AP English
Comparative Syntax Assignment
Craft a 1-2 paragraph response in which you compare and contrast the differing styles of Ralph Waldo
Emerson in “Education” and James Baldwin in “A Talk to Teachers.” Your claims should discuss the style
and purpose it serves. Your evidence should focus on elements of syntax. Your analysis should show
how those elements of syntax create the meaning in the passage.
As an additional challenge, below you will find the names of several syntax devices that are identified in
the syntax packet. You must incorporate at least three of the items into your response. Identify those
elements by annotating them in the margins.
Appositive phrases
Imperative Sentence
Periodic Sentence
Balanced Sentence
Antithesis
Parallel Structure
Repetition
Rhetorical Question
Appositive Phrase
Juxtaposition of Long/Short
Inverted Sentence
Adverb Clause Opener
Example:
(Using Orwell’s “Shooting and Elephant” and White’s “Once More to the Lake”)
In “Shooting an Elephant,” Orwell uses a variety of syntactical techniques to highlight his
confusion and ambivalence in regard to imperialism in Burma. In the opening paragraph, Orwell, an
English officer in Burma, juxtaposes long and short sentences to create the impression that Burmese
abuse is rampant, punctuating a number of details with the short “This happened more than once.”
After telling the tale of the elephant rampaging the town presents, after he grabs the gun and hits the
streets, Orwell must face the ultimate question: Will he shoot the elephant? He ultimately presents his
ambivalence in the paradox that shows he is powerless to act though he is ostensibly in charge. Later,
he again uses the long/short juxtaposition with the realization “I had got to shoot the elephant” to
highlight his powerless confusion. He wishes to spite Burmese, yet he acquiesces to obey them.
By contrast, “Once More to the Lake” uses its syntactical techniques to represent the loose
association of memory that creates a nostalgic tone for the past created by the narrator. Frequently
throughout the essay, White uses sentences where phrase builds on phrase to represent this
association. In paragraph seven, he uses a compound sentence to contrast the natural details against
the man-made details, building phrase on phrase to build this category. After he creates the impression
that time has not passed followed by the notice of subtle changes, he uses this loose sentence structure
to lament the change he notices. For example, in paragraph 9, he uses a simple, loose sentence to list at
great length all the wonderful things that arriving on a train entailed. That sentence is juxtaposed with a
short sentence and a parenthetical sentence to highlight his opinion that the new methods are
somehow lacking. Near the end of the essay, White builds the extended metaphor of the melodrama.
Built with a number of examples of polysyndeton that seem to run on and on, he conveys the
impression of being overwhelmed by the magic of the scene, even to be rendered incoherent with the
sentence fragment, “And the young man with the umbrella.” Through this structure, White, who wrote
the essay after his father’s recent passing, builds the impression that he is overwhelmed with flooding
memories and a nostalgia for his childlike past.