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AP English Literature and Composition Syllabus
Mrs. Amy Bright
email: abright@rcsnc.org
Primary Texts
Arp, Thomas, Greg Johnson, and Laurence Perrine, eds. Perrine’s Literature:
Structure, Sound and Sense, ninth edition, Boston: Thomas Wadsworth, 2006.
Sebranek, Patrick, Verne Meyer, and David Kemper. Write for College: A Student
Handbook. Wilmington: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.
Grammar and Composition Handbook. New York: Glencoe/McGraw Hill, 2000.
All required texts and novels for the AP English Literature and Composition Course are
available for your use from the English department or the school library. If you want to obtain a
personal copy, you may do so, but it should be the same edition that we are using in class.
Course Overview
AP English Literature and Composition is designed to be a college/university course.
The Advanced Placement English Program was inaugurated by the College Board to prepare high
school seniors for college level work. The analysis and evaluation of short stories, drama, poetry,
novels, and nonfiction essays and the development of writing skills are the foundations of this
course. Critical thinking skills are emphasized and encouraged through discussions, seminars,
independent projects and written analysis of literature.
A national examination, which is given in May, is required of all students who are taking
the course. The scoring of the examination is given on a 1-5 point system. A score of 3 is
accepted at many colleges and universities, but some academic institutions require a score of 4 or
5 in order for the student to receive college credit.
Competency Goals
Students will be able to
1. deepen their understanding and enhance their pleasure of reading selected literary
works, the majority from Great Britain and the United States.
2. develop critical standards for interpreting the effects writers create by the artful
manipulation of language.
3. demonstrate knowledge of characters, action, structure, and language.
4. analyze figurative language such as imagery, symbolism, and tone in diverse literary
works.
5. examine literary works in their historical context and in relation to the lives and
experiences of the author and the students.
6. compose and revise expository, analytical, and argumentative essays, focusing on the
critical analysis of literature.
7. develop stylistic maturity in composition – wide-ranging vocabulary, variety of
sentence structure, and logical organization.
8. master good reading, speaking and listening skills and develop writing skills that
incorporate the resources of language: connotation, irony, syntax, tone, and
metaphor.
9. sharpen skills in the close reading of poetry through the considerations of sound and
metrical devices.
10. compose and revise analyses that explicate poetry, including considerations of
structure and style as they affect content.
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11. recognize the value of cooperative learning and teamwork through group activities
requiring analysis and creativity as related to diverse literary selections.
Grading System
Grading Distribution
Grading Scale for Essays_______
Poetry Responses
10%
Major Test/Projects
Major Works Data
Sheets
Timed essays
Daily assignment
Quizzes
30%
A+
A
AB+
B
B-
15%
25%
10%
10%
100%
100
97
95
92
89
86
C+
C
CD+
D
DF
84
81
78
76
73
70
60
Holistic Scoring for Essays
9
100
4
78
8
96
3
70
7
92
2
60
6
89
1
50
5
82
Expectations of Student Performance
1. Students will, through structured assignments, read, respond to, and analyze short stories,
novels, drama, poetry, and nonfiction works.
2. Students will write creatively as a response to various genres of literature and to relevant
topics of current interest.
3. Students will write poetry using models of established writers.
4. Students will write timed essays using prompts from past AP exams.
5. Students will answer essay questions as required of college level writers.
6. Students will write personal essays either in response to text or as practice for the college
admission process.
7. Students will use graphic organizers, dialectical journals, responses to poetry, levels of
questions and Major Works Data Sheets in response to literature.
Writing Performance
1. AP English Literature and Composition includes not only the in-depth study and analysis
of literature but the expectation that writing will be developed to meet college level standards.
Since writing will be essential in courses across the curriculum in the college experience, each
assignment in this class requires best writing practices. Composition requirements include, but
will not be limited to, statements, paragraphs, essay tests (timed) and formal essays (personal,
argumentative, expository, and analytical). In each writing assignment, it will be essential for
you to use Standard Written English, a variety of syntax, and effective diction. Both denotation
and connotation will be considered to denote the appropriate tone and voice.
2. When you write a timed essay, the scoring guide will be the one used for the AP
English Literature and Composition exam for that specific prompt.
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Composition Requirements
Since the purpose of speaking and writing is to communicate effectively and clearly, you
should know how to use Standard Written English. Throughout this course there will be lessons
that deal with grammar and usage, writing style, syntactical expression, and diction. We will
reinforce these issues as you demonstrate the need for assistance. The grammar handbooks we
will use will be a good guide for grammar. For basic form, follow these guidelines.
1. The work is written in black or blue ink or typed, double-spaced, with only 12-point
Times New Roman font. Neatness is a necessity in final drafts of any essay to reflect
a professional appearance and best effort.
2. Each essay has a clearly stated thesis statement that contains the main idea of the
essay and key words from the prompt. This statement should be at the end of the
introduction.
3. Each body paragraph or a single paragraph that is written in response to an essay
question has a topic sentence that contains the main idea of the paragraph.
4. The paragraph has two or three sentences that explain the topic sentence.
5. The paragraph has two to four sentences that comment on how the explanatory
sentences relate to the topic sentence.
6. The paragraph contains vivid details that are interesting, appropriate, and relevant
to the topic.
7. The paragraph ends with a strong concluding sentence that refers to the topic
sentence.
8. In an essay, the concluding paragraph restates or reemphasizes the thesis statement
and includes significant statements that emphasize the primary points of the essay.
9. The paragraph has no run-on sentences or sentence fragments.
10. The paragraph has no problem in agreement: subject/verb, pronoun/antecedent
11. The punctuation is correct.
12. The spelling is correct.
Ongoing Assignments
1. a weekly one page response to a poem provided by the teacher – due on Tuesdays, the
first turn is on September 6th.
2. a literary terms handbook
3. SAT vocabulary study using varied assignments. First quiz is on September 2nd.
4. sample AP level multiple-choice practice tests on prose and poetry
5. current events elevator presentation – a brief account of one pertinent news story during
the week, including documentation of article you read in varying formats. First turn in is
August 29th.
6. Major Works Data Sheets – information regarding details on the elements of fiction from
each major work
Graduation Project: Throughout the semester students will be working on the Graduation
Project. They will complete this work simultaneously with their study of grammar, vocabulary,
and literature. The four components are 1) Research Paper; 2) Project; 3) Portfolio; and 4) Oral
Presentation. Therefore, the time frame for various units of study will vary as students complete
their requirements.
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FYI – this is subject to change!!
Units of Study
Unit 1 – Relationship to Self
6 weeks
Works:
Short Stories:
“The Chaser,” by John Collier (excerpt)
“The Story of an Hour,” by Kate Chopin
“A Rose for Miss Emily,” by William Faulkner
“The Most Dangerous Game,” by Richard Connell
“The Destructors,” by Graham Greene
“Miss Brill,” by Katherine Mansfield
“The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson
“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” by Katherine Anne Porter
Other selected stories will be used for group analysis.
Novel:
Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Unit 2 – Relationship to Your Future
1 week
College Admission and/or Scholarship Essay
Colleges or organizations providing scholarships usually require an essay that reflects
on a student’s past experiences, states an opinion, explains a point of view, or makes
clear the importance of a person or event in a student’s life.
Unit 3: Relationships that Result in Tragedy
3 weeks
Works:
Drama:
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Unit 4: Relationships that Inspire Self-Expression
4 weeks
Works:
Poetry:
1. “Elements of Poetry” – pp. 646-654, Perrine’s Structure, Sound, and Sense, ninth
edition
2. “Understanding and Evaluating Poetry” – p. 655, Perrine’s Structure, Sound, and
Sense, ninth edition
3. Poetry terms
4. Ballads – study folk and literary ballads and write an original ballad
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5. Sonnets – study and analyze multiple sonnets and write an original sonnet
6. Project – Collection of poetry – specifics – TBA
Unit 5: Relationships that Change Lives
2 weeks
Works:
Fiction:
Beowulf - anonymous author
Poetry:
“The Seafarer”
Unit 6: Relationship of the Man to the Soul
3 weeks
Works:
Novel:
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
1. dialectical journal
2. structured activities for focus and research
3. timed essay on ethics and the relevant issue
Poem:
“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Unit 7: Relationships that Bring About Change
5 weeks
Works:
Novel:
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Short stories:
“Good Country People,” by Flannery O’Connor
“A Good Man is Hard to Find,” by Flannery O’Connor
Drama:
The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Poetry:
Selected works by John Donne, William Blake, John Keats, A.E. Housman,
Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson – other poets will be selected based
on the poetry project students completed earlier
Unit 8: Relationships that Create Conflict
4 weeks
Works:
Novel:
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Poetry:
John Keats, John Milton, Lord Byron, William Wordsworth
Unit 9: Relationship of Poetry to Life
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3 weeks
Works:
Selected poems:
1. DIDLS - Diction, Imagery, Details, Language, Syntax
2. TPCASTT – Title, Paraphrase, connotation, Attitude, Tone, Shift, Title
revisited, Theme
3. villanelle
4. sestina
5. free verse
6. shape poems
7. personal reflection essays, literary analysis, explication – rubrics will be
provided, peer editing will take place, and teacher input will be part of the
revision process
8. timed writing – literary analysis using past AP prompt
Unit 10: Relationship of Literature to World Views
Study of literary criticism through independent novel study.
Review
Specific review for AP exam
Last weeks of semester:
Creative activities – writing, viewing, and oral presentations
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