Not going to discuss BBF until Friday; read chptr 9 for Friday.

Focus on Project Today...

Tomorrow: In library for research tomorrow

By Thursday you should have rough drafts of the prompt, sources, and source write-ups printed for a visual check by me.

Today: Examining more prompts...and rubrics...the rubrics you will make, and the rubric I will use to evaluate your projects...let's start there...turn to the back of your packet

AP Language and Comp Essay Questions

Source A Write-Up

Matthew Crawford’s “The Case for Working With Your Hands” best supports the “con” argument that college might not be worth the cost. While Crawford does not directly address the cost of college nor overtly oppose college or the white collar professions that typically follow, he eloquently reminds the reader that hands-on careers should not automatically be seen as less worthy or desirable. Furthermore, his articulate and well-reasoned argument establishes credibility with New York Times readers (and AP test takers), the vast majority of whom do have college degrees (or soon will).  In short, he reminds people that a “pure information economy” – the one which favors the college educated – has not come to pass, as “now as ever, somebody has to actually do things: fix our cars, unclog our toilets, build our houses.” And, of course, many of these trades do not necessarily require a four-year college degree; they do, however, require skill.  This leads to his next point: working with your hands should not feel like a last resort.  He exposes the often condescending attitude towards manual labor: “When we praise people who do work that is straightforwardly useful, the praise often betrays an assumption that they had no other options.” This is part of his overall strategy to get us to question our underlying assumptions and attitudes towards manual labor/arts; if we view these as lesser options in terms of their effect on our intellectual reputation, our ego will drive us towards college as the only respectable option for a smart person. If we begin to question these assumptions, we might begin to rationally assess whether college – especially with astronomical tuitions – is always the best choice, even for smart students who have a track record of academic success. Finally, this article makes an economic argument for working with your hands; many of those jobs can’t be outsourced, so they provide a stability which some information-based jobs can’t provide. Quoting Princeton professor Alan Binder, he reminds us that “’You can’t hammer a nail over the Internet,’” and then Crawford adds “Nor can the Indians fix your car. Because they are in India.” In summary, this source will help the high school reader question whether college is worth it; “If the goal is to earn a living, then, maybe it isn’t really true that 18-year olds need to be imparted with a sense of panic about getting into college.”

Grading: 100 points                                        Student Names:  _________________________________

AP Synthesis Project Rubric:

A (8-9)  The prompt is mature, meaningful, and well-written, providing a compelling and debatable American issue. The prompt is supported by a balanced (pro, con, neutral) mix of polished, very well-chosen/written, and properly cited (MLA) source documents. Conventions and formatting of the entire packet is all-but-perfect and it is combined into one Word document. The rubric is tailored to the prompt, well-worded and free of errors. The sources chosen are balanced and each one helps to deepen and further the exploration of the subject; each source adds new and meaningful information to the argument.  The main points, strengths and pro/con position of each sources is explained by thoughtful, thorough, fair, and well-written write-ups appended to the end of the assignment. The entire package is essentially ready for printing and use as an AP exam quality prompt. 

B (6-7)  Though perhaps not quite as mature, meaningful, and/or well-written as the best prompts and sources, the document provides a legitimate and debatable American issue. The prompt is supported by a balanced (pro-con) mix of fairly well-chosen/well-written sources, though they might not be as apt in selection or well-written as those found in the best document packets. The source documents are properly cited (MLA). Conventions and formatting is all-but-perfect, and the packet is combined into one Word document. The rubric is tailored to the prompt, fairly well-worded and free of errors. Each source helps deepen or expand the exploration of the subject with information that is different from that found in the other sources, though perhaps not as meaningfully or uniquely as the strongest mix of sources. Though they do not necessarily reveal the quality of analysis or polished writing found in the best write-ups, these write-up are good, reasonable, and balanced and they clearly convey why the source falls into the category it fits into. While not yet an AP quality prompt, with some improvements to question, content and formatting, it could be.

C (5) They demonstrate an attempt to create a AP exam style synthesis prompt and packet, but it may have a vague or less compelling prompt and/or have mediocre or unbalanced source content. Source choices on the pro and con sides are often redundant, doing little to deepen or expand the exploration of the topic. Source write-ups are adequate but the explanations are not especially precise, insightful, well-written. Alternatively, they may be relatively strong in terms of prompt and source content but are poorly formatted, contain typos, or have other distracting errors. The rubric is generic (not tailored specifically to that prompt) or in some other way is adequate at best.

D (3-4) They are deficient in prompt, source content, formatting, rubric or source write-ups.

F (1-2)  They are realllllyyyy deficicient!

3/14 Research Day Prd 7 - NC East Prd 8 – laptop computers in Rm 120 Research your topic with a goal of having 1st draft of the following materials completed by Thursday: the prompt page, source pages, source write-ups, and scoring rubric Make sure you finish reading chapters 7-8	3/15 Discuss BBF chapters 7-8 Read chapter 9 for Friday	3/16 Late Start Day  Research Day (Prds 7-8 in Lib B)	3/17 Research Day Prds 7-8 in Lib E Due today (visual check) 1st draft of  chosen and excerpted sources, bibliographic entries for sources, source write-ups, and rubrics BBF chapter 9 due for tomorrow	3/18 QUARTER 3 END Research Day Prd 7-8 in Lib B
3/28 In-class reading: Read BBF Chapters 10-12 for Friday Discussion time with Partner: And review with one another where you are at with your synthesis project.	3/29 Research Day Prd 7&8 Lib E Print materials and review your partner’s materials and vice versa. Do they need editing? Better sources? Better write-ups? Better prompt? Do all of the pieces work together – are you on the same page?	3/30 Research Day Prd 7-8 in DC Complete and print your nearly final draft for tomorrow’s peer review	3/31 Nearly Final Draft Due In classroom Peer Reviews Reminder that BBF chapters 10-12 should be read and annotated by tomorrow.	4/1 Final Synthesis Projects Due as Word Document (turntin.com) and Hard Copy Library Room E Print and hand in hardcopy and submit digital copy to turnitin.com