ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION
2015-2016 Syllabus
Instructor:
Telephone #:
Kathryn Ives
571-252-2000
Loudoun County High School
E-Mail:
Room:
kathryn.ives@lcps.org
214
Course Overview and Expectations:
After completing British literature and AP Language and Composition and/or American literature, AP English
Literature students are now ready to embark upon a journey into literature and the human condition that
reflects the social, cultural and historical values of literature written from the 16th Century to the present.
Advanced Placement Literature and Composition is designed to teach college-level writing and critical
literary analysis through a variety of methods, including speaking, listening, reading, and—primarily—writing.
The course follows the curriculum requirements described in the AP English Course Description and requires
that students thoroughly and closely examine texts. AP English Literature requires a strong work ethic,
perseverance, patience, and positive thinking. Students are expected to complete assignments; readings, both
ongoing independent readings as well as in-class; independent study; participate individually and in groups; and
give individual and group presentations.
Course Management & Late Work
 In college, late work is unacceptable. Falling behind in AP Literature means students will miss important
discussions and activities based on the assignments. 10% of the grade will be deducted for each class
period the work is late.
 Attendance is mandatory. It is only through class participation that students will improve their reading
and writing skills.
 Be prepared for each class. Look ahead for due dates, and come to class with the appropriate text(s),
assignment(s), notebooks, pen/pencil, and paper.
 On the day work is due and you know you will be absent, make a prior arrangement for handing in this
work. If you sign up to present on a certain day, make sure you’re there!
 Daily agendas, upcoming assignments, and notes will be posted on Ms. Ives’s school website. Check this
site on a regular basis.
Assessments and Grading
As per LCHS policy, a student’s grade is determined by mastery of the material.
Formative Assessments –0% of a student’s quarter grade
Formative assessments are practice activities such as classwork and homework. They will be collected
and/or checked for accuracy with feedback given. If a student does not complete them, he or she will
not get the requisite practice and feedback that contributes to mastery of the class material as assessed
on summative assessments. These assessments will be graded on a point system.
Summative Assessments—100% of a student’s quarter grade
Summative assessments are activities such as quizzes, tests, essays, writing assignments, projects, and
oral reports. Students will be notified ahead of time when an assessment is summative. These
assessments determine a student’s mastery of the material. All summative assessments will be graded.
These assessments will be graded using a point system, with larger assignments worth more points. For
instance, a reading quiz might be worth 30 points while an essay would be worth 100 points.
Remember – this is an Advanced Placement class. Much of the assessment in this class is determined by the
College Board, which oversees all AP classes. All essays will be graded using the AP rubric or a variation of it.
Phoenix
Grades will be posted in Phoenix. Once the parent portal is open, parents can access grades through it. The
grades will be posted within 10 school days of collection of the assignment. Essay grades may be posted up to 15
school days after collection.
Ms. Ives’ School Web Page
Students are expected to keep up with assignments using their agenda and by checking daily agendas on Ms.
Ives’ School Web Page. General handouts and schedules will be under AP Lit. The daily agendas, homework, and
any handouts will be available from the Daily agenda, assignments, and homework calendar page. If you miss
class, it is your responsibility to check this page or see Ms. Ives BEFORE the next class. Remember – this is
considered the equivalent to a college class; you must be responsible for your own learning.
Academic Honesty
The goal of this course is to prepare students for the AP exam and for college-level English. “Getting the right
answer” is less important than going through the process of finding that answer. Using outside sources is not
allowed for free response journals. This is because on the AP exam, students must analyze literature without the
use of any outside aids. Outside sources will be allowed for long-term, multi-draft essays. When outside sources
are allowed, students must properly cite all information used that came from any source other than the student.
Students should get used to printing and annotating these sources (as should be done in college) to insure they
will attribute proper credit to each source, rather than simply using a computer’s “copy” and “paste” functions.
Directly copying the work of another author, another student, or another source without giving credit; or
paraphrasing (putting into one’s own words) the ideas of another source without giving credit to that source
constitute academic dishonesty. In these cases, the student will receive a zero for the assignment, parents will
be contacted, and a note will be sent to the main office. There will be no re-dos allowed in cases of plagiarism. It
is better to receive a late grade and do the work for oneself than to take a shortcut by plagiarizing, receiving a
zero.
Required Materials
 Binder or multi-pocket accordion file (Understand there will be many notes and many handouts
in this class, so you must have a method to keep it all organized.)
 Pen – all collected assignments must be in pen and the AP exams must be in pen.
 Paper
 Whichever piece of literature is being studied that day. This class requires close reading and
quoting of literature in order to have success; if you do not have the literature with you, you will
struggle.
Writing Expectations
Students will write to understand, explain, and evaluate. Writing in this course will include keeping a free
response journal of untimed and timed writings; completing timed (in-class) writings; creative writing to practice
techniques authors use; and writing and revising formal essays. While types of writing in this course will vary, all
writing assignments require students to understand a literary piece, evaluate the effectiveness of the piece, and
explain their opinions. Timed writings are an important component of the AP exam. Students will learn to score
timed writings according to an AP rubric and will work towards improving their own timed writing.
Reading Expectations
Literature includes a survey of American, British, and world selections in a variety of genres. Students will focus
on literary analysis, considering literary terms and other elements (historical, social, and biographical context as
appropriate) to interpret an author’s meaning and style. The most important requirement of this course is that
students keep up with assigned texts by reading carefully, thoroughly, and on-time. Students need to plan for
the required out-of-class reading, especially when reading novels and longer works. Even poetry, though short,
requires careful attention to details and should be read at least twice.
Textbooks
Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia, Eds. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 7th Edition.
New York: Longman, Inc., 1998.
Wyrick, Jean. Steps to Writing Well. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Publishers, 1999.



















Novels and plays will include (selection will vary as books are available):
For each selection the students will be expected
The Things They Carried (O’Brien)
to read and take notes (with guidance on what to
The Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne)
look for) on the piece. When the piece is
The Crucible (Miller)
completed, the class will spend two – three
The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
weeks discussing, rereading, analyzing, and
Ethan Frome (Wharton)
writing about the literature. The student notes
A Raisin in the Sun (Hansberry)
and class-created discussion topics will be used
Pride and Prejudice (Austen)
as starting points for our class seminars. The
Jane Eyre (Bronte)
student notes from their own reading and the
Oedipus Rex (Sophocles)
class discussions will be used to write their own
Othello/Hamlet (Shakespeare)
formal, multi-draft essays.
Death of a Salesman (Miller)
Waiting for Godot (Beckett)
Students are encouraged to purchase their
The Stranger (Camus)
own copies of the novels that are assigned.
Their Eyes Were Watching God (Hurston)
Annotating is a useful skill used in college;
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Kesey)
owning their own copies will allow them to
The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn (Twain)
practice the skill this year.
The Life of Pi (Martel)
The Kite Runner (Hosseini)
The Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck)
First Semester






Literary Devices Boot Camp using short stories and
excerpts
Poetry
The Things They Carried
Writing: College essay, timed writing, poetry free
response, literary analysis, sample free responses from
AP exams
Tragedy Unit
o Oedipus Rex
o The Tragedy of Othello
o Death of a Salesman
Ethan Frome
Second Semester





Quest/Journey Unit
o Their Eyes Were Watching God,
o Life of Pi
o The Grapes of Wrath
Writing: timed writings, poetry free response,
literary analysis, sample free responses from AP
exams
Poetry
AP Exam
Post AP Exam project or play
*(Note some books may change depending on
availability and unforeseen circumstances)
AP Literature and Composition Course Requirements
SC1 The course includes an intensive study of representative works such as those by authors cited in
the AP English Course Description. By the time the student completes English Literature and
Composition, he or she will have studied during high school literature from both British and American
writers, as well as works written in several genres from the sixteenth century to contemporary times.
SC2 The course teaches students to write an interpretation of a piece of literature that is based on a
careful observation of textual details, considering such elements as the use of figurative language,
imagery, symbolism and tone.
SC3 The course teaches students to write an interpretation of a piece of literature that is based on a
careful observation of textual details, considering the work’s structure, style and themes.
SC4 The course teaches students to write an interpretation of a piece of literature that is based on a
careful observation of textual details, considering the work’s social, cultural and/or historical values.
SC5 The course includes frequent opportunities for students to write and rewrite timed, in-class
responses.
SC6 The course includes frequent opportunities for students to write and rewrite formal, extended
analyses outside of class.
SC7 The course requires writing to understand: Informal/exploratory writing activities that enable
students to discover what they think in the process of writing about their reading [such assignments
could include annotation, free writing, keeping a reading journal, reaction/response papers, and/or
dialectical notebooks].
SC8 The course requires writing to explain: Expository, analytical essays in which students draw upon
textual details to develop an extended interpretation of a literary text.
SC9 The course requires writing to evaluate: Analytical, argumentative essays in which students draw
upon textual details to make and explain judgments about a work’s artistry and quality.
SC10 The course requires writing to evaluate: Analytical, argumentative essays in which students draw
upon textual details to make and explain judgments about a work’s social, historical and/or cultural
values.
SC11 The AP teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing assignments, both before
and after the students revise their work that help the students develop a wide-ranging vocabulary used
appropriately.
SC12 The AP teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing assignments, both before
and after the students revise their work that help the students develop a variety of sentence structures.
SC13 The AP teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing assignments, both before
and after the students revise their work that help the students develop logical organization, enhanced
by specific techniques to increase coherence. Such techniques may include traditional rhetorical
structures, graphic organizers, and work on repetition, transitions, and emphasis.
SC14 The AP teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing assignments both before
and after they revise their work that help the students develop a balance of generalization and specific,
illustrative detail.
SC15 The AP teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing assignments both before
and after they revise their work that help the students establish an effective use of rhetoric including
controlling tone and a voice appropriate to the writer’s audience.