AP English Literature & Composition
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AP English Literature & Composition
Syllabus
2011-2012
Course Information
Grade Levels: 11/12
Credits: 1.0
Course Description
AP English Literature & Composition is designed to provide students with learning
opportunities similar to those found in a college literature classroom. Through close
reading of literary texts, students will come to understand how authors use language to
provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers.
The course will focus on literary analysis from multiple genres, periods, and cultures. Our
literary analysis will look through the lenses of style and structure, rhetorical strategies,
diction, figurative language, imagery, selection of detail, language, and syntax.
Exploration into poetry will compliment the longer works studied. Poetic forms from
ballads and sonnets, to schools of poetry from metaphysical to modern poetry will be
included.
Writing well about literature of recognized literary merit is an integral aspect of this
course and emphasis will be placed on assignments that focus on developing critical
writing skills.
It is expected that the students take the AP English Literature & Composition Exam in
May. Students will need to check their respective colleges to see what credits are offered
for the test and/or course.
Course Outcomes
In this course, through the development of close reading and analytical strategies,
students will:
 Make careful observations of text detail
 Establish connections among observations
 Interpret meaning and value from the work
 Use a wide-ranging vocabulary in discussion and written work
 Incorporate a variety of sentence structures in written responses
 Develop logical organization in written responses
 Incorporate specific illustrative detail in discussion and written responses
 Use of effective rhetoric in written work
Methods of Instruction
A discussion-based course will be the primary method. Additional instructional strategies
of literature groups, lecture, journaling, and projects will enhance student learning.
AP English Literature & Composition
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Writing about Literature
Students will write a variety of AP style essays in and out class in response to studied
works of literature. Essay expectations include:
 Timed essays regarding a specific rhetorical or analytical focus
 Quality and depth of insightful interpretation based on inclusion of illustrative
detail and explanatory focus.
 Revise and edit essays for re-submission
 Use of AP Scoring Guide in analysis in written work
Reference/Text Materials
Applebee, Arthur, et al. The Language of Literature: American Literature. Illinois:
McDougal Littell, 2004.
Applebee, Arthur, et al. The Language of Literature: British Literature. Illinois:
McDougal Littell, 2004.
Applebee, Arthur, et al. The Language of Literature: World Literature. Illinois:
McDougal Littell, 2004.
Longknife, Ann, Ph.D. and K.D. Sullivan. The Art of Styling Sentences. 4th ed. New
York: Barron’s Educational Services, Inc., 2002.
Sebranek, Patrick, et al. Write for College: a Student Handbook. Mass: Great Source
Education Group, 2007
Class Novels/Dramas
Medea, Euripides
Hamlet, Shakespeare
Othello, Shakespeare
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner*
A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams*
*Students are required to purchase these novels independently.
On-line Reference Materials
Style guides are a useful tool in producing effective rhetoric. Students may use these
resources
 OWL at Purdue MLA style guide
 Diane Hacker MLA style guide
 The Little Brown Handbook
AP English Literature & Composition
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Assessment
Evaluation of the understanding of literature is primarily done through essays. Other
areas of evaluation include:
 Tests and quizzes
 Vocabulary and literary terms
 Active participation during discussion
 On-going individual conferences
 Writing logs
 Formal literary essays
 AP style, timed essay responses
 Mid-term Exam
 Final Exam
Grading
 School’s grading scale
 AP Essay Scoring Guide
 Grades calculated using total points
Course Outline
Units list major works and activities. Within each unit short stories and poems for further
close reading will be presented. In anticipation for the May exam, ample preparation time
will be devoted to the task of “practicing.”
Within each unit we will build upon the skills and objectives outlined above. Our units
will be centered on a common theme or topic. As readers we must ask ourselves, “What
thought-provoking questions will guide us in our inquiry and point to the larger concerns
of the unit?”
Essays are listed with a broad topic; specific guidelines will be shared at that time.
Different styles of essays will be emphasized: comparison, critical analysis, persuasive,
and reflective. Grammar, sentence structure, mechanics, tone, voice, significant
interpretation, and supporting details will be required of all essays –formal and timed.
Essays will be evaluated using the AP Scoring Guide and teacher-student conferences.
Students are encouraged to re-submit essays for further evaluation.
Pre-Course Work:
 Read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
 Complete related assignments (see webpage for assignment postings)
Unit 1:
Topic: Redemption & Forgiveness
 Selected readings: The Kite Runner
 Selected poetry: “Blood” Naomi Shihab Nye, “The Art of Poetry” Jorge Luis
Borges
AP English Literature & Composition
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Unit 2:
Topic: Loyalty & Revenge
 Selected readings: As I Lay Dying, Hamlet
 Selected poetry:“Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” Thomas Gray, “Kubla
Kahn” Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Unit 3
Topic: Love & Affection
 Selected readings: Frankenstein, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” from The Canterbury
Tales Geoffrey Chaucer
 Selected poetry: “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” Christopher Marlowe,
“My Last Duchess” Robert Browning, “Porphyria’s Lover” Robert Browning,
“To His Coy Mistress” Andrew Marvell
Unit 4
Topic: Fortune, Fate, or Providence?
 Selected readings: Medea, from Beowulf
 Selected poetry“Convergence of the Twain” Thomas Hardy, “On My First Son”
Ben Johnson, “Ozymandias” Percy Byshe Shelley
Unit 5
Topic: Remembering
 Selected readings: Heart of Darkness,
 Selected poetry: “Rime of the Ancient Marnier” Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
“Hollow Man” T.S. Elliot
Unit 6
Topic: Self
 Selected readings: Othello, “Eveline” James Joyce
 Selected poetry: “Dover Beach” Matthew Arnold, “The Man He Killed” Thomas
Hardy, “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” Dylan Thomas
Unit 7
Topic: Appearance and Reality
 Selected readings: A Streetcar Named Desire
 Selected poetry: “The Moment” Margaret Atwood, “I Will Put Chaos into
Fourteen Lines” Edna St. Vincent Millay
Unit 8
Topic: AP Exam Preparation
Additional Poems for Study:
Sonnets by Shakespeare, Spenser, Petriarch