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AP English Language and Composition 4.9 Passage Drill 207 Views
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Description:
AP English Language and Composition 4.9 Passage Drill. The syntax of the third paragraph suggests that the speaker...what?
- Reading Informational Text / Analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance his or her point of view
- Reading Informational Text / Analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance his or her point of view
- Vocabulary / Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings
- Reading Informational Text / Determine author’s purpose through effective rhetoric
- Vocabulary / Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings
- Grammar, Syntax, and Conventions of Written English / Improving Syntax
Transcript
- 00:00
[ musical flourish ]
- 00:02
And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by syntax.
- 00:06
If we were taxed on all of our sins, well, the national deficit would be, uh, history.
- 00:12
All right, check out the following passage.
- 00:14
[ mumbles ]
Full Transcript
- 00:20
[ mumbling continues ]
- 00:30
All right.
- 00:31
The syntax of the third paragraph suggests that the speaker... what?
- 00:35
And here are the potential answers.
- 00:38
[ mumbles ]
- 00:44
All right. Well, syntax may sound like a fancy word,
- 00:47
but all it really means is the way in which words are put together.
- 00:49
It's the pattern of grammar, sentence structure, and everything else that shapes a piece of writing.
- 00:54
Our speaker is not a fan of simple syntax to say the least.
- 00:58
So we can definitely nix choice A.
- 01:00
If our speaker's syntax were clear and concise, it'd be straightforward
- 01:04
and to the point, and this guy doesn't go from point A to point B.
- 01:07
At least not in a straight line.
- 01:09
Option B doesn't look like it's gonna make the cut.
- 01:11
For one, it's never a good idea to spend a lot of time
- 01:14
trying to figure out what a writer intended, especially when he's dead.
- 01:18
Without a ouija board, we have no idea what this guy intended
- 01:21
when he wrote this, so all we can analyze is the writing on the page.
- 01:24
Even if we were to start guessing his intentions, we wouldn't guess
- 01:27
that he wanted to confound or confuse his audience.
- 01:30
Seems like he's doing his best to enlighten them if you ask us.
- 01:33
Anyway, moving on.
- 01:34
There are all sorts of things wrong with choice D.
- 01:36
First, it says that the speaker uses "hackneyed idioms,"
- 01:40
which means overused common sayings.
- 01:43
You know, like "out of the blue," "sick as a dog," or "a chip on the shoulder."
- 01:47
As far as we can tell, there aren't any idioms like these and none of the writing seems hackneyed.
- 01:52
D also claims the writer uses these imaginary hackneyed idioms
- 01:55
to weaken the counterargument.
- 01:57
That'd be kind of hard. There's no counterargument to be found in this paragraph.
- 02:01
The writer spends all of his time making his points, not recognizing other people's points of view.
- 02:05
Huh. Kind of like Congress.
- 02:07
All right, option E might be right on one level.
- 02:10
The speaker might be challenging his audience's
- 02:12
preconceived notions about life,
- 02:14
but he's not using obscure diction,
- 02:16
meaning vague, weird, or hard-to-understand words.
- 02:19
Despite the convoluted syntax, the individual words the speaker uses
- 02:23
are pretty straightforward. And anyway,
- 02:25
how would purposely using hard-to-understand words
- 02:27
ever help challenge people's notions? Like, we hate that at Shmoop here.
- 02:31
Wouldn't it just make it harder for everyone to understand your point?
- 02:34
Yeah, duh. Go read the standard textbooks and wake up.
- 02:37
See if that helps you. [ chuckles ]
- 02:38
Standing up in front of people and speaking gibberish
- 02:41
isn't gonna win any hearts or minds.
- 02:43
So choice E is a no.
- 02:44
Option C, on the other hand, is a yes all the way.
- 02:47
The speaker has a real knack for figurative language,
- 02:50
which is when a writer appeals to the senses
- 02:52
or compares two things in an interesting or inventive way.
- 02:56
One example in paragraph three is when the speaker compares
- 02:59
the death of most people
- 03:01
to being stillborn.
- 03:03
It's not a thought with which we'd comfort a grieving widow,
- 03:06
but it is unique and definitely figurative.
- 03:09
Most importantly, it helps us understand the speaker's
- 03:11
argument that our mortal life
- 03:13
is only a tiny fraction of the life we can keep leading
- 03:17
after death.
- 03:18
We can't decide if this essay is cheerful
- 03:20
or depressing.
- 03:23
Huh. Thoughts?
- 03:24
[ weeping ]
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