Essential Questions:

• What possibilities do we see for ourselves and society in the future?

• How can we use our talents as writers and intellectuals?

Texts

• Selected essays & articles - TBD

  • "8 Big Questions About AI" interactive article from The New York Times

  • "Pause Giant AI Experiments: An Open Letter"

• Selected artwork, audio, video - TBD

• Selected poetry & songs:

  • "Dark Side of the Moon" song by Lil' Wayne

Topics:

• Rhetorical Situation

• Return to Exigence

• Argumentation / debate

  • oversimplification & generalizations - lack of understanding of complexities

  • avoid absolute terms

  • words, phrases, and clauses can be used as modifiers to qualify or limit the scope of an argument

  • entering into an ongoing conversation about a subject means engaging the positions that have already been considered

  • Evidence and sources will either support, complement, or contradict a writer’s thesis. 

  • refute, rebut, or concede opposing arguments and contradictory evidence

    • concede

      • accept all or a portion of a competing position or claim as correct

      • agree that the competing position or claim is correct under a different set of circumstances

      • acknowledge the limitations of their own argument

    • rebut

      • offer a contrasting perspective on an argument and its evidence

      • provide alternative evidence to propose that all or a portion of a competing position or claim is invalid

    • refute - demonstrate, using evidence, that all or a portion of a competing position or claim is invalid

    • Transitions may be used to introduce counterarguments. 

• Grammar - phrases, clauses, sentences

  • independent vs. dependent clause

  • complete sentence - has at least one independent clause

  • syntax & arrangement of sentences in a text can emphasize particular ideas

  • coordination - balance or quality between ideas

  • subordination - imbalance or inequality between ideas

  • modifiers (words, phrases, clauses) - quality, clarify or specify information about the thing with which they are associated

  • To reduce ambiguity, modifiers should be placed closest to the word, phrase, or clause that they are meant to modify. 

  • Parenthetical elements—though not essential to understanding what they are describing—interrupt sentences to provide additional information that may address an audience’s needs and/or advance a writer’s purpose

  • punctuation - commas, colons, semicolons, dashes, hyphens, parentheses, quotation marks, end marks - clarify, organize, emphasize, indicate purpose, supplement info, contribute to tone

• Creative Writing Workshop - 

• Analysis body paragraph: claim, evidence, commentary

• Introduction

• Conclusion

• Revision & Editing

• Publishing

• Portfolio

Unit Skills:

• Evaluate the integrity of an author's argument, including its acknowledgement of complexity, alternative positions, and contradictory evidence. 

• Examine and discuss syntax / sentence structure and punctuation--including commas, colons, semicolons, dashes, hyphens, parentheses, quotation marks, end marks--in a literary or rhetorical text.

• Describe how word choice and syntax impact the tone and interpretation of a text.

• Write an essay that includes acknowledgement of complexity, alternative positions, and contradictory evidence.

• Write a literary work (poetry, fiction, nonfiction) in which you use word choice, syntax and punctuation and to establish the speaker / narrator’s voice and a distinctive writing style that is appropriate to the idea(s) you are exploring in your piece.

• Explain how an author's use of syntax / sentence structure and punctuation impacts interpretation of a text. 

• Prepare writing submissions for publication in our class literary magazine.

• Collaborate with your production team to review, typeset, or edit writing submissions or design webpages for the literary magazine.

• Reflect on your experience in English class this semester, noting successes and literary skills and knowledge gained, favorite activities and assignments, challenges, themes, questions, growth, and future opportunities.

• Write using appropriate capitalization, punctuation, spelling, grammar, and transition phrases.

• Cite sources of information using MLA or APA format.

Formative Assessment(s):

• Journal Writing - 

• Group Discussion Notes - 

• Reflection Writing

• Creative Writing -

Summative Assessment(s):

• TED Talk

• Creative Writing & Commentary

• Digital Writing Portfolio - in Google Drive - rubric 

• Publication in class literary magazine - success criteria