SHOE by Jeff MacNell

SHOE by Jeff
MacNell

SHOE by Jeff
MacNell

SHOE by Jeff
MacNell

SHOE by Jeff
MacNell

How to pre-write a passing

essay

In
five
easy
steps

Mapess Handout
We will be referring to the
question 1 prompt from
2014 for this exercise in
essay writing.

Planning is the key to

success
1. Read the prompt (20 seconds)
2. Read the prompt again (20 seconds)
3. Read the passage (2-3 minutes)
4. Analyze the prompt (1-2 minutes)
5. Read the passage again and
make observations, mark examples,
and find relevant quotes. (4 minutes)

1. Read the prompt

(20 seconds)
The following poem is by the sixteenthcentury English poet George Gascoigne.
Read the poem carefully. Then write an
essay in which you analyze how the
complex attitude of the speaker is
developed through such devices as form,
diction, and imagery.

2. Read the prompt again

(20 seconds)
The following poem is by the sixteenthcentury English poet George Gascoigne.
Read the poem carefully. Then write an
essay in which you analyze how the
complex attitude of the speaker is
developed through such devices as form,
diction, and imagery.

3. Read the passage (2-3

minutes)

You must not wonder, though you think it strange,

To see me hold my louring head so low;
And that mine eyes take no delight to range
About the gleams which on your face do grow.
The mouse which once hath broken out of trap
Is seldom ticd with the trustless bait,
But lies aloof for fear of more mishap,
And feedeth still in doubt of deep deceit.
The scorchd fly which once hath scaped the flame
Will hardly come to play again with fire,
Whereby I learn that grievous is the game
Which follows fancy dazzled by desire:
So that I wink or else hold down my head,
Because your blazing eyes my bale have bred.

There is an archetype, a paradigm, a

mother of all AP prose and poetry
questions.
This is it:
Read the following (prose passage or
poem) carefully. Then write an essay
in which you discuss the authors (or
the speakers, or xs, or xs and ys)
attitude(s) toward a (or a and b) and
the devices the author uses to
convey these view(s).

Quoted from Cliffs Advanced Placement English Literature

and Composition Preparation Guide by Allan Casson

The question has two parts.

The first calls for a reading of
meaning, an interpretation of what
the passage conveys.
The question may ask for the
attitude, or views, or response, or
feelings of the author, or the
speaker, or a character, or two
characters who appear in the poem
or the passage.

The second part of the question is

about style.

It calls for a discussion of devices, or

literary devices, or techniques, or
language or stylistic devices, or style.
Half of the time the devices will be
unspecified. Half of the time the question
will contain a list of two or more.
The most commonly specified techniques
are diction, imagery, figurative
language, choice of details, tone, and
syntax.
Less often, the list may include the
following: organization, devices of
sound, allusion, and point of view.

4. ANALYZE THE PROMPT

(1-2 minutes)
The following poem is by the
sixteenth-century English poet George
Gascoigne. Read the poem carefully.
Then write an essay in which you
analyze how the complex attitude of
the speaker is developed through such
devices as form, diction, and imagery.

Look for information in the prompt

that will help you write the essay.
The following poem is by the sixteenthcentury English poet George Gascoigne.
Read the poem carefully. Then write an
essay in which you analyze how the complex
attitude of the speaker is developed through
such devices as form, diction, and imagery.

Look for the standard

directions in the prompt.
The following poem is by the sixteenthcentury English poet George Gascoigne.
Read the poem carefully. Then write an
essay in which you analyze how the
complex attitude of the speaker is
developed through such devices as form,
diction, and imagery.

Look for specific directions in the prompt.

The following poem is by the sixteenthcentury English poet George
Gascoigne. Read the poem carefully.
Then write an essay in which you
analyze how the complex attitude of
the speaker is developed through
such devices as form, diction, and
imagery.

Look for information in the prompt that

says HOW to answer the question.
The following poem is by the sixteenthcentury English poet George Gascoigne.
Read the poem carefully. Then write an
essay in which you analyze how the
complex attitude of the speaker is
developed through such devices as:
form,
diction,
and imagery.

Clarify the directions

The following poem is by the sixteenthcentury English poet George Gascoigne.
Read the poem carefully. Then write an
essay in which you analyze how the
complex attitude of the speaker is
developed through such devices as form,
diction, and imagery.

Clarify the directions

and look for the key.

Speakers complex

attitude
developed
You must know what the
speakers attitude is.

5. Read the passage again. Make

observations, mark examples, and find
quotes. (4 minutes)

You must not wonder, though you think it strange,

To see me hold my louring head so low;
And that mine eyes take no delight to range
About the gleams which on your face do grow.
The mouse which once hath broken out of trap
Is seldom ticd with the trustless bait,
But lies aloof for fear of more mishap,
And feedeth still in doubt of deep deceit.
The scorchd fly which once hath scaped the flame
Will hardly come to play again with fire,
Whereby I learn that grievous is the game
Which follows fancy dazzled by desire:
So that I wink or else hold down my head,
Because your blazing eyes my bale have bred.

5. Read the passage again. Make

observations, mark examples, and find
quotes. (4 minutes)

for example:
Speaker is speaking to another person, probably a woman
Speaker is gloomy, takes no delight to range but did once
before
Mouse example tricked to trap
Fly example scorched by flame
Speakers misery connected to the you
Alliteration ds and bs
Sonnet form
How does the speaker feel toward the woman?

Start writing
Opening sentence has to get the job
started.
Weak: George Gascoignes use of
imagery, diction, and form helps
develop the speakers attitude as
untrusting.
Better, but: Whenever trust is given
to another person there is always a
possibility they might break it. In the
poem from George Gascoigne For That
He Looked Not upon Her the speaker
shows us that he once loved a woman

Opening sentence has to get the job

started.
Better: In this excerpt from George
Gascoigne For That He Looked Not upon
Her, the speaker feels that his previous
desire for a woman has left him doubtful
that he can continue their relationship.
Weak: In this poem the author uses
imagery very well, especially in lines 5-7.
Awkward: In George Gascoignes For
That He Looked Not upon Her, he does
an excellent job in developing the
speakers attitude toward a woman and

Is this a good opening?

In For That He Looked Not upon
Her, George Gascoigne writes in the
form of a sonnet to express the
speakers experience with a womans
deceitful love. The form of a sonnet
displays the speakers lingering love
for the woman while the negative
imagery and alliteration indicate the
speakers current state of distrust.

SCORES ??
The opening of an essay is important.
BUT
The score is not determined until the
whole essay has been read.
Did the writer support the premise?
Were quotes integrated smoothly?
Did the essay build its points or
Did it become padded and
repetitious?

Comments from the Chief

Reader

Similar to previous free-response

poetry questions on the exam, this
question focused on devices as
vehicles for conveying meaning,
and students were invited to
explore the relationships between
devices and meaning in the context
of a 16th century sonnet.

Generally speaking, students writing on this

years poetry question found the poem
accessible, such that almost every student
found something to say about the poem.
The stronger essays were mature,
insightful, and astute, and many of the
upper-half essays had engaging
introductions, probing analyses, and
substantial conclusions.

For the most part, students do not display the

same level of confidence when writing about
poetry as they do when writing about prose.
Many students simply could not unpack the
poem in terms of its various devices. Many of
those who were able to identify devices
appropriately sometimes failed to connect the
device with the function the form with the
function, if you will. Many of the essays still
were device driven instead of insight driven;
that is, students could list devices but could
not explain effect.

Furthermore, students often do not

recognize that complexity is the opposite
of superficiality, and while they can
sometimes read the poem literally, they
often do not probe deeper to discover
figurative uses of language. Thus their
analyses are often partial at best. On this
years exam, there was the usual
tendency to paraphrase and summarize
but not take the extra step of actually
using paraphrase and summary in the
service of analysis.

Based on your
experience of student
responses at the AP
Reading, what message
would you like to send to
teachers that might help
them to improve the
performance of their

 Emphasize not only the identification of

literary devices, but also the
demonstration of how they work in the
poem.
Help students stay focused on the
prompt rather than bringing in
extraneous matters.
In practice writing assignments,
continue to emphasize the difference
between analysis and summary or
paraphrase.

For That He Looked Not

upon Her
Sample Essays

Analysis of the question

Review of rubric
Discuss first paragraph of samples:
A
B
C

INDIVIDUAL WORK
For That He Looked
Not upon Her

Read all 5 essays.

Pick the one you think is strongest.
Pick the one you think is weakest.
Put them in order from strongest to
weakest.
Put in the PASS / FAIL line.
Score each sample quickly 1-2

Group work scoring essays

Go over the rubric
Move into your groups (Each group
will report its score of only one
essay)
Select a reporter to give the score
and explain why that score is
appropriate.
HINTS: At least 3 passed
Nothing scored a 1 or 0

For That He Looked

Not upon Her
C
E

B
A
D

8
7
6
5
4
3
2