English IV: AP English Literature and CompositionBailey

The College Board’sAP English Literature and Composition

You have not learned if you have not learned to question and revise yet. You must question everything and constantly grow in your understanding of the world and your place in it. To help you accomplish this, our classroom will be a place of constant revision, accountability, and collaboration. We will revise everything: your writing, my writing, our ideas, our assumptions, my teaching practices, and your learning styles. This course teaches accountability for your actions, learning, beliefs, successes, and failures. Our classroom will always strive to maintain an atmosphere that empowers all of us to think critically, independently, and without fear of being “wrong.” I am not afraid to show you that I do not know everything and that I am, first and foremost, a student, too. As such, we all will work together as learners in this course to reach our best and greatest potential.

English IV AP Literature and Composition is a course designed to comply with the curricular requirements described in the AP English Course Description by preparing motivated, college-bound students for entrance into competitive universities as well as by preparing students to take the AP English Literature and Composition exam. It is imperative that students understand that English IV AP requires their best and most dedicated efforts in course work that is considered quite rigorous and which necessarily moves quickly. Students will be asked to read literature from sophomore college level texts and to perform at the same academic level.

This course encourages and requires students to read, interpret, and write about literature in all genres. The readings, chosen from a variety of periods, are complex and invite rereading and multiple interpretations. As they read a given text, students consider the author’s style, structure, and theme by careful examination of literary devices such as diction, imagery, figurative language, mood, tone and symbolism. Writing and rewriting is a key component of the course; accordingly, composition focuses on the critical analysis and interpretation of literature through expository and analytical essays. Toward this end, students are encouraged to develop a wide and accurate vocabulary, practice using sentence variety, experiment with organizational techniques, and employ various rhetorical devices.

AP English Literature Course Learning Objectives:

  • collaborate in a learning community, fostering understanding and acceptance of divergent viewpoints;
  • contribute honestly and diligently to seminar discussions, projects, and group learning activities;
  • read to experience the pleasures of various literary forms;
  • read critically and with an eye toward analytical understanding of various British and American texts from 16th to 20th century;
  • write in clear and organized language appropriate to a variety of specific purposes;
  • develop writing skills that include wide-ranging vocabulary; a variety of sentence structures; logical organization; a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail; and effective rhetoric;
  • develop effective writing strategies that will aid students in writing timed essays that focus on literary analysis, style analysis, compare/contrast, and argumentation;
  • write literary analyses that consider a text’s structure, style, and themes; social and historical values; and figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone;
  • write and rewrite extended analyses and in class timed responses; and
  • write informal, exploratory responses; expository, analytical responses; and analytical, argumentative responses.

Assignments:

The focus of this course is primarily on writing and rewriting analytical essays based upon various works, reading multiple pieces of literature to enhance students’ literary repertoire, and participating in class seminars based on the reading selections and various literary concepts. Weekly readings, essays,reading responses, and discussions are required. Long term projects and term papersalso are mandatory for this course. Although we will have a variety of assignments, students’ compositions and essay exams will be the most important factors in their six week’s grade.

In compositions using secondary sources, students will be responsible for following Modern Language Association (MLA) format using internal, parenthetical documentation for all quoted materials and borrowed ideas, even if those ideas are paraphrased. AP students are expected to follow standard procedures for proper documentation. Failure to do such procedures may result in plagiarism, a cheating offense, guaranteed to earn zeroes for the assignment in this course and usually failure of the grading period.

Late Work/Absent Work:

Because this is a college course (and not merely like a college course), late work will only be accepted up to 4 class days. Due to the nature of the assignment and the lengthy notification, under no circumstances will term papers be accepted late.

If you are absent, it is your responsibility to gather the work you missed while you were absent. Work will be in the blue folders by the door marked by the day. Additionally, with the exception of essays or tests, I post assignments on my faculty webpage the day we do the work for you to access from home.

If you are absent when we have a timed writing, it is your responsibility to make up the essay within ONE WEEK of the date it was administered. If you exceed one week, you will receive a zero (0) for the essay.

Grading Policy

  • Major Grades: 40% (timed essays, seminars, projects) x2; (term paper) x3
  • Daily Grades: 50% (small group questions, reader responses, Blogger discussions, class annotations, participation)
  • Reading/Writing Grades: 10% (short responses, warm ups, reading quizzes, others as assigned)

Because your personal learning and growth are most important to me, you have the option to rewrite/redoanyassignment that is 1) turned in on time and 2) is not a long-term project/assignment. Grades in this class are not meant to be punitive or reflect a final judgment on your abilities. They are earned by you and reflect your progress and mastery.

Extra Credit:

No extra credit is given in this course because you already have control over your grade through rewrite/resubmission. Take the opportunities already established and built into the course!

Supplies:

You will need pen and paper. Lots of it. That’s all. Just lots and lots of ink and paper.

Contact me:

Eveline M. Bailey

281.604.7589

Remind 101: @63e7e9

Twitter: @aplitbailey
Student and Parent Information Sheet

By signing this sheet, I attest that I have read the AP English Literature and Composition Course Syllabus and understand the objectives, grading policies, and philosophy of the course.

Student signatureDate

Parent signatureDate

Please provide the following contact information:

Student name

Student email address (print clearly)

Parent(s) name

Parent email address (print clearly)

Parent contact number

1