Author Archives: Dr. Ayers

Join Us for ICAPLCPE4

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Dr. Ayers

As you all know, I’ll be holding the Fourth Annual Iowa City AP Language and Composition Practice Exam (ICAPLCPE) on the University of Iowa campus a week from tomorrow. That is, Saturday, May 3, at 8:00 AM. It will be at … Continue reading →

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Essayists for Author Study 3

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Dr. Ayers

Anthony Bourdain   Bill Bryson   Ta-Nehisi Coates   Nora Ephron   Henry Louis Gates, Jr.   Malcolm Gladwell   Christopher Hitchens   Michael Pollan   Anna Quindlen   Oliver Sacks   David Sedaris   Peter Singer   Neil deGrasse … Continue reading →

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Book Review Essays, Spring 2014

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Dr. Ayers

This term we’ll talk about book review essays a lot. I insist on tacking the word “essays” on the back end of that phrase to help differentiate between those we’ll be reading, and those which might first come to mind. … Continue reading →

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Okay Kids, Time for the In-Class Essay

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Dr. Ayers

And so on.

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Finding Lit Crit: EBSCOhost

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Dr. Ayers

So, one of the things students have sometimes struggled to find is discussion and analysis of an author’s works by literary critics. In this post, I’ll offer some suggestions for finding literary criticism using EBSCOhost. First of all, it’s important … Continue reading →

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Prepare Yourselves

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Dr. Ayers
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On Lying to Your Test Scorer

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Dr. Ayers

Earlier this fall I took part of a day to introduce students to the three essays that are usually components of the AP Language & Composition test most of them will take in May. These include the synthesis essay, a … Continue reading →

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Cool Story

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Dr. Ayers

Over at Slate they have a pretty good essay about how the word “cool” changed over time, from its origins in African-American subculture, through its place in ’60s and ’70s youth culture, to a concept that crosses ethnic, gender, and … Continue reading →

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#canvasloginprobs

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Dr. Ayers

Are you having trouble logging into Canvas? Well, if so, you’re the only one. No, not really. Actually, there are quite a few people. Here are my suggested three steps to getting into Canvas this evening: Try your normal school … Continue reading →

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Welcome!

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Dr. Ayers

So here we are, at the beginning of the 2013-14 school year. Are you excited? I’m excited. I don’t know how much I’ll be using this site this year, since we’ve been migrating things to Canvas. But you should bookmark … Continue reading →

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