Advanced Placement English Language and Composition Syllabus
I. Summer 2008 Reading and Writing / Course Overview For Students and Parents
“I have often reflected upon the new vistas that reading opened to me.~
I knew right there in prison that reading had changed forever the
course of my life.~ As I see it today, the ability to read awoke in me
some long dormant craving to be mentally alive.”
~~~~~~~~ —Malcolm X
Welcome to eleventh grade Advanced Placement English. This course is an exciting opportunity to study English at the college level while still in high school. If you are curious and passionate about the power of language to inspire and ignite the imagination, if you want to learn more about the mysteries and magic of words, you are in the right place.
SECTION ONE. Summer Reading and Writing Assignments
All of the assignments described below are due the first day of class in September. They will become your first graded work.
What is due the first day of class?
• The first day of class in September you will pass in your Norton Reader journal responses. They must be typed, double-spaced. Handwritten responses will not be accepted for credit.
• There will be written, in-class examinations on Lincoln’s Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural, by Ronald C. White Jr. and In Dubious Battle, by John Steinbeck. The format of these two exams will be a combination of multiple choice questions and essays.
If you cannot be in school for the first class, email Mr. Dodge or Mr. Sharkovitz to make arrangements to take the test and submit your work before the first class. No work will be accepted late. Please note that the successful completion of your summer reading and writing assignments is a prerequisite for continued work in this course. All existing course level recommendations are tentative pending the evaluation of your summer assignments. A 70 average is considered a passing grade on your summer reading and writing. If you do not earn that grade, or if you decide to take a different course, please notify your guidance counselor immediately.
Required Summer Texts
In Dubious Battle
Lincoln’s Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural
The Norton Reader (Please note that we have two different editions of The Norton Reader. The page numbers on the left are for the ninth edition; page numbers on the right are for the tenth edition.)
Reading / Writing Assignments for The Norton Reader:
“On Dumpster Diving,” by Lars Eighner, p 13 / 15
A“How Teachers Make Children Hate Reading,” by John Holt, p. 254 / 228
“Of Youth and Age,” Francis Bacon, p. 365 / 314
“The Clan of One-Breasted Women,” by Terry Tempest Williams, p 412 / 356
“From Realism to Virtual Reality,” by H. Bruce Franklin, p 487 / 434
“The Morals of the Prince,” by Niccolo Machiavelli, p 536 / 484
“Letter From Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King, Jr., p. 562 / 503
“The Allegory of the Cave,” by Plato, p. 747 / 652
“The Mystery of Zen,” by Gilbert Highet, p. 753 / 658
“Existentialism,” by Jean-Paul Sartre, p. 762 / 666
Directions for Writing About Norton Reader essays:
You should write about each selection in a response journal or notebook suitable for this purpose. In it you should reflect upon your readings in honest and intellectually substantive ways. Do not merely summarize the passages.
While the following list of suggestions is not inclusive of everything you might write about, it should give you some ideas about the kinds of approaches available to you. The type of essay, too, will affect your approach.
In essays that are primarily argumentative, it’s appropriate to define the writer’s major assertions. Do you agree or disagree with the writer’s views? Why do you hold the position you maintain? What fundamental assumptions does the writer make? Are the assumptions warranted or unwarranted? Why? What are the implications of the writer’s assertions if they are given assent? Are these implications important or unimportant? Why?
How are any of the essays interconnected? Make connections with your own experience. What does the reading make you think about? Do you see any similarities between this material and other books you have read?
Ask yourself questions about the text: What perplexes you about some passage or some point that the writer is making? Try beginning, “I wonder why. . .” or “I’m having trouble understanding how. . .” or “It perplexes me that. . .” or “I was surprised when. . .”
Try agreeing with the writer. Think of all the things you can say to support his or her ideas. Or try arguing with the writer. Think of your journal as a place to carry on a dialogue with the writer or with the text. Speak to him or her. Ask questions, and have the writer answer back.
Write down words, images, phrases, details that strike you. Speculate about them. Why are they there? What do they add? Why did you notice them? You might try dividing your notebook page in half, and copying words from the text onto the left side, writing your own responses on the right. On a first reading you might simply put checks in the margin where the passage intrigues you; on the second reading you can choose the most interesting to speculate about.
How do matters of style such as sentence length, diction, syntax, metaphor, imagery, symbol and tone affect meaning?
Remember, the journal is a place where you respond to your readings. In this way you will begin to connect them to your own experience. As you reflect, ruminate and question, listen carefully to yourself and attempt to describe the effect(s) the writings have on you. Write honestly, respond deeply, expand on the author’s ideas, and—most importantly—attempt to discover your own. Each journal entry should be about 250 words.
Evaluation of your journal responses will be based upon a variety of factors such as depth and originality of thought, clarity of expression, organization, and how thoroughly and cogently you develop and support your ideas.
As previously stated, the journal responses are due the first official day of class in September. No work will be accepted late for any reason. I strongly recommend that you begin these assignments early in July. You must respond to all the Norton essays. If you choose not to respond to one or more essays, you will not be allowed to continue in the AP English class.
SECTION TWO. Suggested Reference Work.
A Dictionary of Literary Terms, ed. by J. A. Cuddon (Penguin)
SECTION THREE. A Brief Overview of the Course and Other Helpful Information
FAQ: Is AP English Language and Composition a good class for me if I need a lot of help with my spelling, punctuation, and grammar?
ANSWER: It would probably be a good idea to work on developing your spelling, punctuation, and grammar before taking this course. This is a college level course in advanced rhetoric, writing, and reading, and civic discourse. Students should possess a mastery of grammar, spelling, and punctuation basics before signing up for this class. The students for whom this course is recommended are those that have spent a good deal of time reading widely and deeply in both fiction and non-fiction genres. You should be reading books about history, music, math, science, art, philosophy, and so on. Without a strong background in reading significant books it is likely that when the time comes to write essays,
especially persuasive ones, students will find that they have nothing to write about to support their ideas. Thus, if you are wondering whether this course is appropriate for you, ask yourself this question: Do I know much about the world beyond that which I might encounter locally or on television? If you attempt to create a quick inventory list of your knowledge and find, save for a few scattered references to the vestiges of pop culture, that it’s blank, then this course might not be for you.
This course has two major goals: (1) to help you write more powerfully and effectively, and (2) to help you read with deeper understanding.
Our writing assignments include rhetorical analyses, personal essays, argumentative essays, expository essays, evaluation essays, journal entries, and more.
Occasional weekend, evening, and after school meetings are required and will be announced in advanced by the teacher. Units on SAT and AP test-taking skills are included in this course.
Homework assignments will generally require 1-3 hours of your time to complete for each class meeting. This means that you might have to make some choices. Select extracurricular activities judiciously. Having access to a computer where you might save essay drafts for later revision is absolutely essential. You are welcome to use the computers in room 411 for this purpose.
If you plan to miss a lot of our classes because of other commitments such as field trips during school time or vacations beyond regular school dates, you should select a class more in keeping with your busy schedule. Each missed class dramatically reduces your chances of mastering the complex material contained in this course curriculum.
Parents and students will find important information on [teacher’s name withheld] faculty Web site, especially in the 11 AP section. The links to AP Central, non-fiction reading list, non-fiction student reviews, Introduction to Modern Literary Theory, American Rhetoric, and the Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation are particularly helpful.
II. Units of Study
A. Unit Title: Rhetorical Analysis
Summary
The students in this class are preparing to take the AP Language and Composition Test in May. This unit will help them prepare to write an essay effectively analyzing a writer's rhetorical methods and strategies. In addition, we will help them become skilled readers of a variety of prose styles. To meet these goals, our students will learn, as Roskelly and Jolliffe say, to “read carefully and critically,” “to conceive good, compelling ideas to write about; to elaborate those ideas in full effective papers; and to produce correct, standard English.”
Print Materials
Additional selections from The Norton Reader, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Custom House,” Richard Rodriguez, Hunger of Memory; Stephen King, On Writing, Diana Hacker, A Writer’s Reference, Lee A. Jacobus, A world of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers, Joseph Mitchell, Up in the Old Hotel, Lawana Trout, Native American Literature.
Teacher Resources
Teacher's Guide AP English
Roskelly and Jolliffe; Everyday Use: Rhetoric at Work in Reading and Writing; Pearson, Longman; 2005.
Internet Resources
AP Web Site: Writing prompts, as well as scoring guidelines and student models essays, including those by Gary Soto, Eudora Welty, Jamaica Kincaid, and Mary Oliver.
Additional Web resources available at [teacher’s name withheld] faculty page.
Massachusetts ELA Standards
Composition
#19 Focus and Support
#20 Genres, Modes and Styles
#21 Organization, content, detail, diction
#22 Standard English Conventions and Usage
#23 Asking questions, taking notes, summarizing, outlining
Understandings
Authors use a wealth of rhetorical strategies to convey their messages. Authors use a variety of stylistic elements like diction, imagery, syntax, structure, tone and detail to convey their feelings and opinions. Using the techniques of formal criticism can enhance the reader's enjoyment and understanding of a text. There are many ways to explore and analyze a text besides formal criticism.
The analytical and expository writing skills developed in this course will be helpful in college and the real world.
Essential Questions
What are the essential stylistic strategies for writing a formal analytical essay? What are the conventions used in writing a formal analytical essay? What is the personal value of studying and writing about "the other literature" (essays, not poetry, fiction and drama)?
Knowledge and Skills
Students will know: The various types of literary criticism, including historical, formal, feminist, psychological, archetypal, and reader response, various strategies for effective analysis, and the conventions of formal analysis and AP writing. Students will be able to:
Critically examine a text for its meaning. Analyze how an author achieves an effect through stylistic choices. Write effectively and fluently about texts.
Key Evidence
1. Students will demonstrate continual improvement in their in-class analytical writing assignments.
2. Students will use appropriate writing process strategies to produce final drafts of their analytical essays.
3. Students will provide helpful criticism of each other's analytical essays in peer conferences.
4. Students will use teacher conferences and the teacher's written comments to improve their writing.
5. Students will display evidence of self-evaluation in the improvement of their writing.
Assessment Summary: Students will perform successfully on the AP Language and Composition Test.
Writing Assessment Guide
1. Thesis/Purpose
Clearly stated
Clearly developed
2. Understanding/Organization
Clear understanding is displayed
Ideas are clearly developed
3. Evidence/Details
Strong use of supporting
Evidence and details
Effective use of quotes and
References to source materials
4. Usage
Correct spelling
Correct grammar
Correct punctuation
5. Style/Structure
Correct format
Effective introduction
Proper paragraph structure
Effective conclusion
Effective use of language
Learning Activities
1. Students will read essays from The Norton Reader by authors including Maya Angelou, Lars Eighner, Alice Walker, H. Bruce Franklin and Eudora Welty and respond to them in their reader's journals.
2. Students will read and understand sophisticated works of fiction and nonfiction and demonstrate through reading quizzes and class discussions, as well as their essays, the ability to analyze these works closely and effectively.
3. Students will read and analyze short pieces by authors such as Richard Rodriguez, Francis Bacon, Hawthorne, Emerson and Thoreau and others.
4. Students will practice writing under AP conditions from prompts from real AP tests including pieces by Soto, Oliver, Kincaid, Welty and others. Students will improve these essays through subsequent drafts.
5. The teacher will provide mini-lessons on the various types of literary criticism.
6. The teacher will provide lessons and practice on writing introductions, conclusions, and thesis statements, employing the conventions of formal writing, using syntax correctly, and incorporating quotations seamlessly.
7. A unit on preparing for the Writing section of the SAT I can also be incorporated into this unit, including lessons on identifying sentence errors, and improving sentences and paragraphs.
8. Students will learn vocabulary and literary terms, which will help them write effective analytical essays.
Additional rubrics are available at teacher’s faculty Web site.
B. Unit Title: Writing a Persuasive Essay
Summary
The students in this class are preparing to take the AP Language and Composition Test in May. This unit will help them to write persuasively. This is one of the most important skills we can teach our students. It is essential for success in college and in society. “Developing an argument requires a range of critical thinking and communication skills, the imagination to see multiple viewpoints on a single issue, a repertoire of ways to support and illustrate a point, and a keen sense of audience (AP English Language and Composition 2005-6 Workshop Materials, p. 5).”
Print Materials
The Norton Reader (including “Is America Falling Apart?” by Anthony Burgess, and “Between the Sexes, A Great Divide,” by Anna Quindlen.
40 Model Essays, ed. Jane E. Aaron (including “The Tipping Point,” by Malcolm Gladwell.)
Handouts on persuasion, argumentation and dialectic, terms of logic, including induction, deduction, the inductive leap, syllogism, the distributed middle term, Ockham’s Razor and Hanlon’s Razor, logical fallacies, the rhetorical triangle, ethos, pathos and logos, and types of evidence.
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
“Speech to the Graduates,” by Woody Allan
“Harvard Commencement Speech,” by Conan O’Brien
Teacher Resources
Advanced Placement Course Description English
Teacher's Guide AP English
Everyday Use: Rhetoric at Work in Reading and Writing, by Hepzibah Roskelly and David A. Jolliffe.
AP Language and Composition, 2005-6 Professional Development Workshop Materials
Internet Resource Links
AP Web Site: Writing Prompts, scoring guidelines and student model essays.
Massachusetts ELA Standards
Composition
#19 Focus and support
#20 Genres, modes and styles
#21 Organization, content, detail, diction
#22 Standard English conventions and usage
#23 Asking questions, taking notes, summarizing, outlining
Understandings
A persuasive essay must express a clear and logical opinion (thesis statement). A persuasive essay needs compelling evidence to support opinion: scholarship, effective quotes from higher authorities, historical information, as well as personal experience. A persuasive essay follows certain conventions while using a lively style. An effective AP writer is a well-read person. There are differences between writing a successful AP essay, and using the writing process to produce ready for publication work.
Essential Questions
What are the basic conventions and literary elements of a persuasive essay? What constitutes an effective opening and closing to a persuasive essay? Where would you use a persuasive essay in the real world?
Knowledge and Skills
Students will know:
1. The principles of argument and persuasion, including terms of logic, such as induction and deduction and logical fallacies.
2. How to write an effective thesis statement.
3. How to write an interesting and imaginative introduction and conclusion to an argument.
4. How to use multiple types of evidence to support an argument, evidence from history, current events, and the arts, as well as personal experience.
5. How to use logical, moral and emotional appeals to an audience in an argument, and how to distinguish among the three.
Students will be able to:
1. Employ the conventions of argumentation, such as the “basic move of all effective rhetorical texts (which) is claim-plus-support” (Everyday Use, p. 13).
2. Anticipate and criticize opposing points of view.
3. Create a distinct persona, or voice, when they write persuasively.
4. Feel confident and comfortable when taking the AP test.
Key Evidence
1. Students will demonstrate continual improvement in their in-class 40-minute persuasive writing assignments.
2. Students will use the writing process, including prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing to produce polished persuasive essays.
3. Students will helpfully critique their peers' writing.
4. Students will use teacher conferences to improve their writing.
5. Students will display evidence of self-evaluation in the improvement of their writing.
Assessment Summary
Students will perform successfully on the AP Language and Composition Test.
Persuasive Essay Rubric
1. The AP writer presents a clear and articulate thesis that is thoughtful, insightful and relevant. The thesis will usually defend or oppose the author's statement, rarely qualify it, unless a compromise solution is called for The thesis statement should appear in the last sentence of the first paragraph.
2. The AP writer demonstrates a strong understanding of the subject at hand.
3. The AP writer's argument uses strong evidence from the passage and other appropriate sources (from his/her reading and knowledge of history) to support their position.
4. The AP writer displays a mature style and correct usage of the mechanics of writing.
Learning Activities
1. Students will read effective persuasive essays from the Norton Reader as models.
2. Students will write persuasive essays in class and at home from actual AP prompts, including passages by Neil Postman, Henry James, James Baldwin and Barbara Tuchman. These will be carried through to the publication stage.
3. The students will write essays based on the 2005 AP prompt on a “controversial local, national, or global issue.”
4. As part of the “controversial issue” unit, students will do the lesson, “The Morgan Horse Revisited: Using AP Samples for Revisions” by Mary Jo Potts from the 2005-6 Workshop Materials.
5. The teacher will provide individual conferencing.
6. The teacher will provide a unit on logic.
7. The teacher will provide a unit on satire.
8. Students will learn vocabulary and terms of logic.
C. Unit Title: Writing an Essay of Evaluation
Summary
The students in this class are preparing to take the AP Language and Composition test in May. This unit will prepare them to evaluate another writer's argument.
Print Materials Needed
The Norton Reader, including essays by John Holt, William Hazlitt, Chief Seattle, Machiavelli, Plato and Sartre.
Famous speeches, including Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty,” Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Lucy Stone’s “ Disappointment is the Lot of Women,” FDR’s Declaration of War, JFK’s Inaugural, George W. Bush’s 1st Inaugural, and Churchill’s “We Shall Never Surrender.”
“Civil Disobedience” by Thoreau.
The New Yorker.
The Boston Globe.
Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut.
Teacher Resources
Teacher's Guide AP English
Everyday Use: Rhetoric at work in Reading and Writing, by Hephzibah Roskelly and David A. Jolliffe.
Internet Resource Links
AP web site: Writing Prompts, scoring guides and student models.
Other Resources
Videos of effective speeches including Bono’s Harvard Commencement speech and Henry V’s St. Crispin Day speech.
Massachusetts ELA Standards
Compositions
#19 Focus and support
#20 Genres, modes and styles
#21 Organization, content, detail, diction
#22 Standard English conventions and usage
#23 Asking questions, taking notes, summarizing, outlining
Understandings
Students will understand that the evaluation essay on the AP exam requires skills and techniques from both analysis and argumentation. The basic standards of formal writing must be observed in an evaluation essay, including maintaining a scholarly tone, and using a superior vocabulary, the active voice, parallel structure, figurative language and varied sentence length. It is important to avoid using clichés, slang, redundancy and verbosity.
Questions
How can one distinguish between logical argumentation and unfounded or illogical appeals? Where and how can one use evaluative skills in the real world? Can they be used in evaluating advertisements and other elements of the print and electronic media? How does one identify assumptions and fallacies?
Knowledge and Skills
Students will know how to distinguish between fact and opinion, and how to distinguish between appeals to emotion and appeals to reason. Students will be able to summarize the main issues in an essay and the writer's position on these issues, weigh the validity of an author's assertions, listing the strengths and weaknesses of each assertion, decide whether to support, negate or qualify an author's assertion, determine and evaluate an intended audience, and organize evidence and arguments in the most compelling and efficient manner.
Key Evidence
1. Students will demonstrate continual improvement in their in-class evaluative writing.
2. Students will use multiple drafts to improve and polish initial in-class essays.
3. Students will be able to help their peers improve their evaluations.
4. Students will use teacher comments on their essays to improve their writing.
Assessment Summary: Students will perform successfully on the AP language and Composition Test.
Evaluation Essay Rubric
Based on the MCAS Writing Assessment Guide
1. Purpose: Purpose (thesis) is conveyed in a clear and unambiguous manner.
2. Organization: The essay shows mastery of organization, focus and fluency.
3. Evidence: The essay uses vivid, explicit and compelling evidence to support its thesis.
4. Standard English Conventions: Essay shows mastery of spelling, sentence structure, grammar and usage.
Learning Activities
1. Students will read and evaluate essays in The Norton Reader by authors including John Holt, George Orwell, Francis Bacon, William Hazlitt, Chief Seattle, Machiavelli, Plato, Sartre, and Gilbert Highet.
2. Students will read and evaluate John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address and compare their analysis with published articles from The New Yorker and other sources.
3. Students will read and evaluate a number of other famous speeches.
4. Students will view and evaluate television advertisements using the SMELL Method (sender, message, effect, logic and language).
5. Students will read and evaluate newspaper editorials, including "Smokers Get a Raw Deal" from the NY Times, and a student's analysis of that essay.
6. Students will read and evaluate articles from magazines and newspapers including The New Yorker and The Boston Globe.
7. Students will write evaluation essays based on AP prompts, including Adlai Stevenson's statement regarding his veto of the "Cats Bill,” letters of correspondence between executives of the Coca Cola Company and the Grove Press, George Orwell on Gandhi, and Lord Chesterfield’s letter to his son.
8. Students will write quarterly book reviews of significant nonfiction books, which will be shared with the class.
D. Unit Title: Writing a Synthesis Essay
Summary
According to the College Board, beginning in May of 2007, the AP English Language and Composition Exam will contain a new type of free response question called the synthesis essay. In this essay, students will be require to use information from a variety of sources (e.g., printed material, graphs, editorial cartoons, etc.) to help them fashion an argument / analysis in response to a prompt. Students will need to think critically about the information as they use what is appropriate to support their arguments. In addition, some multiple choice questions will require student responses that reflect an ability to understand and interpret information cited as part of a text.
Print Materials
• Sample synthesis essays
• Editorial cartoons from various magazines and newspapers
• A Writer’s Reference, Diana Hacker
• Statistics for Dummies, by Deborah Rumsey (excerpts)
• How to Lie With Statistics by Darrell Huff and Irving Geis (excerpts)
• Eats, Shoots & Leaves, by Lynne Truss (excerpts)
• The Madwoman in the Attic, Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar
Teacher Resources
• Roskelly and Jolliffe; Everyday Use: Rhetoric at Work in Reading and Writing; Pearson, Longman; 2005.
• Teacher’s Guide to AP English (College Board publication)
Other Resources
• “Balance” (10-minute animated video. The setting is on a floating platform where a group of evenly and carefully placed men live apparently suspending by nothing in nothing. Directed by Christoph Lauenstein and
Wolfgang Lauenstein. Found in DVD, “The World’s Greatest Animation.”
• “I, Borg,” excerpt from “Star Trek” episode.
• Commencement speeches by various individuals including Bono (U2), Rod Paige, Pres. Clinton.
• Assorted television commercials, both professional and student created
Internet Resources
• AP Central
Understandings
• Writing effective researched essays and analyses means more than cutting and pasting information into a composition; the process requires thinking critically about the source materials being used and cited.
• Visual and media literacy skills are essential for participating fully in a democratic society.
• Thinking critically about source materials requires that any potential information user think deeply about the material.
Essential Questions
• What specific bias, point of view, or perspective does the creator of the source possess?
• How does the bias, p-o-v, perspective affect an individual’s interpretation of the information?
• Are there any fallacies of logic that affect the validity of the information?
• What methods of visual rhetoric govern the presentation, meaning, or origin of the photograph, graph, chart, editorial cartoon?
• What ideologies does the alphabetic or visual information support?
• Has the information originated in any known think tank?
• Is the information connected to the talking points of any political party?
Knowledge and Skills
• Students will learn the distinction between inductive and deductive reasoning.
• Students will learn to detect fallacies in arguments and how to avoid them in their own.
• Students will learn to ask questions about the validity of information found on the Internet (e.g., Who posted the information? How recent is it? Etc.)
• Students will learn how to use appeals of Logos, Ethos, and Pathos in their writings.
• Students will learn how to interpret the connotations of symbols, images, diction, and syntax.
Key Evidence
• Students will demonstrate continual improvement in their in-class synthesis writing assignments.
• Students will use appropriate writing process strategies to produce final drafts of their synthesis essays.
• Students will provide helpful criticism of each other's essays in peer conferences.
• Students will use teacher conferences and the teacher's written comments to improve their writing.
• Students will display evidence of self-evaluation in the improvement of their writing.
Assessment Summary
Students will perform successfully on the AP Language and Composition Test.
Key Learning Activity
All students will write a successful in-class synthesis essay that demonstrates mastery of the concepts and skills studied.
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