Counselor in Class Today

Upcoming Major Work (Essays, Tests, Projects)
Friday, Sept. 19:          In-class closed book assessment, All the Pretty Horses
Wednesday, Sept. 24:  Personal Essay--First Draft & Peer Response Day (turnitin.com by 9:55)
Wednesday, Oct. 1:     Personal Essay--Final Draft & Peer Response Day (turnitin.com by 9:55)

TODAY IN CLASS
Be sure to watch the video by finding the link on the counseling office website if you missed class today (or spaced on some info!).  Additional presentation varied somewhat among the four counselors I heard.  Biggest takeaways:  be proactive, work ahead of deadlines, and have a rock-solid system of organization.  First responsibility--scrutinize your unofficial transcript for errors/omissions and report problems to the counselors' office, specifically the registrar, by the end of the school day on Friday.

So our English-class work was suspended . . . but we are going ahead with the All the Pretty Horses essay anyway.  At this point, I'm more interested in what you personally have to say anyway.

FOR TOMORROW
Assuming you've read the book carefully, there's not much you can do to prepare for the essay. You will have to respond to the prompt you're given as you would any AP exam prompt, with no opportunity to look things up/outline anything in advance.

That said--know that many AP Lit open-question prompts (most, really) ask for some connection of [whatever the prompt's focus is] to "the meaning of the work as a whole."  That phrase is never explicitly defined on the exams (or in any other official AP material) but seems to encompass a broader range of possibility than "theme(s)." Main ideas, the deeper meanings of what a work is "about," something about an author's message/reason for writing/larger view of the world that the work helps reflect--all of these can be involved.  Not all readers will agree, and different prompts might channel your thinking in different directions for the same work, since multiple "meanings" are to be expected.

Also--be thinking about selecting the topic for your personal essay.