Commentary & Lines of Reasoning

Commentary

How do I fix something?

Objectives

• What: I can 5.A Describe the line of reasoning AND 5.B Explain how the organization of a text creates unity and coherence and reflects a line of reasoning

• Why: So, I can succeed on the 3rd FRQ on the AP exam 

• How: I'll know I've got it when I can analyze a passage for a clear line of reasoning, evaluate a series of claims for inductive and deductive reasoning, and analyze the commentary present within a variety of examples

AP Language & Composition Exam

Agenda

1. Hook

2. Notes: Commentary & Line of Reasoning

3. Assignment - Commentary Analysis Part 1

4. Whiteboard Activity

5. Assignment - Commentary Analysis Part 2

6. Teacher Model

7. Assignment - Commentary Analysis Part 3

Hook - Argumentative Musical Chairs

• At each whiteboard around the classroom is one of the following prompts:

  1. Should schools eliminate grades and switch to written feedback?

  2. Is AI ultimately helpful or harmful to creativity?

  3. Should the voting age be lowered to 16?

  4. Would a year of mandatory community service improve society?

• Each team will initially write a quick claim. The team will then move clockwise to the next board every one minute. Each time your team switches, you must add evidence, reasoning or commentary to build on the previous team’s work

Hook - Argumentative Musical Chairs

1. 1 minute:

   1. Write a quick claim.

2. Rotate clockwise

3. 1 minute:

   1. Add one of the following:

      • Evidence

      • Reasoning

      • Commentary

4. Rotate clockwise

5. Repeat

Hook - Argumentative Musical Chairs

1. Gallery walk:

   1. Rotate and Re-read each of the whiteboards

2. Using a marker, vote for the whiteboard with the best claim, evidence, and commentary

   1. Give it a "check" if it has your vote

Hook - Argumentative Musical Chairs

1. Reflect/discuss:

   1. What made the best board "the best"?

      1. Was it the initial claim? The evidence? Or the commentary?

Commentary

1. Definition:

   1. Analysis, insight, reaction, reflection, or any other type of "comment" provided by the writer in response to evidence or an idea.

Commentary

​Unit 3: Skill 6.A Daily Video 2 Developing meaningful and appropriate commentary for the synthesis free-response question.

Line of Reasoning

1. Goal:

   1. Craft an argument that makes clear and cogent claims with thorough commentary and explanations of evidence integrated throughout

   2. Organize your argument in a way that creates unity and coherence for readers

Check for Understanding

1 Question

Multiple Choice

Identify which of the following paragraphs follows a clear line of reasoning:

• Pineapple belongs on pizza because it creates a balance between sweet and savory flavors. Just as a well-composed dish relies on contrast, the acidity of pineapple cuts through the richness of cheese and tomato sauce, enhancing the overall taste. Additionally, many beloved foods combine opposing flavors—peanut butter and jelly, chocolate and sea salt—demonstrating that contrast often elevates a dish.

• Pineapple belongs on pizza because Hawaiian shirts are also controversial, and yet people still wear them. While some argue that fruit and cheese don’t mix, cheesecake has been a beloved dessert for centuries. Plus, pizza already includes tomatoes, which are technically a fruit, so complaining about pineapple is inconsistent. Also, many astronauts eat freeze-dried pineapple in space, proving that pineapple is versatile. Ultimately, if astronauts can enjoy pineapple, then it deserves a place on pizza, too.

Pineapple belongs on pizza because Hawaiian shirts are also controversial, and yet people still wear them. While some argue that fruit and cheese don’t mix, cheesecake has been a beloved dessert for centuries. Plus, pizza already includes tomatoes, which are technically a fruit, so complaining about pineapple is inconsistent. Also, many astronauts eat freeze-dried pineapple in space, proving that pineapple is versatile. Ultimately, if astronauts can enjoy pineapple, then it deserves a place on pizza, too.

Illogical jumps

The claim that pineapple belongs on pizza is supported by the balance it creates between sweet and savory flavors. Just as a well-composed dish relies on contrast, the acidity of pineapple cuts through the richness of cheese and tomato sauce, enhancing the overall taste. Additionally, many beloved foods combine opposing flavors—peanut butter and jelly, chocolate and sea salt—demonstrating that contrast often elevates a dish.

Logical, sequential

A Clear Line of Reasoning

Notes - Commentary & Line of Reasoning

Navigate to Canvas

1. Read the word document within the Direction's page

2. Add notes to your notebook as needed

C.R.E.D

​​Unit 3: Skill 6.A Daily Video 2 Developing meaningful and appropriate commentary for the synthesis free-response question.

Developing a Line of Reasoning (1 of 4)

1. To be effective, commentary must answer these two questions:

   • Why is the evidence significant in light of the claim?

   • What relationship does this commentary establish between the evidence and the claim?

Developing a Line of Reasoning(2 of 4)

• Great commentary via related claims:

  • Create a sub-claim, provide evidence, then Restate your central claim or premise in light of the new evidence

  • Create a succession of increasingly important claims:

    • Provide a comment that "this sub-claim isn’t even the most important point" and then use your commentary to connect to another, more important key point

Developing a Line of Reasoning(3 of 4)

• Great commentary through structure:

  • Make coherent choices in diction and syntax.

    • Be mindful of:

      • The arrangement of the words in a single sentence

      • The order of the paragraphs

    • Use:

      • repetition

      • parallel structure

      • transitional elements (So, Therefore, As a result)

Developing a Line of Reasoning(4 of 4)

• Great commentary through Logical Reasoning

  • Induction:

    • Arrange an argument from particulars to universals

    • Use specific cases to draw a general conclusion

  • Deduction:

    • Provide a general statement that leads to a specific conclusion

    • Starting with a general principle or universal truth (a major premise) and apply it to a specific case (a minor premise).

How do I use commentary to achieve sophistication?  

Use Commentary to achieve sophistication

• NEVER use used absolutes

  • Make your position more reasoned, and also more reasonable.

  • Remember, your argument doesn’t exist in a vacuum

    • Other people have taken positions on the topic and you’re entering into discourse with them.

    • Avoid language that conveys bias

Use Commentary to achieve sophistication

Show you are open-minded and considerate of other views by:

• Within an issue, Discuss:

  • Complexity

  • Nuance

  • Tensions

• Acknowledge:

  • Limitations of your claims and positions

• Use modifiers:

  • Qualify your claim(s)

Assignment - Commentary Analysis  

Part 1 Directions:

• Read the following passage and identify the central claim. 

Whiteboard Activity

• Identify and write down the central claim of the passage

  • Challenge: What sentence includes the clearest wording of the central claim?

Check for Understanding

Answer the one question to check your knowledge

Multiple Choice

What is the the central claim of the passage?

• (3)... gardening has the potential to foster collaboration that strengthens existing communities and helps form new ones. 

• (10) Experiencing gardening doesn’t just highlight existing connections; it actively forges new ones

• (15) By pulling us out of our habitual ways of living and interacting, gardening provides us with opportunities to renew and even create connections to a larger society.

• (4) Gardens created by organizers outside of a particular neighborhood often do not engage members of that neighborhood

Assignment - Commentary Analysis  

Part 1 Directions:

• Then, track the line of reasoning established via successive sub-claims.

  • If the sub-claim established the line of reasoning effectively, label it as EFFECTIVE.

  • If the sub-claim does not establish a line of reasoning effectively, label it as INEFFECTIVE.

Check for Understanding

Answer the two questions to check your knowledge

Multiple Select

Which of the following sub-claims DO NOT effectively establish a clear line of reasoning from this central claim: gardening has the potential to foster collaboration that strengthens existing communities and helps form new ones.

Choose ALL that apply

• (4) Gardens created by organizers outside of a particular neighborhood often do not engage members of that neighborhood because of a lack of connection between the organizers and their intended participants.

• (9) Plants that previously had gone unnoticed now joined other edible and decorative species that Johnson has nurtured in shared spaces. 

• (10) Experiencing gardening doesn’t just highlight existing connections; it actively forges new ones.

• (15) By pulling us out of our habitual ways of living and interacting, gardening provides us with opportunities to renew and even create connections to a larger society. 

Edited Line of Reasoning

In your Interactive notebook, edit and revise sentences 4 and 9 so they effectively create a clear line of reasoning from the central claim

Check for Understanding

Answer the two questions to check your knowledge

Multiple Choice

In sentence 4 (reproduced below), the writer wants to integrate the discussion of the project Roots in the Concrete into the passage’s line of reasoning about how gardening can affirm and strengthen community bonds. 

Gardens created by organizers outside of a particular neighborhood often do not engage members of that neighborhood because of a lack of connection between the organizers and their intended participants. 

Which of the following versions of sentence 4 best accomplishes this goal?

• (As it is now) 

• The purpose of gardening can shift when a plot is relocated from one neighborhood to another.

• Familiar crops and planting traditions from a specific area can quickly establish a connection between the garden and its caretakers.

• Gardening can play a unique role in starting conversations and cultivating group pride by representing communities to themselves.

Multiple Choice

Which version of the underlined portion of sentence 9 continues the line of reasoning of the passage by developing the main idea of the paragraph by explaining an effect of the gardening project Roots in the Concrete? 
 

 Plants that previously had gone unnoticed now joined other edible and decorative species that Johnson has nurtured in shared spaces. 

• (as it is now) 

• made up the entire harvest of the project, confirming that “simplicity breeds abundance,” as Johnson noted in a 2018 interview with garden writer Carla Jenkins 

• spurred consideration and discussion, exchanges that many residents chose to continue by planting similar crops in their own yards and balconies 

• presented an impressive, wall-sized arrangement to visitors who encountered them at the Detroit Urban Farming Expo  

Part 2 - Commentary Analysis  

Re-read the passage for the Commentary used

1. Annotate (highlight or underline) examples of Commentary used throughout the passage. 

2. Add a (*) Star next to Commentary that is Effective  

3. Add an (!) Exclamation Mark next to Commentary that is Ineffective 

Great Commentary (1 of 3)

(7) Johnson’s transformation and display of crops such as collard greens and cherry tomatoes celebrated the daily experiences of local families, reinforcing the pride of growers and neighbors alike and getting everyone involved.

Great Commentary (2 of 3)

• Claim: (5) This dynamic is illustrated in horticulturist Malik Johnson’s 2019–2020 project Roots in the Concrete.

• Evidence: (6) Johnson gathered planting ideas from residents of apartment complexes in Detroit, Michigan, and cultivated them in raised beds built from reclaimed wood.

• Commentary: (7) Johnson’s transformation and display of crops such as collard greens and cherry tomatoes celebrated the daily experiences of local families, reinforcing the pride of growers and neighbors alike and getting everyone involved.
  
  

Great Commentary (3 of 3)

• Sentence 7 explains the effect of what Johnson did in collecting ideas and planting crops from residents of a particular city.
  

• In doing so, the sentence provides commentary that helps explain how the evidence of Johnson’s gardening is being used to support the main argument that gardening can foster collaboration that strengthens communities.

Whiteboard Activity

• Re-Read and discuss sentences 11-14

  • What should be added, edited, or revised in these sentences to best create clear commentary that effectively establishes a clear line of reasoning?

Check for Understanding

Answer the following three questions to check your understanding

Multiple Choice

The writer wants to develop the main idea of the third paragraph by adding additional information after sentence 11. Which of the following choices would best accomplish this goal? 

• A detailed description of a community garden where Graham has led workshops

• An explanation of the differences between how rooftop gardens and ground-level gardens are designed 

• An anecdote about a group of people who met and became friends while volunteering at a garden in their neighborhood 

• An explanation of why Graham has become particularly concerned with the role of gardening in community building

Multiple Choice

In sentence 12, the writer wants to clarify the paragraph’s line of reasoning and explain the relevance of the evidence in sentences 13 and 14 to the paragraph’s main idea. Which version of sentence 12 (reproduced below) would best accomplish this goal? 

Not all gardeners are experienced in plots and workdays, however. 

• (As it is now) 

• Graham is only one of many people who appreciate the way gardening events can draw in a variety of people. 

• And just as gardening can overcome physical divides, it can also overcome linguistic and cultural ones. 

• This important community function is one of the reasons why public funding for gardening initiatives is so important.

Multiple Choice

The writer wants to develop the discussion of Laura Lawson’s gardening experiences in sentences 13 and 14. Which of the following, if added after sentence 14, would best accomplish this goal? 

• A narrative about how Lawson first became interested in gardening and why she started growing herbs.

• Contrasting descriptions of how Lawson felt when she tended her garden and how she felt when she interacted with people in non-gardening contexts.

• An explanation of why Lawson’s family decided to move from New Jersey to Arizona.

• A detailed description of the American Community Gardening Association, including when and why it was founded and the scope of its mission today.

Missing Commentary (1 of 3)

• (11) In garden plots and community workdays, people come together for events Graham describes as “deeply rooted in a tactile experience, in our hands.”

  • Adding an anecdote/narrative about people who met at a local gardening event would most effectively develop the paragraph’s point that gardening can develop unexpected, as opposed to existing, social connections between people. Such a narrative would follow effectively from the direct quotation in sentence 11

Faulty Commentary (2 of 3)

• (12) Not all gardeners are experienced in plots and workdays, however.

  • This sentence does not discuss how gardening can create new connections between people by bringing them in contact with each other

Missing Commentary (3 of 3)

• (14) “I felt as though I belonged,” she says of her gardening, “because I had a way to contribute beyond just the usual social interactions.” 

  • Adding A more detailed contrast between how Lawson felt when she gardened and how she felt at other times would a good way to develop this part of the passage

Part 3 Directions:

Take the Sub-claim and evidence and compose a paragraph in your interactive notebooks.

1. Be sure to add commentary that explains:

   1. the significance of the evidence

   2. how it supports the sub-claim

   3. how it supports the central-claim in a line of reasoning.