2013– 2014 12AP English Language & Composition
Dear Students and Parents,
Welcome to Advanced Placement English Language and Composition! This year we will embark on a wide range of literature analysis and extensive writing that will not only prepare students for the College Board Advance Placement Exam in May, but also will challenge them to develop their reading, writing and thinking skills to that of college-level students. Since the main focus of this course is on language use, students will be expected to conduct close readings and thorough, thoughtful analysis of many works of literature. A large number of these works consist of, but are not limited to, non-fiction works such as essays, memoirs, narratives, journals and speeches. Also, students choosing AP English Language and Composition should be interested in writing various kinds of analytic and persuasive essays on nonliterary topics. These readings and forms of analysis will help students develop a keen eye for effective rhetorical writing styles. Additionally, students will hone their own writing skills through working on expository, argumentative, and analytical writing.
AP English Language and Composition is a rigorous course that requires a high level of effort and demands the utmost in attendance, class participation and, above all, work ethic. Throughout the year, students will be required to participate in readings and class discussions at a collegiate level. Therefore, students are expected meet to rigorous and stringent course expectations. The following syllabus will ensure that students are aware of their responsibilities to the class and of the steps necessary to succeed in this course.
Course Objectives
According to The College Board’s most recent AP English Language & Composition Course Description, upon completion of the English Language and Composition course, students should be able to:
· Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques;
· Apply effective strategies and techniques in their own writing;
· Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research, and/or personal experience;
· Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic maturity in their own writings;
· Write in a variety of genres and contexts, both formal and informal, employing appropriate conventions;
· Produce expository, analytical, and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex central idea and develop them with appropriate, specific evidence, cogent explanations, and clear transitions;
· Analyze how graphics and visual images both relate to written texts and serve as texts themselves;
· Move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing, and review. Through both teacher and peer review, students will receive appropriate feedback and suggestions throughout the writing process;
· Research, evaluate, use, and cite primary and secondary sources and synthesize these sources for a major researched argument paper as well as for smaller assignments, including personal responses, synthesis essays, and argument essays;
· Cite sources and format documents in MLA style.
Readings
Nonfiction/Fiction Texts
Essays
The following list is a sampling of titles of narrative, expository, scientific, persuasive, and satirical essays, letters, journals, and speeches that we may read this year:
Angelou, Maya. “Sister Monroe”
Bodanis, David. “What’s in Your Toothpaste”
Eighner, Lars. “My Daily Dives in the Dumpster”
Hughes, Langston. “Salvation”
King Jr., Martin Luther. “I Have a Dream”
Mukherjee, Bharati. “Two Ways to Belong in America”
Orwell, George. “Politics and the English Language”
Orwell, George. “Shooting an Elephant”
Prose, Francine. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read.”
Rauch, Jonathan. “The Marrying Kind”
Singer, Peter. “The Singer Solution to World Poverty”
Swift, Jonathan. “A Modest Proposal”
In addition to the above, students will read and analyze various prose and poetry using logic and reasoning models.
Independent Reading
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies
Orwell, George. 1984
Orwell, George. Animal Farm
Two selections to be chosen by student with teacher approval
Suggested Reading
Magazines
The Atlantic Monthly
Harper's Magazine
The New Yorker
National Geographic
Smithsonian Magazine
Archaeology
Discover
Scientific American
Sports Illustrated
Vanity Fair
Wired
Newspapers
The New York Times
(We have a free electronic class subscription)
Attendance
Major Assignments (Test and Quiz Grades)
Students are expected to be in class on time. Please refer to the Student Handbook for our district’s policy concerning attendance and lateness. All assignments given prior to a student’s absence are due the on the assigned date. If a student is excused from class for a field trip or other school-related function, any assignment due that day must be turned in before 2pm, even if the student did not attend class that day. Students who are ill or out of school for any other excused reason are expected to e-mail their work to me or make suitable arrangements to ensure that I receive the assignment.
Late papers will lose 20% of the total grade for each day late for the first two days. If the assignment isn’t handed in by the third day, the grade then becomes a zero.
Daily Assignments
Homework is due on the date of the student’s return. (Please note that major assignments are due on their due date, regardless of attendance). Since homework is vital for the next day’s class discussion, I do not accept late homework. Students should either check http://12ap.wikispaces.com/ for the homework or contact a classmate. Tests/quizzes must be made up after school either the day of the student’s return or the first convenient day for me. Students may not use class time to make up any missed work. Assignments, tests, and quizzes not made up within five days of the student’s return will receive a zero.
Should a student be absent when an assignment is due, the assignment must be emailed to me no later than 2pm that day. Students should email and cc to ensure delivery. I will email back to confirm receipt.
Required Materials
Students must come to class prepared with the appropriate textbooks, novels, notebook* and pens. I also recommend that students bring a sturdy folder since they will receive a great number of handouts.
*Notebooks are to be 2” with loose-leaf paper and five dividers. These are due in class on Friday, September 13th.
Class Participation
Students are to take part in classroom discussions, take notes, and participate in classroom activities. Students are to respect the rights and opinions of others. They must also remember to allow equal discussion time among their peers. Monopolizing the class discussion is detrimental to a student’s grade, as is antagonistic behavior, which will not be tolerated. Feeling comfortable sharing thoughts, views, and opinions will allow us to become more analytical and open our minds to various perspectives and points of view.
Much of students’ success in this course relies on active classroom participation. This does not only include what goes on in class, but also outside of class as well. To fully benefit from a course of this caliber, students should closely read their assignments carefully the night before in preparation for class discussions. In class, students should listen attentively and remain focused. Discussions in class will rely on the students’ abilities to argue, support, and qualify each other’s views.
· Students are required to visit and create an account at The College Board’s website: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com. Parents are also strongly encouraged to visit this site frequently. This resource provides a wealth of information on the Advance Placement courses and exams as well as the college application process and financial aid.
· Students must create an account at our community at http://12apenglish.ning.com/. We will discuss various works here in lieu of and/or in addition to annotation.
Grades
Grades for this class, other than homework and class participation, are based on formal and informal written assignments, essays, tests, and quizzes. Grades are calculated using the following scale:
100-98% A+
97-92% A
91-90 A-
89-88 B+
87-82 B
81-80 B-
79-78 C+
77-72 C
71-70 C-
69-68 D+
67-65 D
64 or below F
Essays written in AP testing format, such as practice essays for the English Language and Composition exam, will be graded according to the College Board evaluation score as follows:
· 9- 95-100%
· 8- 89-94%
· 7- 86-88%
· 6- 80-85%
· 5- 60-79%
· 4- 50- 60%
· 3- 45-50%
· 2- 20- 39%
· 1- 1-19%
Quarterly Grades Quarter 1
· Summer assignments: 20%
· Class participation: 25% (includes ATTENDANCE, in-class participation, preparedness)
· Tests and Quizzes: 35% (quizzes count once, tests count twice)
· Homework: 20%
Quarters 2 - 3
· Class participation: 25% (includes ATTENDANCE, in-class participation, preparedness)
· Tests and Quizzes: 50% (quizzes count once, tests count twice)
· Homework: 25%
Quarter 4
· Class participation: 25% (includes ATTENDANCE, in-class participation, preparedness)
· Thesis paper: 50%
· Tests and Quizzes: 15% (quizzes count once, tests count twice)
· Homework: 10%
Final Average = (Q1 + Q2 + Q3 + Q4 + Thesis)/5
AP English Language & Composition Planner
Please note that plans are subject to change with notice.
Quarter 1: Course Orientation, Essential Grammar/Style Review, Introduction to Close Reading and Rhetorical Awareness, Orwell Unit
The course begins with a follow-up to the summer assignment, which includes closely reading/annotating William Zinsser’s On Writing Well as well as question #1 from the 2003 AP English Language & Composition exam free-response section. With a focus on Zinsser’s ideas as criteria for evaluation, students will examine their own writing as well as that of various authors in search of what constitutes “writing well.” Students are introduced to the concept of writing as a process, and begin editing and revising multiple drafts based on teacher and peer evaluation. Students will also become familiar with important grammar, style, and syntax terms.
Once students can identify why a work is an example of “writing well,” the next step is to examine how. Using The Bedford Handbook and its companion website, students will learn to identify and use appropriate, colorful, economic, exact, and figurative language. Additionally, students will learn to edit their writing for voice (active versus passive), parallelism, pronoun/antecedent agreement, and tense consistency. Students will also examine rhetorical modes (argumentative, analytical, expository, and narrative). Selected essays from the Prentice Hall Reader effectively illustrate these concepts. Students will explore these modes through writing assignments in each.
Students will continue examination of language and purpose as they read Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed. The will examine this work’s purpose, structure, language (specifically diction, tone, and juxtaposition), as well as the role of the investigative reporter. Students will also identify Ehrenreich’s central arguments and how she supports them.
To further enhance understanding of rhetorical purpose and hone analytical skills, students are introduced to SOAPStone with an excerpt from the novel Cambridge by Caryl Phillips (narrative) and a tourist pamphlet for Christensted, St. Croix (expository). Special emphasis is placed on: learning the difference between author and speaker; distinguishing between subject and occasion; how diction creates tone; the defining characteristics of an audience; and, perhaps most importantly, purpose. Students will continue to apply SOAPStone to readings throughout the course of the year.
Next, students will become familiar with the AP essay-scoring rubric. They will then use this rubric to peer edit the 2005 AP English Language & Composition exam free-response question #3 (argumentative essay). Students will then revise their essays based upon peer editing comments.
Continuing to develop analytical skills, students will be introduced to various logical fallacies and their impact on argument.
By now, students are familiar with the argumentative mode of writing. The next step is to introduce the synthesis essay. In groups, students will read, annotate, identify SOAPStone for, and discuss, poems by Johnson, Tennyson, and Yeats. As a class, we will discuss who (speaker, audience), what (subject) and how (argument, style, & rhetorical technique). We will also identify common themes (e.g., individual life versus public life; love versus war; the individual versus the state, etc.) and develop these themes for a synthesis essay.
To further develop the skills required to write an effective synthesis essay, students will participate in a unit on George Orwell, culminating in a synthesis research paper. In this unit, students will read Orwell’s Animal Farm, 1984, “Shooting an Elephant,” and “Politics and the English Language.” Students will, both individually and cooperatively, answer AP-style multiple choice questions for 1984 and “Shooting an Elephant.” Students will also write a rhetorical analysis of a passage from 1984.
Students will increase their skills in close reading, debate, and support of statements while broadening their understanding of current issues with Friday Readings & Discussion. Students will choose a recent article from an approved source. After reading the article, they will write an evaluation (minimum one page, in MLA format) that includes a short statement of the subject of the article, a reaction to the article, three interesting, controversial, or provocative statements that the author makes, and support, refute, or qualify each of these statements.
Quarter 2: Further Development of Rhetorical Awareness and Strategies, Developing Argument, Tragedy
We conclude the Orwell unit with a synthesis research essay that includes two of the Orwell works we have read and four outside supporting sources, including magazine and newspaper articles, online sources, political cartoons, etc. This paper must follow MLA format, and we use A Writer’s Reference and the companion website for practice and guidance.
Students will read, analyze, and discuss the rhetorical features of an ancient Greek tragedy – Euripides’s Medea. Students will then read an excerpt from Aristotle’s Poetics and we will discuss Aristotle’s definition of tragedy. This unit on tragedy culminates in an informal essay analyzing Medea according to Aristotle’s criteria and arguing whether or not this play qualifies as a true Aristotelian tragedy.
Students will continue to develop their skills in close reading, debate, and support of statements while broadening their understanding of current issues with Friday Readings & Discussion. Students will choose a recent article from an approved source. After reading the article, they will write an evaluation (minimum one page, in MLA format) that includes a short statement of the subject of the article, a reaction to the article, three interesting, controversial, or provocative statements that the author makes, and support, refute, or qualify each of these statements.