Mr. Dodge

11 AP English Course Description

This course is intended to provide students with the skills necessary to write at the college level. It is the equivalent of a college or university Freshman Composition course. The course is also intended to enable the student to do well on the AP Language and Composition test in May. All students enrolled in this course must take this exam.

There are five skills a student needs to master in order to do well on the AP English Language and Composition Exam. They are:

        1. Writing a close literary analysis.

        2. Writing an argument.

        3. Writing an evaluation of someone else’s argument.

        4. Write a synthesis essay, a researched essay.

        4. Reading difficult texts from all eras.

Hopefully in the next 10 months you will all master these skills.

The AP test is 45% critical reading and 55% essay writing. The main emphasis of this course will be to improve your writing ability.

Curriculum:  The main emphasis of the course will be on rhetoric and composition in the forms mentioned above: analysis, persuasion, evaluation and synthesis. We will spend six to eight weeks on each form. Students will become adept at understanding and using the nuances of language and style, such as diction, syntax, figurative language, point of view, etc. The second emphasis will be on developing critical reading skills. The readings will be primarily nonfiction and nonliterary.

Grading: Your grades will be divided into the following categories:

        1. Formal Writing Assignments: 40%

        2. Homework: 40%

        3. Vocabulary Quizzes: 20%

Policies:       I will give students grade printouts upon request.

                Late homework will be penalized.

                Under most circumstances but only in a timely manner, essays may be                             rewritten till an acceptable grade has been achieved.

                AP courses are the most challenging courses high school students have yet                       experienced. At first some students are disappointed by their grades.                           Complaining about them does no good. Improving one’s writing and critical                       reading does.