Course: AP English Language and Composition
School year: 2015-2016
Teacher: Mrs. Gutierrez
Classrooms: 2117 and 2114
Email: jgutierrez@killinglyschools.org
Welcome to AP English Language and Composition! The following syllabus is intended to help you
gain an understanding of the expectations for the course. Students who take AP English Language
and Composition will take the AP test in May with the potential of gaining college credit, among other
benefits.
Course goals and description
A central goal of the AP Language and Composition Course is to integrate the processes of reading
and writing so that students begin to see reading as an opportunity to improve, inspire, and enhance
their writing. A central goal for the course is to deepen a student’s ability to analyze, appreciate, and
engage with nonfiction pieces. Students read from a wide selection of essays that originally appeared
in magazines, journals, newspapers and online covering an extensive range of topics, authors, and
time periods. Some of the featured authors include Joan Didion, Annie Dillard, Martin Luther King Jr.,
Plato, Susan Sontag, Jonathan Swift, Henry David Thoreau, Mark Twain, Virginia Woolf, and Frederick
Douglass. Students also engage in “reading” visual texts such as works of art, photography, and film,
experience a number of important speeches, and read some key works of American fiction and a
Shakespearean play.
Students extend their writing repertoire by modeling their writing after highly skilled writers and read
about and write on topics ranging from public policy to cultural analysis to personal reflection.
Ultimately, the goal is for students to leave the class prepared to read and write at the college level.
Reading process
Through engagement with nonfiction texts, students become practiced at a number of critical reading
strategies. Reading in the AP Language and Composition course is different from reading simply for
entertainment. Reading for the course requires careful analysis and deconstruction of each major
piece read. Students engage in a variety of reading strategies such as annotation, double-entry
journals, says/does analyses, the writing of abstracts, questioning, close reading, journal responses,
descriptive outlines, and, most certainly, rereading. Through these strategies, students learn to
engage in fruitful discussions regarding the reading and begin to see how authors construct pieces
with intention and purpose.
Students spend considerable time analyzing essays by considering the following questions: Who is
the audience? What is the rhetorical context and purpose? What is the author’s perspective? What
are the conventions of the genre employed by the author? What rhetorical strategies are used and
why? By addressing these questions and learning to apply the vocabulary associated with the study
of rhetoric, students come to understand the connections among content, organization, rhetorical
strategies and the ultimate purpose of each piece.
Typically, students read each essay as a homework assignment and are also required to use a
particular reading strategy to begin analyzing the piece. Upon returning to class, students engage in
class discussion and close reading in order to deepen their understanding of the text.
Writing process
While students are developing as readers, they simultaneously grow as writers. With each set of
essays read in the course, students explore different ways of expressing their ideas, learning and
thinking through their writing. While students study a wide variety of nonfiction genres from
narrative to descriptive to argumentative to analytic, they also expand their writing experience by
writing in many of these genres for a variety of purposes. Students write both outside of class and in
class. Frequently, students write in-class timed essays modeled after an Advanced Placement Exam
essay.
Students keep a writing journal to help record ideas gained through reading and use writing as a tool
for expanding one’s thinking. Also, students practice modeling rhetorical strategies they see in their
reading. Students frequently write informally through such practices as imitation exercises,
journaling, and collaborative writing.
Regularly, students write major essays requiring multiple drafts while getting feedback from the
instructor through individual writing conferences in order to further clarify purpose and audience and
improve the effectiveness of each piece. Along with specific feedback, exemplar essays for each
major assignment as well as writing lessons for areas of common concern will accompany essay
assignments. Areas of focus for revision and rewriting change as the year progresses; certainly, a
focus in the beginning of the year is helping students clearly develop thesis statements. A focus for
instruction is to help students expand and adapt their personal writing process so that they are able,
with increasing independence, to generate ideas, develop a clear and concise thesis, gather evidence,
organize ideas logically, acknowledge others’ works and ideas accurately and in MLA format, and
effectively revise and edit on a variety of levels. Students also develop their research skills through a
major research project and paper.
More specifically, student writing feedback and instruction focuses on four key features as illustrated
below.
A. Vocabulary development: The class focuses on expanding receptive and productive
vocabulary. Students will study SAT vocabulary throughout the year with practice in
integrating new vocabulary into daily writing and speaking. Students are assessed on their
vocabulary usage through a variety of methods including the requirement to use the words
correctly in formal essays. A particular focus is instructing students on finding the exact right
words to enrich one’s writing.
B. Sentence structure: Students review the variety of sentence structures and consider the
impact that word order, length, and unusual construction have on the reader.
C. Logical organization: Students work throughout the year on improving organization and
cohesiveness through the use of rhetorical structures, graphic organizers, repetition,
transitions, and emphasis.
D. Balance of generalization and specific detail: Students focus closely on paragraph construction
that moves effectively from general statements to specific, illustrative detail.
E. Effective use of rhetoric: Students learn rhetorical techniques through the focused study of
argumentative, narrative, expository and analytical writing. As students learn each new term
and are provided with a definition and example, they begin to identify more examples in their
reading and begin to incorporate those strategies in their own writing.
Expectations
Students must be prepared to commit to a substantial workload for the course. Generally, students
can expect the following assignments during the first semester:
 Read and analyze a minimum of two essays per week
 Read 1-2 books per quarter independently. (The Grapes of Wrath, Macbeth, The Scarlet Letter,
The Great Gatsby, and others.)
 Write frequent in class timed essays, “next class” essays, and multiple draft essays.
 Write a major research paper.
 Practice multiple-choice passages.
Students must come prepared for discussions with specific text references marked, a willingness to
listen to and understand the views of others, and an ability to question the text and author.
Materials needed
 a 3-ring binder
 3-hole punched composition paper
Grading
Grading is done on a point system. Generally, the following point values are applied to each of the
following assignments:
Essays
200
Timed in-class AP essays
100
Independent rhetorical analyses
50
Quizzes: reading and vocabulary
20
Drafts of essays
20-50
Homework
10-40
Since students are given ample opportunity to meet and conference with the teacher before final due
dates, final drafts should represent the student’s best work. When students are assigned an essay
requiring multiple drafts, students are required to seek continual feedback from the teacher and their
peers before the final due date.
Late work
Unless there are extenuating circumstances, students will not be able to submit a rewrite after the
final draft due date for an essay. Students cannot earn full credit for late work. No late paper will
earn a grade higher than a C+. For all assignments that are not submitted on the due date, students
must complete the Late Work form and have it signed by a parent. Please refer to the KHS Grading
Policy for further guidance.
Absence
Absence from class is highly discouraged. For unavoidable absences, I will leave copies of handouts in
an “outbox” in my room. Remember that it is your responsibility to see me about the instruction you
missed.
If you will miss class due to a field trip and an assignment is due in class, be sure to submit the
assignment before leaving.
Submitting work
Students will type a majority of the work for class. When an assignment is due, it is the student’s
responsibility to have the assignment printed and ready at the start of class. Students who need a
place to print work should go to the library or use the computers and printer in room 2117. Please do
not email files to me unless you are seeking feedback on a draft and will not see me in person.
Most important for success in AP English Language and Composition will be your constant
commitment to academics through careful preparation and active participation.
Core texts
Cohen, Samuel. 50 Essays, A Portable Anthology
Hacker, Diana. A Pocket Style Manual
American literature
Chopin, Kate, The Awakening
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, The Great Gatsby
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Supplemental texts
Lunsford and Ruszkiewicz, Everything’s an Argument
Roskelly and Jolliffe. Everyday Use
Shea, Scanlon, Augses. The Language of Composition
Reading and writing skills outline for the year
Quarter 1: The study of rhetoric
Essential questions
What is rhetoric?
What elements are used to analyze rhetoric and how do I construct a rhetorical analysis?
Why is the study of rhetoric essential to being a strong reader of the world and a good citizen?
Student outcomes
 Read and analyze a text using a variety of strategies to explain/identify all elements of the
rhetorical analysis framework
 Write an analysis of a text using the rhetorical analysis framework, connecting one lower
element item to the upper section of the framework.
 Begin to apply vocabulary for rhetorical analysis and tone.
Quarter 2: The study of argument
Essential questions
How do I apply the 6-point oration to the writing of an argument?
Student outcomes
 Construct an argument using the 6-point oration.
 Write an analysis of a text using the rhetorical analysis framework, connecting two lower
element items to the upper section of the framework.
 Begin to apply vocabulary for rhetorical analysis and tone.
Quarter 3: The study of synthesis
Essential questions
How do I effectively incorporate evidence into my writing?
Student outcomes
 Develop an argument using the 6-point oration structure and incorporating three pieces of
evidence from given materials.
 Write an analysis of a text using the rhetorical analysis framework, connecting three lower
element items to the upper section of the framework.
Quarter 4: Putting it all together
Essential questions
How do I best use the strategies I have learned to read, write, and think well?
Student outcomes
 Conduct research and construct a research paper based on the findings.
 Take the Advanced Placement English Language and Composition with confidence.