AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
Course Description
School Characteristics:
The high school in which I teach is a suburban public school which is accredited by the Association of Secondary Schools and recognized as a member of the College Board. Our enrollment as of this date is 2,856. Last year’s senior class had 566 students. Our ethnic population consists of the following groups: 3% Asian, 4% African-American, 22% Hispanic, 71% Anglo and other. Most of our students will go on to higher education upon graduation: 91% are college bound; 64% will attend 4-year institutions, 36% will go either to a 2 year or Technical School. The faculty consists of 141 teachers. Of these, 45% have Masters Degrees; 1% has Doctoral Degrees. Four of us are Nationally Certified Teachers.
It is our school policy to insure that our AP classes reflect the diversity of our student population.
The school provides English Teachers with the necessary equipment to practice for the free response sections of the exam including the media equipment to view visuals: CD players, VHS and DVD players, class computers and projectors. We also have access to a computer lab with Internet for research and composition.
The school provides each student with textbooks for use inside and outside of the classroom. Each student has a copy of a reader: Each student also has a personal copy of the Glencoe Language Arts Grade 11 Grammar and Language Workbook
College Credit:
Students who choose to take AP English Language and Composition are in an Advanced Placement (AP) course. The school districts’ grading system is based on a 4 point scale, but AP courses are weighed on a 5 point scale. Any student taking this class is encouraged to take the AP English Language and Composition Exam in May. College credit will be determined by the student’s performance on this exam. Policies differ from one university to another. Therefore, it is the student’s responsibility to secure in writing the policy of the college of his choice. Each student must make arrangements with the counselor to pay a registration fee in order to take the exam.
Course Objectives:
The purpose of this course is to help students “write effectively and confidently in their college courses across the curriculum and in their professional and personal lives.” (CollegeBoard AP English Course Description, May 2007, May 2008. p. 6) Therefore, students will be expected to read critically, think analytically, and communicate clearly both in writing and speech. The goals for students are as follows:
· 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 their 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 in their own writings;
· write for a variety of purposes;
· write in a variety of genres and contexts, both formal and informal, employing
· appropriate conventions;
· produce expository and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex
· central idea and develop it with appropriate, specific evidence, cogent
· explanations, and clear transitions;
· move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful
· attention to inquiry and research, synthesizing, drafting, revising, editing,
· and review:
· write thoughtfully about their own process of composition;
· revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience;
· analyze image as text; and
· evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched papers
(CollegeBoard AP English Course Description, May 2007, May 2008. p. 9)
Grades/Assessments
Essays 30% : Most essays will first be written as an in-class essay and graded as a rough draft. Rough drafts will be self-edited and peer-edited before students type the final copies. Final copies make up 30% of the six weeks’ grade. Rough drafts, and editing assignments are part of the daily work which will be 20% of the six weeks’ grade. Students must submit all drafts with final copies. Graded final copies will be kept in a portfolio.
Essays Scores will be as follows:
Score Grade for Rough Drafts Grade for Final Copies
9 100 100
8 95 90
7 90 85
6 85 75
5 80 70
4 75 60
3 70 50
2 65 40
1 60 30
Tests: Most tests consists of multiple-choice questions over reading selections. These questions ask students to analyze rhetorical devices and their function given passages. Some passages will be from texts which students have previously read and studied, but some passages will be from new material that the student will be analyzing for the first time.
Quizzes: Quizzes are primarily to check for reading and basic understanding of a text. Each unit has at least one quiz over vocabulary from the readings. Also, each unit has at least one quiz over grammatical and mechanical concepts reviewed in daily tasks as well as from the discussions and/or annotations of syntax from the readings.
Daily: Daily assignments consist of a variety of tasks. Some of these tasks involve individual steps leading to a larger product, such as plans, research, drafts, and edits for an essay. Other daily tasks consist of grammar reviews, vocabulary exercises, annotation of texts, and fluency writing. Most lessons will begin with a warm-up or anticipatory task. These will focus on a grammatical or writing concept that connects to the day’s reading assignment. (Items for these mini-lessons are from PSAT/NMSQT Practice Tests, SAT Preparation Booklets, Harbrace College Handbook, and Glencoe Grammar and Composition Handbook) Students do these exercises during the first 5 minutes of the class period.
Course Organization
The course is organized by themes. (See Fall and Spring Semesters pages 5 - 31)
Each unit requires students to acquire and use rich vocabulary, to use standard English grammar, and to understand the importance of diction and syntax in an author’s style. Therefore, students will be expected to develop the following:
· a wide-ranging vocabulary used appropriately and effectively;
· a variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of subordination and coordination;
· logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques to increase coherence, such as repetition, transitions, and emphasis;
· a balance of generalization and specific illustrative detail; and
· an effective use of rhetoric including controlling tone, establishing and maintaining voice, and achieving appropriate emphasis through diction and sentence structure.
(CollegeBoard AP English Course Description, May 2007, May 2008. p. 8)
For each reading assignment students must identify the following:
· Thesis or Claim
· Tone or Attitude
· Purpose
· Audience and Occasion
· Evidence or Data
· Appeals: logos, ethos, pathos
· Assumptions or Warrants
· Style (How the author communicates his message: rhetorical mode, rhetorical devices always including diction and syntax.
FALL SEMESTER
INTRODUCTION
AP Course Description
Class rules and Responsibilities
Grading System
Rhetorical Terms (Definitions)
Rhetorical Modes
Rhetorical Devices
READING RHETORICAL MODES RHETORICAL DEVICES
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Verlaan, Saskia. “Perspectives on Fear” Narration Imagery
Description Figurative Language
Comparison/Contrast
Definition
Example
Cofer, Judith Ortiz. “The Myth of the Latin Woman: Classification Stereotype
I Just Met a Girl Named Maria” Comparison/Contrast Allusion
Exposition Exemplification
Description
Narrative
O’Brien, Tim. “How to Tell a True War Story” Narrative Assertion
Description Point of View
Repetition
Imagery
VIEWING
Picasso, Pablo. Weeping Woman. ARS, NY.
Picasso, Pablo. Guernica. Museo Reina Sofia.
CNN Video Extension (Comp21) Frames of Mind.
ASSESSMENTS
Quizzes: Students will be given a quiz over most readings. These will check for understanding of meaning and strategies.
Quiz: Vocabulary from readings
Quiz: Grammar (from warm-up exercises, syntax discussions, and/or reading annotations)
Test: Definitions of Rhetorical Modes and Devices
Composition: Letter
Prompt: Write a letter to a future teenage relative (son, daughter, niece, nephew). Reflect on September 11, 2001. Try to capture that day in a story of self-contained dramatic moments. (Review Obrien’s selection.) Keep the narrative dramatic and free of commentary. Allow people and dialogue into your story. Let the story represent how 9/11 affected you.
Composition: Memoir
Prompt: Select a moment from memory, an experience that has stayed with you. In a well written essay, recreate that experience, and then analyze it, figuring out what it means to you.
Original Visual:
Prompt: Create a 5” object, sculpture, or painting that reflects the central idea of your memoir. These will be displayed in the class.
UNIT 1: OBLIGATIONS WITHIN A SOCIETY
FOUNDATION FOR THE AMERICAN MINDSET
READING RHETORICAL MODES RHETORICAL DEVICES
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Plato. “Death of Socrates: Crito” from Phaedo Argumentation/ Argumentative dialogues
Persuasion Rhetorical questions
Conflict
Analogy
Irony _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Plato. “Allegory of the Cave” from The Republic Comparison/Contrast Allegory
Argumentation/ Symbolism
Persuasion Abstract concepts
Narration _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Cicero. “On Duties” Argumentation/ Allusion
Persuasion Analogy
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Machiavelli, Niccolo. From The Prince Comparison/Contrast Contrast
Argumentation/ Juxtaposition
Persuasion Antithesis
Irony
Paradox
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Hobbes, Thomas. From Leviathan Argumentation/ Diction; Connotation
Persuasion Repetition
Cause/Effect Parallel Structure
Rhetorical question
Analogy
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Dekanawida. From The Iroquois Constitution Exposition Example
Illustration
Symbol
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
READINGS ON CURRENT EVENTS
Theme related articles
Articles that reflect claims or central ideas made by the authors studied in this unit
Submissions from students with teacher’s approval
______________________________________________________________________________________________
VIEWING
David, Jacques –Louis. The Death of Socrates (oil on canvas in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY)
Theme related photos, video clips, and/or cartoons from current periodicals will be discussed as these become available. Students may contribute selections for viewing with teacher’s approval.
ASSESSMENTS
Quizzes: Students will be given a quiz over most readings. These will check for understanding of meaning and strategies.
Quiz: Vocabulary from readings
Quiz: Grammar (from warm-up exercises, syntax discussions, and/or reading annotations)
Composition: Argumentative/Persuasive Essay over Hobbes or Machiavelli
Prompt: Reading Niccolo Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes, one gets a similar view of mankind but with radically
different suggestions for its management. Using your own critical understanding of contemporary society as
evidence, write a carefully argued essay that explains your support of either Machiavelli or Hobbes.
Composition: Comparison/Contrast
Prompt: Compare and contrast The Iroquois Constitution to U.S. Democracy and/or the U.S. Constitution.
Composition: Synthesis Essay
Prompt: What is the individual’s duty to his government? What is the government’s duty to the individual? In an
essay that synthesizes and uses for support at least four of the readings from this unit, discuss the obligations of individuals within a society. Remember to attribute both direct and indirect citations. Refer to the sources by author’s last names or by titles. Avoid mere paraphrase or summary.
UNIT 2: OBLIGATIONS WITHIN A SOCIETY – DOCUMENTS AND SPEECHES
READING RHETORICAL MODES RHETORICAL DEVICES
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Henry, Patrick Argumentation Rhetorical Questions
“Speech in the Virginia Convention” Allusion
Syntax: parallel structure, repetition
Claim/Thesis
Refutation
Appeals
Deductive reasoning
Paine, Thomas Persuasion Aphorisms
from “The Crisis, Number 1” Appeals
Argument by Analogy
Jefferson, Thomas Argumentation/Persuasion Audience
The Declaration of Independence Occasion
Syntax:
repetition, parallel structure…
fragment (creating tone shift)
Tone shift
Rationalism qualities
Diction, Connotations
Structure
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady Perssuasion/Argumentation Occasion
Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions Analogy
Parallel document (to Jefferson)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lincoln, Abraham Persuasion/Argumentation Occasion
The Gettysburg Address Structure
Progression
Repetition
Diction, connotations
Allusion
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
King, Martin Luther Argumentation/Persuasion Appeals
I Have A Dream Narration Allusion
Description Imagery
Example Syntax: Repetition, parallelism
Comparison/Contrast Transcendental qualities
Cause/Effect
READINGS ON CURRENT EVENTS
Theme related articles
Articles that reflect claims or central ideas made by the authors studied in this unit
Submissions from students with teacher’s approval
VIEWING
"
Trumbull, John. The Declaration of Independence. Mural in the Capitol Building Washington, D.C.
Patrick Henry Arguing “the Parson’s Cause”. (c. 1830) Oil Painting thought to be the work of George Cooke. The Virginia Historical
Society, Richmond
“The Horse America Throwing his Mater” (1779) Political cartoon of King George. Library of Congress.
King, Martin Luther. I Have a Dream. Video Clip (American Rhetoric.com)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) Video clip “Mr. Jefferson Smith takes the constitutional oath of office” American
Rhetoric.com
Theme related photos, video clips, and/or cartoons from current periodicals will be discussed as these become available. Students may contribute selections for viewing with teacher’s approval.
ASSESSMENTS
Quizzes: Students will be given a quiz over most readings. These will check for understanding of meaning and strategies.
Quiz: Vocabulary from readings
Quiz: Grammar (from warm-up exercises, syntax discussions, and/or reading annotations)
Test: American Documents and Speeches
Composition: Compare/Contrast
Prompt: Compare Paine’s paper with Henry’s speech as persuasive works. In your composition, consider claim, occasion,
audience, data or evidence, assumptions, and conclusions.
Composition: Compare/Contrast
Prompt: Compare I Have a Dream to The Ge