Your second task in the summer assignment–one you need to begin immediately–is to select three RSS feeds, add them to your Reader, and begin reading–regularly.

At the core of the AP English Language class is argumentation. To understand the qualities that make a strong argument and the strategies writers use, we must immerse ourselves in reading arguments. One of the best places to find such writing is via editorials and opinion pieces.

Where Do I Find 3 Quality RSS Feeds?

There are a number of newspapers, blogs, and websites that host opinion/editorials. As you explore the sites below, allow yourself time to dig around the sites, browse several particular author’s works, skim several columns. Rather than randomly selecting the first three feeds you find, dig a bit to discover a few quality writers or sources–sources you can learn from, sources that add content regularly, sources that write about topics that interest you.  Newspapers, as well many other websites, offer content specific RSS feeds. You might want to subscribe to several feeds from one source. For example, from the LA Times, you may choose to subscribe to Top News, Music Reviews, and Rosa Brooks (an opinion columnist).  If you have trouble finding the RSS feeds from a site, try typing RSS Feeds in the search box.  For the LA Times, an RSS Feed search yielded a page of their feeds, the one displayed in the picture above (if you click the pic, you can see a bigger version).

Check out these other sites for possible feeds:   

I’ve Added 3 Feeds. Now What?

After subscribing to the feeds in your Reader, the next step is to begin reading! Since you’ve organized your iGoogle page with all your favorite widgets–including your Reader–you have a digital desk that makes scanning new content from your feeds a snap. Get in the habit of spending 15-30 minutes a day–or at least three days a week–reading.

Read to keep pace with current events. Read to analyze the strategies opinion writers use. Read to build a stockpile of topics for your own writing. Read to grow as a reader and thinker.

I’ve Been Reading and Thinking. Now, What Do I Write?

After you’ve spent time reading (allow yourself a few weeks of reading time), now it’s time to write. For each feed, write a post that summarizes your reading experience and evaluates the feed:

• How often did you read?
• Did you skim and scan headings in your Reader, reading–in detail–only the pieces that peaked your interest, or did you read every piece?
• Did you like the content in the feed?
• How did you feel about the amount of content produced by the feed? Not enough? Too much? Just right?
• Did you like the writer(s) style (is he/she using any rhetorical devices), topic choices?
• Is this a feed you’d like to keep in your Reader or delete? Why?
• What, if anything, did you learn about how (what particular strategies) the author(s) frames his/her arguments?
• How, if at all, do you think reading this feed regularly would help you grow as a reader, writer, and thinker?

These questions are only thought-starters. Don’t write as if you’re answering the questions. It’s your job to synthesize the ideas, decide on a organizational format, and present your ideas in a way that makes sense and that responds thoroughly to the prompt:

• For each subscription, write a post (this means you’ll write a total of three posts) that summarizes your reading of the feed over several weeks and evaluates the content of the feed.  Be sure to include specific examples and explanations that provide a thorough response.

Where Do I Publish My Responses?

Publish your three blog posts (one for each feed) on your blog. Assign them to the Summer Reading category.

Check out the rubric (coming soon!).