AP English Language and Composition



AP English Language Current Events Assignment

Current Events Article Analysis Assignment

Adapted from an assignment by Danny Lawrence, AP Instructor, Winston-Salem, NC

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Objective:

The Current Events Article Analysis Assignment will improve students’ summarizing, analyzing, citation, and grammatical skills. It will keep students abreast of current events and breaking news and will provide them with a wealth of knowledge and will require students to present their understanding of particular current events in brief presentations that summarize a topic and provide an appropriate analysis of it.

Assignment Overview:

Your task is to find a non-fiction newspaper or magazine article to analyze about a current event or issue. You MAY NOT use sources such as USA Today, People, Seventeen, or blog postings, etc.

Articles, editorials, or essays from the following issues-based magazines ARE acceptable:

▪ Newsweek, Time, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Atlantic Monthly, New Republic, Forbes, The Economist, The Atlantic, National Geographic, Harper’s, and Scientific American

Articles, editorials, or essays from the following reputable newspapers[1] ARE acceptable:

▪ The New York Times, The National Post, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The State, The Herald-Journal, The Post and Courier, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Miami Herald, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, and The Wall Street Journal

To use a source not listed above, please see me for approval—I will more than likely say yes.

The article you choose must have published within thirty days of the day you find the article.

You MUST have a variety of articles; each must be within one of the following categories:

• Education

• Economy

• International Relations

• Psychology

• Health/Fitness

• Technology

• Government

• Science

• Arts/Humanities

You CANNOT repeat a category that you have already completed.

Assignment Specifics:

1. Your assignment must be typed in MLA format (i.e., appropriate header, correctly formatted first page, one-inch margins, double-spaced, size 12, Times New Roman font, etc.) and must include a Works Cited page citation for source you use. Anything directly quoted or paraphrased from the article must be credited with a proper in-text parenthetical citation.

2. In the first half of the paper, you will write a brief summary of the article you have read. You must embed a significant quote from the article in your summary (be sure to “set up” the source correctly). DO NOT SPEND MORE THAN HALF THE PAGE ON THE SUMMARY PORTION OF YOUR PAPER!!!

3. After your brief summary of the article, you will compose commentary. Your commentary should focus on the article’s content (what universal subjects does this article relate to?), a reflection on how this article’s topic relates to a current debate(s), and your general reaction to the article (what do YOU have to say about this subject?).

Additionally, you should consider and respond to the following questions:

▪ What are some of the author’s best arguments? What makes them good?

▪ Which arguments or points made by the author do not make sense to you? Why?

▪ Is the author using logical or emotional appeals to get you to agree with him or her?

▪ Does the author utilize any rhetorical strategies or devices to help him/her achieve their purpose?

When reacting to the article, you may defend, challenge, or qualify the author’s claim/point/thesis/ interpretation.

|Due Dates |A Days |B Days |

|Formative #1 |10/21 |10/17* |

| | |* This is due Monday at midnight |

|Formative #2 |11/4 |10/28 |

|Formative #3 |11/18 |11/11 |

|Summative |12/1 |12/1 |

4. You will have 1 current event analysis due once EVERY OTHER WEEK until December.

They are due uploaded to every Friday by midnight.

Grading:

Each current event journal entry will be graded as follows:

| |1 |2 |3 |4 |

|Summary |vague summary with few details; no |clear summary; some details and |clear, detailed summary; |clear, comprehensive summary; ideal|

|RI.11.2 |quotes |quotes |well-selected quotes |quotes |

|Commentary |commentary that reveals little |interesting, commentary that |interesting, insightful commentary |exemplary, insightful commentary |

|W.11.2 |insight or originality |reveals some insight | | |

|Conventions |poor control of conventions; many |limited control of conventions; |strong control of conventions; few |excellent control of conventions; |

|L.11.2 |errors |some errors |errors |no errors |

Please Note:

• One the formatives, these categories will lead to holistic score that will equate to the 4-point scale.

• On the summative (Due Dec. 1st), these categories will be four different, individual standards grades.

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[1] Many of these sources can be accessed online for free. Bookstores and the public library are other places to check for access to print and/or electronic versions.

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