AP English Literature and Composition
Class Rules / Expectations
*Come to class prepared with the appropriate materials. This includes your agenda, textbook, 2”
binder, and a writing utensil. I will also recommend that you purchase a jump drive to save your work.
For your binder you will need loose-leaf paper and dividers. The divisions of your binder will be
determined as the year proceeds. Your first four sections need to be labeled 1) General Resources, 2)
Writing Log, 3) Summer Reading, and 4) Poetry. As we do various units, you will add sections to your
binder.
*Being prepared also means having your assignments completed. Smaller homework assignments
of 50 points or less will NOT be accepted late. For all assignments worth more than 50 points, 10 points
will be deducted for each day it is late. NO EXCEPTIONS. (Procedures)
*Come to class on time. When the tardy bell rings, believe it or not … you will be counted tardy.
(Procedures)
*Be present. It really is not a good idea to miss any class, but especially an AP class. If you have
had an attendance problem in the past, you will need to make drastic changes in the way you approach your
school attendance. Missing this class will create more stress on both of us. If you do miss with an excused
absence, it is entirely your responsibility to get the work you missed. I will not approach you when you
return to school and fill you in on missed work. Your responsibility will be to arrive early to class or stay
after in order to discuss missed work. Most importantly, if you aren’t here, then the rest of class can’t
benefit from your contributions to the class discussions and you will not reap the rewards of being involved
in discussions. (Procedures)
*Do your own work. No cheating. No plagiarizing. Do not in any way or form copy another's
work or ideas and try to pass them off as your own. This includes your classmate, a former classmate, a
published author, or any type of Internet source. This also includes just changing the words yet not giving
credit to the original source. Plagiarism is an extremely serious offense. Just don't do it. This enters into
the realm of honesty and integrity, and if you are in this class, you should be intelligent enough to create
and compose your own ideas. Please do not insult your own intelligence or mine. Plagiarism / cheating
will result in a zero on any and all assignments.
*No whining/complaining. If you have a legitimate concern, see me privately and we will discuss
the matter in a mature manner. I consider a positive attitude and respectfulness the keys for a successful
AP experience--keep this in mind.
*Class participation is extremely important. Part of being prepared for class means you have
completed your reading for that class period. When we have class discussions, I expect everyone to
participate and be active listeners. That simply means that you give others eye contact and agree or kindly
disagree with their comments. When we are doing large class discussions, I will be taking a grade based on
the quality of your comments and the regularity of your comments. Also, when grading, I will consider
whether or not you monopolized the discussion and did not allow others to converse.
*At various times throughout the year, you will be involved in group and individual projects
which will include standing in front of the class and presenting to your peers. Periodically, I will allow you
to choose groups. Cooperative learning is not optional.
☼ Literature Units
In the following section, I will address the various units that I may cover throughout the year. These novels
may very well change. Either I won't have time to address each one as a large class reading or I will decide
to do another one. Remember, this is why you shouldn’t label reading sections of your binder until we
begin that reading. Either way, these novels are representative of the breadth of literature that our class will
cover. Each novel is considered outside reading. In class time will only be spent on student-generated
class discussions or teacher-led class discussions. Each novel will allow students to write and rewrite
formal, extended analyses and timed in-class responses. These questions typically are the released question
#3 from previous AP exams. For you to be successful writers in this class, we will write and rewrite essays
often for both construction and content. It is imperative that you understand the difference between an
analytical and argumentative essay. Also, you will need to closely understand the importance of sentence
The teacher reserves the right to alter this syllabus at any time during the course of the year.
structure and various other mechanical issues within a formal essay. All essays will be scored using the AP
scoring rubric. In order to ensure success when writing these essays, we will approach the writing in
various ways. For example, one essay may be written in a small group setting. Following that essay, the
groups switch essays and score each other's remaining close to the language of the scoring guide when
providing feedback. I, too, will score your essays and verify the group's assessment of another group's
work. I teach the claim, data, warrant structure at the beginning of the year; then as the year progresses I
will encourage you to manipulate that structure to create a more original essay. I, as well as the other
students, constantly read and reread, therefore write and rewrite, essays for concise, rich clarity. Also, you
will be expected to pass and complete various quizzes and multiple-choice questions as a way to assess
reading and understanding.
The following units are in no particular order.
Summer Assignment (Overview of all aspects of this class)
How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster
This book provides a road map of how to approach literature critically.
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (20th century American)
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky (19th century Russian)
Through these works a framework for approaching literature will be established. A study of how
theme is developed through figurative language and author's style will be studied. You will also
begin studying narrative style, imagery, and tone.
►College Board Standard 1: Comprehension of Words, Sentences, and Components of Texts◄
Point of View
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (18th century British)
"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
either Tim O'Brien book The Things They Carried or Going after Cacciato (20th century American)
"The Lady and Her Pet Dog" by Joyce Carol Oates and Anton Chekhov
"To My Last Duchess" Robert Browning
2002 Q2
2004 Q2
The premise of this unit will be point of view. However, throughout the study of the unit various skills /
topics will be covered. Juxtaposition, allusion, and narrative structure will also be addressed. The
recognition of elements of feminist literature and 17th century poetry will also be studied.
Author's Style
Light in August by William Faulkner (20th century American and Southern Gothic literature)
"Barn Burning" by William Faulkner
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (20th century American)
"A Clean Well-Lighted Place" by Ernest Hemingway
King Lear by William Shakespeare (16th century British)
"I Stand Here Ironing" Tillie Olsen (20th century American)
"Miss Brill" by Katherine Mansfield (20th century American)
sonnets
Oedipus the King by Sophocles (Greek)
"Araby" by D. H. Lawrence
Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot (20th century American)
By reading Murder in the Cathedral, the students will be learning about the wheel and still point,
symbols, themes, dilemma, etc.
1992 Q2
The teacher reserves the right to alter this syllabus at any time during the course of the year.
Other skills addressed in this unit will be juxtaposition and paradox, imagery, narrative structure, dramatic
irony, and elements of tragedy.
►College Board Standard 3: Author's Purpose, Audience, and Craft◄
Satire (Tone)
The Tempest by William Shakespeare (16th century British)
various Flannery O'Connor short stories ("A Good Man Is Hard to Find", "Revelation", "Good Country
People") (20th century American)
"First Confession" by Frank O'Connor (20th century American)
A Modest Proposal by Johnathan Swift
"The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe (19th century)
2000 Q2
2002 Q2
Tone
The Awakening by Kate Chopin (19th century American)
"The Storm" by Chopin
Reading and understanding Kate Chopin also requires a reading and understanding of feminism.
During this unit, the class will study not only Feminism but other forms of criticism, such as
Formalist, Biographical and Psychological, Marxist, Cultural, etc. Our study of the various forms
of criticism will come from The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature 7th Edition pages
1533-1556
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (20th Century German)
During this study, students will learn to identify the Kafkaesque quality of literature which
revolves around his use of absurd occurrences and tone of helplessness. Students will study the
symbolism behind Gregor Samsa’s transformation and the how this novel is an example of
political allegory. After completing the book students will write an AP essay from the list of AP
released #3 questions.
"I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen (20th century American)
"Out, Out" by Robert Frost
"Five O'Clock Shadow" by Sir John Betjeman
►College Board Standard 2: Using Prior Knowledge, Context, and Understanding of Language to
Comprehend and Elaborate the Meaning of Texts◄
Culminating unit
Beloved by Toni Morrison (20th century American)
By reading this novel, students will discover information not only about United States history but
also about African Americans and their beliefs. The literary study while reading Beloved will
revolve around the use of flashbacks, diction, stream of consciousness, vernacular, etc. Students
will be expected to keep a reading log during the novel. Within reach reading log, students should
pick notable, rich language and not only analyze it but also react to it. After completing the book
students will write an AP essay from the list of AP released #3 questions. Student will also
complete various AP-style multiple choice tests. These tests come from Applied Practice English
Curriculum: Beloved..
Slave narratives - Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth
"Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates (20th century American)
Something to consider the next time you question something you are asked to read:
The works of literature which appear on the Advanced Placement Reading lists are challenging, collegelevel reading for mature, discerning students. The purpose of literature is not to please but to make the
reader think. The purpose of literature is not to affirm the reader's beliefs, but, rather, to challenge them, so
that they might be affirmed or rejected. Each work of art is an expression of the human experience in all its
richness--its diversity--its conflicting opinions. Some literature at this level may be seen by some as dark
and depressing; however, a mature reader knows that light and dark, pleasure and pain, joy and sadness are
The teacher reserves the right to alter this syllabus at any time during the course of the year.
inextricably intertwined as part of the human experience, each defining and making possible the alternative.
The themes of these diverse works attempt to question life's important issues: the nature of man, the
purpose of life, the existence of a higher power, the acquisition of knowledge and wisdom, the moral
dilemma of good and evil and more. I don’t necessarily care if you like a work of literature or not. What I
care about is whether or not you can understand why it was written.
☼ Presentations
►College Board Speaking Standards 2 and 3: Speaking in Interpersonal Contexts and Preparing and
Delivering Presentations◄
At various times throughout the year, students will be involved in group and individual projects which will
include standing in front of the class and presenting their findings to their peers. Students are expected to
present professionally. The speeches should be mostly memorized and they should always have visuals.
Each assignment will have its own rubric.
☼ Writing Units
►All College Board Writing Standards 1-5 ◄
Reflective writing – Students will write college essays. These essays can be specific in nature (if the
student knows exactly what a particular university wants) or they will be more broad and generic so that
they may be applied to multiple essay topics, both for college admittance and scholarship awards. Also,
students will keep a writing log, which will be an on-going reflection of their writing assignments.
Analytical writing / Essay writing -- AP essay writing involves students drawing upon textual details to
develop an extended explanation/interpretation of the meanings of a literary text through analysis,
synthesis, and evaluation. With every novel and/or unit, you will write an essay from released AP essay
topics.
Documentation and Research writing -- The students will be asked to do a literature-based research paper.
They must read at least two works by the same author and create a thesis statement about a common thread
found throughout the works. The paper will consist of 3-4 sources and the students will learn and use MLA
style formatting.
Writing to demonstrate learning/understanding -- During the various studies of literature, students will be
asked to write informally and through exploration to demonstrate understanding of text. Assignments such
as reading logs, journals, free writing, and annotation are included.
AGAIN! *Plagiarism and Cheating: According to Webster’s dictionary, plagiarism is taking
ideas from another and passing them off as one’s own. Do not compromise your integrity by
cheating or copying information from another source. Plagiarism and academic dishonesty are
serious offences. The academic work of a student is expected to be his/her own effort. Students
must give the author(s) credit for any source material used. To represent ideas or interpretations
taken from a source without giving credit is a flagrant act. To present a borrowed passage after
having changed a few words, even if the source is cited, is also plagiarism. Students who commit
any act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade in that portion of the course work.
Acts of academic dishonesty will be reported to the administration.
Some of this information came from the AP Course Audit Manual.
☼ Poetry
The teacher reserves the right to alter this syllabus at any time during the course of the year.
Poetry is an essential part of this course. 60% of the AP exam consists of poetry. Every Thursday during
the course of the year will be devoted to poetry. Possible homework assignments on Wednesday night may
include doing a TP-CASTT over an assigned poem, writing a rough draft of an essay from the list of
released questions, or completing a TIDDLS sheet. The TP-CASTT and the DIDDLS sheets allow you to
dissect the poem line by line. You will be asked to identify tone and elements of diction and syntax that
create that tone.
On the assigned day for poetry, we may, as a class, discuss the poem, score each others' essays from the
previous night or write essays from scratch in a timed session.
During our study of poetry, we will address the poetry of William Wordsworth, Robert Frost, Robert
Browning, Emily Dickinson, Anne Bradstreet, Walt Whitman, William Blake, Theodore Roethke, Thomas
Hardy, T.S. Eliot, E.E. Cummings, Gwendolyn Brooks, Wallace Stevens, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Sylvia
Plath, William Shakespeare, William Burns, William Butler Yeats, Edna St. Vincent Mallay, Elizabeth
Bishop, D.H. Lawrence, Christina Rossetti, Edgar Allan Poe, John Keats, John Donne, Seamus Heaney,
and others as they arise.
Our textbook, the 9th Edition of the Kennedy Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama.,
has a wonderful poetry section that I really like to follow. The poems are divided according to the literary
focus, such as literal meaning vs. symbolic meaning (connotative vs. denotative), imagery, figurative
language, ballads vs. rap!, sound as meaning, rhythm, closed form vs. open form, etc. We will use these
divisions as our guide; I will also bring in some poetry from outside sources as they become available to
me.
☼ Short Stories
We will be working from the Kennedy textbook, as I have mentioned before. There are many prose pieces
by various authors. I will pick stories related to our class unit at the time, such as theme development,
diction and/or syntax use, and/or author. Stories that I do each year are as follows (Some are not found in
the text.):
"A & P" --John Updike
"Hills Like White Elephants" --Ernest Hemingway
"The Death of Ivan Ilych" -- Leo Tolstoy
"Young Goodman Brown" --Nathaniel Hawthorne
"The Rocking Horse Winner" -- D.H. Lawrence
"The Lottery" -- Shirley Jackson
"The Lesson" -- Tony Bamberra
"Once More to the Lake" -- E.B. White
"The House of Mango Street" --Sandra Cisneros (1995 Q2 and 1997 Q2)
Grading Policy
You will be graded on a point system. Each assignment, test, and piece of writing will be given a
point value. Your grade will be based on how many you get correct.
Point Breakdown:
These are estimates but may not always be the case on every assignment.
Tests = 75-100 points
Writing Process = 200 points (various assignments / points given)
Quizzes = 50 or below
Socratic Seminar = 60-100 points
The teacher reserves the right to alter this syllabus at any time during the course of the year.
A rubric will accompany assignments in order to let you know what is required to earn a
particular score.
Bibliography
Kennedy, X. J. and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 9th Ed.
Pearson, Longman: New York, 2005.
The teacher reserves the right to alter this syllabus at any time during the course of the year.
Please return this page.
Student Signature: ______________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Signature: _______________________________________________
Your signature confirms that you agree with the above guidelines for your child’s class
and will earn him/her 10 points of extra credit. Please feel free to contact me any time
during the school year with questions, concerns, or to discuss your child’s progress. You
may reach me at school until 3:30 each day at (270)651-6315 or by email at
kelley.ross@barren.kyschools.us
**If you have any questions about the class or syllabus, please contact Mrs. Ross.
Parent/Guardian Email Address: __________________________________________
Be sure to put an email address that you access regularly. I will bi-monthly updates
about our class progress.
The teacher reserves the right to alter this syllabus at any time during the course of the year.