Advanced Placement English Language and Composition s1
Advanced Placement English Language and Composition
2011-2012 Course Syllabus and Class Policies
Patrick Whorton, Instructor
Appointments: Periods 2, 6 or after school.
Voicemail: 480-883-5089
Email:
Overview
Advanced Placement English Language and Composition is a rigorous college-level class focusing on the study of rhetoric. Students will learn that practically “everything is an argument” and that those rhetorical messages affect us as citizens and consumers. Students will focus on writing as a craft, something more than function and formula. Students will apply rhetoric in their writing and speaking, effectively, but responsibly. The overarching goals are to:
· Create strong writers who will have the necessary skills to write effectively in their college courses and in their personal and professional lives
· Foster reading “between the lines”—extracting the connotative meanings of words and the cultural, political, or historical contexts of various texts.
· Encourage students to be informed citizens and consumers who understand the manipulation of a variety of media by advertisers, politicians, and institutions to impact them in their daily lives.
Course Outcomes:
§ To evaluate, practice, increase proficiency, and master at an individual rate your ability to be a creator of and an informed receiver of language and all forms of communication both verbal and non-verbal but with an emphasis on written language
§ To demonstrate sound logical thinking and critical judgment drawing on research, knowledge of the world, and personal experience
§ To develop to proficiency effectiveness of persuasive writing and independent thought
§ To practice to proficiency rhetorical analysis of both fiction and non-fiction across time and culture, evaluate argument, and create an argument with sophistication and nuance
§ To master all elements of composition including content, focus, conventions, and style
§ To experience regularly and practice to proficiency a timed environment for both multiple choice and writing assessments
Earning college credit and improving your semester grades
This will be the first year that students will have the added bonus of attaining college credit.
1) Students may take advantage of the dual enrollment opportunity offered by Chandler Gilbert Community College. Successful completion of the course will result in six credits of English: Both English 101 (fall semester) and English 102 (spring semester).
2) Students should seriously consider taking the Advanced Placement English Language and Composition exam offered in May. First, students who challenge themselves by taking this rigorous exam impress colleges. Along with SAT scores, it offers another indicator of your ability and your willingness to strive for excellence. Second, a score of “4” on the AP exam earns an additional 3.3% on both semester grades on the HHS transcripts for the class; a score of “5” earns 6.6%. This grade change does not apply to grades earned for dual credit.
Texts
· The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric by Renee H. Shea, Lawrence Scanlon, Robin Dissin Aufses
· Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
· The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Samuel L. Clemens
· The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
· Essay and visual selections from various print and on-line magazines: Harper’s, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Salon.com, etc.
· Two full length works of non-fiction chosen by the student, with instructor approval
Course Outline
This outline is a general “map” of the course, what is studied, and the approximate time frames for particular units.
Primary Modes of Discourse for Writing: Personal and Academic
· Narrative
· Cause and Effect
· Division and classification
· Expository
· Argumentative and Persuasive
· Students will practice the following modes, incorporating them, when appropriate into a researched, synthesized argumentative term paper the first semester
Fall Semester
Instructional Focus: Argument and Synthesis Writing
Week One: Own Your Learning
· Reviewing the syllabus and course policies
· Using the website
· Syntax: recognizing and writing better sentences
· Handling Vocabulary and Grammar
· Reading: AP style m/c questions; Writing diagnostic and review
· Rhetorical Theory and the Rhetorical Triangle
o DIDLS and SOAPStone
· Research and MLA
· Annotating and Note Taking
· Socratic Seminars
· Timed Writings and Processed Essays
· The Culture of Cheating
Weeks Two-Three: The Language of Composition
· Chapter 1: An Introduction to Rhetoric
· Chapter 3: Synthesizing Sources: Entering the Conversation
Weeks Four-Fourteen: The Art of Argument
· Semester Term Paper
o Conducting Effective Research
o Planning and Outlining
§ The Models: Aristotelian, Rogerian and Toulman
· Focus Readings: Analyzing various short arguments on a variety of topics: culture, politics, environment, etc.
o Non-fiction book: student choice
o Non-fiction book: Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation
o Plato’s Republic: “The Allegory of the Cave”
o Essays on environment, gender, and others.
· Focus Writing
o Semester Exam research argument: a formal paper: An academic, researched, documented argument. This will be an ongoing project; research will begin week four, and culminate with a finished composition in November. 15-30 paragraphs. This composition will count as the fall semester final, and 20% of the semester grade.
o Timed Writing: Question 1 on the AP exam: The synthesis argument
o Timed Writing: Question 3 on the AP exam: The open argument
Weeks Fifteen-Eighteen: The Art of Satire
· Elements of Juvenilian and Horatian Satire
· Jessica Mitford’s “Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain”
· A variety of short visual and prose selections
· AP exam question—satire
· Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn
Spring Semester
Overview
· Chapter 2: Close Reading: The Art and Craft of Analysis
o Timed Writing focus: Question 2, rhetorical Analysis
· Students will read non-fiction essays, annotating for rhetorical strategies
· Students will write rhetorical analyses, both formal and timed-writings
· Students will construct mock M/C questions and writing prompts
· Representative Authors: Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Dubois, Joan Didion, Gary Soto, Joyce Carol Oates, Susan Sontag, George Orwell, Alice Walker, Virginia Woolf, Ellen Goodman, Paul Theroux, William Buckley, John Locke and Lewis Lapham, to name a few.
Independent Reading Project: An American Classic
· Student choice/limited and teacher approved
Philosophy
· Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave
· Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Nature” and “Self-Reliance”
· from Machiavelli’s The Prince
Poetry (time permitting)
· American Voices: Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman
o Tone and Voice—how do rhetorical devices influence and develop tone?
Style Analysis
· F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby
o In conjunction with APUSH unit: The Twenties
Writing Instruction: The Art of Timed Writings
· Nine essays to a 9
Into the exit
· A final literary project, the “final” for the spring semester, and 15% of your spring semester grade if you sat for the AP exam, 20% if you did not.
Ongoing/both semesters:
· Response journals/Socratic Discussion preps
· Socratic Seminars
· Vocabulary (see below)
· Grammar warm-ups/exercises
· SAT prep (fall/spring semesters)
· Outside reading projects
Ongoing Writing Instruction
· Rhetorical Techniques. Papers will be critiqued in the following areas (after proper instruction and practice exercises):
o Appropriate use of grammar, agreement, etc.
o Appropriate diction (including verb use/passive voice, connotative language)
o Organization (including coherence, transitioning techniques, etc.)
o Development by evidence and detail, use of figurative language
o Syntax: writing sentences for meaning, parallel structures, periodic sentences, etc.
o Developing tone in writing
o Schemes and Tropes
Vocabulary Study
Vocabulary Logs:
Garnered from reading in this class (fiction and non-fiction), students will “log” unfamiliar words. Four logs (80 words) per semester.
The Writing Process
One of the primary ways to become a better writer is through the revision process. Aside from timed writings, which are essentially “drafts”, all writing assignments will go through some type of revision process. Here are just a few methods I employ for revision writing:
o Modeling/Feedback. Both drafts, and final revisions, will be used as models for classroom instruction (through Proxima presentation); it is understood that student papers will be utilized for this process. Used as classroom instruction, this process will identify problem areas in writing, and provide both implicit and explicit instruction and technique.
o Group/Peer Reviews. Students will read and revise one another’s essays, based on rubrics and “problem areas” (targeted by the teacher) as instructed.
o Teacher commentary. All of your essays assessed by the teacher will include “corrections” and end comments. You will keep a writer’s log which tracks your common problem areas.
o Reflections. All writing (revised, formal essays and timed writings) require written reflections. I will provide a form for you to use. You will address your problem areas in writing, and what you are doing to correct those errors.
o Tutoring. All students are required to make an appointment for personal tutoring is a paper is marked with a “T”. You will then be given the opportunity to revise that paper for credit, but it will not be given credit until the tutoring session is completed, and the paper has been revised.
Grading and Assessment
In General:
This class carries a cumulative semester grade, similar to a college class. A first quarter grade could be an A, but that is only an indicator of your grade at 9 weeks; thus, quarter grades are in reality progress reports—this may appear deceiving, as many major projects and papers are due during the second quarter of both semesters.
Writing: Timed writings (e.g. the essays you will write for the AP exam) are graded on a 9-point AP rubric (see appendix A). The rubric you are no doubt most familiar with is Arizona’s standard AIMS 6-point rubric (see appendix B), which incorporates the following traits: ideas and content, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency and conventions. All timed writing will be evaluated on the AP 9-Point rubric; formal, academic papers will be evaluated incorporating standards and guidelines from the 6-point AIMS rubric, and the 9-point. The rubrics serve as much function as instructional devices as they do assessment.
If your grade falls below a C, due to missed work, excessive absence or level of difficulty, I will contact your counselor and parents.
STI Gradebook
Your grade is your responsibility—my responsibility is to assess your work and record it as accurately as possible. You should check your grade on a regular basis, before progress reports, and before grade reports, and alert me to any discrepancies to they can be remedied. Please print a copy of your grade, highlight the grades in question when you bring it them to my attention.
Grade Distribution:
All assignments fall within the following two categories, weighted by their point value.
· Assessment: 70% of your total grade (demonstrate what you know)
o Generally, writing assignments that have been through revision
o Projects and Presentations
o Vocabulary sentences
o Major papers (turnitin required)
o Timed writings assessments
· Practice: 30% of your total grade (demonstrate how you’re learning
2011-2012 AP Language and Composition Syllabus, Page 2
§ Generally, assignments of lesser point value
§ Smaller homework assignments
§ Vocabulary logs
§ Reading logs/annotated essays
Semester Exams (finals):
· Fall Semester: A formal, academic, researched argument will count as the “final”, and comprise 20% of the 1st semester course grade. A multiple-choice test covering the last unit of study will be administered on testing day, and count as an assessment grade.
· Spring Semester: This will be a cumulative project based on the last unit of study, and comprise 15% of your semester grade if you sat for the AP exam, 20% if you did not.
Extra Credit
Rarely in AP; I will not “inflate” your grade with extra credit, although I may, and frequently do, award extra credit points for exceptional work on routine assignments. Ask yourself this question: why would I be requesting “extra work” when I didn’t bother to complete the required assignments? You have a chance in this class to boost your grade with optional assignments (see below).
Optional Assignments: Reinforcement
From time to time, assignments in this class will be counted as “optional”—that is, you may choose whether or not you want to complete them. Doing these optional assignments increases your total points possible. Because they are pass/fail (you either get the points, or you don’t) these assignments are a form of “extra credit” in that they increase your total points possible in the course, and those points are all “A’s”. Examples of optional assignments are after-school movies and writing contests.
Policies and Procedures
Cheating and Plagiarism
I will define cheating for you clearly, but suffice it to say that it will not be tolerated in any form, particularly plagiarism.
Consequences of cheating/plagiarism (see HHS handbook for details):
· First offense: You will receive an F for the assignment and your parents, counselor and National Honor Society (NHS) will be notified.
· Second Offense: You will receive and F for the assignment, and the administration will give you an out-of-school, three-day suspension.
· Third Offense: Removal from the class with an F for the course.
Late Work
· Definition: Generally speaking, late work is a bad idea; think about what this tells me about you as a student.
o Any and all work not turned in when collected in class, on the due date, will be considered late.
o Assignments that require an upload to turnitin.com, and are not uploaded when collected in class, on the due date, will be considered late.
· Penalties:
o One day late: 10% off the assessed grade
o Up to five days late: 50% credit of total points, for C or better work
o Forgot to upload the assignment? Bring the receipt in the next day and receive a 10% penalty; up to five days for 50% credit.
· Policies:
o Two “unexcused” late assignments will be accepted per semester (these are tracked by the late work cover sheet—see below).
o For credit, all late assignments must be turned in with a cover sheet, and placed in the late work tray.
o No late work accepted 5 days past due date.
o Absolutely no late work accepted the last two weeks of the semester (including turnitin receipts).
o For block classes, one day late means the next day, not the next class period.