2013/2014 AP Language and Composition Course Syllabus
Ms. Dobbs dobbss@dearbornschools.org
Mr. Murphy murphyd@dearbornschools.org
General Course Goals and Overview of Objectives
AP Language and Composition will provide students with an opportunity to study various
forms of written discourse (narrative, expository, argumentation, etc.) by others from a
variety of historical periods and from different academic disciplines. The chief emphasis
will be non-fiction. Students will increase their awareness of how authors use their
rhetorical choices to particular aims and learn techniques in analyzing those texts using
rhetorical devices.
As this is a college-level course, performance expectations are appropriately high, and the
workload is challenging. Students are expected to commit to a minimum of four hours of
course work per week outside of class. Often, work involves writing and reading
assignments, so effective time management is important. Because of the demand of the
curriculum students must bring to the course sufficient command of mechanical
conventions and an ability to read and discuss prose.
This course is constructed in accordance with the guidelines described in the AP English
Course Description.
Writing
The Advanced Placement English Language and Composition course assumes that its
students already command Standard English grammar. Instruction and course readings
will help students develop stylistic maturity, characterized by the following:
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Wide ranging vocabulary used with denotative accuracy and respect for connotation.
Variety in sentence structure (subordination and coordination)
Logical organization coupled with techniques such as coherence, repetition, transactions and
emphasis
Rhetorical effectiveness: controlling tone, maintaining consistent voice, parallelism and
antithesis.
Awareness and stylistic effects created by various syntactical choices and levels of direction.
Competency using MLA Documentation
Test taking skills and preparation for the AP exam
Cultural and Media Literacy
Students will analyze graphics, visual images and a variety of media (radio, TV, internet)
and how they relate to written text and also serve as alternative forms of text themselves.
Course Texts
 The Norton Reader (10th edition)
 The Bedford Reader (9th edition)
 The Elements of Style (4th edition)
 Barron’s 601 Words You Need to Know to Pass Your Exam (4th edition)
Course Planner
Semester 1 (September – January)
I. Storytelling
Reading:
Bedford: Narration – Telling a Story pp. 76-79
Everday Use: Rhetoric At Work in Reading and Writing:
Rhetoric in Narrative, pp. 179-206.
Analysis:
Bedford: Maya Angelou, “Champion of the World”
Amy Tan, “Fish Cheeks”
Jessica Cohen, “Grade A: A Market for a Yale
Woman’s Eggs”
Barbara Ehrenreich, “The Roots of War”
Novels: John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried
Movies: The Grapes of Wrath
Born on the 4th of July
Visual Images: Photographs of Vietnam War
Dust Bowl video stream
Language Strategies:
Point of view, style: detail, diction, dialogue, tone,
sentence fragments and run-on sentences. Clarity,
conciseness, and avoiding wordiness.
II. Education
Reading:
Bedford: Example – Pointing to Instances pp. 188-191
Analysis:
Bedford:
Norton:
Sherman Alexie, “Indian Education”
Colleen Wenke, “Too Much Pressure”
David Sedaris, “Remembering My Childhood on
the Continent of Africa”
Frederick Douglas, “Learning to Read”
John Holt, “How Teachers Make Children Hate
Reading
Carolyn Bird, “College Is a Waste of Time and
Money”
Robert Frost, “Education by Poetry”
Supplemental: Plato, “The Republic – Books VI & VII”
John Locke, “Some Thoughts Concerning
Education”
John Dewey, from “Experience and Education”
Visual Image: Cartoon by Barry Blitt
Non-Fiction Book: The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates
Wes Moore
Movie: The Butler
Language Strategies:
Generalization: using illustrative examples, accuracy and
fairness. Focus on sentence variety, semi-colons,
analogy and rhetorical questions.
III. Community/Culture
Reading:
Bedford: Compare and Contrast pp. 230-235
Analysis:
Bedford:
Fatema Mernissi “Size 6: The Western Women’s
Harem”
Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery”
Brent Staples, “Black Men in Public Space”
MLK, “I Have a Dream”
Scott Russell Sanders, “Signs”
Non-fiction Book: Truman Capote, In Cold Blood
Visual Image: American Gothic painting by Grant wood
Rural Rehabilitation Client photo by Ben Shahn
American Gothic photo by Gordon Parks
Supplemental: Gandhi, “This I Believe”
W.H. Auden, “The Unknown Citizen”
Edward Arlington Robinson, “Richard Cory”
Language Strategies:
Sentence patterns: combining tone, diction, organization,
transitions, verb tense, and passive voice versus active
voice, subordination and coordination, semi-colons,
analogy, and rhetorical questions.
ASSIGNMENTS
 Reading/Writing Journal – Students are required to complete a two-column
style journal entry format for every course reading, incorporating the SOAPS+
Tone format. Students will average three to four entries per week. The RWJ is a
running record of selections read outside of class. The purpose is two-fold:
Firstly, it will capture the student’s thought processes, insights, questions,
comments, reflections, connections, criticisms, and analyses as they read various
works. Secondly, it is a record of the course content and study guide for course
exams. On occasion, students will enter homework assignments into this journal,
usually in the form of analytical selection questions. The journal will be graded
three times during the semester.
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Vocabulary Development – Students will be required to learn vocabulary culled
from course readings, novels, and Barron’s 601 Words and will be evaluated
every two weeks on their knowledge and understanding of the vocabulary usage
and meaning.
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Independent Reading – Students will be required to read one book of their
choosing each month. Half of these books will be completely up to the student
and the other half will be from a list of recommended books provided by Ms.
Dobbs and Mr. Murphy. Students are required to get these books themselves,
either from home, from the school media center, from the local library, or from a
book store. At the end of each month, students will have an in-class assessment of
their reading for the month.
Writing Assignments
Students will write in two contexts, in class and at home. Classroom essays will often
follow the AP format (40-45 minutes for one essay question): more classroom timed
essays will be written during second semester. All papers will be graded using the AP
9-point rubric scale. Take home essays will allow for the unhurried development of style
and content.
Format for At-Home Writing Assignments
All papers prepared out of class must be typed. Documents need to be double-spaced:
typed in 10- or 12-point font, centered title, not underlined, and regular font style (Times
New Roman). All papers will have 1-inch margins and follow the MLA Documentation
style.
Models of student writing will be used to define and refine excellence. Students will be
given the opportunity to confer with the instructor outside of class (by appointment)
concerning their papers.
Written Assignments for Semester One
In-class timed writings: Students will write an impromptu AP-style essay every two
weeks.
Outside class writing assignments
Narrative Essay (Personal Reflective): Students will write a first-person memoir or a
story written in the third person, observing the experience of someone else. They must
define their purpose, the purpose of their paper as an anecdote, single narrative, or essay
that includes more than one story,
Example Essay: Students will write an essay in which they make a generalization about
the fears, joys, or contradictions that members of minority groups seem to share. To
illustrate their generalization they may draw examples from personal experience, outside
reading, or from two to three essays from course readings.
Compare and Contrast Essay: Students will write an essay in which they compare a
reality (what actually exists) with an ideal (what should exist). Possible topic example:
“The Affordable Car” or “The Perfect Society”.
Cause and Effect Essay: In an essay, students will explain either the causes or the
effects of a situation of personal concern. The topic should be narrow enough to treat it
in some detail and provide more than a mere list of causes or effects.
Discussion
Students are required and encouraged to participate in class discussion regarding
readings, analysis of rhetoric, current events, themes, and other related topics.
Preparation of readings and diligent note taking prior to class discussion is critical to
student success. Sharing ideas enable students to sustain, develop, and better
comprehend the work studied.
Note taking
Students are required to take notes during class lecture and during class/group
discussions. The notes aid students as they study for tests, write in or out of class essays,
or prepare for the AP exam. Students are expected to have their notebook and pen or
pencil out at the beginning of each class period. They should copy down assignments
written on the board and write down any information that is given by the instructor daily.
Notes should be dated and have subject titles.
Multiple Choice Objective Tests
Students will take AP style multiple choice practice exams related to course readings and
impromptu practice tests published, AP released exams biweekly throughout the
semester. Students are strongly encouraged to take practice AP style tests at home.
Literary and Rhetorical Terms
Students will learn a comprehensive list of literary and rhetorical terms. Throughout the
course they will apply these terms to the reading selections.
Final Exam
At the end of the first semester, students will take an exam featuring a released AP
multiple choice exam as well as a released AP argumentative essay and a synthesis essay.
Semester Two (January – June)
Unit V: Economics
Readings:
Bedford: Argumentation pp. 515-529. Purposes of Argument,
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning, Syllogism and Enthymeme,
Logical Fallacies,
Stephen Toulmin, The Toulmin Method, Data, Claim and
Warrant – Internet Article.
Analysis:
Bedford:
Barabara Lazear Ascher, “On Compassion”
Anna Qundlen, “Homeless”
Johnathon Swift, “A Modest Proposal”
Norton:
Lars Eighner, “On Dumpster Diving”
Thomas Jefferson, “Declaration of Independence”
Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter From a
Birmingham Jail”
Jonathan Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of an
Angry God”
William Jefferson Clinton, selected speeches
Books: Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed
Movies: Thirty Days
Visual Images: Corporate America Flag, Adbusters Media Fdn.
Magazine Advertisements, News Media
Language Strategies:
Toulmin Method, Burke’s Pentad, deductive and inductive
reasoning, logical fallacies, tone, diction, syntax,
antithesis, anaphora, rhetorical questions, ethos, pathos,
logos, and thesis.
Unit VI: Language and Politics
Readings:
Bedford:
William F. Bucley Jr., “Why Don’t We Complain
Zara Gelsey, “The FBI Is Reading Over your
Shoulder”
Viet Dinh, “How the USA Patriot Act Defends
Democracy”
Stephanie Ericsson, “The Ways We Lie”
William Lutz, “The World of Doublespeak”
Norton:
George Orwell, “Politics and the English
Language”
Thomas Jefferson, “Declaration of Independence”
Abraham Lincoln, “Gettysburg Address”
Supplemental: Henry David Thoreau, “Civil Disobediance”
Thomas Paine, “Common Sense”
Language Strategies:
Review of the writing modes, themes, symbolism, and
motifs in literature and film, analysis of style in both
written and visual rhetoric.
Special Focus:
Looking at visual rhetoric and considering the Modern Novel
Readings:
Independent Reading Project: Students will select a novel from
a variety of genres: non-fiction, fiction: suspense, mystery,
romance, science fiction, fantasy, etc. They will draw parallels
from course readings throughout the year and write a paper,
complete a visual project, and deliver a presentation to the class.
Public Monument as Argument: Students will consider public
sculpture, art, and memorials as social commentary and argument.
Also, they will conduct an independent survey of monuments in
their local community, researching the purpose and enduring
significance as to why they were established. In addition, students
will analyze these visual texts that exist around them and conduct
discussions about their findings.
Film: A Social Commentary
Students will compare/contrast several films and consider common
social themes from both Modern and post-Modern Eras. They will
write a compare and contrast essay which analyzes theme, motif,
and symbolism.
Suggested Films:
Citizen Kane
Gattaca
Field of Dreams
The Truman Show
AP Exam and ACT Test Preparation
Students will spend a large of amount of class time learning useful, time management and
test taking strategies for both the ACT and AP Examination. The focus will be on
impromptu essay writing and multiple choice practice.
Written Assignments for Semester Two
Persuasion and Argumentation Essays
1. Students will write an out of class paper arguing for or against an issue from course
readings and class discussions. See specific guidelines below.
2. They will also write an essay arguing something that they believe strongly about which
should be changed, removed, abolished, enforced, repeated, revised, reinstated, or
reconsidered. They must propose some plan for carrying out whatever suggestions they
make.
Guidelines for Writing an Argument Paper:
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Refer to Toulmin and/or other strategies of argumentation arrangement from
course readings.
Engage in both primary and secondary research by reading critically, annotating,
summarizing, and synthesizing a variety of sources to provide evidence of support
for claims made.
Take notes, citing sources accurately using MLA format.
Establish and claim/position and develop an argument based on research.
Support the position with credible source, attributing credit for both direct and
indirect citations, using MLA format.
Conclude with minimal summary and an appeal to the audience for belief in your
claim and/or action.
Create a Work Cited page using MLA format.
The writing process will include: prewriting, rough draft, revised draft, and final
copy.
In-class Timed Writings: Students will write an impromptu AP-style essay every two
weeks.
Discussion
Students are required and encouraged to participate in class discussion regarding
readings, analysis of rhetoric, current events, themes, and other related topics.
Preparation of readings and diligent note taking prior to class discussion is critical to
student success. Sharing ideas enable students to sustain, develop, and better
comprehend the work studied. Up to 15% of formative grade is based on socratice
discussion.+
Note taking
Students are required to take notes during class lecture and during class/group
discussions. The notes aid students as they study for tests, write in or out of class essays,
or prepare for the AP exam. Students are expected to have their notebook and pen or
pencil out at the beginning of each class period. They should copy down assignments
written on the board and write down any information that is given by the instructor daily.
Notes should be dated and have subject titles.
Multiple Choice Objective Tests
Students will take AP style multiple choice practice exams related to course readings and
impromptu practice tests published, AP released exams biweekly throughout the
semester. Students are strongly encouraged to take practice AP style tests at home.
Rhetorical Terms
Students will learn a comprehensive list of literary and rhetorical terms. Throughout the
course they will apply these terms to the reading selections.
Grading Policies and Scale
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ABSOLUTELY NO EXTRA CREDIT POINTS WILL BE ASSIGNED!
If a pattern of excessive tardiness and absenteeism occurs, students will be given a
warning and parents will be notified.
This is a college-level course and students are expected to perform with
excellence. Your attitude and participation in class group work and discussion is
CRITICAL to your academic success.
Timed Writings are worth 50 to 100 points depending on the amount of
preparation required for prompt.
Reading/Writing Journals will be graded every card marking.
Homework must be turned in during the first five minutes of class.
Major papers and projects may be turned in late with a grade-deduction penalty;
ten percent reduction for each day, not to exceed 30 percent deduction.
All assignments will receive a point value. Rounding up grades is at the teacher’s
discretion. It is unlikely that a grade will be rounded up until the final card
marking.