ways to win

Did you recognize the essay prompt?  Here it is again:

Describe Baca's attitude toward life, learning, and prison.  Use your analysis of diction and detail to support your points.

I ripped off the idea from question 2 in the 1981 AP exam (so I guess here I was partying like it was 1981, but whatever-- you can see it top/center here).

As we discussed, this is a formative assessment, and my intention is to help you learn, so if you didn't feel like you crushed it in class, you have options.  Here are a few:

• take another crack at the essay with more time and thought, and post it on your blog;
• memorize and recite a stanza (or the whole poem, if you're rad like that) and post the video on your blog;
• create a photo essay, animation, or some other kind of multimedia wonderfulness about the poem and post that on your blog;
• research Jimmy Santiago Baca, fall in love with a different poem he wrote, and post that with your commentary on your blog;
• compare Baca's poetry with someone else's poetry, or a different sort of writing altogether, and post that on your blog;
• research strategies for answering questions like this on the AP exam and post that on your blog;
• come up with an idea I didn't mention here and post that on your blog;
• create intellectual value and establish yourself by [?] -- and post that on your blog.

Whatever you do, don't forget to post it on your blog. :)