AP Language & Composition
Mrs. Neu (room 406)
2011-2012
What is Advanced Placement Language & Composition?
According to the College Board, which administers both the A.P. Exams and the S.A.T., A.P. Language and Composition should “be
the equivalent to the introductory year of college composition work. [It] should help students become skilled readers of prose
written in a variety of disciplines and rhetorical contexts, and become skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes,
aware of the interactions among a writer’s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects” (Collegeboard.com).
In other words, the curriculum mirrors that of a freshman college composition course. In our school district, the junior year focuses on
American writers. Thus, our course will focus primarily, though not exclusively, on American writers, with a particular emphasis on
American nonfiction. Expect to write a LOT and to submit a full length piece of writing (of varying lengths and purposes) every week
or two.
What are the A.P. Language course goals?
Everything we do will relate specifically to at least one of the following curricular goals. A.P. Language will require students
1. To write in several forms about a variety of topics;
2. To write essays through several drafts, with revision aided by teacher and/or peers;
3. To write in informal contexts (e.g. journal keeping, collaborative writing, in-class responses);
4. To become aware of
 themselves as writers and
 of the techniques employed by the writers they read;
5. To write expository, analytical, and argumentative essays that are based on readings from a wide variety of prose styles and
genres;
6. To read nonfiction of various rhetorical modes and purposes (e.g. essays, journalism, political writing, etc.);
7. To read some fiction, which will be analyzed primarily for rhetorical purpose and linguistic choices;
8. To analyze how graphics and visual images both relate to written texts and serve as alternative forms of texts themselves;
9. To skillfully research and to evaluate, use, and cite primary and secondary sources;
10. To write argumentative research papers which analyze and synthesize an array of sources;
11. To cite sources using the Modern Language Association format;
12. To develop the skills of using
 a wide-ranging vocabulary,
 a variety of appropriate sentence structures,
 logical organization,
 a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and
 an effective use of rhetoric (tone, voice, emphasis through diction and sentence structure).
What should I know about the A.P. Language Exam?
The class readings, discussions, and writing assignments will prepare the students for the national test, administered in May at a cost
of about $80. Financial assistance is available to help defray the cost of the test.
The AP test is three hours and fifteen minutes long and consists of two sections. The first section consists of 50-60 multiple choice
questions and is 45% of the overall test score. The second section includes three essay prompts. One essay will require the students to
read, analyze, and synthesize multiple sources in a cohesive argumentation essay, and the other two essays may ask the students to
create an argument or analyze and evaluate a nonfiction selection. The essays are worth 55% of the test score.
Why would students want to take the test? If a score of 3, 4, or 5 is earned (out of 5), the student may receive college credit, waiver
from certain writing classes, and/or advanced placement, depending on which university he or she attends. Also, every year students
say the experience of taking the test was valuable in and of itself.
Please know, however, that we do not consider this course only a “test prep” class. Our primary concern is that students are
challenged in the same ways that freshmen are challenged in a rigorous introductory year of college composition course work.
Looks like this class involves writing…a LOT! How can I get help?
At the beginning of the year we will provide a great deal of scaffolding around each writing task. As the year progresses, we will
remove the scaffolding as you become more aware of your writing skills and increase your ability to meaningfully reflect on your
writing. Our intent is that you take the AP exam confident and aware. More importantly, we want you to enter your freshman year of
college with these skills.
Most of our writing assignments will fall into one of two categories: process papers and timed writes. Below is the process we will use
to help you succeed with each type of writing.
Process Essays (Emphasis is on the process of writing, and each essay will take about a week to craft.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Careful analysis of the prompt and/or readings.
Class discussions, Socratic seminars, or small group discussions.
Discussion of merits/problems of various approaches to the essay, using samples we’ve collected over the years.
Pre-writing: journaling, cluster mapping, outlining, charts, or questions. (These will help you begin to map out a meaningful
response.)
Drafting. This is where you’ll put your ideas into cohesive written form; you’ll usually do this at home.
Peer revision and/or teacher writing conferences.
Final draft, followed by generous feedback from me on your essays; this usually includes brief verbal feedback as well.
General class feedback, including several examples of excellent essays before returning your final drafts.
Corrections, revisions, and rewrites: essays are scored on a 1-9 scale; scores of 7 or above must be followed with a
corrections assignment via a journal entry stapled to the top of your essay. Scores of 6 or less are usually rewritten using
teacher feedback.
Timed Writes (One class period response – but here’s how we will work into it.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Analysis of prompt.
Whole class discussion.
Independent pre-writing (homework).
Draft in class.
Class feedback/debrief.
Explanation of rubric (1-9 scale).
Multiple anchor/sample essays (high and low scoring essays NOT written by Riverside students) with discussion (whole
class, small groups, or partners) of merits and weaknesses of each. Areas addressed: organization, evidence, explanation and
generalization, tone, voice, emphasis, transitions, word choice, syntax.
8. Self-evaluation of student’s timed write, with specific comments regarding writer’s strengths and weaknesses.
9. Peer evaluation of timed write, with specific comments regarding writer’s strengths and weaknesses.
10. Teacher score with brief written or verbal comments.
A.P. LANGUAGE COURSE CONTENT
COURSE READINGS:
Full-length Works, First Semester:
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451.
Douglass, Frederick. A Narrative of Frederick Douglass, a Slave. (This will be available for less than $2)
Full-length Works, Second Semester:
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. (We have copies you may borrow.)
In addition, each semester students will read independently one or two current works of American nonfiction. (First semester may
also include one independent fiction choice.) Each student will justify her or his selection based on published book reviews. Stay
tuned for more information.
Supplemental Readings: Most readings will be drawn from these sources:
Bernstein, Barry, ed. Literature and Language: American Literature. McDougal Littell Inc.: Evanston, Illinois.
Cohen, Samuel, ed. 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. Bedford/St. Martin’s: New York. 2004.
Cooley, Thomas, ed. The Norton Sampler: Short Essays for Composition. New York: W.W. Norton.
Peterson, Linda H., and John C. Brereton, eds. The Norton Reader. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
Yagelski, Robert P., and Robert Keith Miller. The Informed Argument. New York: Heinlein.
A 250 (ish) page packet of readings will be given to students at the start of each semester; students will need a binder to keep them in.
Some readings will engage the students in discussions of mature topics. As A.P. Language is a college-level course, we expect
students to be able to respectfully read about and engage in conversation on controversial ideas.
CURRICULUM OUTLINE
(Subject to change)
SUMMER ASSIGNMENT:
Fahrenheit 451
Why do we feel summer work is important for an A.P. course? Multiple studies have shown that if students do not read over the
summer, their reading and analysis skills will regress during the summer months—in some cases, losing the equivalent of 2-3 months
of school-year learning. Furthermore, research indicates some students never regain these lost skills.
It’s also critical that all of our students begin the year with a work we have all read and considered. We will repeatedly refer to the
text during first quarter and reread several key passages to more deeply analyze the writer’s rhetorical and linguistic choices.
This year, our summer reading assignment was Ray Bradbury’s classic novel Fahrenheit 451. You must have your book with you
each day the first few weeks of class.
In addition, you should have obtained a college-ruled notebook of 100-200 pages to be used as a journal this year. We divided the
novel into nine readings, and you should have completed 11 journal entries based on specific questions. The focus of the journal
entries was on the words and details that Ray Bradbury uses, as well as the purpose or argument proposed through the book. Your
journal was due before school started, and you’ll get it back this week.
FIRST SEMESTER
UNIT 1—Introduction to Rhetoric and Style Analysis
Readings:
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
“Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451 Misinterpreted” (Amy Johnston)
“Is it Time to Burn this Book?” (Sarah Boxer)
“Developing Skill with Rhetoric” (Hephzibah Roskelly and David Joliffe)
“The Three Appeals” (Roskelly and Joliffe)
“The Allegory of the Cave” (Plato)
Skills:
Introduction to Socratic seminar
Close reading skills
Essay review, analytical writing
Choosing quotations
Embedding quotations
Developing analytical commentary
Analyzing figurative language (allegory/symbol./metaphor, etc.)
Word choice, diction analysis
Introduction to argumentation (ethos/pathos/logos, Aristotelian triangle)
Assignments:
Imitative writing (Bradbury)
UNIT 2—They Say/I Say: Moves that Matter in Academic Writing & the Infobank Project
Readings:
Excerpts from They Say/I Say: Moves that Matter in Academic Writing (Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein)
Infobank articles
2-3 news (unbiased)
“Pro” article
“Con” article
Non-text source
Skills:
Close reading skills
Summarizing
Choosing quotations
Embedding quotations using sentence frames
Analysis and thinking
Assignments:
INFOBANK: Extended assignment
Unbiased article response
Pro article response
Con article response
Non-text article response
Synthesis response on topic (timed write)
UNIT 3 – How does language reveal (and reinforce) who we are?
Readings:
“Mother Tongue” (Amy Tan)
“How to Tame a Wild Tongue” (Gloria Anzaldua)
“Aria: Memoirs of a Bilingual Childhood” (Richard Rodriguez)
“In Praise of the Humble Comma” (Pico Iyer)
“Help Us Overthrow the Tall/Short Mafia” (Ray Magliozzi)
Skills:
Socratic seminar/discussion skills
Syntax (sentence types, sentence structures) analysis
Parallel structure
Rhetorical analysis
Word choice/diction
Syntax
TWIST
SOAPS
Assignments:
Imitative writing (Iyer)
Word Pair Essay (a process writing)
UNIT 4 -- Politics: What is the nature of the relationship between the citizen and the state?
Readings:
National Guard advertisement
From “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” (Jonathan Edwards)
“Speech at the Virginia Convention” (Patrick Henry)
Painting: “Patrick Henry Delivering Speech to the Virginia Convention” (Thomas Rothermel)
“The Declaration of Independence” (Thomas Jefferson)
Painting: Washington Crossing the Delaware (NEH Great Works project)
Painting: Washington portrait (NEH Great Works project)
“Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions” (Elizabeth Cady Stanton)
“Aren’t I a Woman?” (Sojourner Truth)
“Civil Disobedience” (Henry David Thoreau)
“Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen”
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Skills:
Discussion
Rhetorical analysis
Note taking
Analytical writing
Essay Topics:
Ethos/pathos (Declaration, Henry)
Ethos/pathos/logos and other rhetorical strategies (“Letter from Birmingham Jail”)
Independent Reading Book #1
Reading Choices: (these may change slightly)
It’s Not About the Bike (Lance Armstrong & Sally Jenkins)
Into Thin Air: A Personal Memoir about the Mount Everest Disaster (John Krakauer)
Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions (Ben Mezrich)
Freakanomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (Steven Levitt and Stephen Dunbar)
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (Barbara Ehrenreich)
The Glass Castle (Jeanette Walls)
The Soloist (Steve Lopez)
Me Talk Pretty One Day (David Sedaris)
Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil (Deborah Rodriguez & Kristin Ohlson)
A Long Way Gone (Ishmael Beah)
Look Me In the Eye: My Life With Asperger’s (John Elder Robison)
Skills:
Small group discussion on content, theme, rhetoric
Close reading analysis using SOAPS, DIDLS, TWIST
Assignments:
Reading quizzes
Note taking in discussion
TWIST analysis
Essay: argument of book, which you defend, challenge, or qualify using evidence from reading, experience, or observation
UNIT 5 – Icons and Legends: Abraham Lincoln. How do our icons, legends, and heroes reflect our
values and ideals?
Readings:
“Abraham Lincoln” (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
“The Gettysburg Address” (Abraham Lincoln)
“The Second Inaugural Address” (Abraham Lincoln)
“Abraham Lincoln: Inauguration, Death of President Lincoln” (Personal Journal by Walt Whitman)
“Monuments to Our Better Nature” (Michael Byers)
Lincoln Photograph (Alexander Gardner)
“O Captain, My Captain” (Walt Whitman)
Skills:
Discussion (small group/whole class/Socratic)
Rhetorical analysis
Note taking, S-RUN-R
Analytical writing
Synthesis
Introduction to timed writes (analytical)
Assignments:
Timed write “Second Inaugural Address”
Project on ideals embodied by Lincoln
UNIT 6 – Freedom: (Frederick Douglass, Jacob Lawrence, Langston Hughes, and the Blues): How
do we define freedom?
Readings:
Frederick Douglass painting series (Jacob Lawrence)
The Narrative of Frederick Douglass, a Slave (Frederick Douglass)
Langston Hughes poetry
“Bop” (Langston Hughes)
Skills:
Discussion (small group/whole class/Socratic)
Rhetorical analysis
Note taking
Analytical writing
Synthesis
Assignments:
Timed Writes (analytical)
Imitative Artwork and written reflection
Semester Final:
Cumulative terms test
Timed write
SECOND SEMESTER
UNIT 7—Synthesis and Research: Entering into the academic conversation
This unit will encompass several weeks of research, reading, evaluation, synthesis, discussion, debate, and writing. As you research,
you’ll find many sub-topics on which you may want to focus your paper. You will learn to summarize, to evaluate, and to synthesize
multiple perspectives; to defend a position or to craft a solution or compromise; and to use accurate citation and documentation skills
following the Modern Language Association’s format.
Writing Focus:
Your research essay will involve thoughtful, detailed, and sophisticated reflection, self-analysis, and revision.
Careful analysis of the topic and forming an “essential question;”
Pre-research to familiarize yourself with the topic;
Presentation of argumentation models (Aristotelian, Rogerian, and other approaches as best fit your prompt/perspective);
Finding, reading, evaluating, and selecting research material;
Forming a preliminary claim, synthesizing research material, and outlining your argument;
Drafting (you will complete this at school and at home, in chunks, and receive peer and teacher feedback);
Peer revision and/or teacher writing conferences (daily in-class conferences, peer revision and editing sessions, teacher
feedback). At this point, we focus on your ability to generalize and draw conclusions, as well as your use of diction, syntax,
transitions, repetition, and voice. We want your style to reflect how you are making your argument.
Final draft.
Prompt:
Choose a relevant, controversial topic. Then, using the MLA citation and documentation format, write an essay defending a postion
which considers other perspectives or proposing a solution to the issue.
UNIT 8—Test preparation: Multiple choice and other test strategies
This unit is woven through third quarter, mostly after the research paper.
Multiple choice
3-6 sample passages
One full 60-minute practice test
Reading and scoring anchor essays using AP rubrics
Two synthesis essay times writes
Two “open-ended essay timed writes
Two analysis timed writes
The full essay exam for 2010
Either take or review most of the essay exams from 2008, 2009
Independent Reading Book #2
Reading Choices: (these may change slightly)
Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why (Lawrence Gonzales)
Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal (Eric Schlosser)
The Autobiography of Malcolm X (as told by Alex Haley)
Enrique’s Journey (Sonia Nazario)
Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream (H.G. Bissinger)
Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History (Erik Larson)
Seabiscuit: An American Legend (Laura Hillenbrand)
Worst Hard Time (Timothy Egan)
Skills:
Small group discussion on content, theme, rhetoric
Close reading analysis using TWIST
Assignments:
Reading quizzes
Note taking in discussion
TWIST analysis
Essay: argument of book, which you defend, challenge, or qualify using evidence from reading, experience, or observation
UNIT 9—Northwest Author: Sherman Alexie
Readings:
“One Little Indian Boy”
“Indian Education”
“This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona”
“Superman and Me”
“At Navajo Monument Valley Tribal School”
Smoke Signals
UNIT 10—Gender: What is the impact of the gender roles that society creates and reinforces?
Readings:
“First Muse” (Julia Alvarez)
“About Men” (Gretel Erlich)
“Guys Vs. Men” (Dave Barry)
“Sis! Boom! Bah! Humbug!” (Rick Reilly)
“Uncle Sam and Aunt Samantha” (Anna Quindlin)
UNIT 10 – Nature: What is our responsibility to nature?
Readings:
“Nature” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
“Silent Spring” (Rachel Carson)
“Against Nature” (Joyce Carol Oates)
Retired AP prompts
“The Plastic Pink Flamingo”
Audubon/Dillard paired passages
Excerpts from the documentary An Inconvenient Truth and one documentary of student’s choice
UNIT 11 – The Grapes of Wrath
Readings:
The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
Photography of Dorothea Lange
“Fireside Chat: On Drought Conditions” (President FDR)
Excerpts from Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan
More Good Stuff: Classroom Expectations
What is expected of AP Lang & Comp students?
Participation and Preparation. I expect you to

Show mature perspective.
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Read and annotate works to the assigned point before we discuss them in class.
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Regularly, thoughtfully, participate in class discussion and activities.

Anticipate the need to reread and rethink about passages you do not understand.
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Anticipate the need to thoughtfully revise and rewrite essays.
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Come to class on time. After two unexcused tardies, each will cost you 10 points.
Class work
Missing work is a ZERO score. You will have all dues dates for assignments well ahead of time. Each week, the schedule of
activities and assignments is posted on the side board. You’ll find copies of daily work and ongoing assignments there in a
magnetic file if they are not in your AP binder. I also post homework and assignments on my SWIFT site. If you miss class,
check my SWIFT site, check the side board, then see me if you have questions.
Late work will receive partial credit, usually 60% max for completed work. Late work will receive little (or no) feedback and will
not be eligible for re-submission and/or rewriting. Make-up work for excused absences incurs no “late” penalty as long as it is
turned in within a reasonable amount of time. (For most absences, a day or two for each day of absence should be plenty of time
to complete the missed work). If you were in class when work is assigned but are absent the day an assignment is due, that
assignment is due the day you return.
Work for prearranged absences (including school functions and field trips) is due before you leave. If you plan to be gone, SEE
ME beforehand – as soon as you know about the absence. (Know that if you have less than 75% in this class I may not sign
permission for you to attend field trips or other school functions.)
Makeup work is your responsibility, but I am here to help. You can check with me before or after school, before or after class,
or during lunch. You can also check my SWIFT website, accessible through Riverside’s webpage. Most work not in our AP binder
can be found there.
Generally, each unit end and/or grade report (progress report, quarter grade, progress report, semester grade) brings with it a
deadline; at these report dates or unit ends, late and make up work from the beginning of the semester until that date will no
longer be accepted – even for late credit.
(And I do know that sometimes life gets complicated. If that happens to you, come talk to me so I can help you keep your
priorities without completely sacrificing academics. I’ll work with you so you can stay on track in AP.)
Extra credit
I rarely offer extra credit; if I do, it is offered to the entire class, and high quality work is expected.
Class rules All ARHS rules apply.

This is a clean and sober classroom. Talking about drug or alcohol use and/or partying will not be tolerated, and
students under the influence will be removed from the room. Clothing depicting drugs/alcohol is not allowed.

Please dress appropriately; what is okay for the beach and your home is not always good for school.
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Eating and drinking in class are negotiable items; clean up after yourselves.

Respect yourself, your peers, your ARHS staff, and our guest teachers. Room 406 is a NO CELL PHONE zone. IPods
and other music devices are not allowed, either. Refer to the ARHS electronics policy in your student handbook – this
policy is in place in this room. Here it is in a shortened form:
All electronic devices and peripherals (ear buds, etc.) are to remain off and stored away during class time or during
school related activities, unless explicit (direct) permission is given by an instructor. Action will be taken in the
following steps:
1.) Warning given to student.
2.) Device will be confiscated and given to an administrator for end-of-the-day-retrieval.
3.) Repeat violations will result in the device being held and released only to a parent/guardian after conferencing,
and further consequences will apply.

Once device is confiscated neither Riverside nor Mrs. Neu are responsible
Formula for success
You may find this class challenging, but it is not impossible. Students who succeed will:

Budget their time. Don’t wait until the last minute to do assignments.
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Persist. You will have to read a work more than once to understand its ideas. You may have to rewrite essays before
they effectively convey your thoughts.

Get help when necessary.
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Organize. Keep a notebook with lecture and discussion notes, vocabulary terms work, and other assignments. SAVE
EVERYTHING! and have it with you in class every day.

Create Study Groups for absences and extra help.
Grading Scale
93-100% = A
90-92% = A-
88-89% = B+
83-87% = B
80-82% = B-
78-79% = C+
73-77% = C
70-72% = C-
68-69% = D+
60-67% = D
I will not average your quarter grades for the final semester grade.
The cumulative score will determine the semester grade.
IMPORTANT!
Plagiarism is illegal. The language arts department enforces the ARHS school-wide policy regarding plagiarism.
I value your honesty and integrity.
In this classroom, the Auburn Riverside policy on cheating and especially plagiarism will be in effect.
At a minimum, anyone caught cheating on an assignment, paper, or test
will receive a ZERO SCORE on that assignment, paper, or test.
I consider a student to be cheating if he or she is looking around the room or at someone’s assignment, test or quiz, talking
during a test or quiz, copying someone’s work, plagiarizing (using ANYONE else’s work), cutting and/or pasting from an
electronic source, writing on desks, cheat-sheets, keeping notes in view during a test or quiz, or allowing someone to copy work.
And this isn’t even a total list! It’s just a starter list. Don’t cheat.
Instead, if you need help, ask me. I can provide extra help before or after class, before or after school, or during lunch. I
want you to learn and to succeed. It’s my job to help!
Supplies
Aside from the usual pens (blue or black ball point), pencils (#2), and paper, AP students frequently have also used
highlighters( 2-4 colors)
sticky notes
chocolate 
a 1.5 – 2 inch binder for your AP course manual
another binder to keep at home for old assignments, essays, and readings
a spiral notebook for your summer reading journal and your coursework
a flash drive
Contacting me
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch when you have questions or concerns.
The school phone number is 804-5154, or you can email me at sneu@auburn.wednet.edu