New Sentence to Analyze

This one is courtesy of Slate's website.

I don't believe it's a "first sentence," but it may be fun to analyze anyway.

Frank Tingle has seven uncles and every one but one died with his shoes on, and that one had one shoe on and died trying to pull on the other one.
-James Agee, Cotton Tenants

Just Because I Thought It Was Interesting

This study popped in my newsfeed this morning.

How does the author make his point?  How does he support it?  What is his purpose in writing this article?

Read and respond.

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/smoking/see-how-smoking-prematurely-ages-your-skin

Grammar Fun

Read the following and respond.

Please note some of the images and/or language may be offensive.  I couldn't find a way to block the "naughty" ones, so read at your own risk.

If you DON'T understand one or more, please comment here so we can explain them.

They're important errors to AVOID MAKING.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/aj8/19-jokes-only-grammar-nerds-will-understand-cfe3

The Brain on Trial

Someone apparently argued to have an MRI admitted into evidence to support the claim that his client was mentally impaired.

Read and respond.

How does this argument correlate with the idea that a picture is worth a thousand words?  Do you agree?

What is this lawyer doing, in your opinion?

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B85geY7VN5E5ZDNjOWRiNTgtOTIwZS00NmE0LThlMjktNzlkNzIyYTUyZTkw/edit?usp=sharing

Are You Smarter than the Average College Graduate?

Someone has proposed the following test to determine whether current college seniors are ready for the business world.

Read the test and analyze.

http://cae.org/images/uploads/pdf/CLA_Plus_Practice_PT.pdfhttp://cae.org/images/uploads/pdf/CLA_Plus_Practice_PT.pdf

"Fired" Muppets

Read the following blog about muppets that got booted from Sesame Street, most of which you may not remember.  (But we old folks do!)

Read the "justifications" for these firings and respond.

I'm using strong terms because I'm miffed.  Some of these reasons seemed very practical.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/23232/9-muppets-kicked-sesame-street

Q53: Talents

What strengths do you think you brought to the test?  What possible areas of weakness did you note?

Q52: How was the test?

What were the difficulties you faced in the actual AP test?

Q51: AP (the alternative) 2

In another and yet similar scenario, here were the reading prompts from a comparable AP course.

Analyze the strengths and weaknesses in the questions, paying close attention to the AP test format.

I removed identifiable elements, but do not have permission to print this.  These questions are based on the independent reading of Hawthorne's fictional tale, The Scarlet Letter.

How has the A transformed over the last 7 years?

How does Hawthorne use words to convey the changes in the 3 main characters over the last 7 years?

Does Hester have the right to reveal Chillingworth’s secret to Dimmesdale?

Q55: Vocabulary Results

The Wall Street Journal published recent findings on the NAEP test, which they may not mention is a volunteer-based test.  (In other words, schools are not mandated to participate the way they are in say the Regents or battery exams.)

Read and respond.  Did the results surprise you?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323316804578163213067015532.html

Q54: Females and Pseudonyms

The following article explores the phenomenon of female writers using male pseudonyms and why.  Read and respond.  Did this surprise you?  Do you agree or disagree - why?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324355904578159453918443978.html