UCONN ECE English 1011: Seminar in Writing through Literature Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition 2013-2014 Instructor: Kelly Price Room: 1223 Contact: pricek@granbyschools.org Writing Conference Times: Period 5 (Learning Center) & Period 6 COURSE OVERVIEW UCONN ECE English 1011: Seminar in Writing through Literature/Advanced Placement (AP) English Literature and Composition is a full-year elective course for seniors. All literary forms will be represented spanning the periods from classical to modern times. Writing will include writing to learn strategies such as writing several drafts based on peer and teacher review, timed writings, active reading notes, discussion/lecture notes, focused free writes, and partner notes and thoughts on designated literature. The framework for the literature explored in this course revolves around life's journey and the degree to which people self-actualize and/or reach a state of enlightenment. Life's journey is viewed from the perspective of a range of periods and traditions. Additionally, this framework not only allows students to reference works already studied in the course as they engage a new piece but also to reference literature they have read in other English courses or even on their own. The formal writing revolves around interpretation and critical reading of texts set forth in a cogent written analysis to support a position. Paper topics cover a range of options some of which include an analysis of a writer's purpose in relation to audience, an analysis of structure, style, and craft as a means of supporting theme, an exploration of the evolution of the protagonist, the role of minor characters, etc. Prerequisites B+ or better in honors level required English 10/11 and the recommendation of the English Department chairperson, teacher, administrator, and/or counselor. Students must have successfully completed the summer reading/writing assignments to enroll in this class. Students are encouraged to take the AP exam in May. ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT INFORMATION Class attendance is essential. See GMHS Attendance Policy. As well, please review GMHS Academic Integrity Policy. Nota bene the penalties for plagiarism, which can include assignment and course failure, a letter of censure sent to colleges, retraction of recommendations, removal from honor societies, sports clubs and teams. GRADING INFORMATION Quarter 1 – 40%: Formal Writing 20%: Informal Writing 10%: Vocabulary 10%: Terminology 10%: Active and Insightful class participation 10%: Summer Assignment Formal Writing: All essays that analyze, evaluate, interpret, and/or argue; essays that imitate style; essays that reflect research and careful source selection strategies using materials from beyond the classroom texts, and attention to proper citation styles; essays that employ successful research strategies to support a complex argument through synthesis of sources; AP-style essay simulations, and in-class essays. Your formal writing grade will be assigned based on your success with the writing process as evidenced in the final essay. You should keep all formal writing in a folder. Informal Writing: Because composition is a means of enhancing comprehension of the literature and also a means of learning to write a cohesive, unified, focused, and mechanically correct document, students will write/rewrite drafts according to their need as reflected in teacher and peer feedback and teacher and peer conferences. The drafts are formative assessments; therefore, you will not be graded but you will lose points if you do not complete assigned drafts. All first drafts, peer reviews, reflective writing, and in-class drafting. Informal writing may also include passage-based responses, responses to questions, and summaries. In-class notes and comprehension checks will be included in this category. Vocabulary: Vocabulary enrichment is an integral part of your academic growth as a reader, writer, and communicator. You will select 40 high level words from your reading; word lists are due every third Friday, starting on September 20th. Use the following format: 1. Word – (part of speech) – definition as used by the writer. “passage in which word is used” (writer’s last name title of work page). Terminology: Literary discourse requires a deep understanding of high level terminology that you can expect to identify, explain, interpret, analyze and evaluate. Assessments will vary in this category. Quarter 2 & Quarter 3 – 40%: Formal Writing 20%: Informal Writing 10%: Vocabulary 10%: Terminology 10%: AP Practice 10%: Active and Insightful class participation Quarter 4 – 40%: Formal Writing 20%: Informal Writing 30% Final Project 10%: Active & Insightful class participation TEXTS* Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (your summer reading selection) Beloved by Toni Morrison Daisy Miller by Henry James All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy Fences by August Wilson Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Literature and Composition edited by Renee H. Shea, Lawrence Scanlon, Robin Dissin Aufses. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 2010. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams The Road by Cormac McCarthy The Turn of the Screw by Henry James Hamlet by Shakespeare *I reserve the right to vary, add, and/or delete materials based on class needs Other Course Materials: Multiple Choice and Free Response Questions in Preparation for AP Literature and Composition Examination. D&S Marketing Systems. Selected short stories Turnitin.com Noodletools.com Google Apps for Education Assigned websites and on-line readings and responses including blogs, wikis, and research sites ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS -- Literary elements work together to create theme. -- Literature reflects the values, voice, beliefs, and culture of the author. -- Good literature reflects universal truths that transcend time and place; challenges readers to examine their beliefs and learn vicariously from the problems faced by characters in fiction and non-fiction; explores an idea that is innovative and/or intriguing. -- Good literature is well-crafted because it effectively employs literary devices. -- Each genre has conventions specific to it as well as those that are shared with other literary forms. -- Readers construct meaning through connecting the text to personal experience, other texts, and non-print media. -- How one approaches interpretation of the literature is predicated on the critical lens through which it is viewed. -- Interpretation of literature may be colored by the lens through which it is viewed. -- The reader's purpose in engaging a text may direct how he/she reads it and what conclusions he/she reaches about the reading. -- Organization, stylistic devices, syntax and diction support interpretation of text. -- Grammar, usage, mechanics support interpretation of text. -- Appropriate test-taking strategies support the successful completion of exams to demonstrate the degree to which a reader applies the question to show his/her understanding of the literature. Essential Questions As readers: -- To what extent does craft illuminate what the authors want the reader to know about characters, situation, setting and plot? -- To what extent does craft reveal tone and mood? -- To what extent do character, situation, conflict, plot, and setting create theme? -- To what extent does point of view impact perspective and interpretation of the selection? -- What constitutes a "pivotal moment" in a work and how does it function within a selection? --To what extent does what the reader knows and believes support comprehension? --To what extent does the reader's purpose direct the reading of the selection? As writers: -- To what extent does the student's comfort with concepts lead to construction of a focused, provable, valid thesis statement? -- How should the student writer choose and limit data from a text to support the argument/position that the thesis statement suggests? -- What constitutes a valid, logical argument? -- To what extent do grammar, usage, mechanics, organization, and style support the position proposed in the paper? As members of a learning community: -- To what extent does sharing/discussion provide a variety of interpretations? -- To what extent does a variety of interpretations enhance understanding of the literature? -- What constitutes a supportive, open-minded community? -- How do individual members contribute to the community while not dominating and supporting those who are reluctant to share? COURSE OBJECTIVES Students will: -- define and recognize point of view and its role in establishing character, tone, and theme; -- distinguish between the reliable and the unreliable narrator as a means of extending comprehension; -- define and recognize types of irony and explore how these are used to portray tone, purpose, theme, and/or character (in those selections that contain irony); define and recognize satire and demonstrate how use of satire establishes a criticism of people and or society (in those selections that are satires or contain elements of satire); explore the use of satire as a means of establishing themes (in those selections that are satires or contain elements of satire); -- recognize the means by which the author creates character and explore the use of characterization as a means of supporting theme; -- define and recognize the use of foil as a means of emphasizing a character's traits by means of contrast(in those selections that contain characters who operate as foils); -- recognize use of characters that function to reflect elements of the protagonist's personality, traits, thinking, and behaviors (in those selections that utilize characters as alter egos); -- define and recognize paradox as a means of extending meaning in a text (in those selections that utilize paradox); -- recognize archetypal elements in the literature as a means of exploring story or plot types, character types, and themes; -- identify conflicts and explore how they direct plot, define character, and support theme; -- recognize or utilize footnotes where available to note allusions and how these extend comprehension of a text; -- define and recognize allegory as a means of moving the literature beyond the simple story to an exploration the human condition and abstract ideas related to human enterprises and institutions (in those selections that are allegorical or contain elements of allegory); -- identify symbols and explore the use of symbols to concretize and extend ideas presented in the literature; -- define and identify elements of literature and explore how they work together to support theme; -- recognize the mechanics of various plot structures and determine how plot structure supports reader engagement and meaning of the work; -- note words that signal a shift e.g. "yet," "however," "but," etc.; -- note words and sentence structure that indicates cause and effect; -- note sentence structure as a means of indicating relationships and relative importance of information or details presented; -- determine where juxtaposition is a factor in extending meaning or tone; extend both reading and writing vocabulary; -- recognize how syntax supports meaning and may impact tone; -- recognize words in which connotation and/or double entendre extend the meaning of text; -- recognize tension in a selection, how it's created, and its function in the literature, and its impact on the reader; know and recognize figurative language in the literature and explore how it functions in the selection and how it enhances comprehension and reader engagement; -- create operational definitions of abstract ideas that provide the framework for comprehension and a written position that addresses abstractions in relation to a selection; -- read beyond the literal so that through inference, the drawing of conclusions, and evaluation, comprehension is brought to an advanced level that supports and reflects critical thinking; -- distinguish among details as a means of identifying "pivotal moments"; -- interpret "pivotal moments" in light of their significance in a selection; structure composition so that writing reflects a critical apprehension of the literature; --know and apply grammar, usage, mechanics, and elements of style to composition as a means of ensuring a cogent, focused, and unified essay to support an argument appropriate to the literature; -- create a thesis statement that reflects what the question is asking; -- enter a question through induction or deduction but know that the resulting essay, because it must reflect the question asked, will look the same no matter how the question is processed in relation to the literature; -- select an organizational format that best supports the presentation of a written argument/analysis; -- apply transitions as a means of developing points in an argument/analysis; -- know how to utilize feedback as a means of advancing writing through a series of drafts; -- apply those skills integral to reading a position pertaining to some aspect of the literature so that the tone, logic of argument, and applicability to the text is assessed; -- discriminate among details in an argument as a means of pulling out those that pertain to what the student must know to extend comprehension of the piece and/or support a position relative to a specific focus. As readers, students will: -- deliberately engage a text to activate his/her imagination as a means of entering the world of the story/poem/play; -- personally respond to the text to create meaning from it; share personal responses with others as a means of expanding theories/possibilities about what the text may mean; -- consider the plausibility of a variety of meanings; -- consider personal experience, exposure to other texts, and background knowledge as factors in creating meaning; -- move beyond a literal reading to one that requires making inferences, interpreting, drawing conclusions, and evaluating text; -- defend interpretations, conclusions, and evaluation of the literature based on textual details, elements, and craft; -- develop/enhance vocabulary through a personal list of words from the reading, literary devices, and literary elements that they need to learn and apply. As writers, students will: -- engage in expressive and reader-based prose as a means of engaging in and understanding text; -- utilize writing as a means of supporting interpretation, conclusions, and evaluation through revision of critical/analytical papers; -- create a thesis statement that is integral to the text and is supportable; -- choose supports appropriate to defending the thesis statement; overtly explain how/why selected paper details and points work to support the thesis statement; -- choose an organizational pattern that supports a fluid, clear, and cogent argument; -- demonstrate the understanding of essays about the literature through the writing of precis or concise summary; -- revise papers to enhance understanding of the literature and improve their own style and content; -- incorporate personalized feedback as a means of writing that demonstrates an appropriate use of grammar, usage, and mechanics. As members of the classroom community, students will: -- peer conference and provide feedback on drafts; -- share their thinking about the literature through discussion and shared writing; -- consider new ideas and other viewpoints about the literature; -- engage in a metacognitive conversation through which the teacher and students share their thinking about the processes they used as a means of interpreting the literature, taking notes, and addressing questions on essays and timed tests.