AP English Language and Composition
J. DeGrandis
Rutland High School
jdegrandis.rutlandhs@bibb.k12.ga.us
Course Objectives:
The purpose of this course is to help students “write effectively and confidently in their college courses across the
curriculum and in their professional and personal lives.” (The College Board, AP® English Course Description, May
2007, May 2008, p. 6) The course is organized according to the requirements and guidelines of the current AP
English Course Description, and, therefore, students are expected to read critically, think analytically, and communicate
clearly both in writing and speech.
In addition to being prepared for the National AP English Language and Composition examination in May, students
should be able to
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Read extensively and analyze a wide range of works of fiction and non-fiction
Understand and utilize rhetorical modes or argument, structure and strategies used by writers
Effectively writing arguments that analyze, synthesize and evaluate various viewpoints on a wide variety of
social, economic and political issues
Develop a stronger voice in writing that reflects a grasp of vocabulary, diction and syntax
Write competently and effectively in various modes of discourse, including but not limited to compare and
contrast, narration/description, process analysis, definition, argumentative/persuasion, and exposition
Grading System:
Essays 30%: Most essays are first written as in-class essays and graded as rough drafts. Rough drafts are self-edited
and peer-edited before students type the final copies. Final copies make up 30 percent of the final grade. Rough
drafts and editing assignments are part of the daily work, which is 20 percent of the final grade. Students must
submit all drafts with final copies. Graded final copies are kept in a portfolio that counts as part of the final exam
grade for the semester.
Tests 25%: Most tests consist of multiple-choice questions based on rhetorical devices and their function in given
passages. Some passages are from texts read and studied, but some passages are from new material that students
analyze for the first time.
Quizzes 25%: Quizzes are used primarily to check for reading and basic understanding of a text. Each unit has at
least one quiz on vocabulary from the readings. Also, each unit has at least one quiz on grammatical and mechanical
concepts reviewed in daily tasks as well as from the discussions and/or annotations of syntax from the readings.
Daily 20%: Daily assignments consist of a variety of tasks. Some of these tasks involve individual steps leading to a
larger product, such as plans, research, drafts, and edits for an essay. Other daily tasks consist of grammar reviews,
vocabulary exercises, annotation of texts, and fluency writing.
Please note that the information which follows is an approximate plan for the year. Reading, writing assignments, activities, and
assessments are subject to change.
The first few days of class will be dedicated to the discussion of class expectations, grading, AP English Language
test contents and evaluations, etc.
Course Organization:
The course is organized by themes.
Each unit requires students to acquire and use rich vocabulary, to use Standard English grammar, and to understand
the importance of diction and syntax in an author’s style. Therefore, students are expected to develop the following:
• a wide-ranging vocabulary used appropriately and effectively;
• a variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of subordination and coordination;
• logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques to increase coherence, such as repetition, transitions,
and emphasis;
• a balance of generalization and specific illustrative detail; and
• an effective use of rhetoric including controlling tone, establishing and maintaining voice, and achieving
appropriate emphasis through diction and sentence structure.
(CollegeBoard AP English Course Description, May 2007, May 2008.
p. 8)
For each reading assignment students must identify the following:
• Thesis or Claim
• Tone or Attitude
• Purpose
• Audience and Occasion
• Evidence or Data
• Appeals: Logos, Ethos, Pathos
• Assumptions or Warrants
• Style (how the author communicates his message: rhetorical mode, rhetorical devices always including
diction and syntax)
Syllabus: AP Language
First Four Weeks:
Focus:
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Understanding the elements of rhetorical analysis
Rhetorical Modes and Strategies
Contextual vocabulary from readings
Effective text integration
Grammar Review
Genres in non-fiction: letters, auto/biography, essays, speeches
Readings:
 Selections (may include, but not limited to):
o Douglass, Frederick, “ Learning to Read and Write”
o Tan, Amy, “Mother Tongue”
o Didion, Joan, “On Keeping a Notebook”
Assessments
Quizzes: Students are given a quiz on most readings
Quiz: Vocabulary from readings
Quiz: Grammar
Test: Definitions of rhetorical Modes and devices In-class essays on novels
 Practice Essays which will include AP Passage Responses
Activities:
 Socratic Seminars on novels
 Vocabulary and grammar test
 Practice multiple choice AP type exams
 Dissection of types of questions frequently asked on AP exams
 Magazine ad analysis
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Synthesis research
Practice annotation of professional and personal essays
Second Four Weeks:
Focus:
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Understanding the elements of rhetorical analysis
Rhetorical Modes and Strategies (Persuasive/Argumentative and Expository)
Contextual vocabulary from readings, Wordskills
Effective text integration
Grammar Review
Genres in non-fiction: letters, auto/biography, essays, speeches
Genres in fictions: novels, short stories
Readings:
 Major Works:
o Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
o Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
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Selections (may include, but not limited to):
o Martin Luther King, Jr., “I Have A Dream”
o Barbara Kingsolver, “Stone Soup”
o Joan Acocella, “Under the Spell”
o Francine Prose, “Genocide Without Apology”
o Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. “Harrison Bergeron
o Abraham Lincoln, “The Gettysburg Address”
o Carl Elliott, “Putting Your Best Face Forward”
o Jennifer Hahn & Wasim Salfiti, “The Patriot Act and You”
o Jonathan Swift, “A Modest Proposal”
o William F. Buckley, Jr., “Why Don’t We Complain”
o Stephen Jay Gould, “Women’s Brains”
o Barbara Lazear Ascher, “On Compassion”
o James Q. Wilson, “Cars and Their Enemies”
Writings:
 Persuasion Letter to Parents
 Analytical Essay on novels
 Synthesis Essay
 Practice AP passage essays
Activities:
 Socratic Seminars on novels
 Vocabulary and grammar test
 Practice multiple choice AP type exams
 Dissection of types of questions frequently asked on AP exams
 Synthesis research
 Practice annotation of professional and personal essays
Third Four Weeks:
Focus:
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Understanding the elements of rhetorical analysis
Rhetorical Modes and Strategies (Comparison/Contrast & Cause/Effect)
Contextual vocabulary from readings, Wordskills
Effective text integration
Grammar Review
Genres in non-fiction: letters, auto/biography, essays, speeches
Genres in fictions: novel, short story
Readings:
 Major Works:
o 1984 by George Orwell
o Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
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Selections (may include, but not limited to):
o Mark Twain, “Two Views of the River”
o Sarah Vowell, “Cowboys v, Mountains”
o Paco Underhill, “Shop Like a Man”
o Anne Roiphe, “A Tale of Two Divorces”
o Eric Schlosser, “Why McDonald’s Fires Taste So Good”
o Suzanne Britt, “Neat People vs. Sloppy People”
o Gore Vidal, “Drugs”
o Don DeLillo, “Videotape”
o Dave Barry, “Lost in the Kitchen”
o Plato, “The Allegory of the Cave”
o Brent Staples, “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space”
o Marie Wynn, “Television: The Plug-In Drug”
o Bharati Mukherjee, “Two Ways to Belong in America”
Writings:
 Argumentative C/C Brave New World vs. 1984
 Synthesis Essay
 Practice AP passage essays
Activities:
 Socratic Seminars on novels
 Vocabulary and grammar test
 Practice multiple choice AP type exams
 Dissection of types of questions frequently asked on AP exams
 Synthesis research
 Practice annotation of professional and personal essays
Fourth Four Weeks:
Focus:
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Understanding the elements of rhetorical analysis
Rhetorical Modes and Strategies (Division/Classification & Definition)
Contextual vocabulary from readings, Wordskills
Effective text integration
Grammar Review
Genres in non-fiction: letters, auto/biography, essays, speeches
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Genres in fictions: novel, play
Readings:
 Major Works:
o Hamlet by William Shakespeare
o Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
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Selections (may include but not limited to):
o James H. Austin, “Four Kinds of Luck”
o Mary Mebane “Shades of Black”
o Garry Willis, “The Dramaturgy of Death”
o John Berendt, “The Hoax”
o Gordon Allport, “The Nature of Prejudice”
o Geoffrey Nunberg, “Don’t Torture English to Soft Pedal Abuse”
o Judy Brady, “I Want a Wife”
o Deborah Tannen, “But What Do You Mean?”
o Marie Wynn, “Cookies or Heroin?”
o Nancy Mairs, “On Being a Cripple”
o Alice Walker, “In Search of Our Mothers’ Garden”
o Stephanie Ericsson, “The Ways We Lie”
o Mike Rose, “I Just Wanna Be Average”
Writings:
 Definition Essay
 Synthesis Essay
 Practice AP passage essays
Activities:
 Socratic Seminars on novels
 Vocabulary and grammar test
 Practice multiple choice AP type exams
 Dissection of types of questions frequently asked on AP exams
 Synthesis research
 Practice annotation of professional and personal essays
Books and Materials:
 Cohen, Samuel. 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. Bedford/St. Martin’s: Boston, 2004.
 Kennedy, X.J., Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Jane Aaron, eds. The Bedford Reader. 9th edition.
Bedford/St.Martin’s: Boston, 2006
 Rottenberg, Annette T., Donna Hiasty Winchell. Elements of Argument: A Test and Reader. 8th edition.
Bedford/St. Martin’s: Boston, 2006.
 Trimmer, J. and Hairston, M. The Riverside Reader. Houghton Mifflin Co: Boston, 2005.
 Trade books previously mentioned
 Wordskills workbook. Yellow level.
 Index cards
 Pens, pencils, notebook paper, highlighters
Grading:
Since the class will be graded similar to the College Board’s guidelines for the essay portion of the AP exam, essays
will be graded on a 0-9 scale. The scale will equate to
9 98-100
8 95-97
7 90-94
6 85-89
5 80-84
4 75-79
3 70-74
2 65-69
1 60-64
0 0-59
All other quizzes, tests, projects, vocabulary activities, and novel readings will be graded on a total points system.
Timed writings and practice multiple choice tests will also be graded.
Tests
Out-of-class essays
Novel quizzes
In-class essays
100-300 points
100-300 points
100-250 points
100-200 points
Novel Cards
Vocabulary
Socratic seminar notes
Projects
100-200 points
100-150 points
100 points
varies
Use your time wisely. This class will be rigorous and extensive. Any homework that is not turned in on time will
receive 0 points. No extra credit work will be given; complete the assignment the first time.
Class expectations:
 Timed writings will occur every Friday
 In-class writings will occur weekly.
 Novels will be read at home. Socratic Seminars will be held in class after each novel is completed.
 Practice multiple choice question test will occur every 2-3 weeks.
 Research will occur throughout the nine-weeks.
 Projects will occur throughout the semester.
This class will be hard, but I know that you will have the dedication and perseverance to make this a successful class.
You will be so prepared for the exam in May that you will be calm, cool, and collected and leave the exam knowing
that you successfully displayed 4 to 5 work.