AP Language & Composition
Syllabus 2015 - 2016
Mrs. Dusto
Mrs. Kate Dusto
Email (best way to contact me):
Voicemail: 719-234-8119
Availability: after or before school by appointment in room 205
Assignments, class calendars, and other information can be found on my wiki: http://kdustoenglish.wikispaces.com
Course Description
An AP course in English Language and Composition engages students in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts, as well as in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Both their writing and their reading should make students aware of the interactions among a writer’s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects in addition to the way generic conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing.
(AP Central: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/52272_apenglocked5_30_4309.pdf)
Goals
The goals of an AP English Language & Composition course are diverse because the college composition course is one of the most varied in the curriculum. The college course provides students with opportunities to write about a variety of subjects and to demonstrate an awareness of audience and purpose. However, the overarching objective in most first-year writing courses is to enable students to write effectively and confidently in their college courses across the curriculum and in their professional and personal lives. Therefore, most composition courses emphasize the expository, analytical, and argumentative writing that forms the basis of academic and professional communication, as well as the personal and reflective writing that fosters the development of writing facility in any context. In addition, most composition courses teach students that expository, analytical, and argumentative writing they must do in college is based on reading, not solely on personal experience and observation. Composition courses, therefore, teach students to read primary and secondary sources carefully, to synthesize material from these texts in their own compositions, and to cite sources using conventions recommended by professional organizations, such as the Modern Language Association (MLA), the University of Chicago Press (The Chicago Manual of Style), and the American Psychological Association (APA).
(AP Central: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repository/52272_apenglocked5_30_4309.pdf)
For students to meet these goals, the course is structured in the following way:
1. Students will be offered substantial practice to make progress toward proficiency on the AP Language and Composition exam. They will familiarize themselves with the rubrics and expectations; review and take sample exams; learn and demonstrate test-taking strategies; and utilize many practice opportunities throughout the year.
2. The course will approximate a college level composition course per the College Board standards for AP Language and Composition courses.
3. Since students taking AP Language and Composition do not take American Literature during their junior year, American fiction and non-fiction texts and the study of literature will be incorporated into the course. Much of the focus of these literary studies will be on rhetorical and argumentative features of the texts.
4. This course is structured thematically. See the Curriculum Overview section.
To meet these goals, the following course learning objectives and targets have been established:
Learning Objectives / Targets to Meet the Learning Objective1. Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques. / · Memorize and recognize rhetorical terms.
· Apply and analyze rhetorical terms.
· Master rhetorical analysis tasks on the AP exam (question 2 and multiple choice).
2. Analyze images as text. / · Recall knowledge and apply it to an understanding/interpretation of the image.
· Describe image components in writing.
3. Apply effective strategies and techniques in your own writing. / · Analyze the writing process, including techniques and structure.
· Apply accepted writing techniques and structures to your own writing.
4. Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research, and/or personal experience. / · Choose relevant experiences, readings, and research and relate them to an argumentative thesis.
· Develop a relevant and appropriate thesis that is not a mere statement of fact.
· Master argumentation tasks on the AP exam.
5. Write for a variety of purposes. / · Understand modes of writing.
· Practice each mode of writing separately and in combination.
6. Produce expository, analytical, and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or secondary sources, cogent explanations, and clear transitions. / · Choose appropriate and powerful evidence that supports a complex central idea.
· Incorporate and cite sources correctly, avoiding plagiarism.
· Recognize the differences between and appropriate uses of primary and secondary sources.
7. Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic maturity in your own writings. / · Accurately apply Advanced Placement rubrics to your own writing.
· Proofread and revise with both grammar and content in mind.
8. Move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing, review, and reflection. / · Research
· Draft
· Revise
· Edit
· Review
· Reflect
9. Acquaint students with the major movements of American literature and the significance of seminal texts. / · Identify characteristics, events, vocabulary and authors.
· Apply understanding of literary periods to verbal and written analysis and synthesis of texts.
· Evaluate how texts represent major movements, influence developing ideas and connect to experiences.
LHS AP Course Enrollment
LHS offers an open enrollment AP program to encourage willing students to challenge themselves. Since the AP exam is an integral part of the AP experience, all students enrolled in an AP class take the AP exam for that course; the AP exam serves as the course’s final exam.
Course Texts
Summer Reading:
· The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien (978-0618706419)
· Cannery Row, John Steinbeck (978-0142000687)
· Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt (978-0684842677)
First Semester:
· The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne (978-0486280486)
· Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (978-0802142849)
· Hamlet, William Shakespeare (978-0743477123)
Second Semester:
· Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain (978-0486280615)
· Choice text about American Dream (examples include The Road, Cormac McCarthy; Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer; Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass; A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson; The Tortilla Curtain, T.C. Boyle; Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson)
· The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald (978-0743273565)
· Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser or another longer non-fiction text
Textbooks:
· The Language of Composition, Second Edition, eds. Renee H. Shea, Lawrence, Scanlon, and Robin Dissin Aufses (978-0312676506)
· Elements of Literature, Fifth Course, Holt, Rinehart and Winston (978-0030520648)
Course Materials
In addition to taking notes, you will also be receiving many handouts in this class. You should have a binder to organize your information. I recommend breaking your binder into the following sections:
· Vocabulary
· Grammar & Style
· Rhetorical Analysis
· Writing & Synthesis
· Test-Taking Strategies & MC Practice
You should also be prepared to annotate with pens and/or highlighters in multiple colors as well as post-it notes.
Course Components
Discussion
Participating in discussion is an integral part of the college classroom; therefore, it is an integral part of this course. However, I do realize that there can be some obstacles in verbal participation; with your help I will do my best to cultivate a classroom environment in which everyone feels comfortable speaking up and sharing. To cultivate this environment, we will participate in a variety of discussion mediums, including weekly rhetorical analysis essay discussions, small group discussion, Socratic seminars, and student-led discussions with student-created questions.
Reading
Read the assigned material. After all, you CHOSE to enroll in AP. If you have concerns about a text, you must let me know before or within the first few days of reading the text…not the day the reading is due.
Rhetorical Analysis
Each week, one student will be responsible for preparing a rhetorical analysis essay based on a passage, making copies for the entire class, leading a whole-class discussion on the essay, taking feedback and then revising the essay. Another student (a randomly selected partner) will be responsible for conducting a 10-minute presentation on the corresponding passage. We will set the schedule, the partners, and review the detailed requirements for this process at the beginning of the year.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary is the single most important factor for success on the AP test. A primary vocabulary list of 120 terms will be distributed at the beginning of the course. The words come from SAT preparation sources, ACT preparation sources, and AP Language and Composition released exams.
During the first semester, your vocabulary focus is on learning the definitions of the words. You will be assessed on this knowledge through 10 quizzes that ask you to provide definitions of given words. You will also be assessed through a cumulative multiple choice test at the end of the semester.
During the second semester, your vocabulary focus is on elevating your writing by including vocabulary words. You will be assessed on this skill through 10 quizzes that ask you to create original sentences that use given words accurately and provide appropriate context clues for your reader.
Writing
Essays written outside of class are due to www.turnitin.com unless otherwise noted. You will write essays in a variety of modes and contexts, including:
· Sample AP prompts (rhetorical analysis, argument, synthesis)
o timed formal writing, usually in class
o scored with AP rubrics
o at least 6 each semester (may overlap with summative major papers)
· Non-AP compositions (modes include narrative, cause and effect, compare/contrast, exemplification, and definition)
o brief formal writing, usually outside of class
o scored with LHS rubrics
o 4-6 each semester
· Summative major papers
o formal writing, outside of class
o some are adapted AP prompts, some are other college-level compositions
o scored with AP and LHS rubrics
o 3-4 each semester (1 per unit)
· Rhetorical analysis paper/presentation
o formal writing, outside of class
o scored with Rhetorical Analysis project rubric/evaluation
o 1 per semester (alternate paper and presentation)
· Journal (prompts used to activate background knowledge, reflect on a new skill/concept, develop an assertion, or serve as a draft for building a formal essay)
o informal writing, in class
o 6-8 each semester
During the second semester, the AP essay writing focus shifts to primarily in-class essays to prepare for the AP exam. The non-AP writing focus focuses on compositions that blend modes rather than singling out a particular mode for practice.
Your writing skills are expected to progress over the course of the year; while each of you will find the particular areas in which you need to focus, I will also increasingly introduce requirements for errors that will not be tolerated in your essays (for instance, MLA errors, misuse of second person, etc.). I will ask you to fix these errors before I will grade the essay (with the exception of your final semester essay, which will not be accepted with these errors and cannot be turned in late).
You must complete a reflection after each essay has been scored and/or graded. Based on your reflection, you will have the opportunity to revise any essay for a new grade. Revisions are encouraged (and sometimes required). Reflections and revisions must be submitted to www.turnitin.com. I recommend that you schedule a conference with me to discuss your revision before you begin working on it.
All of your formal writing assignments should be typed and written in current MLA format. There are numerous resources available to ensure you are using correct MLA style.
You will turn in most essays to www.turnitin.com, which uses your own, self-created user name and password. Instructions on setting up your account are on the LHS Online Writing Center: www.lhswriting.ning.com.
· Class ID: 10267891
· Password: dusto
Feedback on your writing will take many forms. In addition to my comments on Turnitin, you will also participate in partner peer reviews and writer’s workshops. Over the course of the year, each student will write a rhetorical analysis essay that will be workshopped by the entire class as part of the Rhetorical Analysis project.
Grammar
At the AP level, understanding grammar is about more than just completing a 4-level analysis of a sentence. Syntax is an essential piece of an author’s style, and a thorough understanding of grammar helps you not only to analyze the moves an author is making in his/her sentences but also to elevate your own writing. To hone your grammar skills you will complete practice exercises in class and participate in writer’s workshops that focus on particular syntactical elements. You will be assessed on your application of this knowledge through grammar quizzes. Quizzes will be a combination of 4-level analysis and style analysis. Expect at least 10 quizzes each semester.
General Calendar
Always check the homework calendar that is updated daily for the agenda and assignments: www.kdustoenglish.wikispaces.com.
Monday/Tuesday / Wednesday/Thursday / Friday· Vocabulary practice/quiz
· Rhetorical analysis essay and passage annotations assigned
· Other in-class activities / · Grammar practice/quiz
· Rhetorical analysis essay and passage annotations due
· Rhetorical analysis essay and passage discussions
· AP practice MC quiz / · Essay or reflection
· Other in-class activities
Classroom Expectations & Policies
1. Be respectful toward others through your words and actions.
Ø Insults are unacceptable.
Ø Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. According to the student handbook, this “includes but is not limited to cheating on a test, plagiarism or unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing written work.” Yes, that means that copying your friend’s worksheet in the hallway before class is academic dishonesty. Take your education seriously.
2. Take responsibility for your learning.
Ø Come to class prepared to learn—that means you have materials and an open mind. Class is never boring when you are engaged in the lesson or discussion.
Ø Attend class on time every day.
3. Follow the rules of the class and Liberty High School.