AP Lang Birkerts Discussion Qs
AP English Language and Composition Palmer
Discussion Questions for “Into the Electronic Millennium” by Sven Birkerts
Instructions: Answer the following questions with a partner. Turn in one answer sheet per partnership. Partners work collaboratively (not splitting the work) but will take turns writing answers. Then, we will discuss as a whole class.
1. This article was written in 1994, making it fairly old by technology standards. Is it still relevant? Why or why not? Find evidence in the article of outdated information. Does it detract from the argument? Why or why not?
2. What do you think of the paragraph on page 649 which discusses “Calabrese’s observation on the preconditioning of a whole generation of students raising troubling questions”. Respond to that paragraph. If this was the section one of you chose to Defend, Challenge or Qualify, then you can use what you wrote.
3. Answer question 2 under Exploring the Text on page 654 which connects to this article, but then connect what Katha Pollitt argues to Francine Prose’s argument (Cage Bird) on pp.89-99.
4. Are you (or anyone at your table) familiar with the “cult success” of author Mark Leyner? Whether you are or not, what is the rhetorical strategy of adding Leyner to Birkert’s argument? Is it effective?
5. -- 9. Answer questions 3 through 7 on p. 654.
10. Notice the use of the dash in the sentence at the top of page 651. What is the rhetorical effect of this usage?
11. Answer question 9 on p. 654.
12. Finally, even if someone in your group chose this quote to DCQ already, respond to the quote on p. 650 where Birkerts states that “We need to take seriously the possibility that the young truly ‘know no other way,’ that they are not made of the same stuff that their elders are.” You may Defend, Challenge, or Qualify it or respond to it personally. Also, does this quote add effectiveness to Birkerts argument or detract from it? How?
Discussion Questions for “Into the Electronic Millennium” by Sven Birkerts
Instructions: Answer the following questions with a partner. Turn in one answer sheet per partnership. Partners work collaboratively (not splitting the work) but will take turns writing answers. Then, we will discuss as a whole class.
1. This article was written in 1994, making it fairly old by technology standards. Is it still relevant? Why or why not? Find evidence in the article of outdated information. Does it detract from the argument? Why or why not?
2. What do you think of the paragraph on page 649 which discusses “Calabrese’s observation on the preconditioning of a whole generation of students raising troubling questions”. Respond to that paragraph. If this was the section one of you chose to Defend, Challenge or Qualify, then you can use what you wrote.
3. Answer question 2 under Exploring the Text on page 654 which connects to this article, but then connect what Katha Pollitt argues to Francine Prose’s argument (Cage Bird) on pp.89-99.
4. Are you (or anyone at your table) familiar with the “cult success” of author Mark Leyner? Whether you are or not, what is the rhetorical strategy of adding Leyner to Birkert’s argument? Is it effective?
5. -- 9. Answer questions 3 through 7 on p. 654.
10. Notice the use of the dash in the sentence at the top of page 651. What is the rhetorical effect of this usage?
11. Answer question 9 on p. 654.
12. Finally, even if someone in your group chose this quote to DCQ already, respond to the quote on p. 650 where Birkerts states that “We need to take seriously the possibility that the young truly ‘know no other way,’ that they are not made of the same stuff that their elders are.” You may Defend, Challenge, or Qualify it or respond to it personally. Also, does this quote add effectiveness to Birkerts argument or detract from it? How?