Response to Course Material #1

So far, we haven’t done much reading in class, so I haven’t had the chance to apply what I learned in the summer homework to the text we’ll cover this year. I’m still thinking about the terms test, and I imagine I’m not the only one a little concerned with the score I got. I’m guessing that if/when we discuss the answers, it’s going to serve as an example of how there may be many different literary techniques employed in a single small excerpt of text. Memorizing some of the words was a chore; others I already knew. But we haven’t had any real use for them yet. I mean, I can now recognize all the enjambment in “Mexicans Begin Jogging”, but that hasn’t really affected my analysis and understanding of the work. (Don’t get me wrong – I noticed the use of the technique when I first read the poem and noted its effect on the narrator’s tone, but I wasn’t thinking, “Oh, look. That’s enjambment right there.”)

The one exception might be the diagnostic tests in the Peterson AP guide. No doubt it’ll be important to know those words when we take the AP test, since using correct terminology is part of knowing the subject, but we’re not just freely throwing those terms around in our casual classroom discussions.

On the other hand, I have found the summer homework we were assigned to be much more helpful. Though we haven’t done any analysis of text in class, both of the books were very helpful in analyzing the poems for the forum posts. (And I think those were pretty good practice for some of the poetry analysis questions in the diagnostic.)

The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing made me pay attention to small details that previously subconsciously affected my interpretation of literature, but that I can now recognize. For example, in both “Mexicans Begin Jogging” and “The Terrorist, He Watches”, I now specifically notice how the language is simple, but elegant. The authors use basic, but varied, language and end up with clear, concise poetry, which lends it more meaning, I think. After watching the online presentations, I’d bet that this book is going to be even more important when we practice writing essays for the AP test. Many of the points it makes are about clear communication with the reader, which is what rhetoric is all about.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor, on the other hand, didn’t play as direct a role in my analysis of the poems, but did draw my attention to various kinds of symbolism and allegory (as well as the difference between the two). I think the same type of mindset that allows me to claim that Eragon and Star Wars are the same story will help me draw connections when analyzing poetry and when writing essays. It also just gave me the chance to read “Me Talk Pretty One Day”, which is one of the few essays – I’d prefer to call it a short story – that I enjoy reading. After watching the presentations on rhetoric and argument, I was able to think back to the analysis I wrote and understand what I could have improved.

In short, we’ve mostly been gaining knowledge that enables us to read and analyze effectively and we’ve learned the terminology we need to do so. Now, we’ll probably do a lot more analysis than we’ve done so far, since we’re better prepared to jump right into it.