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A.P. English Language & Composition – Summer Readings
Table of Contents:
 Explanation of A.P.
English Language &
Composition Summer
Reading Assignment
preface pages A,B,C
 Meriwether Lewis
pages 1-17
 John Wesley Powell
pages 18-37
 John Muir
pages 38-51
 Aldo Leopold
pages 52-61
 Lewis Thomas
pages 62-67
 Barry Lopez
pages 68-97
 Annie Dillard
pages 98-106
 Guided Reading
Worksheets
pages 107-124
Explanation of A.P. English Language & Composition Summer Reading Assignment
It is hoped you will enjoy reading the nonfiction selections which make up this assignment, but also
know this assignment is, more importantly, a preparation for the type of language study the A.P.
Language & Composition course will require of you in the first semester. During much of the course’s
first semester you will be required to analyze the language choices of writers in terms of how those
choices help them achieve their varied purposes. For example, in Unit 2 of this course’s first semester
you will learn to analyze and understand how Malcolm X’s use of connotatively charged language
devices and strategies in a speech helped him create pathos and win over followers of Martin Luther
King Jr. or how General George Patton’s use of vulgar language in his speech to the 3 rd Army was part
of his ethos which made his troops respect and trust him. The key idea in any analysis of language that
we do in the first semester of our course is that we want to focus on how language is used versus what
is said.
The analysis of how a person communicates means that you will examine the tools of language used by
a writer/speaker to convey the what or the content of a message. For example, imagine you call your
friend on the phone, and a voice you don’t recognize answers. You ask to speak with your friend, and
the voice responds, “With whom have I the pleasure of speaking?” By contrast, what if the voice
instead responds with, “Who’s this?” Both questions are similar in what they ask for – they both want
your name. But how they ask for it reveals dissimilarity not only in the language employed but also in
the speaker’s demeanor, and/or personality. During the first semester of our course we will focus on
developing the skills necessary to effectively analyze how a writer uses specific language strategies and
devices to achieve various purposes.
These summer reading selections and the assignments accompanying each reading are meant to give
you some initial steps into what will be the focus of the first semester of our course. These readings
are on Mr. Glowacki’s Bellevue School District website, as is this worksheet packet.
Summer Reading Assignment Requirements:
After you read each of the following summer reading selections, you are required to complete guided
analysis worksheets for each reading. These worksheets will require you to analyze specific aspects of
language each writer employs to reveal his/her attitude(s) toward an aspect of the natural world(s)
he/she describes. Know that the attitudes of these writers range from sometimes being
objective/journalistic to being rhapsodic, reflective, and/or poetic.
These worksheets are due the first day school and may be used during the assessments in the first
weeks of school – the first assessment on the first class day is a comprehension quiz with questions
that ask you to recall significant details from the readings. Listed below are the authors of the readings:

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
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Meriwether Lewis (excerpts from Original Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition)
John Wesley Powell (excerpts from Exploration of the Colorado River)
John Muir (excerpt from Mountains of California)
Aldo Leopold (excerpts from Sand County Almanac)
Lewis Thomas (excerpt from Lives of a Cell)
Barry Lopez (excerpt from Crossing Open Ground)
Annie Dillard (excerpt from Pilgrim at Tinker Creek)
Preface Page A
The following reading excerpt and accompanying analysis is an EXAMPLE of what you
will do as you complete the sections of this summer reading and analysis assignment.
Thomas Jefferson, an amateur scientist/naturalist, received a request from the secretary of the French legislation for information on
the State of Virginia. In response, Jefferson compiled a report known as Notes on the State of Virginia. The following excerpt is taken
from that report. In this excerpt he describes a unique rock formation on his property in Rockbridge County, Virginia.
The Natural Bridge, the most sublime of nature’s works, though not comprehended under the present head, must not be
pretermitted. It is on the ascent of a hill, which seems to have been cloven through its length by some great convulsion. The fissure,
just at the bridge, is, by some admeasurements, 270 feet deep, by others only 205. It is about 4 feet wide at the bottom, and 90 feet
at the top; this of course determines the length of the bridge, and its height from the water. Its breadth in the middle is about 6o feet,
but more at the ends, and the thickness of the mass at the summit of the arch, about 40 feet. A part of this thickness is constituted by
a coat of earth, which gives growth to many large trees. The residue, with the hill on both sides, is one solid rock of lime-stone... The
fissure continuing narrow, deep, and straight for a considerable distance above and below the bridge, opens a short but very pleasing
view of the North mountain on one side, and Blue ridge on the other, at the distance each of them of about five miles. This bridge is in
the county of Rockbridge, to which it has given name, and affords a public and commodious passage over a valley, - which cannot be
crossed elsewhere for a considerable distance. The stream passing under it is called Cedar creek. It is a water of James River, and
sufficient in the driest seasons to turn a grist-mill, though its fountain is not more than two miles above.
Analysis of basic sentence patterns in T. Jefferson’s excerpt
The following are the basic sentence patterns:
(1)The “be” and/or linking verb sentence pattern includes the use of a form of “be” verb (am, be, is, are, was, were, being, been) or
linking verb (seem, became, etc.) which links the subject to an adverbial of time/place, an adjectival, or a noun phrase – examples: The
students are almost ready (subject linked to an adverbial of time) or The teacher is tall (subject linked to an adjectival) or The students are
gentlemen and scholars (subject linked to a noun phrase) or She seems curious (subject linked to an adjectival).
(2)The transitive verb sentence pattern includes the use of a transitive verb and one or more complements – examples: The students
study their notes or The batter hit a home run or Claudia is eating dinner. A test that helps you determine whether or not a sentence’s
main verb is transitive and has a complement is to use the subject and main verb to create a question that asks who or what, and if there
is something after that main verb in the sentence that answers that question, then you know the verb is transitive – for example, take the
sentence The students study their notes – create the question: The students study who or what? The question is answered by their notes,
thus study is a transitive verb, and the sentence itself is a transitive pattern sentence.
(3)The intransitive verb sentence pattern typically ends with an intransitive verb which has no complement following it – examples: The
students rested or John slept or The visitors arrived on schedule. The above test for transitive verbs also applies to discovering whether or
not sentences main verb is intransitive, except is there is nothing after the main verb that answers the question then the main verb is
intransitive – for example, take the sentence The visitors arrived on schedule – create the question to test whether or not the main verb is
transitive or intransitive: The visitors arrived who or what? Nothing after the main verb answers the question, so the main verb is
intransitive, and the sentence itself is an intransitive pattern sentence.
In the space below note what kind of sentence pattern seems most prevalent in the Jefferson excerpt, write down 2-3 examples of this
prevalent pattern, then briefly comment on what it might reveal about his attitude toward what he describes.
The most prevalent sentence pattern in this Jefferson excerpt is the “be” and/or linking verb pattern; six of

theeleven sentences of the excerpt are of this pattern. Notable examples include the following:
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1.

2.
3.
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It is on the ascent of a hill, which seems to have been cloven through its length by some great
convulsion.
The fissure, just at the bridge, is, by some admeasurements, 270 feet deep, by others only 205.
It is about 4 feet wide at the bottom, and 90 feet at the top; this of course determines the length of
the bridge, and its height from the water.
4. Its breadth in the middle is about 6o feet, but more at the ends, and the thickness of the mass at
the summit of the arch, about 40 feet.
Commentary:
These four sentences all use the same linking verb, “is,” as the main verb, and two of them even start with
the same subject, “it.” This lack of structural variety is suggestive of the kind of objective language of the
scientist. And the repeated use of the linking verb “is” seems especially telling in communicating his
attitude toward what he describes; this kind of verb is not highly connotative, an aspect of language that
the objective scientist would stringently avoid.
Preface Page B
While completing the summer reading and analysis assignment, reference the following as
you begin to formulate ways to describe the attitude(s) of the writers of the various
excerpts. NOTE: You are certainly allowed to come up with your own descriptors to label the
various attitudes conveyed by the writers of these summer reading excerpts.
DIDACTIC/INFORMATIVE:
Writing which demonstrates these attitude descriptors has a tendency to use language that is direct and
sparing/efficient. The language choices of this descriptor may tend to sound like the language a person might find in a
repair manual of some sort: sentence structures tend to be of the same sort – usually “this is that” kind of structures;
words choices that tend to lack connotative associations are not often used (if at all) – the language choices tend to
favor a more denotative flavor; the overall structuring is straightforward – usually something that is chronological or
syllogistic/logical (e.g. this, then this, then this…). It tends to share some of the same language characteristics of the
JOURNALISTIC/OBJECTIVE and the LOGICAL/RATIONAL attitude labels.
LOGICAL/RATIONAL:
Writing which demonstrates these attitude descriptors has a tendency to avoid using connotatively charged language;
it tends to sound like a science textbook. This may be a good attitude descriptor to use in labeling language that seems
to intentionally avoid communicating an emotional response when the occasion of the writing may typically warrant it.
It tends to share some of the same language characteristics of the DIDACTIC/INFORMATIVE and the
JOURNALISTIC/OBJECTIVE attitude labels.
JOURNALISTIC/OBJECTIVE:
Writing which demonstrates these attitude descriptors has a tendency to use language that make it sound like the
writer simply wishes to report the facts of what he/she experiences and avoid adding a sense of bias. It tends to share
some of the same language characteristics of the DIDACTIC/INFORMATIVE and the LOGICAL/RATIONAL attitude labels.
CONFLICTED:
Writing which demonstrates this attitude descriptor has a tendency to demonstrate noticeable shifts of varying sorts;
the attitude in one segment of the writing may actually shift to another (e.g. a shift from a JOURNALISTIC attitude to a
JUDGMENTAL one).
JUDGMENTAL:
Writing which demonstrates this attitude descriptor has a tendency to employ a pattern of word choices and/or
connotatively charged language that conveys a sense of bias (e.g. thrifty vs. stingy – using stingy instead of thrifty may
reveal a judgmental bias).
EXTOLLING/ADULATORY/RHAPSODIC:
Writing which demonstrates these attitude descriptors has a tendency to seem awe-struck in how it describes
something; it may tend to use hyperbolic language making more of whatever is being described; connotatively charged
language would typically be used; there may also be sudden shifts of varying sorts to convey a sense that the writer is
guided more by an emotional response rather than a rational one.
POETIC:
Writing which demonstrates this attitude descriptor has a tendency to sound artificial or beyond what would be
considered every-day, conversational language; it is the language of musicality, metaphor, and connotation. The
language of this attitude descriptor may also tend to seem as though the writer intends an ambiguity of meaning in
using certain words and phrasings (e.g. a word like “still” can be used to suggest an ambiguity of meaning, because it
could be used to infer a sense of not moving, even death-like, and at the same time it could be used to infer a sense of
always being or permanency).
REFLECTIVE/MEDITATIVE/RUMINATORY:
Writing which demonstrates these attitude descriptors has a tendency to shift in and out of different time frames
and/or settings; for example, it may be telling a story/narrative, and then it may digress into commentary about a part
of that story/narrative – this digression may use language demonstrating something of a POETIC or CONFLICTED
attitude.
Preface Page C
CHAPTER 4
GfheFixed
I
I HAVE 'JUST LEARNED to see praying mantis egg cases. Suddenly
I see them everywhere; a tan oval of light catches ~y eye', or I
notice a blob of thickness in a patch of slender weeds. /ls I writ~
I can see the one I tied to the mock orange hedge o\ltside my study
window. It is over an inch long and sh(1.ped like a bell, or like the
northern hem~sphere of an egg cut through its equator. The full
length of one of its long sides is affixed to a twig; the side that
catches the ~ight is perfectly flat. It has a dead straw,deadweed
color, and a curious brittle texture, hard as varnish, but pitted
minutely, like frozen foam. I carried it ho~e this afternoon, holding it carefully ~y the twig, along with several others-they were
light as air. I dropped one without missing it until I got home and
macle a count.
Within the week I've seen thirty or 5.0 of these egg c~ses in a
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rose-grown field on Tink~r Mountain, and another thirty in weeds
along Carvin's Creek~ One was on a twig of tiny dogwood on the
mud lawn of a ~ewly b~ilt house. I think the .mait·order houses
sell them to gardeners at a dollar apiece. It beats sp~aying, because
each case contains between one hundred twenty-~ve to thre-e
hundred fifty eggs. If the eggs suryiv~ ants, woodpeckers, a~_~
mice-and' most do-~pen; you get the fun of· seeing the hew
,mantises hatch, and the smug feeling of knowing, all. summer long,that they're out. there in your garden devouring ~ru~some numbers.
of fello".'._ insect~- all nice a~d organically. When --a mantis has \.
crunched up the last shred of its victim, it cleans its smooth green face like a cat.
.
!
_>
- ·In late summer -I Often see a winged adult stalking the.insectsthat swarm about my porch light. Its body is a clear, warmgreerf;
Its naked, triangular head can revolve uncannily, $0 that I often
see one twist its head to gaze at me as it were ove{ its- shoulder.
When it strikes, it jerks so suddenly and with such a fearful clatter
pf raised wings, that even a hardened -entomol~gist like'J. Henri
Fabr~confessed to being.-sta.rtled witless every:'time.
Adult mantises- eat more or les~ everything that breathes and
is small enough to capture. -They eat honeybees ~nd butterflies,
including monar~h bu~terflie~. People have actually see~ ~hem s~ize
and devour garter snakes; ~ice, and even hummingbirds.- .Newlyhatched mantises, on the other hand, eat small creatures like
aphids and- eachother.-When I was in elementary school, ,one of
the teachers-brought in a m~ntis egg case in a ~ason jar. I watched
the newly hatchet;l mantises· emerge and shed their skins; they were
spidery and translucent, allover joints. They trailed from: the egg
case to the base of the Mason jar in a living bridge that looked
like Arabic calligraphy, some baffiing text from the Koran inscribed down the air by a- fine hand. Over a pe~iod of several hours,
du·ring which time the teacher never s~nimoned the nerve or the
.
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sense to release them, they ·ate each other until only two were left.
. Tiny legs were still kicking from the mouths of both. The two
survivors grappled and sawed in the Mas·on jar; finally both died of
injur.ies. I felt as though I myself should swallow the corpses,
shutting. my eyes arid· washing them down like jagged pills, so all
that life wouldn't be lost.
When mantises hatch in the wild, ho~ever, they $traggle about·
prettily, .dodging ~nts, till all are ~ost in the grass. So it was in
hopes of seeing an eventual hatch that I pocketed my ja~kknife t~is
afternoon before I set out to walk·. Now that I can see. the egg
,cases, I'm embarrassed to realize how many I must have missed all
along. I walked east through the Adams' woods to the cornfield,
cutting three undamaged egg cases I found at t~e edge of the
field. It was a clear, picturesque day, a February day without clouds,
without emo~ion or spirit, like a beautiful woman with an .empty
face. In my fingers I carried the thorny stems frorp which· the
egg .cases hung like roses; I switched the bouquet froni hand to
hand, warming the free hand in a pocket. Passing the house again,.
deciding not to fetch gloves~ I walked north, to the hill by the
place where the steers come to drink from Tinker Creek. There· in
the weeds on the hill I found another eight egg· cases. I was
stunned-I cross this hill several times·~ week, and I always look
for egg cases here, because it was here that I had· once seen a
mantis laying her eggs.
It was several years ago that I witnessed this extraordinary.
procedure, but I remember, and confess,. an inescapable feeling
that I was watching something not real and present, but a horrible
na~ure movie, a Usecrets-of-nature" short, beautifully photographed
in full color, that I had to sit through unable to look anywhere ~lse
but at the dimly lighted EXIT sig9~ along the walls, and-that behind
the scenes some amateur moviemaker was consratulating himself
on having stumbled across this little wonder, or even on having
@
as
contrived so· n~tural. a setting,·
though the whole scene had
been shot very care(ully in··a terrarium in someone's greenhouse.
1 was ambling a~~oss· this hill that day when I noticed a ~p~~ of
·.pure·.~h:ite,.·:rh~.hi~l::is~··~r9ded·;·the ·slope is a rutted wreck of red
!. . claybrokeriby:gfass}r'hili6cks and low wild roses whose roots clasp
. a pittance ·of·:tops~il.+le_atied to examine the white thing and saw
a··1llass:·9f·:bUDbl:e~·::lik~:.·:spit~ie~.:.Theri I :saw something dark like an
.··eng<?rgecl~;j~.~.chf.~rt1.~·~g~rig.:·.bv~r:t~espittle, and then I saw the
praying.J;na;tltis~:.·.:'--·:.;:..;. . :.. :. . . ;.~:.:~:.: ,: . ~.::~- .. ' ...
She.. :wa~·.:.up~·~4e~dQy;~,;··.9l~hging ·to a horizontal stem of wild
.rose··by~'her·,·.:.t¢et:.···:~iii<t.~.. pdint~d· t~ ·heaven.· ·Her·head was deep in
dried· g.ra:ss>·Het. ··abdfltfn~.~·:.'Yas.:s~olie~ like a .smashed finger; it
tapered to:·:a ffesbX·:·fip: Q~.t ~f :w·hich .~ubbled a wet, whipped froth.
. I couldll't·:~lie~~'>nly:.:~ye~~·il.t·ay·· on ·the· hill this· way and .that,. my
. knees.. "in .thotn·s ':~. q~ ·.··i#y·:.,.~~eeks.· in. (clay, trying to see as well as I
. could~l,pok~<Lhe~"t: :~he...female's. 4~~d'with a grass; she was clearly
.. ,undisturbed, :'59· .t:::se·~tled; iriy·.. nos~ an. inch from· that pulsiQ-g abdOp1eh.. -It·.·:puff~d
li~e::~. concertina,· it th.robbed l~ke a bellows; it
roved, p~inpi-Qg, . . :~ve~>:t~e;.glistening·,. cl~bbered surface of tl)e egg
case ~est~ng· ~n·d·p:a.ttin8,thr~sting, ·and.smoothing. It seemed to act
so independently· t~at l··~orgot ·the panting brown stick at the other
end. Th~:bub~~e. . cteafu~e . seeined .to have two· eyes, a frantic little
b~·ain, and two.. b~s.r;·soft. h·ands. It looked ~ike a hideous, harried
mother sli~king up·a ~at ·:daughter. for . a beauty pageant, touching
, her up, slobbering over h·er;.patting and hemming and brushing and
stroking.
..
The male ·wasnowhere. in sight. The· female had pr?bably eaten
him. Fabre says th~t, at least ·in captivity, the female will mate with
and devour~p to seven males, whether she has laid her egg cases or
not. The .mating rites· of mantises. are well known: a: chemical
pc.oduced in the hea~ of the male insect says, in effect, uNo, don't
@
The Fixea
go near her, you fool, she'll eat you alive." At the same time~!
chemical in his abdomen says, _ttYes, by all means, now and for~;
.
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,
ever yes.
<: ,-:
While the male is making up what..passes for his mind, -t~e;.
-female tips the balance in her favor by ·eating.'hishead. He mounts;
_her. Fabre describes the mating, whic~· sometimes Ias~s' six ~ours; ~ _
as follows: 'IThe male, absorbed in the performance of his vital: .
functions, holds the female in a tight embrace. But the wretch has l :
no head; he has no neck-; ~e .has· hardly -a . body.. The -other, wit~ \;
her ·muzzle turned over her shouldercorttinues very ·placidly to: gnaw what remains of the gentle swain. A~d, all the time, til'at;
masculine stump, holdi~g on firmly, goes on 'with the business! .•. ~
I have seen it done with my own eyes and have not yet recovered
from my astonishment~"
.
I watched the egg-laying for over an, hour. When I retur~ed'
the next day, the mantis was,g~ne. The white_· foam had 'hardened-;'
and browned to a dirty suds; then,. and on subsequent days, I ha-d~
t,rouble pinpointing the case,_ which was.only an inch dr so off the:
ground. I checked on it every· week all winter long. In the spring the'
ants discover~d it; every,week I saw dozens of ants scrambling over:
the sides, unable to chew a ·way in. Later in the spring I climbed:
the hill every day, hoping to catch- the hatch. The leaves of the
- trees had long since unfOlded, the butterflies were out, and th·~,
- robins' first broods were fledged; still the egg case hung silent- and
full on the stem. I read that I should wait for June,_ but·still I visited,
the case every day. One .morning at the beginning of June every~
thing was gone. I couldn't find the lower thorn in the clump of~
-three to which the egg case was fixed. I couldn't find the clump of
three. Tracks ridged the clay, and I s~w the lopped stems: some-·
how my neighbor had contrived to run a tractor-mower over that
steep clay hill on which there grew nothing to mow but a few
stubby thorns.
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So. Tod~y 'from this' sallie hill" I cut anoth~r three undamaged
, ;c~$es and carried them home' with the others py'their twigs. I also
~collected a suspiciously light cynthia moth cocoon. My fingers were
stiff and 'red with cold, an,d my nose ran. I had forgotten the Law
;9£ the Wild, which i$, HCarry Kleenex:' At home I ,tied the twigs
'with their egg cases to various sunny bushes and trees in the yard.
,They're easy to find because I used white string; at any rate, I'm
;unlike,ly to mow my ~wn trees. I hope the woodpeckers that com~
'to the fee~er don't find them, "but I don't 'se,e how they'd get a purcha;se on them if they did.
'
Night'is rising in the val,ley; the- creek has' been extinguished for
ail hour, and now only the naked .tips of trees fire tapers into the
,sky like trails of sparks. The's<;ene that was 'in the back of my brain
'all afte~noon, obscurely,- is beginning to rise from night's ,lagoon.
It really has nothing to, do with praying mantises. But this after':noon I threw tiny string lashings and hitches with frozen hands,
!gingerly, feari,ng to touch the, egg cases eyen for a minute because'
, I remembered the Polyphemus moth. '
r have no intention of inflicting' all
my childhood memories on
; ~nyone. Far -l~ss do, I want to excoriate: myoId teachers who, in
:their bungling, unforgettable way, exposed me to the natural
,:world, a world covered ,in chitin; wh~re implacable realities hold
:'isway. The Polyphemus rhothnever made it to the past; it crawls
.in that crowded, pellucid pool at the lip of the great waterfall. It
'is as present-as this blue desk and brazen lamp, as this blackened
,,"window before me in which I can no longer see even the white
')string that binds the egg case to the hedge, but only my own pale,
,~astonished
face.
.
Once, when I wa~ ten or eleven years old, my friend Judy brought
'in a Polyphemus 'moth cocoon. It was January;lhere were doily
.,,;snowflakes taped to the schoolroo~anes. The teacher kept the
. -
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cocoon in her desk all morning and brought it out when we were
getting restless before recess. In a book we fo~nd what the adult
1110th would look like; it would be,beautiful. With.a wingspread'of
up to six in~hes, the Polyphemus is one of the few huge American
silk moths, much larger than, say,a -giant· o~ tiger" swaHowtail
butterfly~ The moth's enormous wings are velyeted in a rich, warm
brown, and edged in bands of blue and pin,k<lelicate as awater-,
color wash. A startling tteyespot," immen~e, and deep ~lue melding to an almost translucent yellow, luxuriates in the 'center of each
, hind wing. The effect is. one of a masculitle' ~'plenQor foreign, to the
butterflies, a fragi~ity unfurled to strc:ngth. The,Polyphemus moth
in the picture looked like a mighty'wraith, a beatipg ~ssence' of. the
hardwood forest, alien-skinned and brown~ with spread"blind ,eyes.
This was the giant moth packed in the faded coco~n. We closed
the book and turned to the cocoon. It was ,an oak leaf sewn ',into
a plump oval bundle; Judy had fo~nd" it loose in a' pile of
frozen leaves.
We passed the cocoon around; 'it,. W~S 'heavy. ,As ,we ~leld it in
our hand's, the creature within' war1?e,~,and-squirmed., We' w~re
delighted, and wrapped it tighter in'o~r fists. ,The';pupa began to
jerk violently, in heart-stopping -knocks.,' 'Who' s ,t1;ler~? '1, can 'still
feel those thumps, urgent through. a muffli~g ,of ,spu~ silk 'and
leaf, urgent through the swaddling, of many-years", 'against the
curve of my palm. We kept passing -it ,aroun(~L:Wheff it came 't~'
me again it was hot as a bun; itjump~d half olltofrnyhal1d. The
teacher intervened. She put it, still heaving arid banging, in. the
ubiquitous Mason jar.
, ' , ',: ", "
It was coming. There was no stopping it nOw, J~nu'ary'or not.
One end of the cocoon dampened ,and gradu~lly frayed, in a furious
.battle. ,The whole cocoon twisted and slapped around in the '-b~t­
tom of the jar. The teacher fades, t~e classmates fade, I fade: .I
-
®
.
don't remember anything but that thing's ·struggle to be a moth or
die trying. It emerged at last, a sodden crumple. It was a maie; his
long antennae were thickly plumed, as wide as his .fat abdomen.· His
body was very thick,· over an inch .long, and ·deeply flirred. A gray,
furlike plush covered his head; a long" tan ftirlike hair hung from
his wide thorax over h.is brown-furred, segm.ented abdomen. His·
multijointed legs, pale and power~ul, were ·shaggy ·as ·a bear's. He
stood· still, but he breathed.
He couldn't spread·his wings. ·There was no room. The chemical
that coated his wings. like varnish, stiffening them· permanently,
dried., ·and hardened his wings as they were~ He was ~ ·monster ina
Mason jar. Those huge wings stuck on his· back in a torture of
random pleats and folds, wrinkled as a. dirty tissue, rigid as .leather.
They made a single .nightmare clump still wracked with ~seless;
frantic convulsioris~
The next thing I remember, it was recess. The school was in·
Shadyside, a busy residential part ·of .Pittsburgh. Everyone was·
playing dodgeball in the fenced playground or racing around t~e
concrete schoolyard by the swings. Next to· the playground a long
delivery drive sloped downhill to tpe· sidewalk and street. Someone
-it must have peen the teacher-had let the moth out: I was standing in the d~iveway, alone, stock-still, but shivering. Someone had
given the Polyphemus· motlrhis freedom, and he was walking
away.
·He heaved himself down the· asphalt driveway by infinite degrees,
unwavering. His hideous c~umpled wings lay glued and rocked on
his back, perfectly still "now, like a collapsed tent. The bell rang
twice; I had to go~The moth was receding down the driveway, dragging on. I went; I ran inside. The Polyphemus moth is still
crawling down the driveway, crawling down the driveway hunched,
crawlirig down the driveway on six furred feet, forever.
'
~
The Fixed ,
Guided Analysis Worksheets for M. Lewis’ Original Journals of the Lewis &
Clark Expedition Excerpt
Analysis of catalogue/listing in M. Lewis’ excerpt
A catalogue/list is just what it sounds like; it is a series of items, examples, or attributes. In the space below,
write down a passage (2-5 sentences) demonstrating how Lewis employs the catalogue or list in his excerpt then
briefly comment on what it might reveal about his attitude toward what he describes.
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Analysis of narrative pace in M. Lewis’ excerpt
Narrative pace in a piece of writing may be influenced by the length of sentences, the number of verbs or action
words in a sentence, and/or multisyllabic words; longer more complex sentences and a tendency to use
multisyllabic words are apt to slow down the pace of a piece of writing; whereas, shorter staccato like sentences
and a tendency to use monosyllabic words are apt to speed up the pace of a piece of writing. In addition, the use
of verbs or action words in short succession also seems to be part of quickening the pace in writing (for example,
the pace is quickened in The squirrel skipped, jumped, then darted out of sight vs. the slower pacing of While the
sun shone down on the meadow, the squirrel skipped toward the thicket, then just before reaching it he jumped
over a log, and finally he darted out of sight.) In the space below write down 2-3 passages that are indicative of
the pacing in “Tuesday May 14th 1805” and the “Wednesday May 29th 1805” then briefly describe the pacing
especially in terms of how it compares/contrast with the pacing in other parts of Lewis’ excerpt, and finally,
briefly comment on what this comparison/contrast might reveal about his attitude toward what he describes.
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Analysis of basic sentence patterns in M. Lewis’ excerpt
The following are the basic sentence patterns:
(1)The “be” and/or linking verb sentence pattern includes the use of a form of “be” verb (am, be, is, are, was,
were, being, been) or linking verb (seem, became, etc.) which links the subject to an adverbial of time/place, an
adjectival, or a noun phrase – examples: The students are almost ready (subject linked to an adverbial of time)
or The teacher is tall (subject linked to an adjectival) or The students are gentlemen and scholars (subject linked
to a noun phrase) or She seems curious (subject linked to an adjectival).
(2)The transitive verb sentence pattern includes the use of a transitive verb and one or more complements –
examples: The students study their notes or The batter hit a home run or Claudia is eating dinner. A test that
helps you determine whether or not a sentence’s main verb is transitive and has a complement is to use the
subject and main verb to create a question that asks who or what, and if there is something after that main verb
in the sentence that answers that question, then you know the verb is transitive – for example, take the
sentence The students study their notes – create the question: The students study who or what? The question is
answered by their notes, thus study is a transitive verb, and the sentence itself is a transitive pattern sentence.
(3)The intransitive verb sentence pattern typically ends with an intransitive verb which has no complement
following it – examples: The students rested or John slept or The visitors arrived on schedule. The above test for
transitive verbs also applies to discovering whether or not sentences main verb is intransitive, except is there is
nothing after the main verb that answers the question then the main verb is intransitive – for example, take the
sentence The visitors arrived on schedule – create the question to test whether or not the main verb is transitive
or intransitive: The visitors arrived who or what? Nothing after the main verb answers the question, so the main
verb is intransitive, and the sentence itself is an intransitive pattern sentence.
In the space below note what kind of sentence pattern seems most prevalent in the Lewis excerpt, write down
2-3 examples of this prevalent pattern, then briefly comment on what it might reveal about his attitude toward
what he describes.
Analysis of literal/denotative word choice vs. figurative/connotative word choice in M. Lewis’ excerpt
109
Word choice that is literal/denotative tends to simply “tell” the reader something; whereas, word choice that is
figurative or connotatively charged tends to “show” – for example, a literal/denotative word choice would
simply say Our social environment makes us who we are; whereas, a figurative or connotatively charged word
choice would say Our social environment sculpts us. The “telling” of literal/denotative word choice is also
revealed in the tendency to use abstract language versus concrete language. Abstract word choices essentially
express intangibles like the various emotions or concepts – for example, the sentence Tom angrily walked into
the room is “telling;” it uses the abstract word choice of angrily to “tell” how Tom feels. A revised sentence
employing figurative or connotatively charged word choice might sound something like Tom thundered into the
room. Thundered is more concrete in how it “shows” or tangibly illustrates the abstractness of angrily.
In the space below write down 2-3 examples of sentences in the Lewis excerpt using literal/denotative word
choice and 2-3 examples of sentences in the Lewis excerpt using figurative or connotatively charged word
choice, then label each and state which type of word choice seems more prevalent in the excerpt; also, briefly
comment on what this might reveal about his attitude toward what he describes.
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Guided Analysis Worksheets for John Wesley Powell’s Exploration of the
Colorado River Excerpt
Analysis of narrative pace in J. Powell’s excerpt
Consider the information about narrative pacing provided on the M. Lewis guided analysis worksheet, then in
the space below write down 2-3 passages indicative of the pacing in Powell’s entries for “August 15” and the last
paragraph of “August 28,” then briefly describe the pacing especially in terms of how it compares/contrast with
the pacing in other parts of Lewis’ excerpt, and finally, briefly comment on what this comparison/contrast might
reveal about his attitude toward what he describes.
111
Analysis of basic sentence patterns and main verb choices in J. Powell’s excerpt
In the space below note what kind of sentence pattern seems most prevalent in the “August 17” section of the
Powell excerpt, and briefly describe the variety or lack of variety in main verbs he uses in sentences, then write
down 3-4 examples of this prevalent sentence pattern and main verb choice. Finally, briefly comment on what
these language choices might reveal about his attitude toward what he describes in this section.
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Analysis of literal/denotative word choice vs. figurative/connotative word choice in J. Powell’s excerpt
In the space below write down 2-3 examples of sentences in the Powell excerpt using literal/denotative word
choice and 2-3 examples of sentences in the Powell excerpt using figurative or connotatively charged word
choice (note especially any use of analogy, metaphor, and/or simile), then state which type of language seems
more prevalent in the excerpt, and finally, briefly comment on what this might reveal about his attitude toward
what he describes.
113
Guided Analysis Worksheets for John Muir’s Mountains of California Excerpt
Analysis of point-of-view shifts in John Muir’s excerpt
Point of view in writing can be labeled as 1st person (the use of the singular I, me, etc. or the plural we, us), 2nd
person (the use of you, your), or 3rd person (the use of the singular he, she, it or the plural they, them). In the
space below briefly describe the point of view shift you observe happening in Muir’s excerpt, write down 2-3
examples of shifts in point of view in the Muir excerpt, and finally, briefly comment on what this might reveal
about his attitude toward what he describes.
114
Analysis of literal/denotative word choice vs. figurative/connotative word choice in John Muir’s excerpt
In the space below write down 2-3 examples of sentences in the Muir excerpt using literal/denotative word
choice and 2-3 examples of sentences in the Muir excerpt using figurative or connotatively charged word choice
(note especially any use of analogy, metaphor, and/or simile), then state which type of language seems more
prevalent in the excerpt, and finally, briefly comment on what this might reveal about his attitude toward what
he describes.
115
Analysis of imagery in John Muir’s excerpt
Imagery in writing consists of any use of language which appeals to not only the reader’s sense of sight or visual
acuity but also to the reader’s other senses: auditory (sound), olfactory (smell), tactile (touch), and taste. In the
space below write down 4-5 passages demonstrating how Muir’s imagery appeals to various senses (i.e. do not
simply write down 4 passages where Muir employs only visual imagery) in the reader, and finally briefly
comment on the significance of this in terms of what this reveals about his attitude toward what he describes.
116
Analysis of sentence structure and punctuation in John Muir’s excerpt
Reread the sixth paragraph from the end of the Muir excerpt (starts with “Winds are advertisements of all they
touch…”). In the space below describe what Muir does with sentence structure and punctuation in this
paragraph’s last sentence (which makes up most of the paragraph) in order to mimic what it is he describes,
then briefly comment on the significance of this in terms of what this reveals about his attitude toward what he
describes.
117
Guided Analysis Worksheets for Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac
Excerpt (“Thinking Like a Mountain” & “The Green Lagoons”)
Analysis of pronouns in Aldo Leopold’s excerpts
Sometimes pronouns can signal the idea of inclusivity which reveals itself in the use of pronouns like we, us or
other word choices like both, all, everyone; whereas, exclusivity might reveal itself in the use of pronouns like
they, them, I, he/she/It. The use of certain pronouns can also have connotative significance; for example, what is
connotatively signaled when you call a ship a she or a storm a he? In the space below write down 3-4 passages
from “Thinking Like a Mountain” and “The Green Lagoons” that make significant use of pronouns, then briefly
comment on the significance of the pronoun choice in each passage in terms of what this reveals about
Leopold’s attitude toward what he describes.
118
Analysis of parallelism in Aldo Leopold’s excerpts
There are varied forms of parallelism in writing, but it all essentially comes down to the idea that two or more
items in a series are grammatically equivalent. Single words should be balanced with single words, phrases with
phrases, and clauses with clauses. Here are some examples...
 Paralleled single word elements:
She is an athlete, a poet, a politician, and a mom. (the parallel elements are four nouns)
 Paralleled phrase elements:
He eats good foods, works all day, and exercises every evening. (the parallel elements are the three
verb-adjective-noun phrases)
 Paralleled clause elements:
When she's tired, she sleeps, but when she's lonely, she weeps. (the parallel elements are two
dependent clause-independent clause structures)
In the space below write down 2-3 passages from “Thinking Like a Mountain” and “The Green Lagoons”
demonstrating the use of parallel structuring, then briefly comment on the significance of this in each passage in
terms of what this reveals about his attitude toward what Leopold describes.
119
Guided Analysis Worksheet for Lewis Thomas’ The Lives of a Cell Excerpt
(“Antaeus in Manhattan”)
Analysis of literal/denotative language vs. figurative/connotative language in Lewis Thomas’ excerpt
In the space below write down 2-3 passages in the Thomas excerpt using literal/denotative language and 2-3
passages in the Thomas excerpt using figurative or connotatively charged language (note especially any use of
analogy, metaphor, and/or simile), then state which type of language seems more prevalent in the excerpt, and
finally, briefly comment on what this might reveal about his attitude(s) toward what he describes.
120
Guided Analysis Worksheets for Barry Lopez’s Crossing Open Ground
Excerpt (“A Presentation of Whales”)
Analysis of sentence pattern in Barry Lopez’s excerpt
In the space below note what kind of sentence pattern (refer back to the notes on sentence patterns in the M.
Lewis guided worksheets) seems most prevalent in the Lopez excerpt, write down 3-4 examples of this prevalent
pattern, then briefly comment on what it might reveal about his attitude toward what he describes.
121
Analysis of literal/denotative language vs. figurative/connotative language in Barry Lopez’s excerpt
In the space below write down 2-3 passages in the Lopez excerpt using literal/denotative language and 2-3
passages in the Lopez excerpt using figurative or connotatively charged language (note especially any use of
analogy, metaphor, and/or simile), then state which type of language seems more prevalent in the excerpt, and
finally, briefly comment on what this might reveal about his attitude(s) toward what he describes.
122
Guided Analysis Worksheets for Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Excerpt (“Chapter 4 – The Fixed”)
Analysis of literal/denotative language vs. figurative/connotative language in Annie Dillard’s excerpt
In the space below write down 2-3 passages in the Dillard excerpt using literal/denotative language and 2-3
passages in the Dillard excerpt using figurative or connotatively charged language (note especially any use of
analogy, metaphor, and/or simile), then state which type of language seems more prevalent in the excerpt, and
finally, briefly comment on what this might reveal about her attitude(s) toward what she describes.
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Analysis of shifts in Annie Dillard’s excerpt
Shifts in writing can take the form of anything ranging from a shift in imagery (going from soft sounding
language to harsh sounding language) to a shift in point-of-view (e.g. going from 1st person to second person) to
shift in tense (e.g. going form present tense to past). In the space below write down 2-3 passages where Dillard
creates shifts in her language and then briefly comment on what this might reveal about her attitude(s) toward
what she describes.
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