Advanced Placement English, Literature and Composition
Syllabus, 2011-2012
To understand literature is a matter of study, and may be taught in the
class-room; to love literature is a matter of character, and can never be
taught in a class-room. The [instructor] who tries chiefly to
make…students love literature wastes…energy for the sake of a few
students who would love poetry anyway, and sacrifices the majority of
[the] class, who are not yet ripe enough to love it. The [instructor] who
tries chiefly to make…students understand literature will give them
something to incorporate into their characters. For it is the peculiar
grace of literature that whom so understands it loves it. It becomes…a
permanent possession, not a passing thrill.
— Prof. Martin W. Sampson
Indiana University, 1895
"One writes only half the book; the other half is with the reader."
— Joseph Conrad
English Novelist, 1897
Welcome to your senior year, and to AP English Literature and Composition. The epigraphs above, albeit
a bit old, sum up nicely the intent of the course: Those who already love literature should find the year
invigorating; those who do not yet love literature may learn to do so before the year is out; and all
students will learn to understand literature at the deepest levels. When it comes down to it, your (the
reader’s) contribution to the experience of a book is central to its “meaning” and, in this course, will be
incorporated into every task we undertake. Regardless of your previous experience as a reader, all of you
are welcome, and all of you will contribute. I sincerely hope that you enjoy your time in the course.
I.
Course Description
The AP course in English Literature and Composition is the oldest AP course at Lake Zurich High
School. The philosophy of the course, however, has not changed since its inception: Any student who
wishes the challenge of an AP course in English is invited to enroll. Today, as it has been in the past,
students will encounter a course dedicated to:
--developing students’ critical thinking skills;
--inculcating within students the methods of traditional literary analysis;
--encouraging multiple interpretations of both discrete texts and broader human behavior;
--providing extensive practice writing and reading in English; and
--rewarding original thinking and personal goal-setting.
Students who do not enjoy reading and writing as academic, analytical activities will have trouble
succeeding in the course. However, having said that, it is true that the vast majority of students enrolled
over the years have not become English majors in college. A background in literature and a love of
complex problems will be all most students will need to feel comfortable in the course.
Primary text (supplemented by outside texts): Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia, eds. Literature. 8th Ed.
Longman Publishing Co.: New York, 2002.
II.
Structure of the Course
This course consists of a minimum of nine units, each devoted to a different aspect of literary analysis
and appreciation. Each unit will consist of at least two major texts. Texts will include novels, plays,
nonfiction essays, poems, short stories, films, music, visual art, and other cultural artifacts. The first unit
will focus on techniques for critically reading and writing about literature. The second unit will use the
skills learned in the first unit to focus on literary theory with an emphasis on archetypes. We will also run
through units on technical aspects of literary theory, such as characterization, narrative theory, prosody,
comedy, and tragedy, until the exam in May. After that, we will engage in a philosophical discussion of
the individual’s place in society. Assessment for each unit will consist of one or more collaborative
analytical exercises based on short passages; one essay of literary analysis based on a pre-existing AP
exam prompt; and a short quiz requiring understanding of the reading material and the skills/concepts
covered in the unit. Every unit will require the exercise of skills in close reading, critical thinking,
summarizing, reflection, critique, and evaluation. Texts will be studied in their historical and social
contexts to facilitate interpretation.
Students will have an opportunity to revise essays during the first semester with feedback from me
and their peers. The collaborative exercises will be shared with the rest of the class for comment and
evaluation. Students who wish additional tutoring are welcome to set up appointments.
III.
The AP Exam in English Literature and Composition
The AP exam is scheduled for May of each year. Students who score a 3, 4, or 5 on the exam (graded
on a 0-5 scale, with 5 the highest score) are frequently awarded credit by the college in which they enroll.
This credit may take the form of hours counted toward graduation; exemption from basic courses in
composition or literature; or any other method used by individual institutions. The test consists of two
parts: a multiple choice section, with anywhere from 3-5 reading selections and 45-60 total questions; and
an essay section, featuring three essays. One essay will be “open,” meaning that the student may choose
the text to use as the basis of the analysis requested, and two questions will require analysis of a specific
text provided (“closed” questions). One closed question will require analysis of a poem and the other of a
prose piece. Students are permitted one hour to complete the multiple choice section (administered first)
and two hours for the essays (administered second). There is a short break in between.
Students in the course are not required to take the exam. The cost of the exam is around $90. I
encourage every student to take it and use it to gauge her or his level of engagement with literature and
literary analysis. The exam provides all students with the opportunity to challenge themselves and assess
their level of preparedness for college-level English work.
Having said that, let me assure you that the course itself meets exactly the same goals, and that
students in the past who did not perform well on the exam have found college English to be easily
managed. The average pass rate for the course in the last five years is 70%, a number that reflects the
widely fluctuating number and academic experience of students taking the exam.
For more information on the AP exam, please consult the Cliff’s book (distributed soon) and the
College Board’s website at www.collegeboard.com/testing/.
IV.
Expectations and Goals
Expectations: Students enrolled in the course are expected to read assigned material, complete all
assigned tasks, ask questions in class and out of class, raise points in class discussion, disagree vocally
with opinions that do not match their own, and come to class prepared every day.
Assignments will include an in-depth textual analysis of at least one work of literature every unit.
The prompt will be timed and based on a pre-existing AP exam free response question. Students will have
an opportunity to revise these essays and receive feedback from me before submitting a final draft.
Students will also be quizzed using AP exam-style multiple choice questions in order to encourage
reflection and analysis of a variety of texts. Finally, students will engage in small group, collaborative
analysis of a variety of texts. Depending on the unit these assessments will require students to reflect on
and consider carefully a text’s structure, style, or themes; the social and historical values it reflects; and/or
its use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone. In addition, students will consider over the
course of the year the theories of comedy, tragedy, narrative structure, and prosody.
In the fall of the year, students will examine a text of their own choice in significant depth.
Students will use the understanding they develop of this text to conduct original research based on a thesis
of the students’ own choosing. This activity will prepare students for college-level research and
argumentation.
I will respond in writing and in oral conferences to students’ writing with an emphasis on the
following feedback:
--using appropriate and precise vocabulary
--developing mature and effective syntax
--organizing points, evidence, and paragraphs into coherent arguments
--constructing paragraphs that balance generalization with specific supporting details
All work in this class will be geared toward meeting the following goals:
Goal 1: Prepare students for the national, three-hour AP exam in English Literature and Composition by:
1. increasing the frequency of writing
2. emphasizing analytical rather than expository writing
3. devoting time to style as well as structure
4. helping students build a repertoire of literary works for the free-response question
5. giving experience with impromptu questions in timed writing situations
6. helping students conceive of texts as total entities and not sequential daily reading assignments
7. familiarizing students with the historical, social, and theoretical contexts for literature
7. reviewing test-taking skills.
Goal 2: Prepare students for the transition from secondary school to college by:
1. using a lecture/discussion framework typical of a conventional college classroom
2. placing emphasis on developing critical thinking skills such as application, analysis, synthesis, and
evaluation in addition to the more basic cognitive skills of recall, recognition, and comprehension
3. emphasizing organizational skills such as coherence and unity in composition
4. requiring the exercise of analytical and persuasive skills such as formulating a hypothesis,
building a strong argument, and utilizing literary criticism as an adjunct to primary sources.
V.
Rewards
Students who take advantage of this course will leave it proficient at writing under pressure and
close-reading difficult texts. Students might place out of literature or composition courses in college, and
will be well prepared for college-level essay prompts, discussions, and texts. Hopefully, students will
leave this course with a greater understanding of the power literature exerts over us as individuals and as
societies and cultures. There is a reason people feel the urge to read and to write and have felt it for the
last 5,000 years; hopefully this course will give students a glimpse of what constitutes that desire to create
and to internalize the creations of others.
VI.
Unit Plan: For Guidance Only (actual units may change based on classroom activity)
Students will be expected to engage in an intensive study of representative works such as
those by authors cited in the AP English Course Description. This may include, but will not be
limited to, the following works:
Summer Reading: Be prepared the first week of school to scrutinize the works selected through
independent written analysis.
Unit One (Summer Reading): Critical essays by Perrine and Nabokov; text by Thomas Foster
Unit Two (Literary Theory / Archetypes): Sophocles, Oedipus; Chopin, The Awakening
Unit Three (Metaphor/Comparison): Kafka, Metamorphosis; Blake poems; various poetry
Unit Four (Tragic Hero/Tragedy): Shakespeare, Othello; Gardner, Grendel
Unit Five (Comedy/Satire): Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest; Orwell, 1984
Unit Six (Point of View): Huxley, Brave New World; Chaucer, “The General Prologue”
Unit Seven (Structure): Hosseini, The Kite Runner; Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock;”
various poetry
Unit Eight (Setting/ Review): Beckett, Waiting for Godot; Hesse, Siddhartha
Unit Nine (Review): Moral Theory/ Decision Making
VII.
Homework, Website, and the Calendar
Refer frequently to my website for due dates and upcoming homework. I will update the site
frequently. I will also provide links to reading material online when necessary. For instance, next week
you have some reading due from a few online sources. You may print out the articles if you wish, but I
will not require them in class. I am most interested in your ability to read, take notes, and synthesize the
information in time for class discussion.
VIII. Attendance and Due Dates Policy
I expect perfect attendance from every student of mine. I have yet to see it happen. No problem—
just keep the following in mind:
I rarely remind students when work is due. It is your responsibility to check the calendar to
determine what you’ve missed. If you are absent the day something is due, you will have as many days as
the Student Handbook permits to make it up (with the exception of research papers and other long-term
assignments, for which I will not grant extensions). SEE ME ABOUT A NEW DUE DATE as soon as
you get back to school. If I receive the work after that new date, I will discuss with you the appropriate
consequence, which may include giving the work a zero. This is the policy that is most likely in place for
all of your classes.
If you know you are going to be absent, please see me ahead of time and I will give you the work
you will need. Please try to keep to the original due dates: I take work by email, but must be able to read
the document in order to count it as received. Put all work in MS Word and send it as an attachment, just
to be safe, rather than as part of the email message.
Long-term absences will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. See me as soon as you are aware
of the possibility and we will set up a schedule.
IX.
Academic Honesty and Integrity
All of you are familiar with the school’s policy concerning cheating in all its forms. I do not
anticipate any problems (and have encountered just a few instances of it in my years at LZHS), but I will
abide by the school handbook’s policy in case it happens. Every activity listed in that policy is prohibited
in this course. A few to pay close attention to:
1. using another student’s work to complete your own, unless I explicitly permit it;
2. using the words of ANY other person without clear and direct attribution;
3. taking another student’s book or materials and claiming it as your own;
4. anything else that shocks the conscience as a dishonest activity.
X.
Book Numbers/Names in Books
You will receive a book list on the student information sheet. Please write the title of the book (if
I have not already) and your book number in the corresponding spaces. If there is no number, create an
original one with my help. Then, write your name in the front cover of the book for every book. Do
this immediately as soon as you receive the book. I will log books in when we are done with them by
your number. You will be responsible for any lost book.
That’s it. I am excited about this year, and I hope you are as well. Best of luck this first week!
Sample In-Class, Timed Essay (with opportunity to revise and receive feedback from me) (one per
unit):
Respond to the attached prompt in 40 minutes. Try to use the entire period. I strongly recommend
you outline your answer on this page, then write a coherent, organized, and detail-laden essay on
separate paper, preferably lined. Staple this sheet to your essay when finished.
Scoring: Your response will be worth 100 points. I will assess the following areas, with 20 points
possible for each:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Responsiveness to the Prompt
Use of Text and Literary Theory/Support for Argument
Command of the Text(s)
Structure and Organization
Style/Grammar/Mechanics
You will receive a peer grade on this first draft, and then an opportunity to improve your score through
revision (I will take the average of the two grades as a final grade).
Prompt:
Critic Roland Barthes has said, “Literature is the question minus the answer.” Using either Ellison’s
Invisible Man or Beowulf as your text, consider Barthes’s observation and write an essay in which you
analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the
author’s treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot
summary.
Sample Analytical Exercise Requiring Analysis, Evaluation, and/or Explanation (minimum one per
unit)
Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
Theme Analysis
40 points
In your small groups, arrive at an understanding of your section of the poem suitable to share with
the rest of the class. This understanding will include relating your section to a particular theme or
themes. To do this, please:
I. paraphrase your section in writing
II. analyze your section of the poem according to the contribution three (3) of the following
poetic elements makes to theme or tone:
1. form (i.e. meter, rhyme, stanza)
2. sound (i.e. alliteration, assonance, euphony, cacophony)
3. imagery
4. diction
5. syntax
6. any other poetic element you’d like to focus on
III. determine Eliot’s tone and a theme for your section based on your analysis
Record your notes/observations below. Prepare a set of paragraphs demonstrating your
understanding of the poem, the poetic elements, the theme, and the tone.
Sample Unit Quiz Requiring Analysis and an Understanding of Context/Theory (one per unit):
Quiz: Unit Nine, Modernism
26 points
I. Précis (10 points): A précis is short, concise, precise summary of a text. It includes the basic plot, a
brief description of the main characters, historical context, analysis, and theme.
Write your précis of Siddhartha here. Do not write beyond the lined space provided.
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II. Multiple Choice: Circle the letter of the most appropriate response to each question.
1. Which of the following individuals did NOT have a direct, profound effect on the development
of Modernism?
A. James Frazer
B. Sigmund Freud C. T.S. Eliot
D. Charles Dickens
E. Ezra Pound
Use the following passage to answer questions 2-8.
1
Siddhartha wandered into the forest, already far from the town, and knew only one thing—
2
that he could not go back, that the life he had lived for many years was past, tasted and
3
drained to a degree of nausea. The songbird was dead; its death, which he had dreamt about,
4
was the bird in his own heart. He was deeply entangled in Samsara; he had drawn nausea and
5
death to himself from all sides, like a sponge that absorbs water until it is full. He was full of
6
ennui, full of misery, full of death; there was nothing left in the world that could attract him,
7
that could give him pleasure and solace.
8
He wished passionately for oblivion, to be at rest, to be dead. If only flashes of lightning
9
would strike him! If only a tiger would come and eat him! If there were only some wine,
10 some poison, that would give him oblivion, that would make him forget, that would make
11 him sleep and never awaken! Was there any kind of filth with which he had not besmirched
12 himself, any sin and folly which he had not committed, any stain upon his soul for which he
13 alone had not been responsible? Was it then still possible to live? Was it possible to take in
14 breath again and again, to breathe out, to feel hunger, to eat again, to sleep again, to lie with
15 women again? Was this cycle not exhausted and finished for him?
16 Siddhartha reached the long river in the wood, the same river across which a ferryman had
17 once taken him when he was still a young man and had come from Gotama’s town. He
18 stopped at this river and stood hesitatingly on the bank. Fatigue and hunger had weakened
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
him. Why should he go any further, where, and for what purpose? There was no more
purpose; there was nothing more than a deep, painful longing to shake off this whole
confused dream, to spit out this stale wine, to make an end of this bitter, painful life….
With a distorted countenance he stared into the water. He saw his face reflected, and spat at
it; he took his arm away from the tree trunk and turned a little, so that he could fall headlong
and finally go under. He bent, with closed eyes—towards death.
Then from a remote part of his soul, from the past of his tired life, he heard a sound. It was
one word, one syllable, which without thinking he spoke indistinctly, the ancient beginning
and ending of all Brahmin prayers, the holy Om, which had the meaning of “the Perfect One”
or “Perfection.” At that moment, when the sound of Om reached Siddhartha’s ears, his
slumbering soul suddenly awakened and he recognized the folly of his action.
2. The reader learns of Siddhartha’s ennui in this passage primarily through
I. direct characterization
II. indirect characterization
III. stream of consciousness
A. I only
B. I and II only
C. II only
D. III only
E. I, II, and III
3. Which of the following details from this passage represents the moment at which Siddhartha
demonstrates his status as a dynamic character?
A. Siddhartha wishes for poison
B. Siddhartha hears Om and feels his soul awaken
C. Siddhartha finds the tree and hangs off of it with one arm
D. Siddhartha spits at the reflection of his own face
E. Siddhartha realizes that he is deeply entangled in Samsara
4. “Cycle” in line 15 is equivalent to
A. “Samsara” in line 4.
B. “oblivion” in line 10.
C. “oblivion” in line 8.
D. “soul” in line 12
E. “nausea” in line 3.
5. Which of the following concepts is personified in the passage?
A. lightening, ll. 8-9
B. tiger, l. 9
C. the soul, ll. 25-29
D. filth, l. 11
E. countenance, l. 22
6. Which of the following elements most clearly establishes the pace of the passage?
A. diction
B. details
C. imagery
D. syntax
E. onomatopoeia
7. Siddhartha’s rationale for expiation can best be seen in
A. the full sentence, ll. 1-3.
B. the full sentence, ll. 4-5.
C. full question, ll. 11-13.
D. full sentence, ll. 16-17.
E. full sentence, l. 22
8. The river changes from the site of Siddhartha’s ________________ to his _________________.
A. presentiment; sanctuary
B. frustration; ennui
C. expiation; acquisitiveness
D. effacement; declivity
E. epiphany; damnation
Use the following passage to answer questions 9-10.
1
2
3
4
5
Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets
And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes
Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves leaning out of windows?...
I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.
9. The tone of this passage is established most clearly through
A. language
B. imagery
C. form
D. diction
E. syntax
10. Line 4 features which dominant figure of speech?
A. personification
B. paradox
C. metaphor
D. synecdoche
E. apostrophe