AP English Literature and Composition® Course Syllabus
Course # 1261 - 1262
Teacher information: Mr. Jeffrey McMurtry
Voice Mail: (858) 523-4000 ext 1336
Homework Page: http://dons.cathedralcatholic.org/faculty/teacher/show/jmcmurtry
All students must have a reliable computer available to them. Reliable internet access is a must for this
course as well. In the 21st century, all computer excuses all point to poor preparation and problem
solving skills. Much if not most of the serious writing done in this course will be done on a computer.
iPads, consistently, have proven to be a far better learning tool than composition medium. Be careful not
to depend on it to do something for which it was never intended.
Email: jmcmurtry@cathedralcatholic.org. This is by far the quickest and easiest way to reach me.
Hours of Availability: M-F after school until 2:30 pm. Every school day from 7:00 am to the start of school.
COURSE DESCRIPTON
In choosing Advanced Placement Literature and Composition, you elect to challenge yourself with
substantial reading and writing, of the kind that will boost your facility with language and critical
thinking. As the College Board Course Description states, AP English Literature and Composition “is
designed to help you engage in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Through
the close reading of selected texts, you can deepen your understanding of the ways writers use language
to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers.” Beyond the thrill of a provocative story, our
essential question will be, “What makes this poem, novel, or play a moving work of art?”
In this course, you will come to understand the writer’s craft, and learn how to articulate the reasons for
its effect upon you (or perhaps open the way for a more profound effect upon you). Reading sophisticated
texts, writing your thoughts about what you read, and engaging in class discussions, are skill-building
processes that also make for a lively learning community.
ASSESSMENTS
“Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.”
- E.M. Forster
I invite you to explore thought-provoking literature with an attitude of adventure. Of course, you are
aware of the importance of attentive reading. The challenge for me is to provide you with reading
experiences that will push you to deeper levels of perception.
You will complete a variety of assignments in response to what you read. These include informal and
formal writing, presentations, a few creative projects, and frequent group discussion tasks (many of
which will also occur in writing via forums). For the novel and play studies, reading check quizzes will
reward those who come to class prepared to work with the text readings as assigned. Using your
annotation skills for close and deliberate reading prepares you well for our daily excerpt discussions,
which are an important part of your grade for class participation as is your ability to read and respond
critically and constructively to the writing of your peers.
Informal writing is facilitated on Moodle. These assignments will consist of responses to guiding
questions, free responses, peer commentaries, and reflective writings after our class discussions. These
“journals” (daily assignments) are evaluated for 1) engagement with the text, that is, an evident effort to
grapple with its subtleties of craft and meaning; 2) opinions supported by direct, relevant quotations; and
3) evidence of active listening in class and discussion participation reflected in the reflective additions.
Formal writing includes both timed in-class essays and take-home essays. Your take home essays will
allow for the process of drafting, guided peer editing, and revision. (These essays will be submitted online
to Turnitin.)
You are encouraged to schedule a conference with your teacher for at least one of your formal essays.
Conferences focus on your areas in need of strengthening, such as argumentation, organizational choices,
sentence structure and variety, apt word choice, and conventions of formal written English. Partner with
your teacher. Seek to be as aware of your skills that need improvement, as you are of your successes, so
that you can set goals for the pleasure of achievement.
Over the course of the year you will complete 6 - 8 in-class timed essays to help you prepare for the exam.
With each, we will debrief the prompt and quality of responses with reference to anchor papers (student
exemplars) from your peers or previous AP exams, in order to identify the elements of excellent writing,
as well as common pitfalls.
Similarly, you will practice answering multiple choice questions, in 4 - 6 sessions, which include a
discussion of the test items, and test-taking strategies. Some of these practices will be done for credit. You
will also have the opportunity to take a complete mock exam in the second semester.
A final exam comprises 20% of the semester grade for the course. All students are expected to take the AP
Literature and Composition exam in May.
TEXTS
I will provide all poetry texts for you digitally. Most of our short fiction will also be digital. Novels and
plays will be assigned throughout the course. You will be given 2 weeks notice before each is due in class.
Given the intensive reading skills we will be practicing/mastering in this course, students should consider
carefully the format of the texts they would like to use. There will be inexpensive paperbacks of most of
our texts; the speed and handiness of an ebook is great, but those are weak incentives for an ineffective
etext reader. Do not stake your grade on instant gratification; if you need a hard copy of our texts. Buy
one.
Classroom Guidelines: Follow the behavior, dress code, attendance, and discipline guidelines in the Student
Handbook. Students at CCHS should pursue their education with honesty and integrity. A student’s work and
achievement should be the result of his/her own efforts. Academic dishonesty are not allowed and will result in
1) a loss of credit for any specific assignment, 2) notification of parent or guardian, and 3) a detention AND
referral. Academic Dishonesty includes copying another student’s homework, cheating on quizzes, tests or any
other major assignment, and plagiarism.
 Plagiarism: Plagiarism means using someone else’s ideas or words as if they are your own. A passage, an
interpretation, or a finding in research that is not your own must be properly documented. Plagiarism can be
any of the following: 1) Copying another’s work verbatim (word for word without acknowledgement), 2)
Paraphrasing another’s work without acknowledgement, 3) Patching together a paper using different sources
without acknowledgement of all those sources. 4) Using someone else’s idea or information that is not
public domain or commonly known as your own idea. All students are taught the proper use of
documentation in their English classes. Works cited from the Internet should be properly documented. Since
honesty and integrity are extremely important values in the search for knowledge, these are the same values
that all CCHS students are expected to uphold.
Attendance: A student’s success relies on his or her willingness and enthusiasm to be active participants in a
course community. Class and administrative penalties will be harsh for excessive absences and tardies,
EXCUSED or OTHERWISE. In-class participation grades will be lowered for excessive tardies as well.
Make-up Policy: All planned excused absences, including those caused by school activities or sports
participation, do not extend due dates or excuse students from deadlines. Students are required to make
arrangements BEFORE the missed day of school to submit work on time, if possible. Students are required,
upon their return from any unplanned absence, to contact me to get any additional instructions for the
assignments they have missed. If a homework assignment was due on the day of their absence, the student must
turn in the assignment on the day of their return. Late assignments will not be called for; the student is
responsible for turning it in without prompting (when they hand over their admit slip). If an assessment has not
been made up within a week of an absence, the student will receive a 0 for it, regardless, just as if it were a
normal late assignment. In the end, if you are absent, it is your responsibility to make up homework posted on
the web page in a timely manner. You are also accountable for getting notes from a classmate, picking up
handouts from the teacher, and making arrangements for makeup tests. Your inability to make contact and get
directions is no excuse for missing makeup work.
The Homework Website: This is your first, best, and also required resource for keeping up with this course.
However, Moodle will hold most of your course materials as well as samples for most assignments. You will
notice that I use both sites as an extension of the course – there you will find supplementary resources and
explanations of each assignment. You are assigned to read it and follow directions there each day. Absences,
extra curricular/co curricular activities, retreats, doctor appointments, counselor visits, and much more can
interfere with classroom directions, note taking, and assignment instructions. Even when things run smoothly,
both you and I may forget something important while we rush about our busy days. The website is the answer.
USE IT.
Year-Long Glossary Project : Literary Devices and Terms
Over the course of each semester you will be asked to complete a number of literary device entries
(typically one per week). In general, you will be able to select the device that you wish to use; there are,
however, several mainstay devices we will discuss in class that you will be required to include. Your
examples may come from any of the works assigned, or that we read in class, or the novel you have
chosen for your outside reading. You will collect your literary device glossary in file, which will be
checked regularly, and receive a cumulative grade at the end of each semester. The “function” section of
this project is authentic, student composition. Turnitin.com will be the submission site for this project,
and though the term will come from outside sources, the application section will not – plagiarism will not
be tolerated.
Format
Term:
Definition of the literary device selected
Example:
Quotation, followed by source, including author, title, page/line number
Function:
Author’s purpose in employing this device at this point in the work. How does this
particular device enhance what the writer seeks to convey? You may comment on theme, character,
setting, or whatever else is important in explaining how the device functions in this particular instance.
I will recommend some online sources, but if you wish to purchase a handbook for terms, consider
Penguin’s Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, NTC’s Dictionary of Literary Terms, or The
Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms
UNIT 1: Bootcamp! Close Reading/Literary Analysis Skills (4-6 weeks)
During this unit, we will focus on developing close reading skills to enhance your analysis of prose and
poetry. These skills are crucial to your success both on the multiple choice portion of the AP exam and on
the first and second Free Response essays.
Essential Questions:
What vocabulary is needed to discuss the writer’s elements of choice in fiction and poetry?
What are the demands of the novel, poem, and short story forms, upon the writer, and the reader?
How do methods of approach to reading prose and reading poetry differ? (“observe, infer, evaluate”)
Skills: Close Reading of Prose and Poetry, Literary Term applications/usage
Poem Selections invite comparison of tone, imagery, narrative voice, sound devices, and structures that
poets universally employ to construct meanings.
Short Stories: With these readings you will focus on prominent elements in the economically packaged
short story form. Class discussion and activities will include categorizing words and phrases as
components of imagery, identifying motifs, narrative voice and point of view, tracing shifts of tone, and
recognizing the compression of time and sequencing of events.
Texts:
Thomas Foster, How to Read Literature Like a Professor
Nabakov Essay.
Edward Hirsch, “How to Read a Poem”
Poems and Short Fiction (TBA)
Assessments:
Summer Reading assessment and reflection/rewrite.
Practice AP Exam multiple choice.
Moodle Posts (in class and HW) seeking out “remarkable” elements of style that create the effect of a text
alongside its theme, message, plot, characters, etc.
Also at least one thematic writing: connecting a fictional text to the “quest” theme defined by Foster.
Active and knowledgeable participation in assigned discussion group.
Exam: Free Response Q1 and Q2 in a sequence of 2 in class essay quizzes.
UNIT 2: Context – Genre, Period, and more.
Essential Question:
What vocabulary is needed to discuss the writer’s elements of choice in drama?
What are the demands of the drama form upon the writer, and the reader?
What is the role of context, literary period, etc. in understanding a text?
Content: Post Romantic Victorian era.
Texts:
Thomas Foster, How to Read Literature Like a Professor
Oscar Wilde: Importance of Being Earnest & Ideal Husband
Literary Criticism
Assessments:
Literary Guide write-up for IoBE
Practice AP Exam multiple choice.
Free Response Prompt #3 practice and discussion.
Moodle posts on guided questions.
Literary Criticism Precis
Formal Paper
UNIT 3: Novel Unit (1750-1850). Focus on the Author.
Groups of 4-6 students will read 2 works of an assigned author (2 shorter works may need to be
subsituted for one longer). They will complete a number of literary analysis tasks and compare their
findings to get a composite picture of an artist’s style and range.
Essential Questions:
What is the importance of historical, cultural, and authorial contexts to understanding the message and
value of a novel?
What is the role of setting in reinforcing the theme of a novel?
What motifs or symbols lend cohesion to a story?
How does the author’s choice of narrative voice serve the thematic purpose of
a novel?
Assessments:
You will read a classic English novel as the basis for your seminar group. Individually, you will annotate
your text generously in order to be an insightful contributor to your group discussions. Together you will
organize a reading schedule; research the cultural and historical context for your novel, and the life of
your author; keep a log of your discussions in which you explore the author’s stylistic decisions, and
possible thematic connections to other works you have read. Finally, you will share with the class an
informative and creative presentation of your novel and its contexts.
UNIT 3A: Poetry Formalisms
Assessment: Poetry Quiz – terms and applications
UNIT 4: Medieval Texts, timeless themes.
Beowulf and Campbell’s Hero
Everyman, Gawaine and the Green Knight: Symbolism and Morality Play
The “Romance” Medieval Style: Lanval, The Wedding of Gawaine and Dame Ragnell
Seven Deadly Sins: Spenser (though he is a Renaissance author/poet)
UNIT 5: “Schools” of Criticism, Critical Lenses…. And Hamlet.
In this unit you will examine the concept of literary criticism, focusing on an array of critical schools.
Essential Questions:
What are the origins of “schools” of criticism, and does literary criticism differ from literary theory?
What is the value of applying a “critical lens” to a complex text?
What does it mean to “read against a text”?
How does Hamlet present a commentary on the concept of sin?
Texts:
Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Norton Critical Edition. Ed. Robert S Miola.
Assessments:
A formal “Critical Lens” research paper. The critical perspective essay requires your research of a single
school of criticism, and your analysis of a scene, or set of scenes, character or set of characters, through
the lens of that critical school.