AP English Literature and Composition Syllabus
2014-2015
Instructor: Ms. Kristy DeGroodt
Room: N235
Primary email: kdegrood@houstonisd.org // Personal email: kdegroodt79@gmail.com
Conf. Period: 6th // Tutorials: Monday and Tuesday @ lunch, Wednesday-Friday by appt.
“The goal of the AP English Literature and Composition course is to encourage students to read, write, and discuss
works critically and with energy and imagination. As they become familiar with the different literary approaches,
students can develop and mold their own styles that reflect personal values and preferences. If students’ knowledge
and love of literature grows, you can leave them thinking, feeling, and inspired to read more.”(AP English Literature
and Composition Teacher’s Guide, Page 3)
After reading this quote, I hope that you can glean what this course is meant to achieve. It is to encourage literacy, yet
is more than that—it is cultural literacy. Students must learn; however, learning must never be seen as an arduous,
tedious task. It is light, life, and beauty; it the beginning and the end.
I am unapologetically passionate about literature, poetry, and Shakespeare. This is not to say that you must share this
fervor. However, you must read. You must write. You must analyze, explain, think, and feel. You must do more than
merely support, defend, or qualify: you must consciously care that you are indeed doing so.
Exam Scoring:
45% -- MC (55 questions, 4 passages: 2 poems, 2 prose)
55% -- Essay (Poetry Analysis, Prose Analysis, Open-Ended)
**Between the MC questions and the Poetry Analysis essay, 43% of the exam assesses your knowledge and
ability to analyze and interpret poetry. We will be reading and analyzing poetry FREQUENTLY.
Course Grading:
50% --Major grades
Every six weeks, there will be the same standardized major grades:
• A poetry analysis essay
• A prose analysis essay
• An open-ended essay
These essays will be timed writings conducted in class. All that will vary is the topic/prompt.
30% Minor grades
• Reading quizzes
• MC quizzes
• Written assignments completed outside of class
20% Daily grades
• MC practice/games
• Socratic seminars
• In-class group work/activities
Course Organization (Assignments and calendar subject to change):
First six weeks: We LOVE the Brontes!
Foci: theme of love, literary movement of Romanticism
 Jane Eyre**
 Wuthering Heights
 Critical excerpts from Madwoman in the Attic
 Short stories (“Miss Brill”, “Hills Like White Elephants”)
These skills will be introduced during the first six weeks and will continue the entire year:
 Intro to AP Multiple Choice practice/quizzes
 Intro to the Open-Ended response
 Intro to Poetry Analysis
o
el
o Romantic poets: Blake, Wordsworth, Keats, Shelley, Byron
o Contemporary confessional poets: Plath, etc.
 Intro to Prose Analysis
o Close reading, text rendering
o Found poems
o Signposts as annotations (Wuthering Heights)
Second six weeks: It’s always drama, drama, drama with Billy Shakespeare.
Foci: elements of tragedy, elements of drama, tragic heroes, archetypes
 Macbeth
 Hamlet
 Shakespearean sonnets
 The dramatic monologue
 Archetypes (Jung/ Christopher Booker’s seven basic plot structures: Overcoming the Monster,
Rags to Riches, the Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth)
Third six weeks: Existence is so absurd.
Foci: Existentialism, Absurdism, Allusions
 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
 The Stranger
o Different translations—different POV
 “The Myth of Sisyphus”
o Allusions
 Postmodern poetry
 Fall Final review
Fourth six weeks: Men and the Search for Identity
Foci: Theme of power; Modernism
 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof**
 King Lear Excerpts
 The Catcher in the Rye
 Things Fall Apart
 Excerpts of Heart of Darkness
 Modernist poetry
Fifth six weeks: Women and the Search for Identity
Foci: Theme of power; feminist lens of analysis
 The Awakening**
 A Doll's House
 Pygmalion
 Emily Dickinson
 Allusions, Round 2
Sixth six weeks: Our resolution
Focus: Kicking the AP Exam’s butt, of course.
 AP Exam review
 “Last Lecture” project
**Students will be responsible for acquiring those books or plays that are flagged with a double asterisk.
Failure to do so will be catastrophic to one’s grade as these works will be discussed in class, analyzed in
class, synthesized in class, and assessed in class.
Revision Grades:
Writing is rewriting. Nobody, not even published writers, develop a perfect text with the first
draft. As one of your major grades, you will be required to revise one of your three essays from the
previous six weeks. I will choose which essay you will revise. Revision does not meant editing for grammar
or punctuation; editing is part of revising the whole piece. You must use critiques from your peers and
from me to guide your critiques. If you do not use the critiques, you will not receive notes on the next
group of essays and will have to revise without guidance, and you will have to come to tutorials to earn
your critiques back. The revision will take the place of one of your three major essay grades, but you will
complete it outside of class.
Research Project:
In order to prepare for the research papers, Capstones, thesis papers, and career writing you will
complete after high school, you will write a research paper this year. This research paper will be a
culmination of your understanding of the literature and your developing skills as a writer and editor. The
topic will be answer a research question that you create and I approve, and it will be supported by the
primary text and five approved secondary sources. This means your research will also included an MLAformatted bibliography. I encourage you to think about your topic early on. We will discuss the research
project and bibliography later in the year.
Participation:
Everyone must participate in class discussions. This is to ensure that you are taking ownership of
your own learning. If you do not feel comfortable speaking up in class, you must come talk to me at the
beginning of the semester. I know it is not easy to speak in front of your classmates or instructors.
Sometimes it takes a few weeks to feel confident in yourself, and I will work with you as best I can. If you
do not come to speak to me, I will assume you are not participating, and I will count off points from your
grade. As we explore literature together, I expect you to be sensitive to the views of others. Please do voice
your opinions, remembering that others may totally disagree (it’s all in the tone!). Respect and courtesy
are the keys to successful class discussions.
Obviously, you cannot participate if you are absent or tardy. Multiple absenses will be reported to
the administration and will affect your grade. Tardies are disruptive and are reported to your deans. If you
are tardy three times, that will equal one unexcused absence and will affect your grade. Tardy means you
come in the class after I come in.
Deadlines:
All homework assignments are due before the start of class in the Homework tray. I will not
accept homework after I come in the classroom. I only accept 3 late assignments each semester. If you use
all three Late Passes before the semester is over, you may not submit any more late work and will receive a
0 for any late assignment. If you do not use your 3 Late Passes, you will earn a free quiz grade at the end
of the semester. If there is an extreme circumstance, just come talk to me. If an assignment requires a
typed copy, please plan ahead. If you are absent, please speak with me before class starts when you return
and check the Absent box on the homework table.
All major papers are due on or before the due date. You may not use a Late Pass for a major
assignment. For each day (not school day, but day) your major assignment is late, I will deduct 5 points
from the grade. If you know you are going to miss a due date, you must talk to me before, not after, the
due date.
If I can’t read your handwriting, you have to re-write it, but I will still give you credit if it is turned
in on time.
I return papers as soon as they are scored; therefore, do not ask me if an assignment is graded. I
teach many students. I need and appreciate your patience.
Format:
Every assignment must follow MLA format. Assignments must include a proper MLA heading, a
title, and page numbers. Typed assignments must have 1 inch margins, and the font must be Times, 12
point. I will deduct points if you do not follow this format.
Tutorials:
Writing is hard, even for experienced writers. Regardless of your grade, you should seek help. It’s
always a good idea to have another set of eyes look over your work before you turn it in. I am also here to
help you with your college application essays or job cover letters.
If you fail a paper, it is a requirement that you come to an after-school tutorial. This
is not an option. I will also use my discretion to determine if you are required to come to
tutorials, even if you have not failed a paper.
Academic Preparedness:
The works we study were chosen for their classic nature, for the author’s recognized style, and for
the work’s frequent appearance on the AP exam. Because this is a college course, students are expected to
handle sophisticated material with maturity and grace.
Papers with major plagiarism problems will receive a 0 and will be reported to administers.
Papers with minor plagiarism problems will receive a 0 and a warning.
Come to class prepared. Bring the required materials and the materials you need to learn (binder,
pens/pencils/highlighters, text, etc.). Unless otherwise instructed, do not use electronics in class. I will
take it up. You are free to eat and drink in the class, but if the classroom as left in a mess, I will revoke this
privilege. For student safety, please do not bring foods that contain nuts. Everybody has bad
days. If you’re having a bad day, just let me know before class starts, and we’ll work together on the best
classroom environment for you.
The classroom is a safe place. Always, always be respectful and honest to everybody.