AP Language and Composition
2014-2015 Syllabus
Zoller
Course Description: AP language is recommended for students who want a challenging course that
emphasizes the analysis of non-fiction. Students will read and write a variety of
compositions that require close reading, rhetorical analysis, synthesis, and an
understanding of rhetorical modes and terms. This year the course is adding an
American Literature component, so students will also be expected to read several
works of fiction. In May, students take the AP Language and Composition Exam.
Course Content
Rhetorical Analysis of Non-Fiction Prose
Synthesis
Argumentation and Persuasion
Narration
Description
American Literature
Vocabulary
Course Objectives: As stated in College Board’s Professional Development Workshop Materials,
students who complete AP Language and Composition should be able to:
-
-
Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining the
author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques
Apply effective strategies and techniques in their own writing
Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research, and/or personal
experience
Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as
stylistic maturity in their own writings
Write for a variety of purposes
Produce narrative, descriptive, expository, analytical, and argumentative
compositions that introduce a complex central idea and develop it with
appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or secondary source material,
cogent explanations, and clear transitions
Demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and
secondary source material
Move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful
attention to inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing, and review
Write thoughtfully about their own process of composition
Revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience
Analyze image as text
Evaluate and incorporate reference documents in to researched papers
Supplies:
You are expected to have the following supplies every day:
1. Pen (black or blue) or pencil
2. Highlighter
3. Folder with writing paper
4. Whatever handouts or reading materials we are using
5. Flash drive
Assignments:
Provided in class and on my webpage
 All assignments must be completed- even if they are late!
 Assignments should be completed independently unless otherwise
directed.
 Plagiarism will not be tolerated and will be reported to the administration
and parents for disciplinary action.
 If you are absent, it is your responsibility to check my webpage, check with
a classmate, or see me before the next class so that you are prepared.
Grading Policy:
Assignments are designated as either formative or summative assessments.
Formative assignments are designed to help you develop a specific skill, while
summative assignments are designed to allow you to demonstrate your level of
mastery after instruction.
Formative assignments will be assessed to help guide instruction and will show up
in the Clarity, however your average will be based on your performance on the
summative assessments.
There are two grades within summative assessments- a ten percent “on-time”
grade and separate assessment of mastery. For example, a 20 point assignment
that is turned in on time would receive 2/2 points for on-time completion and
then a separate score, say 19/20, for accuracy. Another student may turn in that
assignment late receiving a 0/2 for the on-time grade, but still demonstrate
complete mastery and receive a 20/20 on the actual assignment.
If you perform poorly on a summative assignment, you can redo that assessment
if you:
 you have completed all the formative assignments tied to that assessment and
 you have demonstrate some sort of re-learning. I will talk with you about what
relearning will look like based on the type of assessment we are working on.
Readings:
You will be provided hard copies of class readings, and I will provide links on my
web page to the readings when they are available.
Writing Folder:
Everyone will maintain a writing folder that will be kept in the classroom. You will
use this folder to keep major writing assignments throughout the year.
Schedule:
“A” Days
Period 1- AP Language in room 242
Period 2- English 11 honors in room 242
Period 3- AP Language in room 138
Period 4- Department Planning room 232
“B” Days
Period 5- AP Language in room 242
Period 6- 11 Academic in room 242
Period 7- English 11 honors in room 242
Period 8- Flex
Availability:




Materials:
You can email me at: jameson.zoller@lcps.org
I try to keep my webpage updated with resources and links to assignments, so
check it!
I am generally available on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings between
7:30 and 8:30am in room 242. Please make arrangements with me ahead of
time so that I make sure that I am there.
Flex is also a good time to get together, but always arrange with me ahead of
time, and use a flex pass.
We will be working with 4-5 full length works, a variety of shorter pieces by
Thoreau, Emerson, Whitman, Hughes, Faulkner, Hemingway, E.B. White, O’Conner,
and others, and texts from the following sources as well as various online sources
and films that will be posted online:
Bloom, Lynn Z. The Essay Connection: Readings for Writers. 8th Edition. New York:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008.
Cohen, Samuel. 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s,
2004.
Connors, Robert J., and Edward P. J. Corbett. Classical Rhetoric for the Modern
Student. 4th Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Cooley, Thomas. The Norton Sampler: Short Essays for Composition. New York:
W.W. Norton & Company Inc, 2003.
Glaser, Joe. Understanding Style: Practical Ways to Improve Your Writing. New
York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Kennedy, XJ, Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Jane E. Aaron. The Bedford Reader. 9th
Edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2006.
McQuade, Donald and Christine. Seeing& Writing. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s
Press, 2000
Peterson, Linda H. The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Nonfiction Prose. New York:
W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 2000.
Shea, Renée H., Lawrence Scanlon, and Robin Dissin Aufses. The Language of
Composition. 2nd Ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. Print.