SHOWING your argument prior to the TELLING of your actual claim. Then, bringing in 3 more examples (including the rebuttal section) to further indicate your ethos about the argument. While the range is up to you for the argumentative exemplification (merging modes of discourse), past students have found success with the strongest (or most specific) examples as first body paragraph and rebuttal with the weaker (or not as much detailed) examples as the hook and the second body paragraph. Really, it depends on your claim and what range you would like to do.

1: Today we explored the world of abstract noun exemplification, which was introduced last week with your "vision" paragraphs. Abstract nouns afford the writer - you - with many an opportunity to exhibit your own knowledge in variegated subjects. To practice mining your brain, you brainstormed examples for abstract nouns in a 3 minutes time period. Our practice nouns today were achievement, absurdity, and dishonor. In all instances, you shared your favorite examples and then we chose the top 4 to create a range.  For instance, our achievement ranged the moon landing, The Odyssey, Nelson Mandela, and Moby Dick (rotating history with literature to show its connections); our absurdity ranged the Bay of Pigs, R. Kelly, Othello, and Jim Crow Laws (starting and ending with history); our dishonor ranged Peter, Lance Armstrong, Macbeth, and Nixon (ending with the biggest example). While choosing our examples, we did discuss what to avoid if possible: Hitler (again), cartoon/immature examples, the standard examples of the average high school student. We also discussed that if you are trapped with only those examples, use them anyway! For homework, you are to time yourself 3 minutes for each of the following words and write down as many examples as possible: empathy, faith, guilt.

3: We started our week of MC practices with passage 9a (remember, don't work ahead in the packet) and its analysis. Remember, each practice is to hep you with the style of passage (denser syntax, inferences, tone determination) and answering the questions with success. After the passage, we returned to abstract noun exemplification, which pretty much covers the recent offering for the argumentative prompts. The idea behind this style of argument is to mine your brain for all those examples that an average high school student would not likely include in their writing. For example, our class worked on the abstract noun "achievement" today, selecting Tom Brady, Nobel Prize Science, Hercules, and Nirvana (Buddhism) for the range. We were cut off there with the bell, which means we wil have more of these practice examples tomorrow.

5: We completed our first MC passage (3a), which focused on modes of discourse, purposes, claims, and other popular questions on the AP exam. Whether you did well or made a couple of errors (me) or had an off day, each MC passage is to help you dive into more syntax-heavy passages, work with breaking down questions, taking part in process of elimination, and answering with greater certainty. Afterwards, we looked at the rangefinders for CDQ prompts, which indicate a strong need for exemplification, especially in the hook and throughout the essay. We'll finish with the 9 score tomorrow and then you will have the opportunity to practice your own exemplification.