Lake Travis High School
English III-AP: English Language and Composition Course Syllabus 2013-2014
Instructor: Aaron Wedemeyer
Room K-107
Email: wedemeyera@ltisdschools.org
Phone: 533.5882
Conference period: 8:45am (1st period both days)
Course Description: The English Language and Composition AP course engages students
in becoming skilled readers of literary works written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and
rhetorical contexts, and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes.
This course acquaints students with the historical, moral, social, and philosophical forces
that have impacted selected works of fiction and non-fiction and challenges them to analyze
the interactions among a writer’s purpose, audience expectation, and subject, as well as the
way the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing. Students develop a
personal style as they write in a variety of modes for various audiences through both process
(requiring multiple drafts) and timed writing assignments. Analysis of visual media such as
paintings, photographs, films, advertisements, and cartoons will accompany the students’
study of rhetoric. In addition, students will synthesize materials from primary and
secondary sources and write documented argument essays, citing sources using Modern
Language Association (MLA) format.
Textbooks:
Holt McDougal Literature Grade 11. Evanston, Ill.: Holt McDougal, 2010.
Shea, Renee; Scanlon, Lawrence; and Aufses, Robin. The Language of
Composition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008.
Trimble, John. Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing.
2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 2000.
Other works: Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451 (summer reading)
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter (summer reading)
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby
Cohen, Samuel, ed. 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology (selected essays)
Assorted non-fiction pieces (essays, speeches, articles, letters, etc.)
BRING THE FOLLOWING SUPPLIES TO EVERY CLASS MEETING:
1. Loose-leaf notebook paper (spiral notebook paper will not be accepted, unless it
has a perforated edge).
2. Blue or black ink pens (pencils will be needed for Scantron tests)
3. A notebook OR a section in a notebook that is for English III only.
4. A Working System to record homework—such as a planner.
5. Your Language of Composition textbook and/or the novel currently being studied
**Though certainly not required, Mr. Wedemeyer would be forever grateful if you
would be willing to bring a package of dry erase markers for our classroom supplies.
Mr. Wedemeyer’s Policies and Procedures
Reading:
 Students generally find that close, critical reading provides one of the biggest
challenges in English III-AP. Students read a variety of texts and are
accountable for comprehension, vocabulary, and interpretation.
 Annotating closely and/or keeping a reading journal for notes, questions, and
comments facilitates understanding, improves scores on reading quizzes, and
contributes to the student’s ability to participate in class discussions.
Composition:
 Students will write a variety of types of essays. Many are process papers where
revising, editing, and typing are required. Most rough drafts will be written in
class and checked by the instructor prior to being taken home for completion of
the process.
 In preparation for the AP English Language and Composition exam, students will
also be required to write in-class essays under time constraints. These will be
graded using AP timed-writing rubrics.
 Students will write a major researched argument essay during the spring term.
Seminar Class Discussion:
 Students will be assigned seminar leadership throughout the year to facilitate class
discussion. Criteria for these seminars will be provided, and students will be
expected to come prepared to lead a worthy discussion over reading. Some
seminars will require students to bring in outside material, including visuals, to
enhance the discussion.
 All students must be prepared to participate in all seminars.
Make-up Work/Retesting:
 Make-up work is the student’s responsibility.
o If a student misses class on the day of a test or quiz, he/she should expect
to make up the test or quiz within one week (or within a reasonable
amount of time established by the instructor).
o If a student misses class on the day a paper/project is due, he/she is still
expected to turn the paper/project in on time to turnitin.com and to email
the instructor.




All other make-up work must be done within the allotted time, according to
school policy. Students should not expect to make up tests, quizzes, or in-class
essays during class time.
Students missing class for extra-curricular activities are expected to meet the
same deadlines as his/her classmates and should arrange for making up work
prior to the anticipated absence.
English teachers will follow the district retest policy guidelines.
Students are expected to utilize teacher webpages for assignment updates,
resources, and make-up work.
Late Work:
 Students are expected to complete all work on time. Any homework assignment
not turned in on time will result in a zero. However, students will be allowed one
FUDGIE per nine weeks. With a FUDGIE, students can turn in one homework
assignment one class period late with no penalty. If a student does not use his or
her FUDGIE, he/she will receive one additional point to his/her nine weeks
average at the end of the grading period.
 A major assignment will be penalized 10% for each calendar day that it is late.
Academic Integrity:
 Students who plagiarize papers or commit other forms of academic dishonesty
will be disciplined according to school policy. A zero may be given on the
assignment, and proper disciplinary action will be taken. Students must not share
work or steal writing from published authors. When outside sources (original
work of any kind, including ideas, artwork, written pieces, and so on) are used in
completing an assignment, students must use proper citation format to give credit
to the original creator.
 When writing a process paper, students will complete and submit all steps of the
writing process before receiving credit for the final paper. Downloading papers
from the Internet and/or “sharing” other students’ writing will not be tolerated.
All designated work must be submitted to Turnitin.com, according to the
instructor’s direction.
 Students talking, passing notes, using an electronic device, or communicating in
any way during testing will be regarded as cheating and will be disciplined
according to school policy.
Electronic Devices:
 Students must turn off and put away all electronic devices prior to the beginning
of class. If the instructor observes unauthorized use of these devices during class,
he or she may confiscate the device and turn it into the office.
 Instructors may choose to collect electronic devices during class at their discretion.
Tutorials:
 Individual instructors will set tutorial times either before school or after school.
Grading:
Daily grades (40%):
o Reading accountability quizzes
o Vocabulary quizzes based on vocabulary from reading
o Homework annotation/analysis assignments
o Seminar discussion participation
Major grades (60%):
o Cumulative vocabulary tests
o In-class essays
o Major papers (2 grades: process and final)
o Major projects
LTHS English Department Policies
2013-2014
Grading:

Major grades (unit tests, essays, projects – minimum of 3 per term) will count
60% of the student’s term/9-week grade.

Daily grades (quizzes, homework, daily assignments – minimum of 8 per term)
will count 40% of the student’s term/9-week grade.

Semester grade will be calculated as term/9-weeks (40%) plus term/9-weeks
(40%) plus exam (20%). Semester exams will include a minimum of 30% essay.

Students will receive rubrics/grading standards for all major projects when they
are assigned.
Format:

Appropriate heading must appear in the upper left-hand corner of all assignments.
Heading includes first and last name, teacher name, period, and date. The title of
the assignment must appear on the first line of the paper.
Make-up Work/Retesting:

Make-up work is the student’s responsibility. If a student misses class on the day
of a test, he/she should expect to make up the test within a reasonable amount of
time established by the instructor. If a student misses class on the day a
paper/project is due, he/she is expected to turn the paper/project in the next class
period or at a time established by the instructor.

All other make-up work must be done within the allotted time, according to
school policy. Students should not expect to make up tests, quizzes, etc., during
class time.

Students missing class for extra-curricular activities should arrange for making up
work prior to the anticipated absence.

English teachers will follow the district retest policy guidelines.

Students are expected to utilize teacher webpages for assignment updates,
resources, and make-up work.
Late Work:

Students are expected to complete all work on time.

A major assignment will be penalized for each calendar day that it is late.
Academic Integrity:

Students who plagiarize papers or commit other forms of academic dishonesty
will be disciplined according to school policy.
1. Students must not share work or steal writing from published authors.
2. Students must not share work with other students, between grade levels,
year-to-year, classes, or schools.
3. “Independent work” is work that demonstrates individual mastery and
practice of a given concept or knowledge set. “Collaborative work” is
work that requires collaboration of time, resources, and ideas as
designated by the teacher. Work that is intended to be collaborative in
nature will be named as such by the teacher. All other work will be
considered “Individual work” and must be clearly original to the student
so that it demonstrates the individual student’s learning experience,
including comprehension and practice.
4. When outside sources (original work of any kind, including ideas,
artwork, written pieces, and so on) are used in completing an assignment,
students must use proper citation format to give credit to the original
creator.

A zero may be given on the assignment, and proper disciplinary action will be
taken.

When writing a process paper, students will complete and submit all steps of the
writing process before receiving credit for the final paper. Downloading papers
from the Internet and/or “sharing” other students’ writing will not be tolerated.
All designated work must be submitted to Turnitin.com, according to the
instructor’s direction.

Students talking, passing notes, using an electronic device, or communicating in
any way during testing of any kind will be regarded as cheating and disciplined
according to school policy.

Leaving the room with a test or writing prompt will be considered cheating and
will be handled as such.
Electronic Devices:

Students must turn off and put away all electronic devices prior to the beginning
of class. If the instructor observes unauthorized use of these devices during class,
he or she may confiscate the device and turn it into the office.

Instructors may choose to collect electronic devices during class at their
discretion.
Tutorials:

Individual instructors will set tutorial times either before school or after school.
Weeks 1-4: Introduction to Critical Reading, Thinking, and Writing
Literature as Persuasion
Vladimir Nabokov – “Good Readers and Good Writers”
William Faulkner – “Nobel Prize Award Speech”
David Foster Wallace – “This Is Water”
C.S. Lewis – “The Inner Ring”
Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451: fiction as argument
Emily Dickinson – “Much madness is divinest sense” and “Tell all the truth but tell it
slant”: poetry as argument
Annie Dillard – Chapter from An American Childhood
Plato – “Allegory of the Cave”
John Trimble – Writing with Style, chapters 1-5
The course begins with a discussion of the importance of reading, thinking, and writing to
the health of a society. The first few weeks will also be devoted to exploring the question
“What is rhetoric?”, an introduction to the elements that will serve as a basis for the
remainder of the course. Students will analyze the persuasive purpose and strategies of
Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451, incorporating a brief study of the historical context of the
novel. Connections will be made to Dickinson and Plato as students analyze each
writer’s persuasive intent and rhetorical strategies.
Weeks 5-10: Man in Conflict with Society
Narrative as Persuasion
Drama as Persuasion
Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Scarlet Letter
Arthur Miller – The Crucible
Jonathan Edwards – “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
Ernest Hemingway – “Hills Like White Elephants”
John Steinbeck – “The Trial of Arthur Miller”
Paul Theroux – “Being a Man”
John Trimble Writing with Style, chapters 6-8, 10-11
Current event articles showing man in conflict with society
Viewing:
The Crucible, starring Daniel Day Lewis and Winona Ryder (selected video clips)
Good Night and Good Luck (video clip) American Rhetoric.com
A & E Biography: Arthur Miller interview with Miller (video clip)
Weeks 12-18: Society in Conflict with Itself
Oratory as Persuasion
Satire as Persuasion
Patrick Henry – “Speech to the Virginia Convention”
Thomas Jefferson – Declaration of Independence
Abraham Lincoln – “Second Inaugural Address”
Mark Twain – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain – “The Lowest Animal”
Mark Twain – “The War Prayer”
Stephen Crane – “War is Kind” (satiric poetry)
Jonathon Swift – “A Modest Proposal”
Teacher and student-selected samples of contemporary satire, including political cartoons
and editorials.
Viewing:
Martin Luther King “I Have a Dream” video clip
A & E Biography Mark Twain
PBS Biography Mark Twain (selected video clips)
Weeks 19-21: Man Overcoming Injustice in Society
Autobiography as Persuasion
Letters as Persuasion
Fredrick Douglass – Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Sherman Alexie – “Superman and Me”
Martin Luther King, Jr. – “Letter from the Birmingham Jail”
Debra Dickerson – “Who Shot Johnny?”
Henry David Thoreau – “Civil Disobedience”
Ralph Waldo Emerson – “Self-Reliance” and “Nature”
Wendell Berry – “An Entrance to the Woods”
Weeks 22-25: Man Overcoming Societal Limits and Labels
Definition as Persuasion
Researched argument as persuasion
F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby
John McMurtry – “Kill ‘Em, Crush ‘Em, Eat ‘Em Raw!”
Ellen Goodman – “The Company Man”
Jo Goodwin Parker – “What is Poverty?”
George Orwell – “Shooting an Elephant”
Viewing:
A & E Biography F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby, starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow (selected video clips)
Weeks 26 – 32: The Power of the Human Spirit
Interaction of fiction and non-fiction as persuasion
John Steinbeck – The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck – “Nobel Prize Award Speech”
Thomas Huxley – “The Nature of Man”
Peter Singer – “The Singer Solution to World Poverty”
Garrett Hardin – “Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor”
Viewing:
A & E Biography John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath, starring Henry Fonda (selected video clips)
Selected images and cartoons depicting issues faced during The Great
Depression and the 1930’s
Weeks 33-36: Poetry as Persuasion (after the AP exam)
Selected poems by contemporary American poets.
Laurence Perrine -- “The Nature of Proof in the Interpretation of Poetry”
Robert Frost -- “Education by Poetry: A Meditative Monologue”