AP ENGLISH
Mr. Cassady
Literature and Composition
Students in an AP course in English Literature and Composition engage in the careful reading of literary works. Through such study, you will sharpen your awareness of language and your understanding of the writer’s craft. You will also develop critical standards for the independent appreciation of any literary work, and increase your sensitivity to literature as shared experience. To achieve these goals, you study the individual work, its language, characters, action, and theme. You consider its structure, meaning, and value, and its relationship to contemporary experience as well as to the context in which it was written.
AP students in English Literature and Composition are involved in the study and practice of writing as well as in the study of literature. You should learn to use the modes of discourse and to recognize the assumptions underlying various rhetorical strategies. Through speaking, listening, and reading, but chiefly through the experience of your own writing, you should become more aware of the resources of language: connotation, metaphor, irony, syntax, and tone.
Writing assignments should focus on the critical analysis of literature and should include essays in exposition and argument. Although much of the writing in the course will be about literature, speaking and writing about different kinds of subjects should further develop your sense of how style, subject, and audience are related. Occasionally, assignments in personal narrative and the writing of stories, poems, or plays may be appropriate. On demand writings and portfolio completion will also be apart of the AP experience. The desired goals are the effective use of language and the organization of ideas in a clear, coherent, and persuasive way.
The course stresses close attention to an author’s own language and style. By the end of the AP course you will have studied works from both the American and English traditions and from various periods from the sixteenth century on. You should read works of recognized literary merit that are likely to be taught in an introductory college literature course, works that are worthy of scrutiny because of their richness of thought and language that challenges the reader.
The end of year AP Exam
The AP Exam in English Literature and Composition, which is three hours long, consists of two sections:
Section I: 60 minutes long; contains 50-60 multiple-choice questions that test your reading of selected passages—both prose and poem. Counts for 45 percent of the total AP grade.
Section II: 120 minutes long; contains 3 free response questions that measure your ability to read and interpret literature and to use other forms of discourse effectively. Counts for 55 percent of total AP grade. One question typically will ask you to analyze a poem, one a prose passage, and one a longer work such as a novel or play.
Scores (for optional AP exam): Scores are reported on a five-point scale as follows:
5 = extremely well qualified
4 = well qualified
3 = qualified
2 = possibly qualified
1 = no recommendation
Scores are reported the first or second week of July. Most schools in Kentucky give credit for a score of a 3 or better on the English Exam. Credit from universities may include 3 – 6 hours of college credit. Check with the university and/or the school guidance counselor.
Grading: Your quarter grades will be calculated using a total points format.
Poetry Responses100 pts. per quarter
In-class essays50 pts. each
Out of class essays100 pts. each
Exams100 pts. each
Reading Quizzes10 pts. per question
Homework Assignments30 – 50 pts.
Reading Responses (every two weeks)50 pts.
Discussion grade (2 per Q.)100 pts.
Projects100 pts.
Prose/poetry passage exams50 – 70 pts. each
Independent Reading Assign.100 pts. (3rd Quarter)
Major Works Data Sheets100 pts. each
Personal/Creative Writings100 pts. each
Portfolio (end of year)400 pts.
Scale:
90-100 = A
80-89 = B
70-79 = C
60-69 = D
0-59 = F
Homework Expectations: Much of your preparation for class is to read the assigned materials. Sometimes the work will be divided into chapters or acts; sometimes the entire work will be assigned. On the due date, a class discussion will be held. You will be expected to participate in all discussions. A discussion grade will be given for each work read or for each day we have a discussion. Each work will be studied through a variety of classroom activities.
Materials needed: Several works will be studied and provided. I highly suggest you use a three ring binder for organizing assignments and handouts.
Works Studied in AP English Literature
Typically in an AP English Literature class, you will study between 6 and 8 major works of literature including plays and novels. Below is a list of some of possible works:
Beowulf
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Canterbury Tales, The by Geoffrey Chaucer
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Dracula Bram Stoker
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Great Gatsby, The by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Kite Runner, The by Khaled Hosseini
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Othello by William Shakespeare
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
In addition to reading several major works, AP classes study a number of shorter works also. Short stories from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are studied. Since poetry accounts for approximately sixty percent of the AP English Exam, a study of the elements of poetry and a number of poems is also included.
Recurring Assignments: Throughout the year, there will be standard assignments that will be repeated.
1. Poetry responses: Although a formal study of poetry is reserved for the 3rd quarter, you will submit a typed response to selected poems once every two weeks.
You will be asked to write a total of four to five poetry responses each quarter. You will choose one poem from a list of poems I have given you and write a response to that poem. These responses should be one typed page. Place the response in the poetry folder at the beginning of class on the due date.
What should you write on a poetry response? You may approach this assignment several ways. Sometimes students write an analysis of the poem. They explain what is going on in the poem and relate what they think the theme is. Other students begin with the theme and elaborate on that, while some apply the poem to themselves by relating a personal experience. Occasionally a student will write a response on one line from the poem. What you do with the response is up to you as long as you say something. Do not spend time telling how you could not understand the poem no matter how you tried. Naturally, I do not expect you to like all the poems, but if you dislike a poem because of its content or style, then support that with specifics. (Danny Lawrence)
You are encouraged to freely express yourself. These responses are not graded in a traditional sense. If you’ve done the assignment correctly, you get a check in the gradebook. The poetry assignment is worth fifty points at the end of each quarter. For each response that is not completed, ten points are deducted.
Some of the poems include “Blackberries for Amelia” by Richard Wilbur, “Evening Concert, Saint-Chapelle” by John Updike, “To Myself” by W. S. Merwin, “Lost Brother” by Stanley Moss, “Still Memory” by Mary Carr, “1943” by Donald Hall, “Berry Bush” by Robert Pinsky, “Lilacs in September” by Katha Pollitt, etc.
2. Short Story Assignments: Studies of selected short stories will be assigned throughout the year. The “Short Story Assignment” handout ensures that you have read the assignment and are prepared to discuss it. The assignment asks you to have three questions ready before discussion begins. A level one question is one that can be answered by facts contained in the text. A level two question is textually implicit, requiring analysis and interpretation of specific parts of the text. A level three question is open-ended and goes beyond the text. These questions are intended to provoke discussion of an abstract idea or issue. (Danny Lawrence)
Short stories may include “Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield, “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence, “Hills Like White Elephants” and “The End of Something” by Ernest Hemingway, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, “Blackberry Winter” by Robert Penn Warren, etc.
3. Major Works Data Sheets: Toward the end of a novel/drama reading assignment, a due date will be given for the Major Works Data Sheet. This assignment organizes several novel assignments into one booklet. It requires biographical information about the author, a plot summary, a description of the author’s style and an example that demonstrates that style, memorable quotes and a description of the significances of those quotes, a description of characters and their significances, a description of the setting, the significances of the opening and closing scenes, any symbols used, and possible themes. Accumulated Major Works Data Sheets will provide a review of six to eight major works before the AP exam in May. (Danny Lawrence)
4. AP Exam Released Items: Sample prose passage and poetry passage reading tests will be administered throughout the year. Released essay prompts from previous AP exams will be assigned in class as well. These assignments will be timed in order to practice for AP exam.
Essay prompts for “The Birthday Party” and “The Chimney Sweeper” are examples. There will be approximately sixteen in class essays throughout the year—four per quarter. There will be approximately eight prose passage reading tests and eight poetry passage reading tests throughout the year.
5. Literary elements and essay analysis assignments: Throughout the year, especially during the first couple of weeks and before taking in-class essay assignments and assigning out of class essays, lessons and discussions from Thinking and Writing About Literature and The Riverside Reader concerning literary analysis, themes, imager, symbolism, allegory, tone, close reading, research, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, persuasion and argument, and guidelines for reading an essay will be assigned.
6. Out of class essays: The number of out of class essays may vary—at least one per quarter. These essays will be formal in nature, following MLA format. The required length and number of sources will vary depending on the prompt. Three sources and at least three pages types double-spaced is standard for this class.
Formal essays analyzing Brave New World, Frankenstein, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and Beowulf may be included. An essay analyzing a chosen time period that we’ve discussed—Anglo Saxon, Medieval, Renaissance, etc.—will be included. You will also have the opportunity to write an essay from a piece you read from your junior year, Huck Finn or The Scarlet Letter. You will have the opportunity to develop your own prompt for your Independent Reading Assignment.
7. Independent Reading Assignment: This assignment will be due in mid-February. You will choose a novel from the AP English: Literature and Composition open question 1971-2005 test list. The novel must be at least 150 pages. The assignment includes identifying ten stylistic prose techniques, defining the techniques in your own words, citing examples from the text, and providing a brief analysis of how the author uses the technique effectively. In addition, you will write four responses/reactions to the novel where you divide the novel into four sections and react to what is happening in the novel and to the characters and their personalities and motivations. This is not a plot summary. You will also complete an in depth prose analysis. This passage should be several sentences/paragraphs long—at least long enough to get some feel for the author’s style. You analyze the author’s style of writing in your reaction, focusing on techniques the author uses to capture the reader’s attention and/or to promote his/her theme. And finally, you will prepare a one to two minute advertisement for your book. The purpose for your presentation will be to encourage others to read your book. (Danny Lawrence)
8. Writing Assignments: In addition to formal essays and in class essays, there will be other writing assignments that display your understanding of literature, author’s style, and your creativity. You will be keeping a reading log/journal that focuses on your reactions to novel/drama reading assignments. These entries will include analysis of tone, diction, syntax, elements of figurative language, as well as other techniques that the author uses. Your reading log will also keep up with high-level vocabulary from texts. Reading log entries will be checked periodically—approximately every two weeks. In addition, you will be writing/editing/revisingpersonal pieces and literary pieces—short stories and poems. Your pieces must show growth throughout the year in the areas of vocabulary usage, sentence structure variation, employing a suitable voice and tone, and developing an appropriate style for communicating the theme(s) of your piece. For some getting started assignments, you will be asked to imitate a studied author’s style. For example, you may be asked to write a short story or personal piece from the perspective of a naïve narrator—in the case of a personal piece, the narrator may be you as a child--or to write an introduction to a short story using southern dialect like Mark Twain uses in Huckleberry Finn. You may be asked to write an allegory similar to Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” or Hawthorne’s “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment.” Toward the end of the AP experience, you will be asked to choose what you consider your best pieces to be included into your final portfolio of writings. Your portfolio will consist of the following:
1 piece must be either literary or personal
1 piece must be an analytical essay
1 piece must be an essay/real world writing (this piece must come from a class other than English, but may be revised this year)
1 piece must be a reflective writing where you discuss your growth and style as a writer, focusing on stylistic techniques, comparing yourself to authors we’ve studied.
9. Writing Workshops: Your most extensive writing workshop will occur during weeks 7-9 of the third quarter. This will be your last opportunity to finalize pieces for your senior portfolio, which is due approximately mid-April. This time will allow you to conference with the teacher and peers, editing and revising your pieces. In addition to your focus on employing a suitable voice and tone and having developed a personal style of writing to communicate themes, you will make any necessary changes to ensure a variety of sentence structure—simple, compound, complex—that portrays necessary use of subordination and coordination. Your pieces must also exhibit a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail.
Although the most extensive workshop occurs during weeks 7-9 of the third quarter, you will engage in mini one to two day workshops throughout the year. As you review the syllabus, you will notice recurring assignments labeled “In class timed writings” and “Out of class essays” as described above. These writing assignments, in addition to short stories, poems, and personal pieces, will be subject to discussion both before and after you revise your writings—note labels as “In class conferences and revisions after first drafts.” Again, we will be discussing and reviewing your ability to employ a variety of sentence structure, including appropriate use of subordination and coordination, and we will be ensuring your writings exhibit a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail most suitable to engage the reader’s interest.
In addition, you--the class--will help in developing rubrics for the writing workshops and in class conferences throughout the year. The rubrics will include making judgments concerning diction, syntax, structure, style, organization, specificity and generality.
My comments on your papers throughout the year are to encourage you to vary your sentence length and structure and to point out your ability to construct well thought out phrases, to choose appropriate words, and to provide original illustrative details.
Semester 1
First Quarter Schedule
Week 1: Introduction to the Course
Discussion concerning discussion rubric, grades, expectations, syllabus.
Explanations and handouts concerning recurring assignments.
Handouts and initial discussions/assignments over “Fundamentals of Poetry,” “Tone—Style—Syntax,” “The In-Class Essay,” and “Literary Analysis.” These handouts will be alluded to throughout the year to provide guidance for writing in-class and out-of-class essays, for writing ideas for poetry responses and reading log analysis entries, and to provide an awareness of the depth and complexity for analyzing literature.