AP English Literature and Composition - SCHOOLinSITES



AP English Literature and Composition

Syllabus

*Parts of this syllabus are borrowed from the College Board AP Audit Publication

The contents of this syllabus describe the possible scope of this course. Varying texts may be used, the sequence may not always be the same, and different aspects may be emphasized over others. Much of this will be determined by the needs of the members of the class. Some of the units overlap. At times you will be studying/reading a play in class while reading a novel outside of class.

Overview

• AP English Literature and Composition / Grade 12 is designed to be a college/university level course, thus the “AP” designation on a transcript rather than “H” (Honors). This course will provide you with the intellectual challenges and workload consistent with a typical undergraduate university English literature/Humanities course.

• This course is a continuation of the AP English Literature and Composition / Grade 11 class. While learning new skills in writing and analysis, students will also hone and refine those writing skills (such as “claim evidence and commentary” to which they were introduced in 11th grade.

• This course is designed to prepare students for the AP English Composition and Literature Exam which students are encouraged to take in May. Details can be found at the AP website () or by contacting Paul Christiansen, AP Coordinator at Truckee High School. A score of 4 or 5 on this exam is considered equivalent to a B+ or A for comparable courses at the college or university level. A students who earns a score of 3 or above will be granted college credit at most colleges and universities throughout the United States. In addition, having the AP designation on high school transcripts will help students get in to the college or university of their choice

• This course does not necessarily follow the same sequence each year, nor will the exact same texts be used. The scope of this course will though be consistent from year to year. Students can expect to always have a reading assignment (40 – 50 pages) as well as have an outside writing assignment due.

• The course length is 18 weeks on the 90-minute block schedule. The semester is divided into two 9-week quarters. Progress reports are sent out every 4-5 weeks, and grades are available online by way of the Aeries Browser. If you have not set this up, please contact the student assistant center at the high school.

• All textbooks and literature books are provided for students, but it is highly recommended that students procure their own copies in order to make annotations on the text which they otherwise may not be allowed to do in a school textbook.

• This course is designed to comply with the curricular requirements describes in the AP English Course Description, published by the College Board.

Course Goals

Goals:

The goal of this course is to help students acquire the ability to read closely, understand the conventions of literary discourse, develop an appreciation of literature, and write accurately and insightfully about it.

Objectives:

• Students will generate pieces of writing that meet the demands of the Advanced Placement Exam in Literature and Composition.

• Students will read texts that represent both classical and contemporary literature in the following genres: drama, fiction, and poetry.

• Students will develop their ability to discuss and write about important ideas based upon their reading of challenging literature.

• Students will prepare for the Advanced Placement Exam in Literature and Composition.

Writing assignments and instruction:

All writing instruction is ongoing and continuous, and may takes different forms in each instructional unit.

All assignments for formal papers will include a specific grading rubric. We will go over the rubrics prior to submitting papers and review expectations for the particular composition or paper. Students are to consult each rubric carefully before submitting your work. Students will be expected to rewrite larger papers and literary analysis after having received feedback.

Timed writes (essay tests) will present a scoring guide as feedback. These will be scoring guides as used by the AP English Literature and Composition Exam for that specific question.

As this is a literature and a composition course, you will be expected to use every assignment that involves writing to practice your best composition skills. Composition assignments will include: statements, paragraphs, timed writes (essay tests), and formal essays (personal, expository and argumentative). No matter the kind of writing assigned, your best composition skills should be practiced. We will work with various composition constructions, Standard Written English, sentence variety, syntax and diction.

Students will be engaged in writing formal expository essays which will be taken home and they will have a few days to work on. They will be typed and turned in to , a plagiarism detection service. You will also write two research papers, a number of practice AP essay exams, and short writing assignments which are primarily based on discussing the style an author uses in apiece of literature.

Students will also engage in the study of standard written expression and English language conventions such as

• using 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

• an effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone, establishing and maintaining voice, and achieving appropriate emphasis through diction and sentence structure

Students will also study to develop a wide-ranging vocabulary used appropriately and effectively.

Reading assignments

Students will be expected to read on the average 40-50 pages per school night from many of the following texts (listed alphabetically):

• A Rumor of War / Philip Caputo

• All Quiet on the Western Front / Erich Maria Remarque

• Cyrano de Bergerac / Edmond Rostand

• Don Quixote / Miguel de Cervantes

• East of Eden / John Steinbeck

• Frankenstein / Mary Shelley

• Grapes of Wrath / John Steinbeck

• Johnny Got His Gun / Dalton Trumbo

• Othello / Shakespeare

• Richard III / Shakespeare

• Siddhartha / Hermann Hesse

• The Bible

• The Idiot / Fyodor Dostoevsky

• The Merchant of Venice / Shakespeare

• The Odyssey / Homer

• The Stranger / Albert Camus

• Things Fall Apart / Chinua Achebe

• Twelfth Night / Shakespeare

Students will be expected to engage in close readings of the assigned readings, annotate when necessary and expected, engage in intelligent and scholarly discussions in class, and write insightfully and intelligently about the literature.

The Instructional Units

1. Summer Reading:

Students will be assigned to read two of the following texts to get a solid start on the semester’s coursework. Selections will vary from year to year:

Grapes of Wrath / John Steinbeck

Things Fall Apart / Chinua Achebe

Frankenstein / Mary Shelley

Johnny Got His Gun / Dalton Trumbo

Siddhartha / Hermann Hesse

The Odyssey / Homer

Student objectives/assessment on summer readings:

• Students will engage and participate in several class discussions on the assigned texts, including, but not limited to such topics as structure, style and themes.

• Students will engage in vocabulary study; words to be drawn from the text

• Students will take an objective test on the texts

• Students will write a formal, take home essay which will interpret one (or both in a comparison) of the pieces of literature that is based on a careful observation of the work’s textual details, considering: structure, style and themes. (Exact topic to be determined.)

• Students will review and study several examples of AP writing prompts and sample responses.

• Students will write a practice AP writing exam. (in class)

• Students will peer edit/review each other’s papers based on the requirements of the particular prompt

2. College Admission/Scholarship Application Essay

Many college entrance essay prompts ask prospective students to write on a personal reminiscence or experience which left an impact on them, and to what degree that reminscence / experience has changed their lives. This unit is designed to assist students to prepare their college entrance essay, and to explore those topics which the essay prompts often ask of students.

• Students will explore ideas about themselves to determine their topics for writing.

• Students will understand and work with personal writing including, but not limited to, anecdote, dialogue, details, language, syntax and varied structures.

• Direct composition instruction on introductions/openings, voice, and conventions.

o Students will work with conventions of Standard Written English

o Students will participate in peer editing/reviewing.

o Students will complete at least one personal essay for college admission.

3. Shakespeare

Richard III

Twelfth Night

Merchant of Venice

Othello

The students will study two of the plays in the beginning of the semester, and two later in the semester. Most of the plays will be read/listened to in class.. We stop frequently to discuss plot levels, language, dramatic structure and the playwright’s stylistic choices.

Richard III

While based on historical figures and events, and closely related to them, this play is a work of fiction and is thus properly titled a “tragedy”. Students will study the “War of the Roses” the English power between the house of Lancaster and the house of Plantagenet for the British thrown. The war was presumed over when Richard III took the crown, but truly did not end until his demise. The play is about the brutal and corruptive effect of the lust for power.

Student objectives/assessments:

• Students will be quizzed regularly on each act.

• Students will research the “War of the Roses” and write a short summary.

• In class, timed writing of a “remarkable passage” (close reading assignment)

• Essay: Take home/Formal: Expository/Analytical essay in which students will draw upon textual details of the play to develop an extended explanation/interpretation of the meanings of the play. Exact topic to be determined.

• Students will continue to review and study several examples of AP writing prompts and sample responses.

• Students will write a practice AP writing exam. (in class)

• Students will peer edit/review each other’s papers based on the requirements of the particular prompt

• Study of writing conventions/grammar from Warriner’s Writing, Composition and Grammar. (Topics/areas of study will always be determined by the class needs.)

Twelfth Night

Considered to be Shakespeare’s “best”, or perhaps most cerebral comedy, the play involves (as it seems customary in a Shakespeare comedy) mistaken identities, cross dressing, confusions, and some horribly immature behavior by adult characters, BUT, at the same time, seems to show, among other things, that the true quality of one’s character is found within, from their actions, behaviors and intellectual attributes rather than from outward appearances.

Student objectives/assessments:

• Students will be quizzed regularly on each act.

• Students will engage in class discussion of what the play reveals about the work’s artistry and quality (what’s so great about this play?) and what it says about the social and cultural values of the Elizabethan audience.

• Students will write an in class, timed writing based on the above discussion.

• Vocabulary study

• Study of writing conventions/grammar from Warriner’s Writing, Composition and Grammar. (Topics/areas of study will always be determined by the class needs.)

Merchant of Venice

Strangely characterized a “comedy”, this play has many characteristics which Aristotle would have described and dramatically tragic. Aside from the humorous aspects of romantic love (no less than three couples are involved) there is an even more important component whose theme deals with religious bigotry. Intolerance at its worst. Class discussions will focus on understanding content, as well as how Shakespeare may have reconciled the evident bigotry with the comedy.

Student objectives/assessments:

• Students will be quizzed regularly on each act.

• Students will engage in class discussion of what the play reveals about the work’s artistry and quality (what’s so great about this play?) and especially what it says about the social and cultural values of the Elizabethan audience as well as Italian society of the 15th century.

• Students will continue to review and study several examples of AP writing prompts and sample responses.

• Students will write a practice AP writing exam. (in class)

• Students will peer edit/review each other’s papers based on the requirements of the particular prompt

• Vocabulary study

• Study of writing conventions/grammar from Warriner’s Writing, Composition and Grammar. (Topics/areas of study will always be determined by the class needs.)

Othello

A good follow up to Merchant of Venice. Although this play’s major theme deals with the nature and characteristics of jealously at different levels, it is seated in the pocket of racial bigotry. Discussions will focus on content, as well as how the playwright uses language to develop the attitudes expressed in the play through dialogue.

• Students will be quizzed regularly on each act.

• In class, timed writing of a “remarkable passage” choice of Merchant or Othello (close reading assignment)

• Essay: Take home/Formal: Analytical/Argumentative essay in which students draw upon textual details to make and explain judgments about the work’s social and cultural value. Exact topic to be determined.

• Vocabulary study

• Ongoing study of writing conventions/grammar from Warriner’s Writing, Composition and Grammar. (Topics/areas of study will always be determined by the class needs.)

4. Steinbeck

East of Eden

The Grapes of Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath may be assigned for summer reading, and East of Eden is almost always assigned during the regular semester. Students will study the author’s life, especially those things that drove/motivated him to write these two monumental pieces of American literature. In addition, students will study the biblical allusions presented in each novel, and the meanings of their connections. Most importantly, students will look closely at Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize winning literary style, and how he was able to affect the conscience of his reader through that style.

The Grapes of Wrath

(See Summer Reading above)

East of Eden

• Students will read much of The Book of Genesis from The Bible. Students will write a summary and take a short quiz.

• Students will be quizzed regularly on the daily reading.

• Students will engage in 2-3 close reading assignments and in-class timed essays based on the author’s style, use of imagery, and characterization.

• Formal essay/take home: Analytical/Argumentative essay in which the student draws upon textual details to make and explain judgments about a works artistry and quality. (Exact topic to be determined.)

• Students will study/examine a sample objective AP exam and take part of a practice exam. Questions will be reviewed carefully so students can begin to understand what the questions are asking, how best to resolve the correct answer, and test taking strategies.

• Vocabulary study

• Ongoing study of writing conventions/grammar from Warriner’s Writing, Composition and Grammar. (Topics/areas of study will always be determined by the class needs.)

5. The WAR Novel

Johnny Got His Gun / Dalton Trumbo

All Quiet on the Western Front / Erich Maria Remarque

A Rumor of War / Philip Caputo

Selections from The Things They Carried / Tim O’Brien

If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home / Tim O’Brien

Since the beginning of US military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, students have shown an interest in reading more literature of war. Generally, only one of these texts will be read by the students during the course of the semester, and it is usually Johnny Got His Gun for its unique literary voice and style, and because it has shown up on past AP exams (most recently in 2007). The novels not assigned to students are also excellent literary examples, are worthy choices to write about on the free-response portion of the AP writing exam, and although are not assigned, are highly recommended reading for any student who is drawn to this type of literature.

• This unit has a particular focus on the effect of punctuation on style and meaning.

• Students will be quizzed regularly on the reading assignments

• Students will engage in a close reading assignment from a selected passage which focuses on the unique grammatical/punctuation choices of the author.

• View Dear America: Letters from Vietnam

• MLA Style Research Paper: War Authors

• Vocabulary study

• Ongoing study of writing conventions/grammar from Warriner’s Writing, Composition and Grammar. (Topics/areas of study will always be determined by the class needs.)

6. “That’s not the way I see it…”

Things Fall Apart / Chinua Achebe

Heart of Darkness / Joseph Conrad

While worlds apart in style, perspective, tone and approach to topic, both novels none-the –less deal with the topic of colonialism in 19th century Africa. Achebe’s novel, a translation, is stylistically easier to read, and in structure is almost simple while Conrad’s novel is far more difficult to follow and understand. A study of how these two authors achieve the effects they have on the reader through stylistic choices will be focused on.

• Students will annotate Heart of Darkness in its entirety.

• Students will respond to the stylistic choices of a “remarkable passage” in Conrad’s novel.

• Students will write an informal response/reaction paper to the endings of both novels.

• Students will be quizzed regularly on both novels.

• Students will write an in-class, timed essay based on the difference the narrator’s perspective brings to the novels. Graded essays will be peer evaluated / discussed.

• Students will read/study samples of AP free-response questions and student essays.

• Students will engage in a practice written free-response AP Exam.

• Vocabulary study

• Ongoing study of writing conventions/grammar from Warriner’s Writing, Composition and Grammar. (Topics/areas of study will always be determined by the class needs.)

7. “I know why you’re here…do you?”

Siddhartha / Hermann Hesse

The Stranger / Albert Camus

The search for the purpose of one’s existence (or the meaning of one’s existence) dominates the themes of these two novels. Siddhartha, originally written in German tales place in 5th Century BC India, and The Stranger is translated from French and takes place in 1930’s Algiers. The novels offer a great deal of comparison not so much in literary style, but in historical, psychological and social perspective on similar topics. In addition, both novels make exceptional use figurative language, imagery, symbolism and tone. Student study will focus on the effect of those literary devices.

• Students will be quizzed regularly on the daily reading.

• Students will engage in class discussion on topics related to the the novels’ content and narrative technique.

• Students will write an in-class, timed interpretation of one of the novels (their selection) that is based on a careful observation of textual details considering the work’s social and historical values it reflects and embodies.

• Students will then write an in-class, timed interpretation of the other novel that is based on a careful observation of the textual details considering the work’s use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone.

• Students will study/examine a sample objective AP exam and take part of a practice exam. Questions will be reviewed carefully so students can begin to understand what the questions are asking, how best to resolve the correct answer, and test taking strategies.

• Vocabulary study

• Ongoing study of writing conventions/grammar from Warriner’s Writing, Composition and Grammar. (Topics/areas of study will always be determined by the class needs.)

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