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WELCOME TO
AP English Language and Composition
Mrs. Hinton, MAEd, EdS
Montevallo High School

Blog:

Course Overview

This course preparesstudents for the AP English Language and Composition exam while exploring literature from the 17th century until the present. In keeping with the College Board’s AP English course description, our focus will be on rhetoric: the art of constructing and presenting arguments in speech or writing. Readings will include essays, novels, speeches, poems, and personal narratives by a diverse group of American and international authors who were writing for varied purposes and audiences. In reading these texts, our emphasis will be on identifying both the what and thehow: What arguments are the authorsmaking? and Howdo they use rhetorical strategies effectively to construct these arguments?

Expectations

Advanced Placement English Language and Composition is the equivalent of an introductory college composition course. While these courses vary across institutions and instructors, the common goal is to give students an opportunity to write about subjects from a variety of disciplines and demonstrate an awareness of purpose and audience. The goal of this class is to help students feel confident in their writing capabilities in any area of life. For achieving this goal, students will be exposed to expository, analytical, argumentative, and reflective writing with the understanding that good writing stems from good reading.

Upon completing the AP Language and Composition course, students should be able to:

  • Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques.
  • Apply effective strategies and techniques in one’s own writing.
  • Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research, and/or personal experience.
  • Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English, as well as, stylistic maturity.
  • Write for a variety of purposes.
  • Produce expository, analytical, and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence (drawn from primary and/or secondary source material), convincing explanations, and clear transitions.
  • Demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary source material.
  • Move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing, and review.
  • Write thoughtfully about one’s own personal processes of composition.
  • Revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience.
  • Analyze a visual image as text.
  • Evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched papers.
  • Analyze the historical and cultural development of American literature with insight and clarity.
  • Write under time constraints.

Textbooks/Materials Used

  • The Bedford Reader, 10 ed. Bedford/St. Martins. 2010.
  • 5 Steps to a 5 AP English Language, 2012-2013 Edition. Murphy, Barbara and Estelle Rankin. McGraw-Hill Companies.
  • The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric. Renee Shea. Bedford/St. Martins. 2007.
  • 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. Samuel Cohen. Bedford/St. Martins. 2006.
  • Everything’s an Argument. Andrea A. Lunsford. Bedford/St. Martins. 2009.
  • Various other essays, stories, and novels

Materials

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  • 2-3” 3-ring binder with dividers
  • composition book
  • loose leaf paper
  • literary terms dictionary
  • AP study prep book
  • flash drive
  • note cards
  • sticky notes
  • writing utensils- pens, pencils
  • highlighters

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Literary Terms Dictionary

Because most of our study will consist of terminology associated with the AP exam, expect weekly vocabularytests. It is very helpful that you purchase a literary terms dictionary. Bring a dictionaryeach week in order to aide in vocabulary study. Some suggestions are as follows:

  • The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (Oxford Paperback Reference) Chris Baldick. 2009. (Amazon)
  • Literary Terms: A Dictionary. Karl Beckson and Arthur Ganz. 1989. (Amazon)

AP Study Prep Books

While much of the class is centered on mastering the national AP exam, it is also important to study while at home. The following list contains some suggested study guides:

  • Barron’s AP Language and Composition. George Ehrenheft. 2010.
  • Cracking the AP Language and Composition Exam: 2012. Princeton Review.
  • 5 Steps to a 5 AP English Language. Murphy, Barbara and Estelle Rankin. McGraw-Hill Companies.

Procedures

Independent Reading

Outside of class, spend at least 20 minutes a day reading an independent book. The best choices for AP Language can be found on the GoodReads.com website

Novel Project

GoodReads.com has an outstanding listfrom which to choose a book for independent reading. Each nine weeks, choose one from the list. A project will be assigned to go along with that book.

It is your responsibility to research and decide which one is appropriate for your taste. Be forewarned: Many of the books deal with mature issues, because AP is a college–level course. By the end of the year, you should have readat least two fictional novels, two nonfiction novels, and one play on your own. Novel projects are worth 100-200 points.

Remember: Great readers make great writers!

Vocabulary

Attached to the blog is the first list of vocabulary words.

I will provide class time on Fridays and Mondays for vocabulary study and quizzes. Vocabulary study should include a definition, a visual, and an example. Definition homework is due Wednesday / 20 points.Vocabulary quizzes occur Fridays.

Writing Assignments

Advanced Placement (AP) English Language and Composition is a coursewith a focus on improving student writing. Because of this, we will be responding to our readings through writing.

By the end of the course, students should have acquired skills to write arhetorical analysis, a synthesis essay, and an argument essay. Throughout the course, we will explore the entire writing process: prewriting, learning to formulate an outline, developing an argument, understanding the drafting process, evaluating, revising, sharing work with other students, and publishing.

Timed writings will be given periodically to ensure that students are able to see their growth as writers. In this process, an entire class period is devoted to responding to a particular prompt. The teacher will then provide feedback and an AP score. The students will then conference with the teacher with a one-week option provided for rewriting the essay in order to receive a higher score.

Homework

Typed assignments are due at the beginning of the period.

Before school begins,print in my classroomfor free or pay to use the printer in the library -- as long as I receive the paperbefore class begins. Interrupting anentire AP class so that one can print a personal paper will warrant my displeasure plus a reduced grade for late work. Good practice to remember: Type it, save it, then print it. Homework will count 30% of the final grade.

Make-Up Work

  • It is your responsibility to get make-up assignments when returning from an absence.
  • The appropriate time to discuss make-up work isduring 7th period study hall – not class time.
  • Assignments should be made up within three days of an excused absence.

Absences and Tardies

It is extremely important for your success to be present each day. Take careful consideration when accepting travel on extra-curricular field trips.

Missing one day from an AP course is equal to missing two days of another course.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is taking someone else’s thoughts or ideas. Even if you change the words, it is still someone else’s idea. Plagiarism will not be tolerated, resulting in a zero for the assignment. Cheating is a serious offense that will result in a zero for the assignment or assessment.

Behavior Policy

AP English is a college-level course. Students are expected to behave with college level maturity.

Listed below are some behaviorsthat are NOT tolerated in this environment.

NP-Not Prepared, HD/S-Head Down, Sleeping, PP- Poor Participation (inappropriate feedback, not in the moment),T- Tardy, TO- Talking out/Blurting out, RF- Referral, sent out of class, FDG- Food, Drink, Gum, NFD- Not following directions, HC- Any misbehavior needing a hall conference.

AP Exam

The Advanced PlacementEnglish Language and Composition course is designed to prepare students to score well on the AP Examination given each May.This exam is prepared and administered by the College Board. In order to receive college credit, students must score at level three or higher. Students will take this exam at the University of Montevallo. Thereis a required fee. Our school counselor, Ms. Allen, handles all costs involved with AP testing. The National AP Exam will count as the Final Exam for this course.

My Promise

It is my goal as a teacher to be as available as possible to my students. I want you to have a great year and grow as writers, students, and young adults. I want to prepare you for a bright future, feeling comfortable with transitioning into senior year and college. Please do not hesitate to come to me with any concerns because I am always here to help. E-mail me or come see me in my classroom after school. I remain after school nearly every day because I have not yet learned to go home!  While this class can often seem challenging and full of learning, I promise we will have a great time!

I am looking forward to being your teacher!

Advanced Placement English Language Year-at-a-Glance

First Nine Weeks: Welcome to AP Style

Unit One: Summer Reading / Synthesis Essay

Reading Focus:

Students begin the year by exploring the rhetorical strategies and argumentative dimensions of one fiction and one non-fiction selection read over the summer. Students will concentrate on annotation, manipulation of point of view, selection of detail, diction, and narrative structure. In addition, this unit will center heavily on research as students will explore the historical context of the two works and the accuracy of the authors’ depictions of the time period and events. The course will also interpret visual images of the era as text.

(Note: The study guide for each summer reading is located on Mrs. Hinton’s blog.)

  • Copper Sun (Sharon Draper)
  • Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave (Written by Himself)

Writing Focus:

After reading, annotating, and discussing a woman’s point of view in the novel Copper Sun, students will conduct and present a research project. This project will proceed through several stages with special instruction on citing sources (including visual sources), writing a works cited page, avoiding plagiarism, revision, including appropriate visuals, and using MLA format.

Peer reviewsinclude highlighting, comments, and offering suggestions to help one another fashion writing that is personal, detailed and engaging. Finally, students will deliver their research project orally, as this process helps students maintain an appreciation of audience and better understand tone, voice, and emphasis on detail.

The goal of reading and annotating the memoir Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglassis to give students the opportunity to explore the point of view of a man who survived slavery. By reading the memoir and rereading certain passages closely, combined with classroom discussion, students will explore the various beliefs and points of view Douglass experienced as he became increasingly aware of the unfairness of his life. Students will consider the emotional context of words and how diction affects an author's message. Each student will compose a one-page essay exploring the author’s diction.

In addition, students will conduct research on one of the points below. Locating primaryand secondary sources,students will write a documented argument to support or refute Douglass’s opinion.

Topic choices include

• Justice for slaves (and all men of color) is different from justice for whites

• No one can be enslaved if she or he has the ability to read, write, and think

• The way to enslave someone is to keep them from all learning

• Slaves were treated no better than, sometimes worse than, livestock

• By encouraging depravity men come to learn to hate freedom

• The Christianity of the slaveholders is hypocritical and used to justify their actions

Unit Two: Critical Reading and Annotation

  • “Disability” (Nancy Mairs)
  • The Rhetoric of Revolution
  • “Speech to the Second Virginia Convention” (Patrick Henry)
  • fromStrive Toward Freedom (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)
  • “Neat People vs. Sloppy People” (Suzanne Britt)
  • “On the Death of Martin Luther King, Jr.” (Robert Kennedy)
  • “Is It a Crime for a Citizen of the United States to Vote?” (Susan B. Anthony)

The Big Picture: Thinking Critically About Images

Second Nine Weeks: The Nature of Argument and Satire

Unit Three: The Writing Process

  • “Mental Illness on Television” (Rosie Anaya)
  • To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
  • “Too Much Pressure” (Colleen Wenke)
  • “How They Chose These Words” (Time magazine)
  • “A Modest Proposal” (Jonathan Swift)
  • “But Enough About You” (Brian Williams)

Peer reviewsinclude highlighting, comments, and offering suggestions to help one another fashion writing that is personal, detailed and engaging. Students deliver their essays orally, as this process helps students maintain an appreciation of audience and better understand tone, voice and emphasis on detail.

  • What is the thesis statement?
  • Writing a thesis statement
  • Drafting
  • Editing
  • Effective transitions
  • Revision
  • Integrating source material: summary, paraphrase, quotation
  • Including evidence and commentary
  • Evaluating sources: author’s credentials and bias, evidence, purpose and audience
  • Synthesizing multiple sources
  • Avoiding Plagiarism and the Internet
  • Source citation using MLA style

Unit Four: The HarlemRenaissance / Rhetorical Analysis

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston)
  • “If We Must Die” (Claude McKay)
  • “The Tropics in New York” (Claude McKay)
  • Stanzas from a Black Epic (Robert Hughes – Time magazine)
  • “I, Too” (Langston Hughes)
  • “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” (Langston Hughes)
  • “When the Negro Was in Vogue” (Langston Hughes)
  • “Your World” (Georgia Douglas Johnson)
  • “A black man talks of reaping” (Arna Bontemps)
  • “Any Human to Another” (Countee Cullen)
  • “The Creation” (James Weldon Johnson)

Third Nine Weeks: Narration

Unit Five: Telling a Story

  • The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
  • “We Real Cool” (Gwendolyn Brooks)
  • “Shooting an Elephant” (George Orwell)
  • “I Have a Dream” (Dr. Martin Luther King)
  • “The Lottery” (Shirley Jackson)
  • “Fish Cheeks” (Amy Tan)
  • “Champion of the World” (Maya Angelou)

Unit Six: U.S. and the World / Rhetorical Analysis

  • The Greatest Generation (Tom Brokaw)
  • “Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain” (Jessica Mitford)
  • “Size 6: The Western Women’s Harem” (Fatema Mernissi)
  • “Orange Crush” (Yiyun Li)
  • current event news articles

Fourth Nine Weeks: Preparing for the AP Exam

Unit Seven: Ten Thousand Talkers Whose Tongues Were All Broken

  • The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
  • “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”(Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)
  • “Inaugural Address” (John F. Kennedy)
  • “The Torchbearer”(Rita Dove – Time magazine)
  • “Ambush” (Tim O’Brien)
  • “Proposal for the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial”(Maya Lin)
  • Hiroshima (John Hersey)

AP Language and Composition Exam Preparation – Free Response and Multiple Choice:

In addition to the timed writing activities spread out over the course of the year, students participate in final series of timed writings that allow students to:

  • write under a pressured timeline
  • peer evaluate, score, debrief and revise samples
  • practice reading, annotating and composing
  • provide self-evaluation
  • receive teacher evaluation

Advanced Placement Program --- Program Agreement Shelby County Schools

A+ College Ready

AP Calculus, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP English Language,

AP English Literature

Dear Parents & Students,

So glad that you are enrolled in an A+ College Ready Advanced Placement (AP) class.

Your school was selected to be a part of the A+ College Ready Program for AP Calculus, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP English Language, and AP English Literature.

The goal of the A+ College Ready Program is to provide schools & teachers with the tools, resources, training, and support to achieve academic excellence. A+ College Ready works to increase the number of students taking math, science, and English AP courses.

The Advanced Placement Program is an academic program of college-level courses and examinations for high school students. Students enrolled in AP courses take the College Board AP Exam and have an opportunity to earn college credit and/or advanced standing in college based on their scores on the AP Exam.

The curriculum of an AP course is challenging and goes into greater depth with the academic material than regular courses. AP courses require students to use analytical thinking, reading, writing, and problem solving skills. AP courses are taught using college level materials and teaching strategies.

  • Research shows that students who take AP classes are more successful in college classes.

Students in A+ College Ready math, science, and English AP courses have a number of opportunities available to improve success in these AP courses, like: Saturday review sessions, before &/or after school support as needed, and in-class support throughout the year.

  • A student – may exit an A+ College Ready AP math, science, or English class only after participating in that AP class for 4 ½ weeks (after 4 ½ weeks if the student still wants to exit he/she must have a letter from the parent & signed permission of the principal)

For many AP classes, AP students will be expected to complete required summer reading or review before the course begins.

Program Agreement

Grading

For students enrolled in an AP course, the GPA is weighted:

A = 5 pointsD = 2 points

B = 4 pointsF = 0 points

C = 3 points

The grading policies for each AP course are given to the students the first week of school.

Homework

The daily homework will be required. Students are often assigned reading or long-term projects that require them to plan their time so that they are not overwhelmed by deadlines. Developing self-discipline in the area of time management is a goal of all AP classes.

Late Work

Students who elect to take AP courses are expected to do the work required on time; there should be no late work for AP courses.

Honor Code

The nature of AP work often requires that students complete graded assignments outside of class. Students are expected to complete their own work (assignments & homework included) without the assistance of others unless the instructor specifically allows collaboration. Sharing work with another student or using another student’s work as his/her own may result in removal from that AP course. Violation of the school Honor Code may also be grounds for removal from any AP course as well as disciplinary action.