AP Language and Composition
2013-2014 Syllabus and Class Expectations
William Hauser, M.Ed.
303-360-0052 x 221
Room 221
whauser@lotusschool.org
Course Objectives
The purpose of this AP Language and Composition course is to help students “read
complex texts with understanding and to write prose of sufficient richness and complexity to
communicate effectively with mature readers” (The College Board, English Language and
Composition: The Course, 2010, p.4). With this purpose in mind, this AP Language and
Composition course will prepare students to read closely and write confidently in their
academic and professional futures.
Course Content
The course is organized into six week units focusing on a major theme. Each six week
unit will include rigorous vocabulary development, standard English grammar instruction, and
current event analysis in both speech and writing.
Students will be expected to develop the following in writing:
 A wide vocabulary
 A variety of sentence structures
 Logical organization
 A mature writing style indicating an effective use of rhetoric: controlling
tone, establishing and maintaining voice, and achieving appropriate
emphasis through diction and sentence structure (The College Board, AP
English Course Description, May 2007, p.8)
Students will be expected to identify and analyze the following in reading:
 Thesis or Claim
 Purpose
 Tone or Mood
 Evidence
 Audience and Occasion
 Appeals: Logos, Ethos, Pathos
 Assumptions or Warrants
 Style (diction, syntax, etc.)
Text and Materials
Students are required to have these supplies with them in class every day. Coming
unprepared to class will result in a poor Participation grade.
 Students are required to bring a three-ring notebook with loose-leaf paper and dividers.
 Students are required to have a standard composition notebook.
 Black, Blue, and Colored Pens
 Sticky Notes
 Aurora Public Library Card
Absences
 Students who know they will be absent in advance are expected to check with the
teacher before they leave to receive all of the work they will miss.
 Students who are marked “Absent Excused” are responsible for coming to the teacher
upon their return to get their missing work.
Late Work Policy
 Homework is due at the beginning of class. For each day late, 10% will be taken off the
total grade. After one week, the maximum score for any assignment remains at 50%.
 Late work WILL NOT be accepted ONE WEEK prior to the end of the semester.
Grading and Grading Scale
Grading Scale:
90-100%
80-89%
70-79%
0 - 69%
A
B
C
F
Assignments are weighted as follows:
Major Final Assessments and Tests: 50%
Final Exam: 10%
Homework and Minor Assessments: 25%
Practice and Participation: 15%
Class Discussions and Socratic Seminars
Class discussions and Socratic seminars are a very important part of this class, and your
participation in them is essential. Students should come to class prepared to speak and engage
with one another. Students will also be expected to treat everyone in the room with respect
and courtesy. You participation will be 15% of your final grade.
Standards for Written Work
 All MAJOR written assignments must be typed, double spaced, and follow the MLA
formatting guidelines unless otherwise specified. If you do not have access to a computer
outside of school, please see me to make arrangements.
 Revise and edit your papers multiple times before you hand them in.
Tutoring
Each teacher in the English department offers free after-school tutoring at least one day
a week. Failing students are required to attend tutoring; however, all students are welcome and
encouraged to attend.
Units
First Semester
Dates
First 6
Weeks
Second 6
Weeks
Content
Education, Reading, and Writing
Central Question: To what extent do our schools
(including Lotus) serve the goals of a true
education?
Reading:
The Language of Composition
1. “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie
2. “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read” by
Francine Prose
3. “Studying Islam, Strengthening the Nation” by
Berkowitz and McFaul
4. “A Talk to Teachers” by James Baldwin
5. “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood” by Leon
Botstein
6. Spirit of Education by Norman Rockwell
(Painting)
7. “The History Teacher” by Billy Collins (Poetry)
8. “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros (Short Story)
9. From “Native Speaker” by Chang-Rae Lee
(Fiction)
Writing:
1. Analysis Essays (In and Out of Class)
2. Creative Writing Invitations
Community
Central Question: What is the relationship between
the individual and the community?
Reading:
The Language of Composition
1. “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther
King Jr.
2. “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For” by Henry
David Thoreau
3. “The Singer Solution to World Poverty” by
Peter Singer
4. “Commencement Speech” by Anna Quindlen
5. “New York Day Women” by Edwidge Danticat
(Fiction)
6. “Child of the Americas” by Aurora Morales
(Poetry)
Minority Report by Philip K Dick (Science Fiction)
Writing:
1. Analysis Essays (In and Out of Class)
2. Creative Writing Invitations
Common Core Standards
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Reading Standards for
Informational Texts
Writing Standards: Write
arguments to support claims in
an analysis of substantive topics
or texts, using valid reasoning
and relevant and sufficient
evidence.
Speaking and Listening:
Comprehension, Collaboration,
and Presentation of Knowledge
and Ideas
Language Standards: Vocabulary
Acquisition, Conventions,
Knowledge of Language
Reading Standards for
Informational Texts
Reading Standards for Literature
Writing Standards: Write
arguments to support claims in
an analysis of substantive topics
or texts, using valid reasoning
and relevant and sufficient
evidence
Speaking and Listening:
Comprehension, Collaboration,
and Presentation of Knowledge
and Ideas
Language Standards: Vocabulary
Acquisition, Conventions,
Knowledge of Language
Third 6
Weeks
Politics
Central Question: What is the nature of the
relationship between the citizen and the state?
Reading:
The Language of Composition
1. “On Seeing England for the First Time” by
Jamaica Kincaid
2. “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift
3. “National Prejudices” by Oliver Goldsmith
4. “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” by Henry
David Thoreau
5. “On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien (Fiction)
6. Guernica by Pablo Picasso (Painting)
7. “Conversations with an American Writer” by
Yevgeny Yevtushenko (Poetry)
Presidential Debates (Speeches, TV Video, etc.)
Writing:
1. Analysis Essays (In and Out of Class)
2. Argument Essays (In and Out of Class)
a. Research Paper on Debate Topic
3. Creative Writing Invitations
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

Reading Standards for
Informational Texts
Writing Standards: Write
arguments to support claims in
an analysis of substantive topics
or texts, using valid reasoning
and relevant and sufficient
evidence.
Writing Standards: Write
narratives to develop real or
imagined experiences or events
using effective technique, wellchosen details, and wellstructured event sequences.
Speaking and Listening:
Comprehension, Collaboration,
and Presentation of Knowledge
and Ideas
Language Standards: Vocabulary
Acquisition, Conventions,
Knowledge of Language
Second Semester
Dates
First 6
Weeks
Content
Race
Central Question: What is the impact of racial
stereotypes that society creates and enforces?
What is the impact of racism on our society?
Reading:
Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun by Geoffrey Canada
Language of Composition
1. “The Atlanta Exposition Address” by Booker T.
Washington
Mirror on America
1. “Do I Look Like Public Enemy Number One?” by
Lorraine Ali
2. “Tyler Perry’s Money Machine” by Eugene
Robinson
50 Essays
1. “Fourth of July” by Audre Lorde
2. “Learning to Read” by Malcolm X
3. “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale
Hurston
Writing:
1. Synthesis Essay: Community Service
2. Analysis Essay (In and Out of Class)
3. In Class Argument Essay
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

Common Core Standards
Reading Standards for
Informational Texts
Reading Standards for Literature
Writing Standards: Write
arguments to support claims in
an analysis of substantive topics
or texts, using valid reasoning
and relevant and sufficient
evidence.
Writing Standards: Research to
build and present knowledge.
Speaking and Listening:
Comprehension, Collaboration,
and Presentation of Knowledge
and Ideas
Language Standards: Vocabulary
Acquisition, Conventions,
Knowledge of Language
Second 6
Weeks
Third 6
Weeks
Gender
Central Question: What is the impact of gender
roles that society creates and enforces?
Reading:
Language of Composition
1. “Professions for Women” by Virginia Woolf
2. “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl
Name Maria” by Judith Ortiz Cofer
3. “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy (Poetry)
4. “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston (Fiction)
50 Essays
1. “Ain’t I a Woman?” by Sojourner Truth
2. “Declarations of Sentiments and Resolutions”
by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Writing:
1. In Class Synthesis Essay
2. In Class Argument Essay
3. In Class Analysis Essay
Popular Culture and This I Believe
Central Question: To what extent does pop culture
reflect our society’s values and beliefs?
What do I value and what do I believe?
Reading:
This I Believe: Collections from NPR
Language of Composition
1. From “Show and Tell” by Scott McCloud
(Graphic Essay)
2. “High School Confidential: Notes on Teen
Movies” by David Denby
3. “Dreaming America” by Danyel Smith
4. “Emily Dickinson and Elvis Presley in Heaven”
by Hans Ostrom (Poetry)
5. “Shake the Dust” by Anis Mojgani (Poetry)
50 Essays
1. “Curbing Nature’s Paparazzi” by Bill McKibben
Mirror on America
1. “On Sale at Old Navy: Cool Clothes for Identical
Zombies!” by Damien Cave
2. “Why We Crave Horror Movies” by Stephen
King
3. “Exploring the Undead: University of Baltimore
to Offer English Class on Zombies” by Daniel de
Vise
Writing:
1. In Class Synthesis Essay
2. This I Believe Paper
3. College Essays

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








Reading Standards for
Informational Texts
Writing Standards: Write
arguments to support claims in
an analysis of substantive topics
or texts, using valid reasoning
and relevant and sufficient
evidence.
Writing Standards: Research to
build and present knowledge.
Speaking and Listening:
Comprehension, Collaboration,
and Presentation of Knowledge
and Ideas
Language Standards: Vocabulary
Acquisition, Conventions,
Knowledge of Language
Reading Standards for
Informational Texts
Writing Standards: Write
arguments to support claims in
an analysis of substantive topics
or texts, using valid reasoning
and relevant and sufficient
evidence.
Writing Standards: Write
explanatory texts to examine
and convey complex ideas,
concepts, and information
clearly and accurately through
the effective selection,
organization, and analysis of
content.
Writing Standards: Write
narratives to develop real or
imagined experiences or events
using effective technique, wellchosen details, and wellstructured event sequences.
Speaking and Listening:
Comprehension, Collaboration,
and Presentation of Knowledge
and Ideas
Language Standards: Vocabulary
Acquisition, Conventions,
Knowledge of Language
SYLLABUS SIGNATURE SHEET
After reading the syllabus, please complete the following form:
I acknowledge that I have read and understand the syllabus and class expectations provided. I
will contact Mr. Hauser if I have any questions.
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CONTACT INFORMATION
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Notes:
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