Indefinite Pronouns: Singular & Plural

I. ALWAYS SINGULAR:
anybody, anyone, anything,
each, either, everybody, everyone, everything
neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one
somebody, someone, and something

II. ALWAYS PLURAL:
both, few, many, several

III. CONTEXT-SENSITIVE:
(i.e., Singular or Plural, depending on its meaning within a sentence: singular when the pronoun refers to a singular word - plural when the pronoun refers to a plural word.)
all, any, more, most, none, some

Examples of a context-sensitive indefinite pronoun in action:

All of the vegetable garden has been planted. (garden is a singular noun)
BUT:
All of the vegetables have been planted. (vegetables is a plural noun)

Essay Questions on the AP English Exam in Literature -- Information & Answers

The essay portion of the AP test poses three questions. Students have forty minutes to respond to each question in a coherent essay. Test-takers are required to answer all three prompts.

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/exam/exam_questions/2002.html#name08

The first question is almost always a poetry question. In 2008 the first question asks students to analyze two sonnets in a compare-and-contrast essay. Both sonnets are quoted in full, just below the essay prompt.

The second question has traditionally been an essay in response to a prose passage. The 2008 passage comes from a novel that deals with the experiences of a boy from India who stays with an American family as a foreign exchange student. Other prose passages in recent tests have come from The Crossing, a novel by Cormac McCarthy, and from The Importance of Being Earnest, the stage comedy by Oscar Wilde. (You do not need to know the whole book in order to succeed on this essay; everything you need to know lies within the quoted passage.)

The third question asks for an essay about a longer work -- a novel or play -- that you select from among works you do already know. This year's question deals with foils: contrasting characters. WHS Hon. Engl. 11 students might choose, for example, to write about Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth, or about Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, or about Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan.

Students and families can learn a lot about the AP Literature exam by surveying the AP Central website.

JSTOR Access for WHS English Students

If you would like to have access to JSTOR, the world's best repository of published articles on literature, bring your Public Library card (e.g., S. Washington County libraries, or St. Paul libraries) to the Minneapolis Public Library. For a one-time fee of $5.00, they will connect you to all the MPL web resources, including JSTOR.

Phil Bratnober
Woodbury English Department
March 31, 2008

Course Procedures and Expectations

Honors Eleven English ~ American Literature

Modified on Monday, March 31, 2008

Homework Journals

It will be difficult or impossible to pass the remainder of this course without maintaining an accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date journal. Students are encouraged to take detailed notes on the following:

• Reading assignments (especially when a Study Guide is not provided)
• Lectures, PowerPoint presentations, and film showings
• Class discussions and exercises

Each student should reserve an entire three-hole, lined spiral notebook for the course and should maintain this notebook in a three-hole, loose-leaf binder with ample pockets for saving handouts. Naturally, journals should arrive with students at every class.

Reading Assignments

Students are encouraged to make a practice of reading every assignment twice. The “second pass” solidifies key moments, themes and ideas from a text. Take notes in your journal as you read, and make hand-written copies of passages that stand out as crucial excerpts. With handouts, students are encouraged to underline, highlight and/or make notes in the margins. Unless otherwise noted, handouts are yours to keep, and all such documents are considered fair game when it comes to quizzes and tests.

Lectures and Guest Lectures

There will be lectures from time to time, including occasional guest lectures. To learn by attending lectures is an important prelude to unversity study; further, lectures offer key opportunities to students who are auditory learners.

Because the contents of Honors English 11 lectures are fair game on subsequent quizzes and tests, full attention and accurate note-taking are essential responses. Those who disrupt lectures with inappropriate noise or comments will – in order to protect the interests of those more intent on achieving academic success – be excused from class, with disciplinary referrals to the WHS administration and phone-calls home regarding rude or inappropriate behavior.

Film Screenings

Films or film-excerpts will be shown from time to time as a means of enriching students’ sense of historical context for works of literature under discussion. For example, segments from The Great Gatsby (1974) and from related films will support our discussions of The Jazz Age. The contents of all films and film-excerpts are curriculum-appropriate and family-appropriate; furthermore, parents and guardians are welcome to pre-screen any and all films-segments shown during the course. (See Mr. B for the exact segments to be used.)

In-Class Process Time.

Time will be provided at the discretion of the teacher for students to read, deal with group assignments, proofread essays, perform research, and discuss issues pertinent to success in the course. Students are encouraged to use Process Time wisely, and not to compromise success by wasting time in conversations, schmoozing, etc. Mr. Bratnober’s observation of student behavior during Process Time contributes to each student’s Participation Grade in the course.

Class Blog

The class blog contains valuable information on the course, including enrichment materials, music, video clips, and tips about resources regarding American Literature. Mr. Bratnober will make an effort to update the blog from time to time. (The blog, however, may not be the ultimate, up-to-the-minute authority on the unfolding calendar of daily assignments – for this, see ONLY the walls of Rm. 201.)

See the Course Syllabus for additional information, including the WHS English Department policy on plagiarism.