AP English Language & Composition Syllabus

AP English Language & Composition Syllabus Course Overview The course, which meets twice weekly for 80 minutes and once weekly for 40 minutes for a full school year, is constructed in accordance with the guidelines described in the AP English Language and Composition course description. This course is an intensive study of both reading and writing and focuses primarily on rhetorical analysis and synthesis of nonfiction primary sources, but also includes a sample of major fiction writers from the American canon. Many of the concepts are abstract and often challenging to students as the course is often counted as a college credit and therefore requires college level thinking, reading and writing skills. Students are expected to write using standard English conventions according to the Modern Language Association (MLA). Students are asked to read and frequently revisit the introductory chapters, as well as its illustrative essays, of The Bedford Reader for information regarding reading strategies (such as annotating, summarizing, synthesizing and evaluating) and writing strategies (such as addressing subject, audience, and purpose in their own writing, knowing drafting procedures, valuing collaboration and revision). All student essays will pass through several stages of revision from outlining and peer review in writers seminar to teacher editing and individualized conferencing. The course is essentially college-level in its intensity, but broader and deeper due to the secondary school calendar. The primary vocabulary is generated from a self-generated unit created from words in the released multiple choice AP exams. Students get credit for using vocabulary words in their informal and formal writing. We also work with SAT verbal sections on determining meaning through context, Latinate roots and punctuation. Students complete the Junior English Review Exercises booklet (see last page) and work at incorporating varied sentence types, active verbs for better voice, transitioning, etc. Semester One: Quarter One Course Orientation, Introduction to Close Reading, and Rhetorical Awareness Rhetorical and literary concepts: Irony, hyperbole, litotes, diction, tone, juxtaposition, figurative language, logos, pathos, ethos Compositional focus: Thesis, generalization and support through example, specific reference and quotation, moving beyond the five-paragraph essay, transitions. Weekly journals will be maintained by students that focus on self-reflection. Two Major papers will be required:

Major Paper #1 – Personal Essay Major Paper #2 –Writer’s Duty: Looking at writers’ rhetorical strategies Close reading skills are stressed and visuals (such as movies, political cartoons graphs, advertisements etc.) are analyzed as texts. Editing, Revision, and related Style issues: Weekly writers group will be conducted where students as an entire group and paired groups discuss and reflect on their own writings and outside writings, as well. Grammar and vocabulary will be discussed and evaluated during this time. Minor Assessments 1. Students will write an essay on Black Men and Public Space by first annotating for evidence of ethos, hyperbole, persona, and tone. Second, students will focus on the development of the essay by writing a major piece on how the writer creates a feeling within his readers using these elements. The essay will focus on analyzing the piece and explaining what’s at work and if it is collectively successful. 2. Students draft an essay responding to the following prompt: Write a first-person narrative telling of a memorable experience or struggle from your early life. They are encouraged to consider such issues as cultural context, purpose, audience, anecdotal evidence, consistent voice and tenses, and active verbs. Following individual writing conferences about their rough drafts, students revise, prepare and submit final drafts of their narrative essays. Semester One: Quarter Two Accounting for Purpose, Deepening Appreciation of Rhetorical Strategies, and Intimation of Argument Rhetorical concepts: Diction, tone, rhetorical questions, ethos, pathos, logos, slippery slope fallacy, hyperbole, ad hominem arguments, synecdoche Compositional focus: Introductions, generalizations, integration of quotations, examples and specific reference, unity, argument writing Rhetorical concepts: Diction, tone, rhetorical questions, ethos, pathos, logos, slippery slope fallacy, hyperbole, ad hominem arguments, synecdoche Compositional focus:

Introductions, generalizations, integration of quotations, examples and specific reference, unity, argument writing Overview: Students analyze pieces from The Bedford Reader and turn in annotated articles for grade, write short, informal connections (or contrasts) and discuss the rhetorical devices and appeals of each with attention to audience and purpose. Students will work in groups on a rotating basis during the course of this assessment and make oral presentations based on their findings and interpretations. Listeners are expected to take notes and summarize classmates’ presentations. As in unit one, there are several “minor” writings: comparing and contrasting the appeals of Hayes and Liu, “summarizing” political cartoons, analyzing the use of synecdoche in “A Black Man Talks of Reaping”, an analysis of the values of the creators of the INS Citizenship Test and others. In the summative assessment they’ll write a paper in which they defend, challenge or qualify the claim that more needs to be done to stem the influx of illegal aliens. As always, the writing will be a process during which, students will self-edit, peer-edit and confer with me specifically about those elements on which we’re concentrating for this particular assessment (see Compositional focus above). The conference will also include attention to individualized areas of correction that each student determines with my help and for which each student is thereafter responsible. First Semester Exam Students will take an 80-minute exam featuring two AP free-response questions from released exams-one focusing on prose analysis and rhetoric, the other on argument. Minor assessments: 1. Keep a double entry journal for chapter 15 of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. On one side keep track of the things that Huck thinks which you find offensive. On the other side explain why he feels as he does. 2. Keep a dialectical journal for chapter 31. On each side, keep track of the conflicting feelings Huck has about what he should do and what influences him in his decision. This will be graded with weight equal to an essay. Semester Two: Quarter Three Comparison and Contrast – Setting Things Side by Side Rhetorical concepts: Point of view, synecdoche, imagery, anecdote, example, allusion, logos, humor as a rhetorical device, chiaroscuro, slippery slope fallacy, example, allusion, anecdote

Compositional focus: Synthesis, concise and appropriate quotation, allusion, elimination of digression, interesting leads, conclusions Visual focus: Connecting images to emotions, connecting images with various types of texts Overview: Students will read essays, excerpts from books, newspaper and magazine articles, short stories; view cartoons and documentaries and listen to a presentation by a guest speaker. Several literacy frames will be utilized in the course of the unit, depending on the assignment. Discussion webs, Elaborative Interrogation and Interactive Reading Guides will be introduced as means of demonstrating understanding and questions about the individual pieces. Several short writings require students to compare and contrast authors’ (or creators’ or speakers’) diction, tone, point of view, and choice of rhetorical devices. For example, “What would Plato think of Ascher’s allusion to Greek tragedy”? or “Both Lelong and Tan are Chinese-American. What similarities do you find in their experiences? How are the articles different”? and “How do you think Hemingway’s older and younger waiter would feel about the issue of gay marriage”? The unit concludes with a synthesis question about why these groups are discriminated against and what common factors and characteristics cause the bias and prejudice which precipitate the discrimination. They’ll work in teams and will receive a grade for peer editing others’ work. On the rewrites, this time, they’ll conference with me, but it will be a student-led conference; they’ll have to raise the questions and point out strengths and areas of concern. Semester Two: Quarter Four Research Paper For their major research essay, students are asked to gather both written and visual texts and to formulate a thesis about their public policy. In accordance with the MLA conventions of Standard English, students must produce an effective outline, title page, formal essay with in-text citations, and bibliography/works cited page. Each student must research and write using reliable sources and must explain research that is based on visual (such as, charts, graphs, photos, videos, etc.) as well as written texts (newspaper articles, persuasive essays, speeches, etc.). Students are assessed on their ability to clearly state their position, organize their arguments appropriately (syllogisms and enthymemes), use of technical vocabulary, the appropriateness of their grammar and style, the correct use of in-text citations and quote integration rules and the correct use and formatting of a bibliography/works cited page. The assignment cover page appears as follows: AP Language teachers coordinate with history teachers on the research paper. Students will select a public policy issue as determined by the history department and compose a research paper defending a particular position on that public policy issue. The

cover page of this assignment is as follows: Why does the language of public policy issues create such controversy? How do the authors of public policy use language, images, and statistics to persuade an audience? How do the opponents of public policy use language, images, and statistics to persuade an audience? Rhetorical concepts: Delivery, appeals, claims, diction, tone, audience, author’s purpose,

Compositional focus: Arrangement, proper citation, transitions, MLA Format, six-part argument as a genre, thesis statements, support through explanation and SPECIFIC support Research Paper: AP Language teachers coordinate with history teachers on the research paper. Students will select a public policy issue as determined by the history department and compose a research paper defending a particular position on that public policy issue. Students are responsible for several things: Students will work, write, and speak effectively when doing research in all content areas. Students will be able to:

1. Develop an appropriate strategy for finding information on a particular topic. 2. Use referencing using MLA format while doing research and citation. 3. Record significant information from events attended and interviews conducted. 4. Identify and use library information services. 5. Use government publications, in-depth field studies, and almanacs for research. 6. Use CD-ROM, microfiche, and similar resource media for research. 7. Identify and use a variety of news sources (e.g., newspapers, magazines, broadcast and recorded media, artifacts), informants, and other likely sources for research purposes. 8. Use search engines and other Internet resources to do research. 9. Make extensive use of primary sources when researching a topic and carefully evaluate the motives and perspectives of the authors. 10. Analyze the validity and weigh the reliability of primary information sources and make appropriate use of such information for research purposes. 11. Evaluate information for accuracy, currency, and possible bias. The research paper proceeds through stages, each of which is graded separately and has its own due date with penalties for lateness.

1. Annotated hard copies of sources 2. Written summaries of sources, including claims and arguments 3. Proper (MLA) citation of sources 4. Creation of thesis 5. First Argument and rewrite 6. Second Argument and rewrite (rewrites graded separately) 7. Third Argument and rewrite 8. Introduction 9. Conclusion 10. Cover Page 11. Outline 12. Works-cited page While completing a series of drafts for their essays, students will use the writing process (pre-writing, drafting, conferencing, editing, and revising) and will have opportunities for receiving feedback from both peers and the teacher before turning in a revised draft. Students may engage in this process as many times as they want until they are satisfied with their pieces of writing. Special attention to supporting thesis with specifics and explanation. Oral Defense of Thesis: Students will, through the writing process, draft a speech which takes a position on a public policy issue. In their speeches, students will use at least three rhetorical techniques that they have learned throughout the course. Students, as part of their oral presentations, will select visuals (charts, statistics, images, words, slogans, etc.) appropriate for their topic and position, and defend their selections of these visuals. Students will also defend the types of sources that they have used in their research and defend the appropriateness of their informational sources and why they believe these sources communicated a message supporting their position. While completing a series of drafts for their speeches, students will use the writing process (pre-writing, drafting, conferencing, editing, and revising) and will have opportunities for receiving feedback from both peers and the teacher before turning in a revised draft. Students may engage in this process as many times as they want until they are satisfied with their pieces of writing.

AP Language and Composition Texts: 2009-2010 Student Resources: Aaron, Kennedy. The Bedford Reader, Boston/NY: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 2006.

Brassil, John, Coker, Sandra, and Glover, Carl. English Language and Composition: Analysis, Argument, and Synthesis. Saddle Brook, N.J.: Peoples Education, 2008. Brassil, John, Coker, Sandra, and Glover, Carl. Writing the Synthesis Essay. Saddle Brook, N.J.: Peoples Education, 2008. Cardenas de Dwyer, Carlota, James E. Miller, and Kerry M. Wood. The United States in Literature. 7th ed. Glenview, Ill.: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1985. Fox, Steven. Advanced Composition Skills. Saddle Brook, N.J.: Peoples Education, 2009. Hacker, Diana. A Pocket Style Manual. Fifth ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. Jolliffe, Roskelly. Everyday Use: Rhetoric at Work in Reading and Writing, Pearson/ Longman/Pearson Education: New York. 2005. Lunsford, Andrea A. The Everyday Writer. Fourth ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. Shea, Renee H., Scanlon, Lawrence, and Aufses, Robin Dissin. The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. Strunk, White. The Elements of Style. Fourth ed. Longman: New York. 2000. Vogel, Winans. AP English Multiple-Choice & Free Response Questions in Preparation for the AP English Language and Composition Examination (workbook). D&S Marketing, Inc: Brooklyn, New York. 2001. Additional Teacher Resources: The New York Times The New Yorker McCourt, Frank. Angela’s Ashes Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird

*Materials provided by John Brassil at the 2009 Advanced Placement Summer Institute will also be used.