Happy Spring Break Homework!

First, please make sure you have finished reading Gatsby.

Then, you will be writing an "in-class essay" on TWO of the three prompts available here. You will be writing on question 1 which is the synthesis prompt. Please set your timer for 50 minutes for reading and essay writing time. At the end of this time, you must stop work. Then, you will be writing on question 3 which is the argument prompt. Please set your timer for 40 minutes for writing time. At the end of this time, you must stop work. Both essays must be written by hand in ink.

If you would like extra practice for the AP test, please write the essays back-to-back. This is, after all, how it will happen on the day of the actual test.

Please note again that we are skipping question 2 which is the analysis question. Do not write on question 2.

These essays will be scored on completion, so there is no sense in working longer than the allotted time or using outside resources to write a "better essay." All this will do is undermine the learning process for you.

Hopefully, you will only have 90 minutes of AP Lang homework, which all things considered is not too shabby!

Rough Draft Update and Gatsby Schedule

Your Research Paper rough draft deadline will be on Friday, March 15th instead of Thursday. This will hopefully give you a bit more time to work on it as well as provide you with another day to ask any questions after school.

Your Gatsby reading schedule will be:

Due Thursday, 3/14: Chapters 4, 5, 6

Due Wednesday, 3/20: Chapters 7,8,9

Yes, I know that Wednesday deadline is the same as your research paper, but we will need something to talk about once you hand them in! Make sure to plan ahead with your reading time over the weekend to have the book finished by Wednesday.

Class Activities 3/7

Introduction Information

MLA Formatting


Verification and Scoring

Works Cited/Works Consulted Page

OWL at Purdue MLA guide

Citation Outline and Imp Q's

Information about your citation outline and importance quotations is available here.

White Book Reading due Monday 2/18

Please read the "Mixed Crowd" by Jacob Riis (869-874) and "The Subtle Problem of Charity" (927-930). Be prepared to discuss how both texts address the complexity of addressing issues of poverty in this era.

Research Paper Calendar

Please visit the Research Paper Web Page to see the upcoming calendar of due check points and due dates. Not all links are active yet (the grading rubrics will be revised soon) but for you advanced planners, this gives you an idea of our timeline and steps in the process.

Checkpoint and Weekend Assignment

Remember that we have changed your submission technique for the Observation Notecards and that you will now be submitting them through Turnitin. The due date time is still Friday morning at 7:30 am, which is the equivalent of our start of class time.

Over the weekend, I would like you to work with the following discussion questions on Zitkala Sa, which we missed out on because of our snow day. The powerpoint here contains the questions and necessary images and the document here is an online version of the text in your white book. Please note that the sections of the online version that are included in your white book are: Section VII: The Big Red Apples, Part 2 Section I: Land of Red Apples, and Section II: The Cutting of my Long Hair. Feel free to read more if you want, but our book only contains those three sections.

You may write your answers to the questions on your own (after thinking about them) or you may discuss with ONE other person, and submit a response sheet with both of your names on it. If you choose to work with a partner, please specify up top how you and your partner discussed the passage: Facetime, Messenger, at Starbucks, etc. Note, it is not acceptable for you and your partner to "divide and conquer the questions." You must collaborate on all of them. Please upload your assignment to Turnitin by Sunday evening at 9:00 pm.