Shutt, AP 11
English 11AP: Language and Composition
Brian Shutt
Room 228
bshutt@staunton.k12.va.us
Robert E. Lee High School
Office hours: Before 7:40 am and after 2:50 pm, 2nd Block, Plus Block
The course corresponds with the objectives and expectations outlined in the
College Board Course Description. This, notably, includes synthesizing
information and analyzing images-as-text. This is a rigorous course that gives
students ample opportunities to examine a writer’s purpose in accordance with
the writer’s use of rhetorical devices, including tone, diction, audience,
organization, appeal, style, and attitude. The course also teaches students how
to read and evaluate primary and secondary sources in order to incorporate
them into an original composition. All students will be required to document
these sources using the guidelines set forth by MLA or APA. This course also
requires students to write expository, analytical, and argumentative papers in
response to a variety of prose and genres. Students will read and write (formally
and informally) in the following rhetorical modes: narration, description, process
analysis, example, definition, classification, comparison/contrast, cause/effect,
and argument/persuasion. They will learn how to link technique and meaning
into well-organized, supported, logical responses to complex texts (primarily
nonfiction). All students will take the AP English Language and Composition
exam in the spring.
Objectives
 To read widely and reflect on reading through extensive discussion,
writing, and rewriting
 To write, especially in persuasive, analytical, and expository forms on a
variety of subjects
 To use close reading of parts of a text to analyze and understand the
meaning of the whole text
 To develop clarity, complexity, self-awareness, flexibility, effectiveness,
and confidence in student writing
 To develop awareness of the composing process, especially the
exploration of ideas, the consideration of writing strategies, and an
understanding of the value of revision
 To study the English Language, especially differences between oral and
written discourse, formal and informal language usage, and historical
variations in speech and writing
 To develop a comprehensive overview of the major movements of
American Literature
 To prepare for the AP English Language and Composition Exam in May
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Students will—
 Present, analyze, and evaluate persuasive oral presentations with a focus
on rhetorical techniques
 Read and analyze major American literary and cultural types, genres,
characters, and traditions as well as printed informational texts
 Understand the variety and range of written communication forms and
strategies while developing their own persuasive and expository writing
skills
 Access, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and organize information from a
variety of sources into a documented paper dealing with a questions,
problem or issue
 Do extensive work with AP sample response passages and multiple choice
questions and discuss strategies for decoding and encoding AP Prompts.
Texts: Conversations in American Literature Language, Rhetoric, and Culture.
Bedford, 2015.
The Language of Composition. 2nd edition. Bedford, 2013.
various supplemental materials
In Cold Blood Capote
Great Gatsby Fitzgerald
Catcher in the Rye Salinger
Into the Wild Krakauer
movie Gattaca (1997) and movie Clue (1985)
Instructional Philosophy: All students are expected to participate, to be
honest, and to do their best in a rigorous and fast-paced course.
Materials: writing utensils, paper, binder to stay organized, access to the
Internet
Methods of learning:
Group work (for reading, peer editing, etc.)
Journals
Tests
AP practice multiple choice and essays
In-class and independent reading
In-class and independent writing, including timed writing
Informal and formal presentations
Seminar discussion
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Contact numbers / times
 Email: Feel free to email assignments or ask questions regarding work.
Keep emails short, specific, and appropriate. bshutt@staunton.k12.va.us
 I am available every morning (7:20-7:45), Plus Block, and after school.
 Please check Parent Portal periodically for attendance and grades.
Homework policy
 Expect heavy homework, especially reading, analyses, and compositions.
It tends to come in waves, so there will be periods during which the workload
is lighter.
 You always have something to work on. Home is a great place to read,
revise, and to seek peer feedback.
Behavioral Rules
 No food, foolishness, or foul language.
 Phones and electronics will be confiscated.
 Be ready to work. Be responsible about leaving class.
 Accept responsibility for your actions, including being present and prepared.
 Show respect to your teachers, to your peers, to the classroom itself.
 Let me teach. Allow others to learn.
 Please obey the Lee High Student Handbook
Conduct Rubric
A—Responsible, Respectful
B—Occasional Lapse in Good Behavior
C—Inappropriate Classroom Behavior
D—Defiant
F—No Improvement in Defiant Behavior
Attendance
Be in class on time! It is your responsibility to see me concerning missing work if
you were not here. I will not wander the school looking for you. See Lee High
Attendance Policy
Plagiarism or Cheating: Anyone who deliberately cheats or plagiarizes will be
sent to the Honor Council. The grade for the dishonest assignment will be 0%.
See me or multiple sources for information on citation and plagiarism so that you
will not make mistakes.
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Grading:
Class Work: 40%
(AP multiple choice practice questions, AP timed practice essays, Journals,
Presentations, Tests, In-class essays or writing assignments, Grammar and
Vocabulary Tests)
Major Writing Assignments and Projects: 50%
Homework: 10%
(minor assignments as needed)
Unexcused Late Work: 5% deduction per day
Grading Scale: 10-point overall scale
All writing will be graded using the AP essay rubric.
Required Course Materials Books/Novels:
 Required text and novel (as noted)
 Writing utensils and paper
 Binder with paper or Google Doc that you will share with me periodically
Section 1: Journals to respond to selected quotes, art, and media
Section 2: Rhetorical Devices: definition and examples
Section 3: Grammar lessons, lessons on Writing Mechanics, Sentences
Section 4: Class and Lecture Notes
Essay Policy
 Any formal, out-of-class assignments should be typed. A hard copy or a
digital copy must be submitted on time. Final drafts must represent your
best work. Please follow the individual rubrics in accordance with the AP
rubric.
 I expect all work to be original. Avoid plagiarism in your research by
evaluating and citing the source (both primary and secondary) of the idea or
language, whether directly quoted or paraphrased. All citations should be in
MLA format, unless noted.
 All in-class essays are hand written in ink and simulate the AP exam
experience. All essays will be graded using the AP essay rubric.
 Multiple essay assignments will require the student to follow the entire writing
process, including multiple drafts and peer editing.
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Reading Assignments
The most important requirement for this course is that students read every
assignment. Rhetoric can be subtle and complex and always deserves a close
reading. Novels in particular require planning and time management.
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You will be required to look beyond the most obvious, surface-level
structures and observations to the more subtle nuances of the works. For
this we will consistently approach literature and rhetoric in search of the
CIA (i.e., complexities, ironies, and ambiguities) and the rhetorical
triangle.
There will be pre-, during, and post-reading focuses for each assignment
that will help hone your literary vocabulary, help you master your
command of complex syntax, and help keep you organized both
conceptually and with reading comprehension.
Expect periodic reading quizzes, most often requiring synthesis of notes
and discussion into a written response.
Socratic seminar will be our primary vehicle for discussion of the readings.
While there will often be fine differences in the structure and format of
the seminars, they will consistently be Socratic in that the students are
expected to do the following:
o Facilitate the discussion process by independently engaging an
issue, actively listening to peer responses, and building upon those
in their own responses
o Come with completed work which prepares them to focus in the
appropriate direction.
o To make statements of insights, inferences and argumentation, to
support your stance using direct quotations from the texts, and to
offer commentary that serves to connect your points to the overall
discussion and the greater significance of the reading
o To prepare their own theses and argumentative stances by taking
notes from the discussion to incorporate into their own written
responses later.
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Writing Assignments
 Students will take part in and account for the writing process (i.e.,
brainstorming, prewriting, drafting, revising, editing).
 Students will write a series of critical assignments based on various prose,
poetry and dramatic readings. These papers will explicate discoveries
from close reading works in these genres. Each paper will use specific
and well-chosen evidence to articulate an argument relative to close
textual analysis of rhetorical devices, structure, style and social / historical
values.
 Students will write to explain (e.g., expository and analytical essays that
draw upon details), to understand (e.g., reaction papers and journals that
explicate their own connections to the texts and their degree of
comprehension) and to evaluate (e.g., style analysis, argumentation about
artistry and its effectiveness, analysis / evaluation of social and cultural
elements), to argue (e.g., persuasive essays and research), and to
synthesize (e.g., synthesis essay).
 Students will also respond to AP prompts under timed conditions, during
class time only.
Unit 1: What is this Rhetoric Thing?
(August-September)
Literary Focus: selected excerpts from Conversations text
Writing Focus: occasion, context, purpose, rhetorical triangle, ethos, pathos,
logos, SOAPSTone (subject, occasion, audience, purpose, speaker, and tone)
Vocabulary Focus: Rhetorical terminology; vocabulary in context
Reading Assessments (subject to additions)
 “Farewell Speech” by Lou Gehrig, (Conv)
 “9/11 Speech” by President George W. Bush (Conv)
 “Speech to Congress” by President Johnson (Conv)
 Faulkner’s Pulitzer Prize speech
 “from Killer Angels” by Shaara (Conv)
 “Alarmist or Alarming Rhetoric” (Conv)
 Moon landing excerpts (Conv): group synthesis
 Selected print and media advertisements: effective and ineffective
 Project: Students will create their own product with 1-minute
commercial script. Students should note SOAPSTone for the
commercial and exemplify Logos, Pathos, and Ethos. DUE 9/17/2015
 Writing: AP multiple choice and essay assessment (timed, in class)
 Summer Reading: Man or Woman of the Year! Students will make
a 5-minute oral argument for the person they read about, using
specifics and direct quotes from the biography or autobiography.
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Project: Students choose 3 visual advertisements. Analyze using
SOAPSTone/appeals and determine effectiveness or ineffectiveness.
Due 9/3/2015
Unit 2: Making Effective Arguments
(October)
Literary Focus: selected excerpts from Conv text and www.americanrhetoric.com
Writing Focus: Rogerian, claims, fallacies, first-hand evidence, second-hand
evidence, induction, deduction, Toulmin Model, claim to thesis
Vocab Focus: Rhetorical terminology; vocabulary in context
Reading Assessments: (subject to additions)
 “I Have a Dream” MLK
 “JFK Inaugural Address” JFK
 “Gettysburg Address” Lincoln
 Reagan’s speech at Berlin Wall
 “Liberty or Death” Henry
 Roosevelt’s Pearl Harbor speech
 “Star Wars” Ebert (Conv)
 Analyze visual texts as Arguments
 Analysis Essay: Analyze movie review for its claim. What criteria does the
reviewer use to justify a thumbs up or down? 500+ word essay Due 10/15
 Rhetorical Analysis Essay: Students will compare and contrast two
speeches, focusing on tone, purpose, audience, and/or rhetorical strategies in
a 750+ word essay in MLA format. Due 10/29
 Writing: AP multiple choice and essay assessments (timed, in class)
 Clue Argue Essay: 500+ wds Who was the killer(s)? Argue with evidence.
Due 10/8
Unit 3: The Argument for Romanticism (Nov.-Dec)
Literary Focus: poetry and essays, Poe, Into the Wild
Writing Focus: close reading, tone, diction, style, asking questions, purpose,
synthesis, thesis, annotating, MLA essentials, begin Teenager synthesis research
Vocabulary Focus: Rhetorical terminology; vocabulary in context
Reading Assessments: (subject to additions)
 Into the Wild Krakauer
 “Tell-Tale Heart” Poe
 “Psalm of Life” Longfellow
 “The Raven” Poe
 “Self-Reliance” Emerson
 “Foul Reign of Emerson’s Self Reliance” Anastas (Conv)
 “O Captain! My Captain!” Whitman
 Excerpts from Walden, Thoreau
 “from Walden to Wheels” Ilgunas (Conv)
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Excerpts from Emerson’s Nature
“When I Heard the Learnd Astronomer” Whitman
Hudson River School paintings response
Chapter 1 of Scarlet Letter
“Columbus Day Controversy” (Conv): synthesis groups
Argue Essay Into the Wild
Please collect 8 passages (these may be brief) which you find important. Record them.
Explain what intrigued you about the passage. Make a connection to something you have
experienced, read, or heard about. Write a 750+ word essay response to the following
question: Did Christopher McCandless die happy? Use text and show your knowledge of
the book from start to finish. Due 12/17/2015
Writing: AP multiple choice and essay assessments (timed, in class)
Reflection Essay: Nature Walk and Personal Reflection Essay 750+ words with
pictures DUE 11/5
Research: Teenager—collect 4 pics or art work for synthesis project. Complete
a SOAPSTone review on each pic or art work. Due 11/26
Unit 4: The Argument for Realism and Naturalism (January-Feb)
Literary Focus: In Cold Blood, short stories
Writing Focus: close reading, tone, diction, style, asking questions, purpose,
synthesis research for Teenager, MLA/APA
Vocabulary Focus: Rhetorical terminology; vocabulary in context
Reading Assessments: (subject to additions)
 “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” Bierce (Conv)
 In Cold Blood Capote
 “Story of an Hour” Chopin (Conv)
 “We Wear the Mask” Dunbar (Conv)
 “from Life on the Mississippi” Twain (Conv)
 “The Mixed Crowd” Riis (Conv)
 “Talented Tenth” DuBois (Conv)
 “from The Jungle” Sinclair (Conv)
Argue Essay: In Cold Blood essay.
Does Dick deserve the death penalty? Does Perry? Does anyone? Use evidence
from the book to support your answer. 750+ wds
Due 2/11/2016
Writing: AP multiple choice and essay assessments (timed, in class)
Research: collecting, annotating, and analyzing support for Teenager synthesis
--3 nonfiction sources
DUE 2/4/2016
--complete SOAPSTone and Pathos, Logos, and Ethos review for each
Midterms January 13-14
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Unit 5: A Disillusioned Argument (Feb-April)
Literary Focus: Great Gatsby, satire, Lost Generation, Catcher in Rye
Writing Focus: close reading, tone, diction, style, asking questions, purpose,
synthesis 60s, continue research for Teenager synthesis essay, MLA/APA
Vocabulary Focus: Rhetorical terminology; vocabulary in context
Reading Assessments: (subject to additions)
 Great Gatsby Fitzgerald
 60s culture: songs, photos, art (synthesis group project)
 Swift’s A Modest Proposal
 Franklin’s Savages of North America
 Twain’s The Damned Human Race
 Selected political cartoons
 Catcher in the Rye Salinger (add to Teenager synthesis sources)
 Battle Royal Ellison
Gatsby: 6 persona and 6 tone quotes, underline key words, analysis, why are
the quotes important Due 3/3/2016
Project: 60s synthesis display exploring an aspect of the 60s culture Due 2/25
Cause and Effect Essay: Catcher in Rye Diagnosis Holden’s mental state. In
750+ words, what are the causes and effects of this diagnosis? Due 4/7
Writing: AP multiple choice and essay assessments (in class, timed)
Research: 2 more fiction/poem sources for Teenager (not including Catcher)
--complete SOAPSTone analysis for each source Due 4/14
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Unit 6: Argument of Suppression (April-May)
Literary Focus: movie Gattaca, selected works focusing on local, state, and
national eugenics movement of early 1900s
Writing focus: synthesis essay for Teenager, AP exam, MLA/APA
Vocabulary Focus: Rhetorical terminology and vocabulary in context
AP Test Preparation
Reading Assessments:
Movie Gattaca
Eugenic qualities of primary importance by Sir Francis Galton, 1909
Utopia by Serilization by H.L Mencken, 1937
The Legalization of Voluntary Eugenical Sterilization, by Harry Laughlin, 1927
Sterilization of Degenerates and Criminals Considered From Standpoint of
Genetics, by Raymond Pearl, 1919
Treatement of the Congenitally Unfit and the Convicts by Sterilization, by R.A.
Gibbons, 1926
Vasectomy by Severin Buschmann, 1926
Human Sterilization Movement, by J.H. Landman 1933
Synthesis Essay: Synthesis essay on Teenager using collected sources 1500+
wds DUE 4/28
Writing: AP multiple choice and essay assessments (in class, timed)
Socratic Seminar: students will use the eugenic readings to conduct a Socratic
seminar that explores both the movie and topic.
AP English 11 Exam: May TBA
Final Exams: June 2-3