Saturday, September 8, 2012
Response to Course Material
I've only been in AP Lit for a week, and I have already learned so much. Of course, there are still some things that I need to work on, which I realized after taking the terms test on Friday. I'll be sure to work on that throughout the year. What really stuck with me was learning about the Rhetorical Situation this week. I've heard about it before, but never really thought this much in depth about it. I realized how it connected to basically everything; the AP exam, college essays etc. And a lot of these things we are in the middle of working on right now. Before writing anything, including arguments which we also talked about, you have to look at the rhetorical situation, such as the audience, and the persona you want to use. Like I said...it connects to everything. I learned that this is also a helpful thing to keep in mind when it comes to the AP Exam. That was only the stuff that I learned the first few days of school. I actually learned a lot over the summer too, by reading How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster, and The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing by Michael Harvey. I've been able to identify themes, and symbols like never before. Who knew so many Disney movies had so many symbols? For example, I connected a theme from the movie The Lion King, to Hamlet. I never thought that I would be able to do that. I am also pretty confident that my writing will get significantly better after reading Harvey's book. You won't see me putting unnecessary details in my writing anymore, thanks to Harvey. I haven't been in AP Lit for that long, but I have definitely learned some significant things already.
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ReplyDeleteMehar--I also thought the terms test was challenging. I still tend to mix some words up and have a hard time applying, but I am sure that we will have more practice with them throughout the year! I find it interesting that you have heard of the rhetorical situation before. It makes me wonder from which class and how the teacher taught. Maybe including this in your post and how the rhetorical situation connects to "basically everything" would make it more analytical rather than more of a summary of what we have done in class. I also remember reading "How to Read Literature Like a Professor" this summer and thinking about all the symbols that I have missed over the years while reading books in school, especially the Miracle Worker. Maybe include one Disney movie that showed underlying meaning throughout--This may make the post more analytical. Overall I think this post hits the main points needed and in the future try to focus more on analyzing what we have done.
ReplyDeleteHi Mehar! The in-class discussion on Rhetorical Situations made a big impression on me, as well. Especially when it comes to college essays, for example, it seems like writers--us, in this case--have to be really attuned to what is and isn't appropriate in a specific rhetorical situation. Finding the right way to say something is pretty hard. I don't know about you, but when I'm writing my essays, I find it really difficult to take the advice to "Be myself" and consider the rhetorical situation at the same time. I have to honestly show myself, but write and think in a way that will connect best with my audience--college admissions officers.
ReplyDeleteAmong all the things you talked about, I'd say Foster's book was what taught me the most. Like you said, I never thought that symbols and allusions could show up in so many Disney movies or TV shows. I thought that it was something that was only done in literature. After making the Foster presentation, I realized that the reason is directly related to the rhetorical situation. Movies, TV, and literature often have many of the same rhetorical purposes, so they often overlap. It doesn't matter if you're a screenwriter or an author; if you're trying to make your plot deeper, why not invoke something from a different genre?
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