AP English Literature and Composition
Syllabus
2011
Course Description: The AP Literature and Composition course is designed for Harlan High
School students who are willing to accept the stimulating challenge of a rigorous curriculum
compatible with a first year college literature course. This course is designed to facilitate the
student’s transition from high school to college in addition to providing each student the
opportunity to gain college credit on the College Board AP Exam in Literature and Composition.
Intensive, deliberate reading is required. Composition instruction is designed to lead students to
mastery in a variety of formal and informal writing models.
Course Goals:
1. To critically read literature from a variety of genres representing classic American and British
literature from the Sixteenth to the Twentieth Centuries
2. To gain understanding of each work of literature in relation to the social and historical context
of the work
3. To study works that require careful, deliberate reading leading to individual student analysis
4. To engage the student in active reading strategies and interpretation skills through informal
written activities and the keeping of a reader’s response journal
5. To demonstrate college-level skill in writing formal literary analysis comprised of analytical,
argumentative, expository, and interpretive essays
6. To incorporate effective elements of composition – vocabulary, variety of sentence structures,
organization, rhetorical devices, standard written English, etc.—into student writing
7. To provide opportunity for students to peer-edit, conference, and to revise formal writing
assigned
Required Texts and Materials:
Reader’s Response Journal
Notebook for lecture notes and writing drafts
Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, ed. Roberts, Jacob
The Poetics, Aristotle
Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
Macbeth, Shakespeare
Death of a Salesman, Miller
Lord of the Flies, Golding
The Awakening, Chopin
Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl
Short stories and Essays, as selected
Poetry, as selected from anthology
Composition resources include: Elements of Style, Strunk and White
Writing for College, Writers. Inc.
All reading materials are provided by the Harlan Independent School District. Students in AP
Literature may consider obtaining a copy of paperback works for personal notations,
highlighting, etc.
Performance Tasks:
• Active and critical reading of drama, fiction, non-fiction, short stories, and poetry
• Informal reader’s response journal entries
• Note taking
• Graphic organizers
• Cooperative group discussions and analyses
• Timed writing and multiple choice assessments based on previous AP Literature and
Composition Exam prompts
• Vocabulary study and integration of new words into student speech and writing
• Formal literary analysis essays—expository and persuasive (5 page length, MLA Works Cited )
• Active reading notes
• Creative writing: short story and poetry
Course Expectations:
1. Students are expected to come prepared to class with required materials and assigned reading
completed.
2. Students are expected to complete informal active reading and reader’s response prompts in
their journals.
3. Students are expected to demonstrate their best ability in composition assignments, including
skill in sentence construction, standard written English, diction, and neatness.
4. Students are expected to type all formal papers, using correct conventions and Times New
Roman 12 pt font, in addition to meeting assignment guidelines.
5. Students are expected to present proper and correct MLA citation of all secondary sources.
6. Students are expected to meet the given criteria of each assignment; students will be given an
assessment rubric for all formal compositions.
7. Students are expected to make proper revisions of all formal written work following the
student’s writing conference for his first draft.
8. Students are expected to present work at the beginning of class on the assigned due date.
9. Students are expected to turn in missed work expeditiously; ten points will be subtracted from
final assessment for each day an assignment is late.
10. Students are expected, following an excused absence, to acquire missed lecture notes, class
materials, and assignments. One day will be given to make up work for each day of excused
absence.
Unit One: Tragedy
Three Weeks
Reading:
The Poetics, Aristotle
Macbeth, Shakespeare
Death of a Salesman, Miller
“Tragedy and the Common Man,” Miller
Unit Expectations /Goals:
• Students will define classic Greek tragedy (Poetics, Aristotle)
• Students will identify tragic elements defined in The Poetics and will identify them in tragedy.
• Students will define Modern tragedy (“Tragedy and the Common Man,” Miller)
• Students will critically read and analyze the two tragedies in relation to:
a. genre
b. historical and social significance
c. dramatic devices
d. literary elements of character, plot, conflict, climax, resolution,
figurative language, motif, theme, structure, dramatic irony
Students Performance Tasks will include:
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Daily informal reader’s responses in journal
Completion of graphic organizer for The Poetics
Incorporation of the vocabulary of Aristotle into student discussion and writing
Formal literary expository essay analyzing elements of Macbeth; research and use of at
least three secondary sources required
Essay test/timed writing using essay question #3 from 1982 AP Literature and
Composition Exam
Formal literary analysis essay identifying elements of Modern Tragedy in Death of a
Salesman
Essay test/timed writing using question # 6 from 2002 AP Literature and Composition
Exam
Informal quizzes on assigned reading and vocabulary
Note: Instruction on writing a viable thesis statement will precede literary analysis. Essay
structure and conventions will be reviewed in mini-lessons throughout the unit. Instruction on
integrating evidence and writing strong commentary will be included before students commence
the writing of analysis. Students will use the writing process of pre-writing, drafting, editing, and
revising their formal papers. Students will also study models of AP timed essay responses before
timed-essay prompts.
Unit Two: Short Story
Three Weeks
Reading:
Selected stories include:
“The Japanese Quince”
“ The Jockey”
“ A&P”
“ The Guest”
“ Chrysanthemums”
“ Young Goodman Brown”
“ A Good Man is Hard to Find”
“ The New Dress”
“The Open Boat”
“To Build a Fire”
“Araby”
Unit Expectations/Goals:
• Students will identify elements of fiction: setting, character, plot, theme, point of view,
style, tone, irony, symbolism
• Students will create a theme statement for a narrative through the analysis of conflict.
• Students will write a formal composition analyzing significant elements of a
selected short story.
• Students will conduct and participate in group short story analyses.
Student Performance Tasks and Evaluation will include:
• Careful, active reading of assigned short stories evidenced in informal Reader’s
Response journal entries
• Completion of reading guides
• Incorporation of literary vocabulary while discussing and writing about short
stories
• Completion of seven step process for the analysis of conflict
• Formal literary analysis of tightly compressed and highly unified short story,
“The Jockey”
• Creative writing assignment: short story (Students will meet criteria of KDE for
Literary Writing
• Participation in cooperative group short story analysis
• Oral presentation of cooperative group short story analysis (Power-Point)
• Objective assessments including quizzes on assigned reading and vocabulary tests
Unit Three: The Novel
Four Weeks
Reading:
The Lord of the Flies, Golding
The Awakening, Chopin
Unit Goals/ Expectations:
• Students will study elements of the novel, including structure, style,
and theme.
• Students will research the biographical information of the authors in
addition to the social and historical values reflected in the novel.
• Students will incorporate literary vocabulary into their discussions and written work.
• Students will identify the thematic development in each novel.
• Students will write analytical and argumentative essays exploring themes and social and
historical influences inherent in the novels.
Student Performance Tasks will include:
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Careful, critical reading of assigned material
Informal Reader’s Response Journal entries
Informal written responses including snapshot writing prompts used to stimulate
personal response, class discussion, and evaluation of work
The reading of the critical essay “The Metaphysical Novels of William Golding,” Karl
The summarization of the critical essay in the form of a pre`cis
The writing of a formal critical review of a selected novel from the unit
Formal persuasive essay of Lord of the Flies as allegory
Completion of graphic organizer comparing The Awakening to Whitman’s
“Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking”
Formal literary analysis of the use of allusion, motif, and symbol in The Awakening
Timed writing test using prompt #3 from 1981 AP Literature and Composition Exam
Application of composition instruction in developing a clear thesis, integrating quotes,
building support paragraphs, organizing, and developing an insightful conclusion, along
with the writing process of pre-writing, drafting, peer editing, and revising
Unit Four: Nonfiction
2 Weeks
Reading:
Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl
Excerpt from Survival at Auschwitz, Levi
Excerpt from The Hiding Place, ten Boom
Excerpt from All Rivers Run to the Sea, Wiesel
Unit Expectations/Goals:
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Students will conduct research on Hitler’s development of the Third Reich.
Students will investigate Hitler’s use of propaganda in his war against the Jews.
Students will identify and note Frankl's philosophy in Man’s Search for Meaning.
Students will evaluate the philosophical allusions of Neitzsche that Frankl includes.
Students will have a brief overview of Logotherapy.
Students will evaluate Frankl’s philosophy.
Students will compare experiences of other Holocaust writers to those of Frankl.
Students will build an understanding of the Holocaust and its effects on humanity.
Students will connect WWII experience to development of Existential Philosophy.
Student Performance Tasks and Evaluation will include:
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Completion of Reader’s Response Journal daily prompts
Oral report on assigned Holocaust topic
Quizzes on assigned reading and research
Analysis of selected quotes from Man’s Search for Meaning
Evaluation of philosophical quotes
Comparison of authors and their experiences by informal writing prompts
Completion of graphic organizer of Existential traits identified in works
Completion of objective unit test
Completion of On Demand persuasive writing prompt asking students to persuade a
textbook committee to include one of the works from this unit in their curriculum
Unit Five: Poetry
Four Weeks
Reading:
Kentucky poets include:
Wendell Berry
James Still
Jesse Stuart
Selected poets from the literature text include:
Blake
Plath
Wordsworth
Coleridge
Shelley
Keats
Shakespeare
Whitman
Dickinson
Frost
Hughes
Donne
Housman
Bishop
Eliot
Yeats
Cummings
Browning
Johnson
Arnold
Pound
Brook
Bryant
Unit Expectations/Goals:
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Students define poetry by comparing poetry to prose.
Students will define poetic elements from Master Vocabulary List.
Students will identify poetic elements in contemporary contexts and in assigned poems.
Students will read a survey of American and British poets.
Students will respond personally to poetry.
Students will read poetry on the grammatical, rhetorical, and the poetical levels.
Students will study the structure and the impact of syntax on the effect produced by a poem.
Students will research a poet and his/her poetry.
Students will compose their own poetry based on guidelines provided.
Students will reflect on their choices of diction, poetic techniques, and themes.
Students will integrate vocabulary into their discussions and written work.
Student Performance Tasks and Evaluation will include:
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Completion of daily classroom activities that reinforce knowledge and application of poetry
vocabulary terms
Research and Power Point presentation of significant biographical information and
meaningful examples of poetry of selected poet (5 minutes)
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Completion of independent study packet that includes informal analysis of several American
and British poets featured in literature anthology
Quizzes on poetry vocabulary and its application
Completion of cooperative group activity that acquaints students with a variety of critical
approaches including biographical, philosophical, reader-response, psychological
Completion of 1500 word research paper in which students select a poet, period, literary
movement, or theme which interests them
The writing of five poems based on specified guidelines; each poem will include a reflection
Formal analysis of a poem following guidelines from Advanced Placement Poetry handbook
Timed-essay test using question # 1 from 2002 AP Literature and Composition Exam
Practice of Multiple Choice test questions featuring poetry from previous AP Literature and
Composition Exams
Note: Instruction on exploring secondary sources in order to formulate an exploratory thesis, on
creating a bibliography and note cards, and on selecting a variety of secondary sources will
precede formal research paper. Students should have a minimum of four secondary sources. Use
of correct MLA citation will be reinforced in a number of mini-lessons. Direct instruction in
usage, conventions of Standard Written English, integration of quotes, and essay organization
will be the focus of mini-lessons throughout the semester.
Unit 6: Expository Prose
One Week
Reading:
“Civil Disobedience,” Thoreau
“Self-Reliance,” Emerson
Unit Expectations/Goals:
 Students will compare “Civil Disobedience” and “Self-Reliance.”
 Students will evaluate the message of each essay.
 Students will compose their own philosophical essay.
Student Performance Tasks and Evaluation will include:
 Informal Reader’s Response Journal entries
 Quizzes on assigned reading
 Completion of graphic organizer comparing two essays
 Informal comparison/contrast open response essay
 Composition of personal philosophy essay
Unit 7: Semester Synthesis
One Week
Unit Expectations/Goals:
 Students will review components of semester study.
 Students will reflect upon literature and activities.
 Students will prepare for the format of AP Literature and Composition Exam.
Student Performance Tasks and Evaluation will include:
 Practice of timed-essay tests
 Analysis of high, middle, and low scoring responses
 Practice of testing strategies
 Completion of practice multiple choice tests
 Compilation of new or unfamilair exam vocabulary
 Short reflection essay synthesizing experience of AP Literature and Composition Course