A.P. English Language and Composition
2010-2011 Syllabus & Course Handbook
Christian Fenger Academy High School, Room 315
Dawn Carter
The American Dream/The American Identity
**Adapted from and copyrighted by C. Drammeh, E. Hoefler, and C. Hailey
Section 1: Course Information (pgs. 2-6)
 Course Description and Objectives (2-4)
 Major Texts & Supplies (4-5)
 Policies & Procedures (6)
 Assignments & Make-Up Work (6)
 Participation (6)
Section 2: Major Course Assignments (pgs 7-10)
 Evaluations (7)
 Notes and Terms (7-8)
 Portfolio File (9)
 In-Class Essays (9)
 College Folder (10)
 Presentations (10)
 Seminars (10)
Section 3: Writing Resources (pg 11)
 A.P. Language & Composition Exam (11)
 Common Writing Errors (11)
 End of the Year Assessment (11)
 Grading Policy (11)
1
Section 1: Course Information
Course Objectives
Students in this course will read and analyze a variety of challenging fiction, non-fiction, and
visual texts, creating a true awareness of rhetorical contexts and the purpose of dexterity of
language. Students will acquire skills that will allow them to perform close readings of a
diverse range of texts while also developing the ability to write to a specific audience with a
sincere purpose. Students will analyze various rhetorical devices, they will recognize how
these devices function in given passages, and they will apply these skills in their own writing.
This course will «emphasize the expository, analytical, and argumentative writing that forms
the basis of academic and professional communities, as well as the personal and reflective
writing that fosters the development of writing in any context.» (The College Board, AP
English Course Description) In addition, students will analyze both primary and secondary
sources and they will learn to synthesize the information in these sources in their own
compositions. Finally, students will learn the format for proper attribution of these sources,
primarily the Modern Language Association (MLA) form of documentation.






The twelfth-grade student will be able to make and analyze informative and persuasive
presentations, with attention to the accuracy of evidence and the effectiveness of delivery.
The study of both classic and contemporary literature will enhance the student’s appreciation
for literature.
The student will be able to identify the prevalent themes and characterizations present in
literature, which are reflective of the history and culture.
The student will be able to write clearly and accurately on personal, professional, and
controversial issues.
Grammar and vocabulary development will continue through the application of rules for
sentence formation, usage, spelling, and mechanics, and SAT preparation.
The student will develop informative and persuasive compositions by locating, evaluating,
synthesizing, and citing applicable information with careful attention to organization and
accuracy.
Oral Language
1.
The student will communicate orally using various forms-interpersonal, group, and public-for
a variety of purposes and situations.
a. Take and defend a position in a debate to consider an issue from differing perspectives.
b. Participate in informal groups for a variety of purposes.
2.
The student will use strategies within speaking and listening processes to construct and
communicate meaning.
a. Analyze audience and use strategies to create rapport and develop common understandings.
b. Listen critically by identifying weaknesses in reasoning and by judging the soundness of
evidence.
c. Develop personal view after consideration of a variety of sources and points of view.
3.
The student will apply knowledge of verbal and nonverbal language to communicate
effectively.
a. Use verbal and nonverbal language to create a rapport and establish credibility with an
audience.
b. Use pronunciation and grammar appropriate to audience, purpose, and situation, and to
achieve desired result.
2
4.
The student will adapt messages appropriate to audience, purpose, and situation.
a. Use supporting ideas from credible sources so message is accepted by audience.
b. Organize ideas to achieve desired purpose.
c. Select and use delivery style to achieve desired audience response.
5.
The student will demonstrate confidence as a communicator, and find value and satisfaction in
sharing ideas with others.
a. Demonstrate confidence in own ideas and ability to inform or influence others.
6.
The student will understand diversity in language, perspective, and/or culture and use speaking
and listening to foster understanding.
a. Know that language includes and excludes, and use listening and speaking to create mutual
understanding.
Reading
1.
The student will read a range of literary and informative texts for a variety of purposes.
a. Read, understand, and discuss literature as it reflects traditional and
contemporary themes, motifs, universal characters, and genres.
b. Read to research an issue, theme, or thesis using technological and traditional
informational resources.
c. Read to solve problems, follow directions to complete an application for college
admission, for a scholarship, or for employment.
d. Analyze how graphics and visual images both relate to written texts and serve as alternative
forms of text themselves.
2.
The student will use strategies within the reading processes to construct meaning.
a. Use reading strategies appropriate to text and purpose.
b. Evaluate own interpretation within a range of plausible possibilities.
c. Generate questions, identify issues or problems, and investigate answers or solutions using
general and specialized sources.
3.
The student will apply knowledge of the conventions of language and texts to construct
meaning.
a. Apply knowledge of genre conventions and literary devices to describe how use of context
and language structures convey an author's intent and viewpoint in contemporary and
historical essays, speeches, and critical reviews.
4.
The student will respond to texts from a range of stances: initial understanding, personal,
interpretive, and critical.
a. Make a warranted and plausible interpretation of text using information synthesized from
sources that represent different perspectives.
b. Analyze one or more aspects of text-meaning, technique, and/or structure-for various
purposes.
c. Critique texts by questioning assumptions, and challenging or affirming the underlying
values represented in the text.
5.
The student will interact thoughtfully with texts that represent diversity of language,
perspective, and/or culture.
a. Infer social or cultural norms or values of a group.
b. Analyze text for bias or perspective embedded in language.
3
Writing
1.
The student will write using various forms to communicate for a variety of purposes and
audiences.
a. Write to report information from research using a style manual, such as MLA.
b. Write a variety of responses to reflect on learning.
c. Write for problem solving and application.
d. Write to persuade an audience.
e. Write to analyze and/or critique literature.
f. Write to describe an experience.
2.
The student will use writing processes and strategies appropriately and as needed to construct
meaning and communicate effectively.
a. Generate, gather, plan, and organize ideas for writing.
b. Develop a focus for writing.
c. Evaluate and cite applicable information.
d. Elaborate ideas clearly and accurately.
e. Organize information to support purpose and form of writing.
f. Revise writing for accuracy, clarity and depth of information.
g. Proofread final copy and prepare document for intended audience and purpose.
h. Adjust sentence and paragraphing structures for a variety of purposes and audiences.
i. Apply a variety of planning strategies to generate and organize ideas.
j. Publish-in a variety of ways-selected finished products.
3.
The student will use rhetorical devices to craft writing appropriateness to audience and
purpose.
a. Produce writing that reveals insights about people, events, knowledge, and experience.
b. Organize ideas in a logical manner
c. Adapt content, vocabulary, voice, and tone to audience, purpose, and situation.
4.
The student will demonstrate confidence as a writer, and find value and satisfaction in writing
and sharing writing with others.
a. Recognize opportunities to use writing to accomplish purposes. (college application and
scholarship essay)
5.
The student will understand diversity in language, perspective, and culture in order to craft
texts that represent diverse thinking and expression.
a. Use writing to analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and organize information from a variety of
sources.
Course Strategies (to reach those objectives)
Dialectic Journals: Students will be required to keep a dialectic journal throughout the course.
Students may use a notebook or a folder, but it must be separate from other work. Assignments for
this journal will vary, and I will clarify the assignment as it comes due; sometimes quotes to be
analyzed will be assigned while at other times students will choose passages to analyze. Your
summary/response/analysis must demonstrate your understanding of the author’s assertion as well as
his/her defense to or challenge of it. You will be graded according to the length and quality of
your responses. Find attached to this syllabus a sample of the format I want you to use. You do not
have to make copies of it, simply recreate the chart on your own paper.
In-Class Essays: The In-Class Essays are intended to evaluate your ability to think and write clearly
and critically in a timed setting. These essays also help to prepare you for the AP Exam. Please make
sure that the papers for in-class essays follow the following format :
4
1.
2.
4.
5.
written on one-side only
written in pen
leave margins
name and page number on each page
Collaborative Reading/Writing/Discussion Workshops: You will work in collaborative groups in
order to better develop a more critical eye for revisions and analysis. These groups will rotate per
quarter. You will receive instruction on peer editing and how to score an essay using an AP 9 point
rubric. All drafts and final papers are read by each member of a group prior to being submitted for a
grade. Pre- and Post-conferencing with the teacher also occurs with each major paper. We will also
conduct Socratic seminars and fishbowl discussions. Each student will receive a grade for depth of
participation. Powerpoint projects will also be assigned and partners will share grades.
Vocabulary: Students are introduced to the importance of annotation, diction, tone and syntax
analysis. Add an additional vocabulary binder section to your class notebook. Content-area
vocabulary tests will be scheduled periodically (particularly in the beginning of the course). We will
also study weekly SAT vocabulary lists. We will have biweekly vocabulary quizzes and vocabulary
will be present on the end of the quarter exam. Vocabulary is essential to reading; if you can’t
understand what you are reading, then what’s the point?
Student Binder: All students should have a separate binder for this course. Please have tabs and
sections for the following:
1-grammar and style rules/application samples
2-AP exam materials (handouts, prompts, essays, multiple-choice)
3-1st 10 weeks materials
4-2nd 10 weeks materials
5-3rd 10 weeks materials
6-4th 10 weeks materials
7-vocabulary
Student work folders: The teacher will keep a student writing folder to serve as a writing portfolio of
major papers. You will receive back your essays upon completion of the course. Students will use the
folder to make charts noting progress made on AP essays.
Informal/Powerpoint Presentations: One type of informal presentation that will occur regularly is the
Terms Review. The focus here is on the creativity of the presentation and the correctness of the
material presented. During each unit/quarter, each "presentation group" is responsible for reviewing
terms indicated on this syllabus. Your group should identify mnemonic devices that help students to
remember the unusual words. Provide a definition and helpful examples for all terms. Remember that
examples from works you have not read may not be good examples for the class.
Seminars: Each quarter, we will engage in Socratic Seminars. These seminars are meant to help
students to think about material from different perspectives, and to present their views on controversial
topics. Socratic Seminars are discussions that we will engage in that focus on open-ended questions
revolving around a common topic. The topic will relate to the issues being discussed that quarter and
will relate to the big questions of the course. Socratic seminars require an inner circle and an outercircle where you are expected to engage in a discussion, not a debate and wherein you will be
evaluated by your peers using a peer evaluation form. These discussions are not formal, though they
do require rigorous thought.
Grading Scale:
Essays 35%: Students will be required to write several drafts for all major essay assignments. The
5
students will participate in teacher/student conferences and peer/peer conferences throughout the
drafting process. In addition, students will self-edit final drafts before submitting finished pieces for
grading. Students must submit all of their drafts along with their final copies for their portfolios. In
addition, in-class essays will be completed as timed writings.
Formal Assessment 25%: Tests will consist of multiple-choice questions based on rhetorical devices
and their function in given passages. Tests will also include vocabulary and style (grammar) that has
been focused on that unit. Performance Tasks will fall into this category.
Class work 15%: Much of the class work will involve conferencing, drafting, and editing their
compositions. Other daily tasks might be grammar review, rhetorical devices, documentation practice,
responding to analytic questions, and vocabulary development.
Homework 15%: Much of the homework will involve drafting, outside reading, responding to
analytical questions, using rhetorical devices, journals, and practice the conventions of writing.
Participation 5%: Your participation in seminars, group projects and class discussion is crucial to
creating a collaborative learning community.
Interim Assessments 5%: Interim assessments of grammar, writing and reading skills will be
administered throughout the year.
Policies & Procedures:
Respect: Teacher and students will respect each other at all times. Only with mutual respect will we
be able to speak and write freely and share ideas in both speaking and writing.
Conduct: Students will be responsible for maintaining behavior that does not interfere with the
learning of others. The student handbook provides guidelines for good conduct.
Materials: Each day bring your supplies to class, including your texts.
Passes: There is no need to ask for the pass, just take it and go. Remember those who abuse the pass
will not be allowed to use it for the rest of the month for the first infraction, the rest of the quarter for
the 2nd infraction. Don’t abuse it.
Typing/Word Processing: All polished drafts and essays must be typed (12 point Times New Roman
font, 1” margins).
1.
Title Page: an informative and imaginative title (the information should include author, title,
or significant character,; the imaginative portion should reveal your wit, your attitude toward
your subject, or a bit of information that doesn't appear in your paper; e.g., "Hester and
Holden: When a Body Meets a Body"). Avoid one/two-word titles. Following your title on
separate single-spaced lines should be your name, class and period, teacher's name, date, and
assignment type (e.g., "argumentative essay")
2.
Place your name and page number on every page after the title page (1/2" from the top, righthand corner, 1" from the right edge)
3.
Staple your paper together. Submit final draft on top followed by the rough draft, and self- and
peer evaluation (in that order).
Assignments & Make-Up Work:
Please observe the due dates identified on the homework page and bring assignments and required
6
books with you to class every day. All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the
assigned date (have it stapled); I will not accept late work without a late pass. If you miss a test or
quiz, be aware that you will lose the privilege of bonus questions applied to your grade and you must
make it up on the day you return-no excuses accepted. Remember that you are responsible for
completing missed assignments (not ones due on that day, but ones introduced on that day) within
3 days of your return.
Tutoring is available after school in room 315 until 3:00. Please schedule in advance for one-one-one
assistance.
7
Course Planner
First Semester
1st 10 weeks
Essential Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How do I read college level essays?
What skills do I need to develop to become a more active reader?
How can I connect rhetoric to my everyday life?
How do I make what I write clear and cogent?
How can a picture be “worth more than a thousand words”?
Unit 1: Part 1: Close Reading, Analysis, and Revision
During the first two weeks of school, students are introduced to the philosophy of close reading and its
importance to both analyzing writing and composing independent drafts. Students will be introduced
to the necessity of establishing a purpose, identifying an audience, and creating an argument. Students
will be introduced to the rhetorical triangle and its importance in connecting the writer, the reader, and
the text through ethical appeal (ethos), emotional appeal (pathos), and logical appeal (logos). This
triangle establishes the basis for all forms of argumentation that will be analyzed and practiced this
year. Students will compose multiple drafts of each formal essay; they will rely on student/teacher
conferences, peer/peer conferences, and self-editing techniques to effectively organize their ideas and
incorporate rhetorical strategies and conventions of language into their compositions. Special
attention will be given to enhancing sentence structure and diction in student writing. Students will
also learn how to use M.L.A. for in-text citations to avoid plagiarism.
Readings for Unit 1: Part 1:
Everything’s an Argument:
Purposes of Argument, Occasion for Argument, Kinds of Argument, t
and Appealing to Audiences, Chapter 1.
They Say, I Say:
Everything’s an Argument:
Introduction: Entering the Conversation
Pathos, Ethos, and Logos, Chapters 2-4
40 Model Essays:
Introduction to Reading Critically, Chapter 1
MLK Jr. “Letters from Birmingham Jail”
Barack Obama’s race speech
Unit 1: Part 2: Rhetoric, Rhetorical Devices, and the Structure of Arguments
Students will be introduced to the necessary content-area vocabulary to be successful in the course.
Students will be responsible for identifying and using a variety of figures of speech so that they can
then analyze their use in our readings throughout the course. Students will be able to analyze and
model the Toulmin Argument, including making claims, determining warrants, offering evidence, and
using qualifiers. Students will also be introduced to the importance of interpreting visual texts, and
they will be given strategies to improve visual literacy.
Unit 1: Part 2: Readings
Everything’s an Argument:
8
Chapter 5-Thinking Rhetorically; Chapter 6Structuring Arguments; Chapter 14-Visual Arguments
Essential Literary Terms With Exercises:
Rhetoric: antithesis, aphorism, allusion, analogy,
parallelism, connotation/denotation, euphemism,
syllepsis, anaphora, attitude, and asyndeton.
Picturing Texts:
Chapter 6-Picturing Arguments
MLK, Jr. “I Have a Dream”
Henry David Thoreau “Civil Disobedience”
Grammar Study:
Subject-verb agreement
Participial Phrase
Pronoun-antecedent agreement
Relative pronouns
The Preposition
Performance Task: You gave been hired by an advertising agency to get a message across about the
power of the written word. Your advertisement should focus on an image or a group of images, have a
slogan, and address a particular audience. You will have to decide what the medium of your
advertisement is to be and explain why you choose that particular medium to reach your target
audience. Think about how the agency will get “more bang for their buck.” On the back of the
advertisement or in addition to it, you will need to write an explanation of your techniques, your
slogan, your medium, and why you chose to address your particular audience.
Socratic Seminar: TBA
Unit 2: Narration, Description, and Example
Students will study the method and process of writing essays of narration, description, and example by
reading a variety of fiction and non-fiction pieces. We will take a close look at the importance of
developing a thesis; considering a point of view; and the effect of dialogue, concrete language, word
choice, and sentence variety.
9
Unit 2 Readings:
The Bedford Reader:
Narrative, pgs. 74-87; Description, pgs. 135-143; Example, pgs. 186-194.
Essential Literary Terms With Exercises:
Rhetoric: metaphor, simile, hyperbole, litote,
anecdote, allegory, imagery, personification, rhetorical question, symbol, and tone.
E.B. White “Once More to the Lake”
David Sedaris “Remembering my Childhood on the Continent of Africa”
Langston Hughes “Salvation”
Annie Dillard “The Death of a Moth”
Virginia Woolf “The Death of a Moth”
Brad Manning “Arm Wrestling My Father”
Maya Angelou “Champion of the World”
Amy Tan “Fish Cheeks”
Sherman Alexie “Indian Education”
Kevin Derrig “School Life”
Grammar Study:
Commonly confused words
The Sentence: types
Past participles
The dangling modifier
The comma
Performance Task: Students will be given a list of controversial issues that stem around school,
community, or nation/world. Students will be asked to put a check by the issues from any of the three
areas that seem interesting, put a question mark next to any of the issues that they do not know much
about. Students are then asked to choose two issues that look most promising to take a side on. For
each issue they will be asked to make a list answering the following questions: Who is most interested
in this issue?, Whom or what does this issue affect?, What are the pros and cons of this issue?, and
What has been written about this issue? Next students will choose one of the two issues they feel most
interested in and the teacher will group students based on their interest. Students will then go to the
library and use the computers to research their issue. Finally, students will create an idea map around
their issue.
In-Class Essay: After reading “Indian Education” by Sherman Alexie and “School Life” by Kevin
Derrig, students will analyze the rhetorical devices (no more than 3) used to engage the reader and
validate their arguments.
Major Essay #1: Memories of Youth
Students will use teacher-selected college essay prompts that will ask students to write an college
admission essay regarding an memorable time in their youth.
2nd 10 weeks
Essential Questions:
1. How do good writers use the elements of argument effectively?
2. How can I use close reading techniques when I am not reading, but viewing?
3. Why do I have to try to convince someone else to think the way that I think?
4. How do I use the semicolon to emphasize my ideas?
5. How can I use rhetoric in my writing to make it come alive?
Unit 3: Arguments of Definition
10
Students will study the method and process of writing a definition essay by reading and analyzing a
variety of fiction, non-fiction, and visual texts. Particular focus will be given to developing a thesis,
establishing evidence, examining nuances of connotation and denotation, and creating unity among
paragraphs. Students will analyze the various arguments of definition, including formal definitions,
operational definitions, and definitions of example. Students will also practice formulating claims,
crafting definitions, and matching claims to definitions. Several informal exercises will allow students
the opportunity to define various things, people, influences in their lives by making claims and
providing evidence.
Unit 3 Readings:
Everything’s an Argument:
Arguments of Definition, Chapter 8
Essential Literary Terms with Exercises:
Rhetoric: symbol, pun, epiphany, irony, paradox,
oxymoron
The Bedford Reader:
Definition: Tracing a Boundary, pgs. 477-485
40 Model Essays:
Definition, pgs, 234-239
Visual Text-- “Need is a Very Subjective Word” Hummer Advertisement
Dave Barry “Guys vs. Men”
Noel Perrin “The Androgynous Man”
Pico Iyer “In Praise of the Humble Comma”
John Archibald Wheeler “How Come the Quantum”
Langston Hughes “Bop”
Geeta Kothari “If You Are What You Eat, Then What Am I?”
Marie Winn “Cookies or Heroin?”
Judy Brady “I Want a Wife”
Gloria Naylor “The Meanings of a Word”
Christine Leong “Being a Chink”
Grammar Study:
The Semicolon
The Conjunctive Adverb
Performance Activity: TBA
In-Class Essay:Look carefully at Gloria Naylor’s essay “The Meaning of a Word” and Christine
Leong’s essay “Being a Chink”. Analyze the structural similarities between the two essays.
Considering the purpose of the essays, is this an effective organizational structure? Why/why not?
Cite specific evidence to support your assertion.
Major Essay #2: TBA
11
Practice with rhetorical strategies ( atmosphere, (synecdoche, metonymy, pathetic fallacy)
AP Language & Composition Exam
Copied in part from AP Central
The Exam:
You've studied for hours and hours. You've read quite a bit. You've written countless essays. Now it's
time to put your studies to the test -- and perhaps earn college credit -- with the AP English Language
& Composition Exam.
The three-hour exam usually consists of a one-hour multiple-choice section and a two-hour freeresponse section.
Section I: Multiple-Choice:
The multiple-choice questions test your ability to analyze the rhetoric of prose passages. Random
guessing on this section can hurt your final score. While you don't lose anything for leaving a question
blank, one quarter of a point is subtracted for each incorrect answer on the test. But if you have some
knowledge of the question and can eliminate one or more answers, it's usually to your advantage to
choose what you believe is the best answer from the remaining choices.
The multiple-choice section counts for 45 percent of your grade.
Section II: Free-Response:
You'll write several essays in various rhetorical modes to demonstrate your skill in
composition. The essay section requires you to write two 40 minute essays and one synthesis
essay of 55 minutes.
One or two of the essays are passage analyses. One or both usually deal with rhetorical or stylistic
analysis. One of the two essay may be a persuasive essay. One will be a synthesis essay which is also
persuasive. You are always making connections between the way an author has written something and
what the author is trying to communicate (devices and purpose). Your thesis should address both
devices and purpose in a way that is appropriate to the particular questions and passage. Most essay
topics will revolve around contemporary issues, so be prepared to relate your findings to the
contemporary world.
The free-response section contributes the remaining 55 percent.
Suggestions--begin with a clearly-stated thesis statement; include strong topic and transitional
sentences--avoid dramatic, emotional conclusions. Work from what is known about your subject to
what is unknown (e.g. from general to specific or from concrete to abstract). Avoid cliches.
Dear Student and Parent(s):
Please read the syllabus. Know that you may leave a message on my school
answering machine @ 773-535-5430 anytime. (Please speak clearly, state your name and
your child's name, leave your number slowly and a time when it would be best to return your
call.)
______________________________________________________________________
I acknowledge that failure to complete readings and assignments on-time and willingly will
result in being less prepared for English language challenges after high school.
12
I have read and acknowledge the full syllabus, and have given my parents/guardians the
movie permission sheet, and letter regarding mygradebook.com and the instructor’s email
address. If I have further questions, I will contact the instructor.
______________________________________________________________________
Student's printed name
Date
I have read and acknowledged the full syllabus, have read and signed the movie permission
sheet, and have read the letter regarding mygradebook.com and the instructor’s email address.
I agree to support and encourage my child's efforts to do well. If I have further questions, I
will contact the instructor.
_____________________________________________________________________
Parent's signature
Date
Comments:
13