I was so excited to tackle STR 5.D (the function of imagery) at first, and then I became completely overwhelmed by the magnitude of imagery. It wasn't that I couldn't find an idea, I had way too many ideas. Finally, I decided to go to my comfort zone, which is film analysis. Also, the good folks in ...
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AP Lit Skill Spotlight: Allusion
AP* Lit Essential Skill 6.D focuses on the function of allusion. Allusion is not a complicated device to spot, but students sometimes struggle with explaining its function. The key lies in analyzing the bridge between the text and the alluded work. *AP® is a trademark registered by the College ...
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AP Lit Skill Spotlight: Diction
AP* Lit skill 5.B, explain the function of words and phrases in a text, seems to function as a bit of a catch-all. When looking at the subordinate questions related to the skill, it mentions ambiguity, connotations, alliteration, hyperbole, antecedents, and plenty more. If I had to bottle this skill ...
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AP Lit Skill Spotlight: Similes and Metaphors
Two basic poetry skills are the function of similes and metaphors, AP* skills 6.A and 6.B respectfully. Most incoming AP® Lit students know these fundamental poetry skills, so instructing them is usually not an issue. However, many have been trained to simply find these elements, rather than to ...
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AP Lit Skill Spotlight: Structure
Of all the skills in AP* Lit's CED, structure is one of my favorites! My students look puzzled when they're asked to talk about structure, often because they don't know all that it entails. Structure can refer to a poem's: form, rhyme, meter, line breaks, shifts, patterns, punctuation, and syntax. ...
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AP Lit Skill Spotlight: Characterization in Poetry
One of the six featured skills in Poetry Unit 1 of the AP* Lit CED is CHR 1.A: Identify and describe what specific textual details reveal about a character, that character's perspective, and that character's motives. While characterization is an easier skill to tackle, it can sometimes give pause ...
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