English 11 AP Language and Composition – Course SyllabusT.N.Towslee – Rm. 213

Glen Allen High School 2014-2015

The following is a general overview of things you need to know to have a successful and productive year.This document and any updates will be available in the course resources folder and on the class web page:

I also regularly post supplementary readings and reminders on Twitter: @tntowsleeAPLang

Philosophy:

It is Glen Allen High School’s mission to provide a rigorous curriculum focusing on twenty-first century skills geared toward creativity, innovation, and literacy. While we will prepare students for standardized tests, that is not the end goal of instruction. All too often, we look at the products of great innovation, but we seldom get to see the rough drafts, flawed prototypes, and complete failures that sent the greatest thinkers and designers back to their drawing boards and workshops. Standardized tests follow this model: they ask for the right answer, but completely disregard the handful of obstacles and wrong answers that students have to overcome in order to get to those right answers. This class is specifically designed to prepare students to think beyond the bubble sheet in order to solve more real-world, open-ended problems, providing students with opportunities to take risks with their thinking and learn from their mistakes. Creativity, innovation, and literacy are not instinctual; they have to be honed through practice, trial, and error. It is through this practice, trial, and error that we will find and feed our natural talents. That said, please do not be afraid to be wrong; it is an important part of the learning process.

Course Description:

The AP Language and Composition course at Glen Allen High School follows requirements established by the College Board in order to ensure that the course meets the expectations and standards of colleges and universities throughout the world. Students in AP Language and Composition read and carefully analyze a broad range of nonfiction prose selections, deepening their awareness of rhetoric and how language works with the same level of skill and sophistication of thought as they would in a first-year composition course in college. Through close reading of a variety of prose styles and genres and frequent expository, analytical, and argumentative writing assignments, students develop their ability to work with language and text with a greater awareness of purpose and strategy, while strengthening their own composing skills. Students will examine and work with essays, letters, speeches, cartoons, paintings, advertisements, and other primarily nonfiction texts. Students will also prepare for the AP English Language and Composition Exam. This course prepares students for success in college coursework across many fields of study and, with a qualified score of 3 or better on the AP Exam, replaces the introductory composition course at many colleges and universities worldwide. Students choosing to take AP English Language and Composition must understand that the course is designed to give students the opportunity to take a college-level course while still in high school.

AP Language and Composition Exam – May 13, 2015

Texts:

The following texts will be supplemented with readings from various newspapers, magazines, websites, and other sources. Several units will be supplemented with viewings of documentary films and television footage.

Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood. 1965. New York: Vintage, 1994.

Cohen, Samuel. 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. Boston: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2004.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. 1925. New York: Scribner, 2004.

Killgallon, Don. Sentence Composing for College. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1998.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. 1951. New York: Little, Brown, 1991.

Shea, Renee, Lawrence Scanlon, and Robin DissinAufses.The Language of Composition. Boston: Bedford St. Martin’s,

2008.

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 1885. New York: Signet Classics, 2008.

Course Plan (Readings and Dates subject to change):

Marking Period 1

Overview of AP course/Introduction to rhetoric (Week 1-3)

  • Readings
  • Ch. 1-2Language of Composition
  • “We Choose to Go to the Moon” by JFK (handout)
  • “The Value of Science” by Richard Feynman (handout)
  • “The Bird and the Machine” (p. 601 LOC)
  • “The Method of Scientific Investigation” by T.H. Huxley (p.609 LOC)
  • Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (summer reading)
  • Tools
  • SOAPSTone
  • P.I.E. (Purpose, Issue, Evidence)
  • Rhetorical Seismograph
  • Say What?/So What?
  • In-class writing assignments
  • Responses to readings
  • Rhetorical Analysis
  • Major Paper #1
  • Into Thin Air analysis and commentary (extension of Summer Reading)

The World Around Us – What is the relationship between the individual and the world? (Week 4-9)

  • Readings
  • “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau (p. 939 LOC)
  • “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr. (p.260 LOC)
  • “Politics and the English Language” by George Orwell (p.529 LOC)
  • “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted” by Malcolm Gladwell (handout)
  • “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift (p.914 LOC)
  • Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
  • Various Political Cartoons (handout & online)
  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (excerpt)
  • “Light Out, Huck, They Still Want to Sivilize You” by Michiko Kakutani (handout)
  • “Send Huck Finn to College” by Lorrie Moore (handout)
  • Political Cartoon on Huckleberry Finn by Mike Luckovich (handout)
  • Illustrations from original publication of Huckleberry Finn
  • 60 Minutes - “Huckleberry Finn and the N-Word” (video)
  • “Harper’s Index” (handout)
  • In-class writing assignments
  • Responses to readings
  • Visual Text Analysis
  • AP Language Exam Prompts
  • Follow the Columnist #1&2 due at end of marking period
  • Major Paper #2
  • Rhetorical Analysis of one selection from The Best American Magazine Writing 2013 (extension of summer reading)

Marking Period 2

Identity and Voice – What is the relationship between language and identity? (Week 10-13)

  • Readings
  • Chapter 3 from Language of Composition, 2e (handout)
  • “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell (p.979 LOC)
  • “Two Ways to Belong in America” by Bharti Mukherjee (p. 272 50E)
  • “There is No Unmarked Woman” by Deborah Tannen (p. 409 50E)
  • “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples (p.362 50E)
  • “The ‘F Word’” by Firoozeh Dumas (handout)
  • “The Terminal Check” by Pico Iyer (handout)
  • “On Being a Cripple” by Nancy Mairs (p. 231 50E)
  • “Notes of a Native Speaker” by Eric Liu (p. 205 50E)
  • “What are Homosexuals For? by Andrew Sullivan (p. 380 50E)
  • In-class writing assignments
  • Responses to readings
  • AP Language Exam Prompts
  • Major Paper #3
  • Language and Identity –argument essay

Education – To what extent do our schools serve the goals of a true education? (Week 14-18)

  • Readings
  • “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read” by Francine Prose (p. 89 LOC)
  • from Education by Ralph Waldo Emerson (p. 102 LOC)
  • from Experience and Education by John Dewey (handout)
  • “A Talk to Teachers” by James Baldwin
  • “Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass (p. 100 50E)
  • “Learning to Read” by Malcolm X (p. 245 50E)
  • “Three Reasons College Still Matters” by Andrew Delbanco (handout)
  • “Tuning in to Dropping Out” by Alex Tabarrok (handout)
  • “Not All College Majors are Created Equal” by Michelle Singletary (handout)
  • “Best in Class” by Margaret Talbot (p. 113 LOC)
  • “School” by Kyoko Mori (p. 130 LOC)
  • “Misplaced Priorities: It’s Time to Invest in Schools, Not Prisons” by Karen Thomas (handout)
  • In-class writing assignments
  • Responses to readings
  • AP Language Exam Prompts
  • Documentary Film Study
  • Waiting for Superman and criticism
  • Follow the Columnist #3&4 due at end of marking period
  • Major Paper #4
  • Argument essay on value of public education

Marking Period 3

Justice – Does our society distribute justice fairly and/or equally? (Week 19-22)

  • Readings
  • In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
  • “Execution” by Anna Quindlen (handout)
  • “The Execution of Tropmann” by Ivan Turgenev (handout)
  • “Trial by Fire” by David Grann (handout)
  • “The Innocent Man” by Pamela Colloff (from summer reading)
  • “Beyond the Prison Bubble” by Joan Petersilia (handout)
  • “Raise the Crime Rate” by Christopher Glazek (handout)
  • Various arguments for and against the death penalty
  • In-class writing assignments
  • Responses to readings
  • AP Language Exam Prompts
  • Major Paper #5
  • Synthesis essay on In Cold Blood (synthesis/researched argument)

Work – How does our work shape or influence our lives? (Week 23-27)

  • Readings
  • from Serving in Florida by Barbara Ehrenreich (p.179 LOC)
  • from In the Strawberry Fields by Eric Schlosser (handout)
  • “The Atlanta Exposition Address” by Booker T. Washington (p.191 LOC)
  • “Guest Workers and the U.S. Heritage” by Jay Bookman (handout)
  • “We Don’t Need ‘Guest Workers’” by Robert J. Samuelson
  • “The Traveling Bra Salesman’s Lesson” by Claudia O’Keefe (p.205 LOC)
  • “On Dumpster Diving” by Lars Eighner (handout)
  • “The Surgeon as Priest” by Richard Selzer (p.197 LOC)
  • “The Case for Working with Your Hands” by Matthew B. Crawford (handout)
  • In-class writing assignments
  • Responses to readings
  • AP Language Exam Prompts
  • Follow the Columnist #5&6 due at end of marking period
  • Major Paper #6
  • Entering the Conversation

Marking Period 4

Play – To what extent do our leisure activities reflect our society’s values? (Week 28-30)

  • Readings
  • “High School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies” by David Denby (p. 709 LOC)
  • “I was a Member of the Kung Fu Crew” by Henry Han Xi Lau (handout)
  • “We Talk, You Listen” by Vine Deloria, Jr. (p. 727 LOC)
  • Reel Injun (film)
  • “Godzilla vs. the Giant Scissors” by Brent Staples (p. 723 LOC)
  • “Television: The Plug-In Drug” by Marie Winn (p. 465 50E)
  • “Lights and Wires in a Box” by Edward R. Murrow (handout)
  • “Hip Hop Planet” by James McBride (handout)
  • “Dreaming America” by Danyel Smith (p.734 LOC)
  • “Retreat into the iWorld” by Andrew Sullivan (handout)
  • “My Zombie, Myself: Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead” by Chuck Klosterman (handout)
  • In-class writing assignments
  • Responses to readings
  • AP Language Exam Prompts

AP Language Exam Prep – How can we put it all together to show the AP exam who’s boss?

  • Readings
  • Released AP Language exam passages (handouts)
  • In-class writing assignments
  • Released AP exam rhetorical analysis, argument, and synthesis essays
  • Major “Paper” #7
  • Research Argument Presentation

Crash Course in 20th Century American Literature: How does Literature model society? (Week 31-36)

  • Readings
  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  • The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
  • In-class writing assignments
  • Responses to readings
  • Major Paper #8
  • Literary Analysis ofThe Great Gatsbyand/orThe Catcher in the Rye

Writing/Research:

As this is a composition course, we will spend a great deal of time with the structure and craft of writing this year. We will be writing several expository, analytical, and argumentative papers, many of which will rely on research as evidence in supporting said argument. We will work to hone research methods and documentation (MLA, APA, and Chicago styles) throughout the year. The Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) is an invaluable reference in these areas. Students can expect to write no fewer than eight major papers over the course of the year. These major papers will result from work across several stages of the writing process from planning to drafting to revision. Students will work independently, with peers, and with their instructors through each of these steps to produce polished, college-level work.

In addition to more structured writing assignments, there will be many informal and timed writing assignments intended to help students develop personal writing styles through modeling, react to texts in a thought-provoking manner, and reflect on individual development as an informed citizen. All in all, students can expect to write in class nearly every day on some level.

Reading/Discussion/Accountability:

It has been proven time and again that one of the best ways to become a great writer is by being a great reader. Furthermore, research shows that well-honed reading and writing skills provide students with advantages not only in high school (in classes and on standardized tests), but in college and career worlds as well. Throughout the year we will read a wide variety of nonfiction essays, articles, biographies, editorials, letters, etc., both in and outside of class. Students are expected to read ALL assigned texts prior to class discussion. We will have discussions on all class readings in forms ranging from the less formal open discussion to the more formal Socratic seminar. Students are responsible for preparing notes for ALL readings prior to class in order to participate in these discussions. These notes will be checked from time to time (once or twice per quarter, at random) for daily grades. Students will also demonstrate thorough analysis and understanding of assigned readings through accountability checks, typically through short, closed-book passage explications (analysis of a selection of text in context of the piece as a whole).

Always Be Cognizant (There is a quarterly assignment included in this section, so don’t skip it):

Keeping abreast of current events and newsworthy topics is essential to becoming an informed citizen of the world. In order to achieve this goal, students will read, analyze, and comment on two editorial columns fromreputable major newspaper, magazine, or online sourcesin a continuing Follow the Columnist project. Ideally, students will seek out a columnist that they find engaging and then follow him or her for the duration of the school year. For each column, students will annotate for SOAPSTone elements, write a rhetorical précis, and provide a 300-500 word analysis with commentary. More information on the Follow the Columnist project is available in the course resources.

Student Organization:

Students are required to keep their notes and class materials organized. Since this is a college-level course, students are expected to take personal responsibility for this organization, so there will not be a grade assigned to the notebook, nor specific requirements for its organization. Many documents will be delivered digitally, but some will come to you in hardcopy. Due to the course’s rigor and time constraints, all distributed documents should be deemed important to the course.

Google Drive:

Students will submit most assignments digitally via the Google Drive. Students will create folders and share them with their teacher as soon as laptops are available. Assignments are not considered submitted until they are in the appropriately shared folder. All assignments must be submitted to the student folder by the beginning of class on the due dates; any assignments turned in after the beginning of class (even if the student is absent) are considered late and subject to the late work policy. Any assignments may be turned in on paper, on time, without penalty. If you have trouble with submitting assignments to Google Drive, come ask for help before your assignments are due. No late work will be accepted because of technology issues. When in doubt, print it out (or, better yet, e-mail it).

Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics:

We will address grammar primarily for rhetorical effect and style using exercises closely aligned with class readings. In addition, we will work on honing syntactic skills with exercises from Killgallon’sSentence Composing for Collegeand from The Language of Composition, which students are expected to integrate into their own writing.

Students are expected to demonstrate proper grammar, usage, and mechanics at this point in their high school education. There are several excellent online resources available for grammar reference and remediation if needed. The Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) or one of the handbooks listed with the class texts are good resources for this purpose. If students are unfamiliar with any grammatical concepts, they should look them up; if they are still unclear, they should ask their teacher about them. Claiming that previous teachers “never taught grammar” is not an excuse for ignorance of these basic writing skills.

Vocabulary:

Students will receive several vocabulary lists and practice exercisesthroughout the year (approximately three per quarter), which they are encouraged to study throughout the year. In addition to these lists, students will receive lists of content-specific rhetorical terms. Understanding of these vocabulary lists and rhetorical terms will be assessed periodically with prior notice given for daily grades. Students must devise a method for studying these terms and provide evidence (flashcards, written notes, completed exercises, etc.) that they have done so on assessment days.

Student Evaluation:

The standard HCPS grading scale (90-100 – A, 80-89 – B, 70-79 – C, 65-69 – D, ≤65 – F) applies to this class. In addition to the usual grading scale, unsatisfactory completed writing assignments may receive a grade of R, at the teacher’s discretion, indicating that it may be revised or reworked, then resubmitted for a grade without penalty. In order to resubmit these assignments for a new grade, students must schedule and attend a conference with me. Late or incomplete work is always subject to penalty. Any student who is unhappy with his or her grade on a major paper may schedule a conference to discuss the paper. After this conference, the student may rewrite the paper for a new grade as long as it is submitted within the current marking period.

As mentioned several times throughout this syllabus, this is a college-level course, and as such there are fewer graded assignments than in typical high school courses. Since there are relatively few assignments, each assignment carries a heavy weight. Not all assignments are graded; sometimes students practice skills just because they are an essential part of education. Please understand that your effort is appreciated, but it is not a criterion for your grade; I expect that all students are always working hard. The following guide is provided to help students understand how to plan accordingly to get the grades that they expect:

GradeExpectations

A /
  • Students working at this level engage fully every assignment and demonstrate a willingness to examine their own thinking and assumptions. All work reflects a level of thinking far beyond the obvious and the superficial. Students come to class fully prepared to discuss assigned readings and to participate actively in all phases of the course. All assignments are submitted on time and all makeup work from authorized absences is managed in a timely fashion. Obviously, all work is the student’s own.
  • Every writing assignment has undergone meaningful revisions in content, diction, syntax, and style. Writing conferences are marked by the student’s understanding of the assignment’s goals.
  • Reading checks indicate not only the questions and problems a student has while working with a text but an honest attempt at logical answers and solutions. They also move far beyond the superficial identification of rhetorical and literary devices and provide a full and rich argument on the student’s reading of the text. They address all parts of the assignment. Finally, reading checks are completed on time.
  • Students make and keep appointments with me.