Teacher: Shawn DeNune
Room: 2616
Supplies: College ruled paper, 1 binder, dividers, a folder, highlighters, a dictionary, blue or black pens, pencils, note cards and one box of Kleenex. Students will be asked to purchase up to 2 books per semester for this class.
What is an AP English Language and Composition Student?

An honors level student or any student looking for college level rigor

Intellectually curious

Willing to dismantle stereotypes in thinking and language and construct persuasive arguments using appropriate evidence.
Where are they going?

Able to read and analyze anything for meaning and style

Able to write in an authentic voice
An AP English Language and Composition student should be able to:
 analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques
 apply effective strategies and techniques to their own writing
 create and sustain arguments based on readings, research, and/or personal experience
 write for a variety of purposes
 produce expository, analytical, and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or secondary sources, cogent explanations and clear transitions
 demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic maturity in their own writings
 demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources
 move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing and review
 write thoughtfully about their own process of compositions
 revise work to make it suitable for a different audience
 analyze images as text
 evaluate and incorporate reference documents into essay exam prompts and research papers

Course Description
Junior English AP Language and Composition is a yearlong college level course analyzing a wide variety of written and visual texts from a variety of time periods with a special emphasis on American authors. This class will enhance students reading, writing and language skills. For all readings and writings students will be challenged to use and understand formal vocabulary, Standard English grammar, and understand the importance of diction and syntax in an author’s style. Students will develop as critical readers and writers by analyzing and modeling the following:
a wide-range of 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 (expression) including controlling tone, establishing and maintaining voice, and achieving appropriate emphasis through diction and sentence structure.
(College Board AP English Course Description , May 2007, May 2008. p. 8)
Students will engage with and respond to oral and written text and take responsibility for their own thinking. Readings chosen for exploration in this class are strong, deliberate and artful in construction. Students will develop and refine their own writing style through analysis and synthesis from both classic and contemporary authors.
For each reading assignment students must identify the following;

Thesis or claim

Tone and Attitude

Purpose

Audience and Occasion

Evidence or Data

Appeals: Ethos, pathos, logos

Assumptions or Warrants

Style- how the author communicates his/her message; rhetorical mode and rhetorical devices including diction and syntax.
General topics covered throughout the year:
1.
Summer reading project and presentation
2.
Reading techniques and analysis strategies a.
SOAPSSTone, b.
Dialectic Journaling-Level Questions c.
Cornell Notes and Synthesis Summaries d.
Appeals- Ethos, Pathos, and Logos e.
Toulmin Model f.
Claims—Claim of Policy; Claim of Value; Claim of Cause; Claim of
Definition.

3.
Writing Techniques and Practice a.
Definition b.
Identification (Who is this?) c.
Classification and Division d.
Compare and Contrast e.
Process Analysis f.
Cause and Effect Relationships g.
Analogy h.
Reasoning – Inductive and Deductive i.
Argumentation and Persuasion j.
Synthesis k.
Reflection
4.
Research and Evaluation (Library Orientation and Synthesis Projects) a.
Primary and Secondary sources b.
MLA format
5.
Writing Portfolio-Students collection of Essay Writings and Synthesis
Projects from the year will include: a.
Research and evaluation of sources b.
Outlines c.
Drafts d.
Editing- peer and teacher directed e.
Revisions – multiple- various audiences f.
Final drafts g.
Vocabulary lists and handouts from class
6.
Vocabulary Terms Defined and Discussed a.
SAT words- Top 1000 b.
Grammar and Syntax-OWL resource ongoing use
1.
Sentence structure- simple, compound, complex, compound complex.
2.
Purpose-declarative, imperative, exclamatory, interrogative, rhetorical
3.
Arrangement- basic, inverted, loose/cumulative, periodic, interrupted, parallel, balanced c.
Diction-
1.
Levels of Articulation- non standard, standard, formal
2.
Types- euphonious vs. cacophonous, literal vs. figurative, denotative vs. connotative, objective vs. subjective, active vs. passive, concrete vs. abstract, hyperbole vs. understated, pedestrian vs. pedantic

3.
Devices of Sound- assonance, consonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia
4.
Figures of Speech- Syntactical Schemes of Construction including- parallelism, isocolon, climax, antithesis, juxtaposition, paradox, oxymoron, listing, transition/segue, ellipsis, asyndeton, apposition, parenthesis, polysyndenton, anaphora, epistrophe, anadiplosis, epanalepsis, antimetabole, chiasmus, alliteration and assonance d.
Rhetoric – Figures of Speech/Tropes – analogy, simile, metaphor, personification, synecdoche, metonymy, apostrophe, euphemism, pun, allusion, images, details, facts, irony, satire, parody, epithet, sardonic voice, sarcasm, tone and attitude
7.
Testing Strategies and Practice- AP Language and Comp. - Timed Multiple
Choice and Essay exams and SAT practice.
8.
Outside Reading- AP Recommended Reading/Author List
September
Summer reading journals due- group presentations over summer reading project
Introduction to Critical Reading and Writing
Amy Tan, Mother Tongue
Eudora Welty, In Love with Books
E. B. White, The Essayist and the Essay
Stephen King,
“A door…your willing to shut,” from On Writing
Anne Lamott, Polariods
Introduction to the AP exams and rubrics- AP Central Guidelines and Scoring
SAT top 1000 words – 20 words per week- repeat weekly for the year
Introduction to SOAPS, Cornell notes, Rhetorical Terms – flash cards
Library Orientation – MLA Format and Citing Sources
October
Narration
Maya Angelou, Graduation
Langston Hughes, Salvation
George Orwell, Shooting an Elephant
Fredrick Douglas, Resurrection
Ann Upperco Dolman, Learning to Drive
Ongoing writing and reading practice- selected questions and prompts from The
Essay Connection and 50 Essays
SAT Vocabulary top 1000 continued
Grammar Review- Parts of speech -OWL
Start- Voice Lessons warm up 1-2 per week over diction, detail, syntax, imagery, and tone
Rhetorical Terms- Flash Cards
Arthur Miller- The Crucible – Writing Project- 3 Perspectives focus on speaker and audience
Personal Statement Paper due- Who AM I?

November – December
Process Analysis
Tom and Ray Magliozzi,
Ning Yu, Red and Black
Inside the Engine
Fredrick Douglas,
Lars Eghner,
Malcolm X,
Jessica Mitford,
Learning to Read and Write
Dumpster Diving
Learning to Read
Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain
Cause and Effect
Jonathan Kozol, The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society
Stephanie Coontz, Blaming the Family for Economic Decline
Atul Gawande, The Cancer-Cluster Myth
Leslie S Moore, Framing My Father
Niccolo Machiavelli, Morals of the Prince
Marie Winn, Television: The Plug-In Drug
Ongoing Reading and Writing Practice Exercises from the Essay Connection and 50
Essays texts
Ongoing SAT and Rhetorical Terms Practice and Quizzes
Synthesis Research Project 1 Due for First Semester
January-February
Example/ Description
Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence
Scott Russell Sanders, Under the Influence: Paying the Price of My
Fathers Booze
Sojourner Truth,
Aren’t I a Woman?
Definition
Judy Brady, I Want a Wife
Nancy Mairs, On Being Cripple
Shelby Steele, On Being Black and Middle Class
Compare and Contrast
Dave Barry, Lost in the Kitchen
Plato, Allegory of the Cave
Henry David Thoreau, Where I Lived and What I Lived For
Deborah Tannen, Communication Styles
Play- Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun
Analyzing graphics and visual images: Upon completing the play, students will engage in
Patrick Clauss’ CD-ROM, i-claim: visualizing argument . They will critically analyze images from the civil rights movement along with speeches by Jesse Jackson and Martin
Luther King Jr. Students will find their own images and explain how these graphics connect to the text and how visual impressions can serve as alternative forms of text.
Ongoing reading and writing assignments from the Essay Connection and 50 Essays
Continued SAT and Rhetorical Terms Practice and Quizzes
March- April
Cause and Effect
Niccolo Machiavelli, The Morals of the Prince
Brent Staples, Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space

Marie Winn, Television: The Plug in Drug
Jonathan Kozol, The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society
Stephanie Coontz, Blaming the Family for Economic Decline
Atul Gawande, The Cancer Cluster Myth
Argumentation and Persuation - Intro to Ethos Pathos and Logos
Selected Chapters from Everythings an Argument
Martin Luther King, JR.,
Jonathan Swift,
Letter from Birmingham Jail
A Modest Proposal
Lynda Barry, The Sanctuary of School
Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address
Andrew Sullivan, What Are Homosexuals For?
May-June
On going AP practice exams until June SAT exam date
Synthesis research project and presentation due for second semester
Final Readings and Discussions- Mitch Albom, Tuedays with Morrie and F. Scott
Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby
The AP Exam is the Final for this class
Text Books and Resources
* AP College Board Web Site
* The Essay Connection 7 th
edition
* Everything is an Argument 2 nd
edition
* OWL On-Line Grammar Lessons
* Teaching Nonfiction in AP* English – A Guide to Accompany 50 Essays
* Voice Lessons- Classroom Activities to teach Diction, Detail, Imagery, Syntax
and Tone
* The Writer’s Options Lessons in Style and Arrangement 7 th
edition
* Resource Binders from AP training sessions 2003-2006
Novels/Plays
* The Crucible
* A Raisin in the Sun
* The Great Gatsby
* Tuesdays with Morrie
Attendance Expectations: Students need to be in class everyday ready to learn and actively participate. Daily participation points will be awarded for being in class on time and trying to achieve one’s personal best with the given task of the day. Grades are based on assignments, tests, and participation. Points for participation will not be received by students not attending class regardless of excused or unexcused reasons. If a student is absent, they are responsible to get the daily work from their chosen study partners or me on their own time. There is no excuse for missing assignments. Work is due the week of the absence for full credit.

Grading Guidelines
Writing Assignments: 40%
Attendance and Participation: 20%
Daily Work, Tests and Quizzes 25%
Homework: 15%
Grading Scale:
93-100
90-92
87-89
83-86
80-82
77-79
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
73-76
70-72
67-69
60-66
C
C-
D+
D
59 and lower E
A- Students working at this level engage fully in every assignment and demonstrate a willingness to examine their own thinking and assumptions. All work reflects a level of thinking far beyond the obvious and superficial. Students come to class fully prepared to discuss assigned readings and to participate actively in all phases of the course. All assignments are submitted on time and all make-up work from authorized absences is managed in a timely fashion. Obviously, all work is the student’s own.
B- Students working at this level competently engage every assignment and consistently attempt to examine their own thinking and assumptions. The majority of the student’s work reflects a level of thinking beyond the obvious and the superficial. Students come to class fully prepared to discuss assigned readings and to participate actively in all phases of the course. Most assignments are submitted on time and most make-up work for authorized absences is managed in a timely fashion. All work is the student’s own.
C- Students working at this level do not yet engage every assignment and inconsistently demonstrate a willingness to examine their own thinking and assumptions. Only a minor portion of the student’s work reflects a level of thinking beyond the obvious and superficial. Students are reluctant to challenge themselves beyond what they have already accomplished in reading and writing and thus, show little or no growth in those areas. Students come to class minimally prepared to discuss assigned readings and to participate actively in all phases of the course. A majority of the assignments are submitted on time and most make up work from authorized absences is managed in a timely fashion. Obviously, all work is the student’s own.
D- Students working at this level seldom engage any assignment and consistently demonstrate an unwillingness to examine their own thinking and assumptions. The student’s work reflects a level of thinking that is obvious and superficial. Students come

to class ill-prepared to discuss assigned readings and to participate actively in the course.
Several assignments are submitted late; some assignments may be missing completely.
Make-up work from authorized absences may be missing or seriously late. Obviously, all work is the student’s own.
E- This level of work is unacceptable. Work is often not submitted, or the student may completely ignore the requirements of the assignment. Student is not responsible for his/her own thinking and learning.
Students will be expected to turn in final self-reflection reviewing their personal growth and progress according to the above rubric along with their writing portfolio for final evaluation by the instructor.