WESTGADSDENHIGH SCHOOL

200 Providence Road

Quincy, Florida32351

(850) 442-9500

2011-2012 Syllabus: Advanced Placement English Literature & Composition

Sherrhonda Sailor, Instructor

An AP English Literature and Composition course engages students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Through the close reading of selected texts, students deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. As they read, students consider a work’s structure, style, and themes as well as such smaller-scale elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone.

The kinds of writings in this course are varied, but include writing to understand,

writing to explain, and writing to evaluate. All critical writing asks that you evaluate the effectiveness of a literary piece, but to be an effective evaluator, one must understand and explain.

Aims of the Course:

 Read works of literature closely, considering structure, style, theme, and the author’s use literary techniques such as figurative language, imagery, symbolism, diction, and tone.

 Consider in detail works from different genres and literary periods, recognizing the historical and social value reflected in each work.

 Explore and offer personal responses to works of literature in informal writing that reflect a personal response, such as reader response journals and dialectic journals.

 Explore and offer personal responses to works of literature in informal and formal discussion.

 In timed, forty-minute sessions, and in extended, documented papers, compose expository, argumentative and analytical essays that that focus on critical analysis of literature.

 Compose essays that are not only organized, persuasive, and coherent, but also demonstrate wide-ranging vocabulary, variety in sentence structure, appropriate use of illustrative detail, and effective control of rhetoric tone, and voice.

Reading Assignments

The most important requirement for this course is that students read every assignment—

read it with care and on time. Students not use to literature courses willneed to plan time in their schedule for more reading than most courses require. Poetry, though usually not long, is dense and complicated and should always beread at least twice. Novels in particular require planning. Beware.

Writing Assignments

AP Literature students write for a variety of reasons: 1) Students will write creatively to indicate knowledge of the organization, structure, and style techniques of poetry and prose. 2) Students will write to inform their reader that they understand passages from poetry, and longer works like novels and plays. 3) Students will write to explain complex ideas and issues that require research and development. 4) Students will write to analyze various pieces interpreting the author’s meanings based on careful observation, use of extensive textural support, and an understanding of historical and social values. 5) Students will write under time constraints, producing papers that show both complexity and sophistication.

Students will write a number of short critical papers, explicating poetry and drama, and performing a close reading of novels, including one that is research-based. These critical papers must be typed, double-spaced, and proofread and will be approximately two-to-three double-spaced pages, with the research-based paper around four-to-five pages. Students are requiredto submit a rough draft for papers. Students willworkshop writings during class. In the process of these workshops, students will be exposed to their conscious choice of diction and the appropriate use of words, the ability to create varied and effective syntactic structures, the capacity for coherenceand logical organization, ability to balance generalizations with specificand illustrative details, and the ability to combine rhetoricalprocesses into an effective whole.

Students will be asked to write creative assignments— poems, drama, and short stories that take on the rhetorical forms and styles of the literature we’re studying. Although we may begin these assignments in class, students will be expected to type and proofread before being handed. Students will workshop these assignments during class as well.

Quizzes/Exams

Students will be given quizzes periodically to assess their understanding of literary texts and concepts. Students will have essay examinations that ask them to synthesize their understanding of work. These exams are to help students respond to literary questions in a way much less restrictive than the AP-based “exams” that form the in-class writings on literature. Students will be asked to free-write their responses to the reading on a regular basis. Students should bring a free-writing composition book to each class each day so they are prepared for informal writing exercises, which are designed to explore what they learn as they read. In-class writings will primarily be AP-based examinations.

Texts:

 Arp, Thomas A. and Johnson, Greg, ed. Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense 10thEdition. Boston: Thompson/Wadsworth, 2009.

 Selected Novels: Dracula by Bram Stoker, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, and Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston

Grading Scale

Course Work / Percent of Grade
In-class writings, discussions, and activities / 30.00%
Out of class writings and other assignments / 40.00%
Completion of reading material & attendance / 30.00%

Supplies:

  • 1 inch binder
  • Dividers
  • Notebook paper
  • Pencils
  • Blue or black pens
  • Highlighters
  • Composition book
  • Post-it Notes

LITERARY WORKS

1st Semester(August 22-December 17, 2010)

The Elements of Fiction

~Chapter 1: Reading the Story – The introductory essay in this chapter asks why we read fiction and then leads us to consider the differences between commercial and literary fiction. Admittedly, the line between these categories blurs, but the distinction is an essential on for “AP” students, who will be asked to examine a “work of literary merit” on the AP exam.

  • The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell
  • Hunter in the Snow by Tobias Wolf

~Chapter 2: Plot and Structure - In addition to its review of plot and structure in fiction, this chapter continues the discussion of differences between commercial and literary fiction. The activities help student to recognize the way literary fiction places greater emphasis on the significance of action, suspense, and outcomes than on action for its own sake.

  • How I Met My Husband by Alice Munro
  • Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

~Chapter 4: Characterization - The power of literature often hinges on the fullness and complexity of its characters. Analyzing characters is an intricate and critical task in understanding literature. Thoughtful reading calls for sensitivity to characterization, ad the reward for such effort is heightened insight – joy and fulfillment in reading.

  • Everyday Use by Alice Walker
  • The Man Who Was Almost a Man by Richard Wright

~Chapter 4: Theme – This chapter helps students discern and articulate theme while resisting easy, incomplete, or clichéd attempts. It also provides a forum for discussing differences between literary and commercial fiction, a particularly useful distinction in reference to the open question on the AP Exam, which asks students to write either about a work that is listed on the exam, or about a work of the student's choosing that is of “Comparable literary quality.”

  • The Darling by Anton Chekhov
  • Once Upon a Time by Nadine Gordimer

~Chapter 5: Point of View – Point of view, the vantage point from which a narrative passes from author to reader, is a significant component of narrative technique in fiction. Who tells a story and how it is told are major authorial decisions which often relay important characterization details and can appreciably affect literary tone and meaning. Familiarity with point of view helps students resist the temptation to take everything in a story at face value and encourages them to pay attention to the narrator and how much he or she knows. Awareness of point of view creates sensitivity to subtext or reading “between the lines.”

  • The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
  • Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway

~Chapter 6: Symbol, Allegory, and Fantasy - Although many student readers are at home with the fantasy genre, symbolism and allegory in fiction often challenge and puzzle even the best student readers, who usually read for plot, characterization, and theme. Experienced readers may still miss the layers of meaning added by carefully chosen symbols while overeager readers may go too far and find symbolism where it doesn't exist. This chapter provides logical guidelines to help readers find and interpret symbols that enrich meaning.

  • Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

~Chapter 7: Humor and Irony – When it comes to understanding humor, we often think that people either “get it” or don't, as if some of us are born with a humor gene and some of us just aren't. While “getting it” is, indeed, important in literary interpretation, the larger goal in AP is to help student recognize the stylistic elements that contribute to humor.

  • The Drunkard by Frank O’Connor
  • Rape Fantasies by Margaret Atwood

Novels

  • Dracula by Bram Stoker
  • Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
  • Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Winter Break Assignment

Read and complete a book review on a selected book from a listing of 18th Century books. A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is analyzed based on content, style, and merit.

2nd Semester(January 4-May 25, 2011)

The Elements of Poetry

~Chapter 1: What is Poetry? - Many are intimidated by the abstract nature of poetic language. In providing a basic introduction to the concept of poetry and its use of language, this chapter and the activities attempt to offer such students a helpful and gentle reintroduction onto the world of poetry.

  • Winter by William Shakespeare
  • The Whipping by Robert Hayden
  • Suicide’s Note by Langston Hughes

~Chapter 2: Reading the Poem – The five suggestions for reading in the chapter lend themselves very well to an oral interpretation poetry unit.

  • When in Rome by Mari Evans
  • Mirror by Sylvia Plath
  • Storm Warnings by Adrienne Rich

~Chapter 3: Connotation d Denotation – Sensitivity to connotation and denotation in language is crucial to students' ability to interpret poetry meaningfully. Because of the skills this chapter teaches, students should be urged to master its material thoroughly.

  • There is no Frigate like a Book by Emily Dickinson
  • Desert Places by Robert Frost
  • One Art by Elizabeth Bishop

~Chapter 4: Imagery – Imagery, the language that evokes concrete sensory impression, is the poet's recreating vivid experiences. Sensitivity to all poetic uses of imagery – visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and kinesthetic – will aid students in their understanding of poetic language.

  • After Picking apples by Robert Frost
  • To Autumn by John Keats
  • Living in Sin by Adrienne Rich

~Chapter 5: Figurative Language I; Simile, Metaphor, Personification, Apostrophe, Metonymy – Teaching the language of poetry is often a challenge, especially when focusing on terms that may seem new or unusual to the students.

  • The Telephone by Maya Angelou
  • Mind by Richard Wilbur
  • To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell

~Chapter 6: Figurative Language II; Symbol, Allegory – Understanding symbolism is central to understanding poetry, but because symbols are abstract, interpreting them can be difficult.

  • The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
  • The Noiseless Patient Spider by Walt Whitman
  • Because I could not stop for Death by Emily Dickinson

~Chapter 7: Figurative Language III; Paradox, Overstatement, Understatement – Students need to develop their ability to detect overstatement, understatement, and irony by measuring spoken and written words against their literary and life experience to determine whether they are meant to be taken literally or figuratively.

  • The Chimney Sweeper by William Blake
  • The Unknown Citizen by W.H. Auden
  • My Last Duchess by Robert Browning

~Chapter 8: Allusion - The ability to recognize allusions readily and understand their effect is a lifelong process. Reading widely, increasing knowledge, and paying attention tot he cultural references that surround us helps student to fully and permanently expand their grasp of allusions.

  • Yet I Do Marvel by Countee Cullen
  • Leda and the Swan by William Butler Yeats

Novels

  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  • Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston