CURRICULUM NIGHT
Welcome to 12 AP Literature and Composition
Introduction to Me . . .
Laura Fitch
 Email – laurafitch@solonboe.org
 Telephone – (440) 349-7757
x5398
 Online calendar on
solonschools.org website
Course Objective
The objective of 12th grade Advanced Placement
Literature and Composition is to prepare students
for the rigors of the AP Literature test and college
as well. A score of 3, 4, or 5 could exempt your
student from core requirements in college. Our focus
will extend the critical reading, thinking, and writing
skills that your senior has built throughout his or her
years in Solon’s English Program.
Breakdown of the Lit & Comp Test
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55 multiple choice questions spread over four to
five passages. Students will have one hour for this
section. Passages will be cut from pre-20th Century
literature and poetry and 20th/21st Century
literature and poetry.
 Questions
focus on analysis and interpretation at the
deepest level, requiring critical, close reading.
Questions may draw on literary devices, thematic
connections, speaker or author’s attitude, vocabulary in
context, etc.
Sample MC Questions
The speaker’s allusion to Hercules and Adonis serves
primarily to
(A) imply an undercurrent of aggressiveness in Mr.
Jones’s personality
Which of the following is LEAST important to the
theme of the poem?
(A) “pale” (line 4)
(B) “smile (line 8)
(B) suggest the extremes of physical attractiveness
represented in Mr. Jones’s appearance
(C) “vigour” (line9)
(C) assert the enduring significance of mythical
beauty
(E) “delight” (line 22)
(D) symbolize the indescribable nature of Mr.
Jones’s countenance
(E) emphasize how clearly Mr. Jones’s features
reflected his personality
(D) “well-wrought” (line 13)
The tone throughout the poem is best described as
one of
(A) playful seriousness
(B) ironic grimness
(C) cheerful glee
(D) somber melancholy
(E) irreversible despair
Breakdown of the Lit & Comp Test con’t
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Three essays over two hours that focus on literary
and poetry analysis.
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Prose Essay – Students are given a passage out of context from a
novel, short story or play and must analyze how the author’s
technique creates or affects an element of the passage.
Poetry Essay – Students are given a poem and must analyze how
the poet’s technique creates or affects an element of the poem.
Free Response Essay – Students are given a theme based
question and must quickly determine a novel they know well
enough on which to base their responses. Students should draw
focused, apt, detailed support from the novel to write their
responses.
Sample Essay Questions
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Prose Essay –
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Poetry Essay –
Read carefully the passage from the beginning of a contemporary
novel. Note the author’s use of devices such as diction, syntax, imagery, and figurative
language. Write an essay in which you analyze how the author’s use of such devices creates a
vivid characterization of Quoyle.
The following two poems are about Helen of Troy. Renowned in the
ancient world for her beauty, Helen was the wife of Menelaus, a Greek King. She was carried
off to Troy by the Trojan prince Paris, and her abduction was the immediate cause of the
Trojan War.
Read the two poems carefully. Considering such elements as speaker, diction, imagery, form,
and tone, write a well-organized essay in which you contrast the speakers' views of Helen.
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Free Response Essay – A character's attempt to recapture the past is important in
many plays, novels, and poems.
Choose a literary work in which a character views the past with such feelings as reverence,
bitterness, or longing. Show with clear evidence from the work how the character's view of the
past is used to develop a theme in the work.
The Literature
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Analysis of Canonical and Contemporary Fiction and
Nonfiction
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The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
Catch -22 by Joseph Heller
Various short stories, poems and literary criticism articles
Sound and Sense (Poetry Anthology)
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14th Edition – new for this year
One of the best preparatory anthologies for AP
and college study
Now includes preparatory material for the whole
test, not just poetry
Contains significant changes from previous editions
Actually less expensive than the previous editions