AP English Language and Composition 2013
“Democracy”—complete the following on your own paper. This is due Friday, Sept. 20.
Pre-reading work:
I. Describe your relationship with politics. Your response must be at least one-half page
long—aim for a full page.
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II. Actively read “Democracy” by E. B. White in The Norton Reader. Read the selection
several times. Be sure to look up all unknown words.
Post-reading work:
III. Answer the questions(1-3) found after the reading.
Stuffed shirt: Informal A person regarded as
pompous or stiff.
High hat
Analytical considerations:
IV. White creates his definition with a series of examples. Can you group them? Is there a
principle that orders them, or do you consider them random?
V. Consider the date of the essay: 1943. Many of White’s examples are dated, meaning
“old-fashioned.” Create a chart of examples on which you list the dated ones and then
suggest contemporary substitutes.
VI. Imagine someone without textual know-how who takes White’s metaphors literally and
finds the essay silly. Write an explanation of one of the metaphors, but do it without giving a
general explanation of how a metaphor works.