Affirmative action isn't so... affirmative.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/15/justice/michigan-affirmative-action-ban/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1

This article is called "Appeals court strikes down Michigan's affirmative action ban" and, fairly self explanatory, is about our ban on affirmative action being ruling unconstitutional by an appeals court.

Details: The details the author provides appear to create a bias towards the ban, rather than the court's decision. There are more quotes and examples from the side of the ban, and the reader is left hoping the Supreme Court will take the case and rule for the ban. For example, the author includes a quote from Attorney General Schuette, saying "(The ban) embodies the fundamental the premise of what America is all about: equality under the law. Entrance to our great universities must be based upon merit." This quote, along with the fact that it's from the Attorney General, makes the reader feel justified in thinking affirmative action makes equality more difficult, not less. The author also includes details such as the ban passing with "58% voting yes." As humans, most of us want to "fit in" and go with the majority, so including statistics like this one help the reader lean toward supporting the ban.

Diction: The word choice of this piece also shows a bias toward the ban. The author describes how the court "narrowly" overturned the ban, suggesting disappointment with the decision. Later in the article, the author discusses the idea that affirmative action has to be "phased" out as diversity goals are met. This word suggests not an automatic ban throughout the country, but starting to head in that direction, which the ban does.

Syntax: This article is broken up into short, two-to-three line paragraphs. This organization helps keep the reader interested by making the points concise and moving on. Most of these paragraphs are made up of a short sentence followed by a longer one. This puts emphasis on the second, longer sentence, which is where most of the meatier information is. For example, "Efforts over decades to create a diverse classroom have been controversial. The Brown v. Board of Education high court ruling in 1954 ended segregation of public schools, but sparked nationwide protests and disobedience by state who initially refused to integrate." The first sentences introduces the topic and the second sentence provides the evidence, which is what the reader remembers from the paragraph because it's the last thing he reads.

Silly Macbeth, prophesies are for witches!

1980. A recurring theme in literature is the classic war between a passion and responsibility. For instance, a personal cause, a love, a desire for revenge, a determination to redress a wrong, or some other emotion or drive may conflict with moral duty. Choose a literary work in which a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities. In a well-written essay show clearly the nature of the conflict, its effects upon the character, and its significance to the work.

            In the play Macbeth, Macbeth’s downfall is his desire for power. At the beginning of the play, he is a war hero, highly esteemed by the Scottish king, when he encounters three witches. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane of Cawdor and eventually the king of Scotland. As Macbeth starts to see these prophesies come true, his desire to have power conflicts with his duties as thane and as king.

            After winning a war for Scotland, Macbeth finds out King Duncan has named him thane of Cawdor. As thane, he constantly thinks about the prophesy three witches told him: he will be king of Scotland. When King Duncan comes to his house that night, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth conspire to kill the king in order to obtain kingship for themselves. As king, Macbeth spends a majority of his time worrying about his old friend, Banquo, and his son, Fleance. Along with the witches’ prophesy that Macbeth would be king came the prophesy that Banquo would father a line of kings. Because of this, Macbeth has Banquo murdered and tries to kill Fleance. The more Macbeth feels his power is in danger, the more he tries to prevent it from being taken from him, even killing an innocent man’s family out of fear.

            Macbeth’s need for power and the murders he commits because of it leave him insane, and eventually lead to his death. After Banquo is killed, his ghost appears to Macbeth, along with three other apparitions. Seeing these ghosts, Macbeth raves and appears to his guests to be talking to himself. As his castle is under attack, and Macbeth realizes his end, he still fights, unable to give up his power willingly.

            Macbeth’s struggle between his desire for power and his responsibilities as king provides for most of the action in the play. Had he been able to stand up to his wife and not kill King Duncan, Macbeth never would have had any issues, and Macbeth never would have been written. His inability to mediate between private passion and responsibility not only provides for his inevitable downfall, but also the meaning of the play as a whole: power left unchecked ultimately results in destruction.

What do you mean Willy isn't mentally ill?

I'm pleased to say that I understand "Death of a Salesman" better than I understood "The American Dream." That might have something to do with the fact that I studied it (kinda) in Am Lit sophomore year, though. I'm still undecided on what I think is wrong with Willy, since we've been told that he isn't supposed to be mentally ill. Clearly, something is wrong. It's not exactly normal to have flashbacks so elaborate you actually relive them. But if Arthur Miller says Willy doesn't have an illness, I guess I'll just have to believe him. Watching the film really helped me understand the characters, though. Seeing Biff's need to please Willy and Willy's need to be successful, instead of just reading about them, helped me relate to them. Sometimes, I just want my parents to notice me too, Biff. I'm actually semi-excited to discuss this play in class and see what other people think is "wrong" with Willy.
One huge thing this class as a whole, but especially these last few weeks, has taught me is not to procrastinate. Which is potentially the most challenging aspect of this class for me. I can analyze literature. I can write essays. I can memorize stuff. But doing any of that in a decent amount of time? Yeah, no. I suck at that. The main place I ran into this issue was with the chapter 4 essay. The day before it was due, all I had written was the intro paragraph. So I spent my Sunday night writing two more pages, then forgetting a works cited page. It was great. I guess it's better that I'm learning this now, and not my first semester of college. So thanks, AP Lit (and Ms. Holmes), I'm sure I'll eventually learn my lesson.
And of course, there's the terms test. 65%, anyone? But hey, that's a 20% increase on my first score! The main thing I learned from the terms test (other than however many definitions are on there) is that I'm going to need to spend some time looking at how questions are worded to give me a hint at the correct definition. For those of you who don't know which question I'm referring to, it's the Coach Carr one. Who knew the omission of one word could lead to losing 2 points? If that's how I'm going to get a 5 on the AP test, I really need to get working.