AP English Language and Composition



Course DescriptionIntroductionThe Advanced Placement course in English Language and Composition develops students into skilled readers of prose written in a variety of rhetorical contexts and into skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Both their writing and their reading make students aware of the interactions among a writer’s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects and make them aware also of the way genre conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing.What to expectThe focus of the course will be on the “how” of nonfiction. In other words, a close examination of the writer’s style and consideration of how language is used to create an effective piece.Reading is an important part of the course. Students will learn to read nonfiction through a rhetorical lens. Each text will be explored on several levels and in several contexts. Thus, reading will be established with a view to our personal response, the historical period in which the text was created, and the “readings” that are possible through application of the modes of writing and rhetorical techniques. AP Language and Composition requires a close analysis of a variety of nonfiction writing, including essays, letters, and speeches.Writing is another important aspect of the course. Students will write in a variety of forms not only to explore and evaluate the nonfiction that is read, but also to hone their skills in using rhetorical techniques and in writing in the various modes. Research is also a main course component. Students will learn to evaluate, use, and cite primary and secondary sources in order to develop a position essay. Students will also learn how to analyze and synthesize a variety of sources in order to create an informed argument.The AP English Language and Composition Course demands attention to the fine nuances of language. To meet that demand, we’ll tackle writing from the outside in (analysis of nonfiction) and from the inside out (our writings, with multiple drafts, student-teacher conferences, peer-editing and revising).This class is a study of language in many forms. In addition to studying texts, we will also look at the contexts in which those texts were created. This will extend to current contexts, which in turn require knowledge and understanding of current events. This type of study and analysis will assist us in seeing the world from new perspectives.This is a college-level course, and students will have writing and/or reading homework that must be completed on time in order to benefit enough from in-class work. This course culminates in a three-hour examination in May administered through the College Board. Many colleges and universities give incoming freshmen college class credit or advanced placement in their English curriculum or both for higher scores on this exam.ReadingThe key component to this course is to read the assigned texts and to read thoroughly. Students will have reading homework most evenings. Students will take notes, annotate, or prepare for class by answering or posing questions about the text. Students are encouraged to reread. Subsequent reading “drafts” improve comprehension just as subsequent writing drafts improve composition.WritingWriting in the course encompasses a variety of forms (journals, in-class writing, imitation pieces, drafts of essays, polished essays, creative nonfiction writing) in a variety of modes (narrative, analytical, persuasive) about a variety of subjects and through the stages of writing (prewriting, drafting, outlining, peer editing, conferencing, revision). There will also be an emphasis on synthesis and research skills, and students are expected to produce a piece of argumentation that indicates an understanding of correct MLA citation style. Oral languageClass activities will include presentations, seminars, debates, and group discussions. Exploration of texts/readings through discussion is a vital way to investigate meaning. Participation in all activities is required.AssessmentsEssaysStudents will write a minimum of fourteen essays, many of them timed, during the course of the year. Standards of assessment usually will be aligned with those that the College Board uses in the assessment of AP papers. Students will be graded on a level 1-9 for timed essays (9 being the highest). The differences among these nine scores will be explained in detail when each type of essay is covered in class.ProjectsThere will be a number of different projects throughout the year. These include teaching projects, advertising projects, research projects, presentations, and simulated exam and essay questions. All projects will be graded using a rubric. Rubrics will be distributed before each project.TestsObjective testing is a major part of the AP course. Students will complete multiple-choice tests on a regular basis. (The Advanced Placement test in May includes a large number of multiple-choice questions.)In-class workIn-class work will consist of a variety of assignments to sharpen our skills and will include seminars, group work, partner explorations, vocabulary building, close textual analysis, team writing assignments, and various independent assignments such as journals, reaction papers, and annotations. HomeworkAs previously stated, most homework will consist of reading or rereading works in preparation for discussion or other use in class. Writing will also be assigned for homework. There may be occasions, too, for short review, exploratory, or remediation homework assignments.ExamsThe mid-term examination simulates the AP Exam except that it will be given over two days instead of one and that it will involve two essays instead of three. The mid-term will consist of fifty to fifty-five multiple-choice questions as well as the two essays. The multiple-choice portion will be administered in class on the final day of the semester. Students will have one hour to answer the multiple-choice selections. On the actual exam day, students will have two hours to complete three essay responses. The essays will consist of one prose analysis, one open prompt, and one synthesis question. The suggested time to spend per essay is 40 minutes. The multiple choice results will count for 45% of the exam grade and the essay average will count for 55% of the exam grade. All of the texts used in the exam will be previously unseen passages similar to those in the AP exam.NOTE: There will be a final exam for seniors who do not meet the county’s second-semester exam exemption (77% average and no more than two absences from class). Juniors taking the course will take the final exam as well. The final exam format will be the same as the mid-term exam.TextsThe course includes an intensive study of representative authors and texts prescribed by the College Board. These include American and British writers from the sixteenth century to the present.Assigned texts students will read and annotate, and that, if at all possible, they should buy:They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein (ISBN-13 978-0393933611)Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell (ISBN-13: 978-0316010665)Periodicals our classroom teachers subscribe to:The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Time, and The Week.Texts signed out to students:Cooley, Thomas, Ed. The Norton Sampler: Short Essays for Composition. 7th ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. Print.Glaser, Joe. Understanding Style: Practical Ways to Improve Your Writing. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.Supplemental texts:Cohen, Samuel S. 50 Essays: a Portable Anthology. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2007. Print. Crusius, Timothy W., and Carolyn E. Channell. The Aims of Argument. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print. Gross, John. The Oxford Book of Essays. Oxford [England: Oxford UP, 1991. Print. Kennedy, X.J., Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Jane E. Aaron. The Bedford Reader. 9th Edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006. Print.Kolln, Martha. Rhetorical Grammar: Grammatical Choices, Rhetorical Effects. New York: Pearson Education, 2007. Print. Lunsford, Andrea A., John J. Ruszkiewicz, and Keith Walters. Everything's an Argument. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin's, 2010. Print. Ray, Robert J., and Ann Ray. The Art of Reading: A Handbook on Writing. Waltham (Ma.): Blaisdell, 1968. Print. Rockas, Leo. Modes of Rhetoric. New York: St. Martin's, 1964. Print. ................
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