ENGLISH III AP

English Language and Composition

Ms. Katherine S. Cates

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INTRODUCTION

Current trends at most colleges and universities now require of entering freshmen two courses in English. The first of these is devoted strictly to composition, especially the various modes writing required in later courses, and students generally read selections from non-fiction prose models—including but not limited to—autobiography, biography, essays, articles, letters, diaries, and historical documents. Selected authors and texts for each of these genre stem from instructional materials provided by the College Board. AP Language and Composition is a college level course available to juniors that offers students the opportunity to fulfill this first requirement and to earn college credit. By design, the course will be rigorous, focusing on writing, critical reading, and analysis of prose, and language.

The second required college course is generally an introduction to imaginative literature with emphasis on critical reading and analysis of fiction, drama, and poetry. Papers are generally literary analysis. Students who successfully complete English IV, AP should fulfill this requirement.

Thus, by taking both AP English courses at MyersParkHigh School, students have the opportunity to earn ALL college English credits while still in high school. Although AP courses are more rigorous and demanding—requiring more reading and writing—they can also be the most rewarding.

The course overview and objectives for the course that follow are taken from the AP® English Course Description published by the College Board.

WRITING

As a college-level course, English III AP will require more writing with emphasis on the following:

  • the writing process, including invention, arrangement, drafting, and revision
  • the four aims of writing—reflective, informative, persuasive, and literary
  • the rhetorical modes of narration, description, exposition, and argumentation
  • the research project in preparation for the Senior Exit Project

In addition, attention will be given to correcting common errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and mechanics, commonly found in college freshmen papers. But most importantly, students will be expected to develop a more mature and sophisticated style of writing through an effective use of diction, syntax, tone, and audience in order to communicate with mature readers. To this end, students will analyze selected passages from Nancy Dean’s Voice Lessons for diction, syntax, tone, imagery, and selection of detail; students will then write original responses, modeling the practiced technique. In addition, students will write in a variety of contexts including but not limited to reader response journals, double entry journals, and personal reflections. From these short writes, students will develop full length essays, producing 2-3 rough drafts of each paper that will be critiqued and edited by peers and instructor.

Finally, ALL papers must be computer generated, using the Times New Roman font, 12 pt., following the format used for college papers (To be discussed in class). Any paper that is NOT typed will be penalized TEN points.

READING

Typical of a beginning college course in writing which emphasizes rhetorical techniques and modes of exposition, the reading of non-fiction selections, both print and non-print, will give students an opportunity to:

  • improve comprehension, interpretation, and evaluation
  • improve vocabulary
  • explore ideas for discussion and models for types of papers required
  • improve critical thinking through an analysis of how language with all its complexities is used in a wide variety of prose styles from many disciplines and historical periods

To these ends, reading selections will illustrate the four aims of writing as well as provide the model for the rhetorical modes (see “Writing” above), so that students will learn the connections between interpretive skills in reading and writing. To achieve this objective, students will receive instruction in the SOAPSTone strategy developed by Tommy Boley in order to aid in the analysis of prose and visual texts. Students will practice these strategies in the prose and visual texts listed in the daily assignments below.

GRADUATION ESSAY PROJECT

In addition to regularly scheduled papers, each student will be required to write his/her Graduation Essay Project. Students will research and write an argumentative essay of approximately 6-10 pages based on an approved topic of student choice. The instructor will spend several class periods on the techniques of writing a research essay, discussing note taking, organization, Toulmin method and MLA documentation. The essay will be due Third Quarter.

THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMINATION

The culmination of English III, AP is the Advanced Placement Examination, given nationally each year in May. By scoring a 3 or higher, a student can gain advanced placement standing in college or possibly earn college credit. There are two basic methods by which this can be accomplished. The first is to read all daily assignments carefully and conscientiously. By so doing, the student builds those skills expected of Advanced Placement students. The second is to become familiar with the format and types of questions asked on the examination. To this end there will be timed essays and multiple choice drills which should facilitate scoring well on the examination. These drills are a vital part of English III, AP, and failure to perform accordingly will seriously and adversely affect one’s grade and possibly one’s score.

EVALUATION AND CREDIT

The numerical evaluation system for English III, AP will follow the CMS grading scale.

A93-100

B85-92

C77-84

D70-46

F69 and below

Your final grade will be determined as follows:

Major Assignments (papers, tests, projects, timed AP Essays)70%

**GEP will count as 20% of the fourth quarter grade**

Minor Assignments (quizzes, short papers, timed AP drills)30%

AP Language Composition teachers follow the CMS/Myers Park Late Work Policy. For excused absences, all work assigned prior to the absence, including papers, is due immediately upon return to class. Arrangements to make-up tests and other in-class assignments missed for an excused must be arranged by the student within five school days of returning to class.

Though it is not ethical to connect grades to attendance, the law is not necessary here as students will come to understand that poor attendance results in missed instruction and therefore a poor grade.

MATERIALS

I. Course Texts

Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell.Patterns for College Writing. 9th

Ed. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998.

Roskelly, Hephzibah and David A. Jolliffe. Everyday Use: Rhetoric at Work in

Reading and Writing. AP Edition. New York: Pearson Education, Inc.,

2005.

II. Course Supplements

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 1999.

Philbrick, Nathaniel. In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship

Essex. New York: Penguin Books, 2000.

Murphy, Barbara and Grace Freedson.5 Steps to a 5 on the Advanced

Placement Examinations: English Language. New York: McGraw Hill,

2002.

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6thed. New

York: Modern Language Association Publishers, 2003.

III. Teacher Resources

Adler, Mortimer J. ThePaideia Proposal: An Educational Manifesto. New York:

Macmillan, 1982.

Cohen, Samuel, ed. 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. Boston:

Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2004.

College Board. AP English Course Description. New York: The College Board,

2005.

College Board. The AP Vertical Teams Guide for English. New York: The College

Board, 2005.

Dean, Nancy. Voice Lessons. Gainesville, Florida: Maupin House Books, 2000.

Rosa, Alfred and Paul Eschholz. Models for Writers: Short Essays for

Composition.8thed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004.

IV. Student Materials

Paperback or hard cover dictionary for vocabulary acquisition

Mead Composition notebook

Binder for organization

Agenda for daily and long-term assignments

COURSE OUTLINE: A STUDY OF AIMS AND MODES OF WRITING

(All selections will be from Patterns…unless otherwise indicated.)

  1. Fall Semester: A Look at Reflective and Informative Aims in Narrative, Descriptive, and Expository Modes

a.Introduction

READING:Reading to Write pp. 1-7

Inventionpp. 15-33

Arrangement pp. 37-50

Drafting and Revising pp. 51-68

  1. Personal Writing: The Mode of Narration

READING: Narration, pp. 71-83

ANALYSIS:Maya Angelou, “Finishing School” p.89

Bonnie Smith-Yackel, “My Mother Never Worked” p.96

Martin Gansberg, “Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the

Police” p.101

Barbara Ehrenreich, “Scrubbing in Maine” p. 106

George Orwell, “Shooting an Elephant” p. 117

Sherman Alexie, “Indian Education” p.126 (FICTION)

Ralph Ellison, “On Being the Target of Discrimination” (HANDOUT)

VISUAL:Marvel Comics, From Spider-Man (Comic Book) p. 82

LANGUAGE: Point of View, Style: Choice of Details, Diction; Dialogue, Tone, Comma Splices, Sentence Fragments, Run-On Sentences

c.Personal Writing: The Mode of Description

READING: The Nature of Description p.135-150

ANALYSIS:Suzanne Berne, “Ground Zero” p.158

Annie Dillard, “Living Like Weasels” p. 164

N. Scott Momaday, “The Way to RainyMountain” p.169

E.B. White, “Once More to the Lake” p.175

Kate Chopin, “The Storm” p.183 (FICTION)

VISUAL:Vincent LaForet, Girls in Front of 9/11 Mural (Photo) p. 151

LANGUAGE: Imagery, Figures of Speech: Simile, Allusion, Metaphor; Diction, Repetition, Agreement: Subject/Verb, Pronoun/Antecedent

d.Informational Writing: Exemplification

READING: EXEMPLIFICATION p.191-206

ANALYSIS:Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull, “The Peter Principle” p.207

David J. Birnbaum, “The Catbird Seat” p.214

David Sedaris, “Make That a Double” p.218

Brent Staples, “Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space” p.223

Jonathan Kozol, “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” p.229

Grace Paley, “Samuel” p.239 (FICTION)

VISUAL:Four Tattoos (Photos) p. 205

LANGUAGE: Rhetoric, Sentence Patterns: Loose, Balanced, Periodical Cumulative; Punctuation

  1. Informational Writing: Process

READING: PROCESS p.245-257

ANALYSIS:Malcolm X, “My First Conk” p.260

Joshua Piven, David Borgenicht, and Jennifer Worick, “How to Escape from a

Bad Date” p.272

Larry Brown, “On Fire” p.280

Jessica Mitford, “The Embalming of Mr. Jones” p.285

Horace Miner, “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema” (HANDOUT)

Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery” p.292

VISUAL:Michael P. Gadomski, Jack-o’-lantern (Photo) p. 258

LANGUAGE: Style, Syntax: Sentence Patterns (Simple, Compound, Comlpex, Compound-Complex), Diction, Parallelism, Apostrophes

  1. Informational Writing: Cause and Effect

READING: CAUSE AND EFFECT p.303-318

ANALYSIS:Norman Cousins, “Who Killed Benny Paret?” p.321 AND HANDOUT

Marie Winn, “Television: The Plug-In Drug” p.325

KathaPollitt, “WhyBoys Don’t Play with Dolls” p.335

Lawrence Otis Graham, “The “Black Table” Is Still There” p.340

Linda M. Hasselstrom, “A Peaceful Woman Explains Why She Carries a Gun” p. 345

VISUAL:Louis Requen, Major League Baseball Brawl (Photo) p. 319

LANGUAGE: Sentence Patterns: Subordination and Coordination; Commas, Semicolons, Structure, Analogy, Rhetorical Questions

  1. Informational Writing: Comparison and Contrast

READING:COMPARISON AND CONTRAST, pp. 363-383

ANALYSIS:Bruce Canton, Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts p.386

Ian Frazier, Dearly Disconnected p.391

BharatiMukherjee, Two Ways to Belong in America p.397

Christopher B. Daly, How the Lawyers Stole Winter p. 402

Deborah Tannen, Sex, Lies, and Conversation p.407

Eric-Schlosser, Walt and Ray: Your Trusted Friends p.414

Gwendolyn Brooks, Sadie and Maud p.426

VISUAL:Auguste Rodin, The Kiss; Robert Indiana, LOVE (Sculpture) p. 384

LANGUAGE: Sentence Patterns: Combining; Tone, Diction, Organization, Transitions, Passive Voice

  1. Informational Writing: Classification

READING:CLASSIFICATION, pp.431-443

ANALYSIS:William Zinsser, “College Pressures” p. 447

Scott Russell Sanders, “The Men We Carry in Our Minds” p.456

Amy Tan, “Mother Tongue” p.462

Stephanie Ericsson, “The Ways We Lie” p.470

Edwin Brock, “Five Ways to Kill a Man” p.487 (POEM)

VISUAL:Public Health Service Historian, Medical Exam of Male

Immigrants, 1907(Photo); Immigration and Naturalization Services Library, Aliens Debarred from the United States by Causes, 1892-1931 (Chart) p. 444

LANGUAGE:Tone, Rhetorical Questions, Arrangement of Details, Dangling Modifiers

  1. Informational Writing: Definition

READING:DEFINITION, pp. 491-502

ANALYSIS:Judy Brady, “I Want a Wife” p.505

Jose Antonio Burciaga, “Tortillas”p.513

Ellen Goodman, “The Company Man” p. 517

Gayle Rosenwald Smith, “The Wife-Beater” p.521

VISUAL:U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Census 2000 Form (Questionnaire)

p. 503

LANGUAGE:Problems in Usage, Tone, Diction, Repetition, Adjective and Adverb

Clauses

Essay Writing

The fall semester is geared towards introducing the structure of reflective and informative styles of essays. Students complete four major essays, each one consisting of 3-5 pages and responding to prompts provided in textbook, Patterns for College Writing: a narrative essay, a descriptive essay, a comparison and contrast essay, and a classification essay. With each of these essays, students experience the writing process through rough drafts, formative drafts critiqued by peers and instructor, and final draft evaluated by instructor. In addition, students write an analysis that compares the writing style of Joan Didion and a cover story author from Time magazine (summer reading requirement).

All essays are accompanied by a rubric (see scoring guideline below). Students are asked to self-assess using this rubric in order to reflect on their own writing develop.

Sample Writing Profile

Essay:Compare Contrast

Due Date: December 1 (100 points; major grade)

Length:Approximately 3-5 pages, typed

Resources:“Writing Assignments for Comparison and Contrast”, Patterns p. 428

“Structuring a Comparison-and-Contrast Essay”, Patterns p. 367

“Student Model”, Patterns p. 371

MLA Handbook

Timed Writings

During the fall semester, students complete 6 timed essay questions that are aligned with the modes studied. For example, when studying the mode of description, students write an analysis of the rhetorical strategies of Joan Didion’s description of the Santa Ana Winds (1999 AP English Language and Composition Exam). With the mode of compare and contrast, students analyze the different views of the Okefenokee swamps (1994 AP Exam).

Writer’s Notebook

“Instead I tell what some would call lies…How it felt to me: that is getting closer to the truth of a notebook” (Didion 134-5). In Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1968), Didion talks about the difference between a journal, “an accurate factual record,” and a notebook (Didion 133). In a composition notebook, students record 12 notebook entries on various topics over a three week period. Students emulate how a writer uses a notebook by capturing the fragments of life for future writing projects. Simultaneously, students study characteristics of the personal reflective essay as a writing form in the following pieces of prose:

“Once More to the Lake” by E.B. White

“Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin

“On Self-Respect” by Joan Didion

“Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass

From these entries, students select an experience that has caused an epiphany and record it in a formal essay.

Style

Using the terms and features listed in the language section in the above course outline, students work collaboratively to produce a handbook of writing style using Microsoft Publisher. Students pull and compile definitions from literary handbooks and examples from in-class readings and formal student written essays. This text is published at the end of third quarter so that students may use it to review and prepare for the AP exam.

Discussion

As a student-centered course, discussion is central, allowing students the opportunity to analyze and practice skills necessary for success in comprehension, critical analysis, and expository writing. Near the end of the fall semester, students take an early look at the combining of modes and aims through a Paideia seminar on “Obligation to Endure,” an excerpt from Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.

  1. Spring Semester–A Look at Persuasive and Literary Aims in Argumentative Mode

a.Persuasive Writing: Argumentation

READING:ARGUMENTATION, PP. 529-556

ANALYSIS:Thomas Jefferson, “The Declaration of Independence” p.557

Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience” (SUMMER READING)

Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from BirminghamJail” p.570

DEBATE: SHOULD U.S. CITIZENS BE REQUIRED TO CARRY NATIONAL IDENTITY CARDS? p.585

John Grisham, “Unnatural Killers” (HANDOUT) with

DEBATE: DOES MEDIA VIOLENCE CAUSE SOCIETAL VIOLENCE? p. 605-624

H.L. Mencken, “The Penalty of Death” (HANDOUT)

Michael Kroll, “The Unquiet Death of Robert Harris” (HANDOUT)

VISUAL:American Civil Liberties Union, Thanks to Modern Science (AD)

p. 555

LANGUAGE:Deductive and Inductive Reasoning, Fallacies in Logic, Tone, Diction, Syntax, Audience

  1. Research Writing: Graduation Essay Project

READING:APPENDIX: WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER pp. 707-736

ANALYSIS:Everyday Use

“Everyday Use: Rhetoric in Our Lives”p.1

“Using the Five Traditional Canons of Rhetoric” p. 33

“Rhetoric Writer” p. 87

“Rhetoric and the Reader” p. 121

LANGUAGE:Abbreviations, Brackets, Ellipsis, Manuscript Form, MLA Documentation, Paraphrase, Plagiarism, Quotations, Organization, Italics

  1. Combining Patterns:

READING:COMBINING PATTERNS, p. 651-659

ANALYSIS:Lars Eighner, “On Dumpster Diving” p. 660

Jonathan Swift, “A Modest Proposal” p. 676

Alice Walker, “In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens” p. 686

Richard Rodriguez, “Strange Tools” p. 697

Everyday Use

“Readers as Writers, Writers as Readers” p. 149

“Rhetoric in Narrative” p. 179

  1. Literary Writing

READING:Nathaniel Philbrick, In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the WhaleshipEssex

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

VISUAL:Pictorial Inserts in In the Heart of the Sea

Francis Cugat’sbook cover for The Great Gatsby

Essay Writing

Sample Writing Profile

Timed Writings

Writer’s Notebook

Style

Discussion

Writing Rubric

The A paper is a SUPERIORpaper in every way, marked by the following qualities:

  • Outstanding word choice
  • Outstanding organization
  • Outstanding syntax with a wide variety of sentence patterns
  • Maturity of thought and language
  • Clear purpose with detailed development, supported by examples, elaboration, and details
  • No major errors in grammar, spelling, or punctuation
  • No more than one or two minor errors, depending on length

The B paper is an EXCELLENTpaper, marked by the following traits:

  • Good word choice, sentence structure, organization
  • Good maturity of thought and logic
  • A stated purpose will less development, examples, and details, lacking the more mature style of the superior paper
  • No major errors in grammar, spelling, or punctuation
  • No more than several minor errors, depending on length

The C paper is an AVERAGEpaper, marked by the following traits: