Ap english Language and Composition 2014-2015 Albertville High School Instructor

Jessica Seay Stewart

AHS room D206

256-894-5000 (AHS)

jstewart@albertk12.org

@stewyclassroom

seaystewart.weebly.com
Student Text

The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric, 2^nd Edition—Renée H. Shea, Lawrence Scanlon, and Robin Dissin Aufses
Texts Referenced

50 Essays: A Portable Anthology, 3^rd Edition—Samuel Cohen, ed

A Writer’s Reference, 7^th Edition—Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers

Conversations in American Literature: Language, Rhetoric, and Culture—Robin Dissin Aufses, Renée H. Shea, Lawrence Scanlon, and Kate Aufses

Everything’s an Argument, 5^th Edition—Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz

Sentence Composing for College: A Worktext—Don Killgallon

The Norton Sampler Short Essays for Composition, 8^th Edition—Thomas Cooley

**“Straw Into Gold: The Metamorphosis of the Everyday”—Sandra Cisneros

**Into the Wild—Jon Krakauer

*The Glass Castle—Jeannette Walls

**The Great Gatsby—F. Scott Fitzgerald

*The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks—Rebecca Skloot

*The Pilgrim at Tinker Creek—Annie Dillard

The Scarlett Letter—Nathaniel Hawthorne

*Unbroken—Laura Hillenbrand

*These books will need to be purchased, but please wait until announced, as we may not have time for all of them.

**Summer reading.
Course Summary

Aligned to an introductory college-level rhetoric and writing curriculum, the AP English Language and Composition course assists students in becoming skilled readers and writers through engagement with multiple composition forms for a variety of purposes. The reading and writing completed in the course makes students aware of the associations among a writer’s purposes, audience’s expectations, and subjects in addition to the conventions of language and their effectiveness in writing.

Upon successful completion of the AP English Language and Composition course,

students should be able to:

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  analyze and interpret a variety of literary forms, identifying and explaining the author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques;
  
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  create and sustain arguments based on research and experience and document as necessary using MLA format;
  
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  demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic maturity in their own writing;
  
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  complete acceptable written assignments in a variety of genres and contexts, both formal and informal employing appropriate strategies, conventions, and techniques (including, but not limited to, personal essay, literary analysis, documented research paper, critical review, timed essay responses);
  
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  move effectively through the stages of he writing process, with careful attention to inquiry and research, drafting, revising, and editing;
  
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  discuss the historical and cultural development of American literature;
  
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  write under time constraints; and
  
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  read and analyze a minimum of seven longer works.
  

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  Not all assignments given in this class will be graded. Some assignments made are intended to prepare the student for successful completion of a major assignment, project, or assessment. Students are expected to complete all reading and writing assignments thoughtfully and on time.
  
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  No late daily work is allowed for any reason.
  
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  No credit is given for work missed on the day of a group discussion or presentation. Although any written components prepared prior to the discussion or presentation must still be turned in, an alternative assignment is given for the work missed on the day of the absence.
  
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  Since the due date for essays are given in advance, no late essays are accepted. If you are absent on the day an essay or any other long-term project or assignment is due, you must either email the assignment or have someone bring the work to school for you.
  
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  Extra credit assignments will not be given in this course.
  

Student’s grades will be categorized with formative and summative assessment making up 60% of the average and dailies and projects/Socratic seminars making up the remaining 40%. Each graded assignment or activity will be assigned to a designated category based on its complexity and overall importance to the objectives of the class. To earn the “guaranteed” A/B, a student cannot have any missed assignments or late work.

Students are expected to bring all necessary materials to class every day. In addition, students will need to keep a notebook of everything completed or received as part of this course: assignments, strategies, styles, class notes, informal writing, major compositions (arguments), timed writings, multiple-choice practices and quizzes, and additional reading handouts. Students should always have plenty of loose-leaf notebook paper, pencils, pens (blue, black, red only), and highlighters (yellow, green, and blue). Students should have a flash drive as well. A two-inch binder with 8-10 dividers is recommended. In addition, a good thesaurus/dictionary would be beneficial.

Each AP course has a corresponding exam that participating schools worldwide administer in May. The AP Language and Composition Exam will take place Wednesday, May 13, 2015 at 8am.

The second part of the exam is writing—rhetorical analysis, synthesis, and argument. The free response portion is timed for 120 minutes, with 15 minutes reading time for the synthesis essay.

--Summer Reading Overview: Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer; The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald; and “Straw Into Gold: The Metamorphosis of the Everyday,” Sandra Cisneros

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read,” Francine Prose

From Education, Ralph Waldo Emerson

“A Talk to Teachers,” James Baldwin

“Superman and Me,” Sherman Alexie

“Me Talk Pretty One Day,” David Sedaris

Visual The Spirit of Education, Norman Rockwell

“In Praise of the ‘F’ Word,” Mary Sherry

“Learning to Read” Malcolm X. (teacher handout) from www.scf.usc.edu

**Various current event articles and any other important writings pertaining to education

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  Summer Reading: “Non-Fiction Analysis” for Into the Wild (transcendentalist tendencies exhibited by McCandless and Krakauer); The Great Gatsby “Argumentative Elements of Great Lit” (explaining any essential argument Fitzgerald makes in a multi-paragraph essay providing textual evidence to support claim); and comparison notes for “Straw Into Gold: A Metamorphosis of the Everyday” and the fairy tale “Rumpelstiltskin.”
  
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  Sentence Compositions using Don Killgallon’s Sentence Composing for College
  
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  Multiple Choice Practice (timed and untimed test items)
  
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  Terms Tests for rhetorical and argument terminology, including fallacies, and style elements from The Language of Composition glossary (chapters 1-4)
  
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  Grammar as Rhetoric and Style Skills Reviews
  
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  Compositions: Compare/Contrast, Argument (timed), and Synthesis Research Essay
  

“Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Where I Lived, and What I Lived For,” Henry David Thoreau

Aria, Richard Rodriquez

“The Family that Stretches (Together),” Ellen Goodman

“Health and Happiness,” Robert D. Putnam

“Facebook Friendonomics,” Scott Brown

“Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted,” Malcolm Gladwell

**Various current event articles and any other important writings pertaining to the community

“The Last Thanksgiving,” Roz Chast

Nissan Ad: “The Black Experience is Everywhere”

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  Using graphic organizer, identify aspects of the rhetorical situation on a passage from “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” and write a synthesis statement bringing all the elements together.
  
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  Use the Toulmin method to examine the argument in the Nissan advertisement (group work). Then, individually, students will find an advertisement of their own and repeat the process.
  
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  Compositions: Rhetorical Analysis (timed) and Definition/Argument
  

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  Timed Multiple Choice Practice Tests
  
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  Grammar as Rhetoric and Style Skills Reviews
  

“Serving in Florida,” from Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich

“A Modest Proposal,” Jonathan Swift

Excerpt from The Roots of Honor, John Ruskin

“The Atlanta Exposition Address,” Booker T. Washington

“On Dumpster Diving,” Lars Eighner

“The Case for Working with Your Hands,” Matthew B. Crawford

“How to Restore the American Dream,” Fareed Zakaria

**Various current event articles and any other important writings pertaining to the

economy
Assessments:

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  Analysis of a rhetorical analysis from Eighner’s “On Dumpster Diving” (student writing from the text). After determining changes that could improve the piece, students will write a brief essay discussing the changes made in the final draft in terms of content, rhetoric, and style, evaluating the success of the revision.
  
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  Position essay in response to questions addressing both microeconomics and macroeconomics from Thoreau’s “Economy.” Students should reference other selections from the chapter and include their personal observations and experiences.
  
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  Grammar as Rhetoric and Style Skills Reviews
  
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  Don Killgallon’s Sentence Composing for College, Using Professional Structures
  
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  Multiple choice timed tests
  

“On Seeing England for the First Time,” Jamaica Kincaid

“On the Duty of Civil Disobedience,” Henry David Thoreau

“The Gettysburg Address,” Abraham Lincoln

“Thoughts on Peace in an Air Raid,” Virginia Woolf

“The Destruction of Culture,” Chris Hedges

“The Apology: Letters from a Terrorist,” Laura Blumenfeld

“The Partly Cloudy Patriot,” Sarah Vowell

“Inaugural Address” John F. Kennedy

“Second Inaugural Address” Abraham Lincoln

“Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions,” Elizabeth Cady Stanton

**Various current event articles and any other important writings pertaining to politics.

Pablo Picasso, Guernica (painting)

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  Composition/Presentation: Satire
  

“Women’s Brains,” Stephen Jay Gould

“Professions for Women,” Virginia Woolf

“The Speech of Miss Polly Baker,” Ben Franklin

“Letters,” John and Abigail Adams

“I Want a Wife,” Judy Brady

“Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space,” Brent Staples

“There Is No Unmarked Woman,” Deborah Tannen

**Various current event articles and any other important writings pertaining to gender issues
Visual Texts:

Chancellor Seguier at the Entry of Louis XIV into Paris in 1660 (painting)

The Chancellor Seguier on Horseboack (2005, painting)

Marlboro Man (photo)
Assessments:

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  Compositions: Synthesis (timed), Letter (imitation of author), Argument (timed), and Personal Narrative
  
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  Grammar as Rhetoric and Style Skills Reviews
  
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  Multiple Choice practice tests
  
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  Essay analyzing the tone of Wolf’s speech
  
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  Don Killgallon’s Sentence Composing for College, Varying Professional Positions
  
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  Begin the process of argument based research paper
  
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  Project--Introduce Nonfiction Author Search Presentation & Paper
  

“The Silent Season of a Hero,” Gay Talese

“The Proper Place for Sports,” Theodore Roosevelt

“The Cruelest Sport,” Joyce Carol Oates

“Offensive Play: How Different Are Dogfighting and Football?” Malcolm Gladwell

“Why I Love My Job,” Rick Reilly

“Kill ‘Em, Crush ‘Em, Eat ‘Em Raw!” John McMurtry

**Various current event articles and any other important writings pertaining to sports

“The Twelfth Player in Every Football Game” New York World (cartoon)

“Yes!” Sports Illustrated (cover) July 1999
Assessments:

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  Compositions: Synthesis Essay, Compare and Contrast Essay
  
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  Grammar as Rhetoric and Style Skills Review
  
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  Multiple Choice practice tests
  
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  Research Project--Argumentative Annotated Bibliography
  

“Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan

“Politics and the English Language.” George Orwell

“Slang in America,” Walt Whitman

“The ‘F Word, ’” Firoozeh Dumas

“In Plain English: Let’s Make It Official,” Charles Krauthammer

“Always Living in Spanish,” Marjorie Agosin

“How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldua

“Words Don’t Mean What They Mean,” Steven Pinker

**Various current event articles and any other important writings pertaining to language

“Language Use in the Unites States,” U.S. Census Bureau tables

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  Using the “yes, but” approach to counterargument, pose at least two questions that challenge the illustration by Jim Cummins.
  
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  Composition: Style Analysis
  
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  Grammar as Rhetoric and Style Skills Reviews
  
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  Preparations for the AP exam while working on research
  
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  Argumentative Synthesis Research Project—During the fourth nine weeks, students will examine and synthesize information provided to them in an extensive argumentative synthesis research project. This project will allow them to have one final chance to practice for the synthesis free-response question on the AP exam. This will also provide additional practice citing outside sources following MLA format.