AP Literature and Composition
Stephanie Heintz Wood
North Iredell High 2008-2009
Course Description
Advanced Placement (AP) Literature and Composition is a course which has been designed according to
the standards of the College Board and AP Central. Students who sign up for AP Literature should
be aware that this course is designed to be equivalent to a college-level undergraduate course,
engaging students in close textual readings, in search for deeper understanding of how writers create
meaning through the use of language, structure, style, themes, and literary devices. In addition,
students will have the opportunity to read for personal growth and development.
This is a rigorous course that requires students to read extensively and analyze critically. In midMay, students will take the College Board’s AP Literature and Composition test, wherein the student’s
score will determine the amount of college credit earned. While a score of a 3 (out of a possible 5)
is the minimum required to be considered for credit, students should research the colleges they wish
to attend in order to find out if a higher minimum score is required for credit to be rewarded.
Note: A detailed course description for all AP courses, as well as additional information can be found on the
following website: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com
Course Expectations
Students are expected to complete all summer reading and summer assignments prior to the first day
of class, expecting a test/evaluation on day two of school (SEE ATTACHMENT A). Students
must purchase a three-inch binder and divide this binder into the following sections: READER
RESPONSE, TEST PREPARATION, STUDY GUIDES/READING GUIDES, POETRY, AND
WRITING. Throughout the year, we will be building a complete notebook to guide you in your
writing development, as well as in your test preparation.
Students are expected to attend all classes (refer to school attendance policy) and complete all
assignments, both in and out of class. Because AP Literature is truly designed to mirror the college
experience, students need to learn to follow the calendars I give you monthly, working and planning
ahead in order to ensure success.
Most days we spend time in what a good friend of mine calls “the evil circle,” wherein we have
seminars on what we are reading and learning. We will actively discuss the writing styles of various
authors, as well as our reactions and evaluations of these pieces; so, being prepared for class is a
must. We also spend quality time in class writing about literature in order to develop and polish our
own evaluative and interpretive skills.
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Overview of Assignments
You will be reading from all genres of literature including poetry, short stories, nonfiction, drama,
and novels. While the poems we study may not be as lengthy as a drama or novel, you need to be
prepared to read them numerous times; the poems we will study are complex and can be quite
daunting. The aforementioned calendars will provide due dates and guide you in reading longer
works—do not procrastinate or your grades will reflect your lack of preparation.
In addition, practice AP tests and essays will be given in class, mirroring the conditions of the AP
test, and these will be graded using the AP rubrics and formulas for determining scaled scores.
Students will take these periodically throughout the year to chart individual (and class progress) as
well as to determine where learning gaps exist. Comprehensive tests which cover units or particular
writers or genres will also be used to evaluate your progress along with literary terms quizzes,
wherein you will define and apply your new knowledge of these terms (A SAMPLE GIVEN AS
ATTACHMENT B).
Writing assignments will vary from critical essays to creative projects and presentations. Formally,
you will explicate poetry, write several short critical essays, use a number of approaches to literature
(such as feminist, post-colonial, historical, etc.) to analyze novels and short stories, and conduct
research on literary topics. All formal papers will follow the MLA format, and many times these
papers will be evaluated and edited by your peers, and even returned for further revision after I have
graded them to ensure learning and growth. Papers are expected to display coherence, organization,
offer arguments and show thorough analysis using specific examples and evidence from the text.
Many former AP test prompts—poetry, prose, and free response—will be completed both in and
out of class, wherein students will evaluate their own progress as I offer suggestions for
improvement and revision. Creative assignments will include Reader Response journals and
writings, PowerPoint presentations, visual interpretations (photo journals, graffiti journals, drawings),
point-of-view writings, personal poems, and more—all based on your knowledge and application of
literary devices, structure, theme, and style.
Grades
This course is actually divided into two semesters: the first is called Advanced Senior English, and
the second retains the AP label. Our school system awards one quality GPA point to the first
semester and two quality points to the second; therefore, regardless of the rigor, it is still possible for
advanced students to retain their coveted GPAs. During the first term, progress and improvement
will be taken into account when grading as we learn about college-level writing and how to evaluate
literature in depth. However, by the second term, grades will be determined by performance and
participation. The grading scale will follow our system’s adopted scale: A=100-93, B=92-85, C=8477, D=76-70, F=69-below.
Grading in my AP Literature will be based on a point system; thus, the weight of an assignment is
determined by the number of points each assignment is worth. An example would be as follows:
Reader Response journal (five entries)=25 points; Comprehensive Test=100; Poetry
Explication=80, and so on.
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Texts (in addition to summer reading)
Textbooks: Arp, Thomas R., and Greg Johnson, eds. Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and
Sense. Ninth Edition. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006.
Elements of Literature, Sixth Course: Essentials of British and World Literature.
Orlando: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston2006.
Griffith, Jr., Kelley. Writing Essays About Literature. 3rd ed. San Diego: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1990.
Poetry:
Included in Perrine and Holt are poets such as Keats, Coleridge, Plath, Herrick, Donne,
Shakespeare, Blake, the Shelleys, Lord Byron, the Brownings, Arnold, Housman,
Eliot, Owen, Dickenson, Milton, and more. (See detailed weekly syllabi for specifics.)
Novels:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—Mark Twain
The Awakening—Kate Chopin
Ellen Foster—Kaye Gibbons
Heart of Darkness—Joseph Conrad
The Things We Carried—Tim O’Brien
A Tale of Two Cities—Charles Dickens
Plays:
A Doll’s House—Henrik Ibsen (in Perrine)
Hamlet, Macbeth (in Holt), and Othello—William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (in Perrine)and Taming of the Shrew—Shakespeare
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead—Tom Stoppard
Oedipus Rex—Sophocles in Perrine)
Equus—Peter Shaffer
The Glass Menagerie—Tennessee Williams
Death of a Salesman—Arthur Miller
Other:
Beowulf—translated by Burton Raffel
The Canterbury Tales—Geoffrey Chaucer
A Modest Proposal—Jonathan Swift
Personal Note
This course is demanding, but AP Literature affords students a college opportunity that most high
school students do not have. Students are expected to show maturity, responsibility, and integrity in
regards to all aspects of the course. This will be an interesting endeavor for all of us, as learning
should be constant and perpetual.
Good Luck!!
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AP Literature and Composition Syllabus
2007-2008
Fall Semester
Week One—Evaluating Summer Reading and Review
 Students will turn in summer reading assignments and take an essay test (test as per our
school’s summer reading requirements). The test will be two AP open ended questions that
relate to two of the works assigned over the summer. This will be graded on knowledge of
text only, but it will give me a chance to see where each student is in their writing skills, such
as in thesis development, use of evidence, ability to persuade and argue, and grammatical
construction. I will use these first essays as a spring-board for daily mini-lessons on topics
such as: how to use varied sentence structures to create sophisticated writing—using
subordination and coordination, how to logically organize and progress through an essay to
ensure coherence, and how to use general and specific detail to support the thesis. Not only
will I will use student samples of both appropriate word choice and transition statements,
but I will also draw from student samples that need further development and cohesiveness.
After the lesson, students will re-submit both essays highlighting “new” sentences using the
varied methods. This process will then be repeated throughout the first term—through peer
editing as well as by my own notations on student work through both pre- and post-writing
conferences to allow students numerous opportunities to develop their writing skills to those
desired at the college-level. Daily student writings will also focus on one or more of these
writing skills to evaluate both individually as well as in small and whole group seminars.
 For the remainder of the week, students will work in groups to create a presentation on one
of the summer reading works, reviewing all basic elements of literature: plot, theme,
characterization, point of view, and setting; also, author background will be included.
Groups may choose any form of presentation. This will enable students to conduct one final
review of these five works before moving on to other material. Presentations will be made
on the final two days of the week.
Week Two—The Novel
 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—Students will have daily reader responses to engage them
in the text and serve as catalysts for class discussion throughout the novel. An example:
What is the theme that is embedded in the feud between the Shepherdsons and the
Grangerfords? These reader responses are designed for individual connection with a text, as
well as to develop analytical writing skills.
 Novel terms identified and discussed (lists adapted from AP workshops). A quiz will follow
that not only includes definitions, but will have application practice (SAMPLE AS
ATTACHMENT B FOR POETRY).
 Archetype handout, developed from Griffith text and colleague. Settings such as the “river”
discussed as applied to Huck Finn and characters identified where applicable. Students will
refer to archetype sheet throughout the year as we develop the ability to see “into” a text,
rather than simply read for comprehension.
Week Three—Companion Novels
 The novel Ellen Foster will be paralleled with Huck Finn, and sample texts will be analyzed for
similarity between the two novels. The elements of literature related to the Civil Rights
Movement will be compared and contrasted with the realism of the Civil War age.
 AP online handout: “An Exam Reader’s Advice on Writing,” and a writing handout on
what AP readers look for—adapted from an AP colleague and Duke Tips.
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Assignment: Analytical paper—Comparing and Contrasting Ellen and Huck. Student edits
for elements noted in week one that have continued as daily mini-lessons, as well as
instructor feedback on same, will be provided (from this point forward this process will not
be noted, but will be an understood component of daily and weekly writing).
First AP practice test—multiple choice and essays. The poetry will be for practice only, the
prose passage from Huck, and the free write will pull from any novel/play we have in our
repertoire of knowledge. I will evaluate essays using the AP rubric and give detailed
feedback on each essay. Besides the continual focus on sentence structure, transitional
elements, thesis development, and cohesiveness we began in week one, we will now begin to
add the next component required for AP level writing. Again using student essays, we will
have numerous writing seminars and daily mini-lessons discussing how “all roads lead to
tone” in a literary piece as well as how students must develop a controlling tone in their
writing, how students must consider the voice and diction of their essays, and how
sophisticated writing includes a range of vocabulary used in the appropriate manner.
Students will consistently have my annotations of their writing to help revise these, as well as
subsequent essays. Small group seminars, peer editing, and both pre- and post-conferencing
with me will be utilized in various manners to improve upon students’ weaknesses. (Again,
from this point forward in the course, these are understood components of all formal and
informal writing.)
A seminar will be held to discuss multiple-choice answers and possibilities. AP practice
books will be issued to read about test-taking tips.
Week Four and Five—Women in Literature
 Feminist criticism (in Griffith).
 Kate Chopin and The Awakening. A graffiti journal will be the interactive project wherein
students will use quotes, themes, words, and artwork to represent each chapter of the novel.
Students will use creativity to develop meaning and interpretation (SEE ATTACHMENT
C). A rubric will be used that evaluates: cover, use of quotes, creativity, content, and titles
for each section.
 Kate Chopin’s short stories will end the week with focus on women’s roles throughout her
time and in her works, analyzing her writing using a feminist approach. “Desiree’s Baby,”
and “The Story of an Hour.”
 A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, using daily reader responses. Reader Responses will be
chosen from weeks two to five, revised, and turned in. These responses should reflect true
thought, personal connections to text, as well as the importance of literary devices such as
tone, mood, diction, and style.
 Drama terms will be identified and discussed. Quiz will mirror the novel terms
aforementioned.
 Essay day—practice AP open-ended simulation. Students will use the AP rubric and AP
handouts from week three to score self and a partner, partners will create workshop groups
with others, and each student will turn in a self-evaluation with all materials to me for further
evaluation. Students will have the opportunity to rewrite this essay or one from the Huck
practice test.
 Comprehensive Test #1—designed to test students on all texts studied from weeks 2-5.
Students will show knowledge of literary terms, passage analysis, identification of key
concepts, and will extend to essays that deal with the thematic implications of the works.
 Notecards due (see ATTACHMENT A from summer reading assignment) from weeks 2-5.
These notecards, as they are developed over the year, will serve as a reminder and study
guide as students prepare for comprehensive tests, practice tests, and the final AP test.
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Week Six—Classic Drama
 “The Nature of Drama” pp.1027-32 in Perrine.
 Oedipus Rex—Students will study and evaluate tragedy and apply drama terms such as
denouement, dramatic irony, and chorus. Socratic seminars will be held as we read aloud and
discuss the importance of prior knowledge and mythological allusions in numerous texts.
Week Seven and Eight—Shakespeare and Stoppard
 Hamlet—study guide optional from Duke Tips. However, students must keep brief
descriptions of the settings and characters, create a one page synopsis of the entire play upon
completion, and write one double-entry journal for each act wherein students write about
one insight they encounter. These assignments will help them to focus on key events while
allowing them the ability to connect with the text individually.
 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead—Absurdist Theater mimics Hamlet and the theme which
is developed through the two main characters. Apply “Life in a box is better than no life at
all.” Handout on Absurdist theater, taken from a lecture on Stoppard prepared by Ian
Johnston of Malaspina University, released in 1998 to public domain. Study guide from Duke
Tips.
 In class timed writing—open-ended on Hamlet. Students will evaluate self prior to turning in
response.
Week Nine, Ten, Eleven—Tragedy and Comedy
 Macbeth—Using the Holt text, students will read Macbeth and discuss the various similarities
and differences between Shakespeare’s tragedies. Reader Responses will be used daily and
after the comedies are read and discussed, students will once again turn in a predetermined
number of responses. These will be self-selected and revised from their initial form in class
to polished responses. Will use “inner circle, outer circle” discussion format.
 A Midsummer Night’s Dream—daily seminars on the use of mythology in this Shakespearean
comedy, the numerous plots, and the vast difference between comedy and tragedy. Daily
reader responses.
 Taming of the Shrew—outside reading. We will take one class day in seminar to discuss the
play as a possible option for the AP exam.
 In class timed writing—choice of Taming or Midsummer—self and peer scoring.
 Renaissance projects and presentations (SEE ATTACHMENT D)—These projects will
enable students to further develop MLA research skills, as well as to research areas of
personal interest. The visual aid of the presentation can be in any format, therefore, students
may use a style they are most comfortable with—playing music, creating a video, using a
form of multimedia, and more. This will also enhance students’ knowledge of the
Renaissance period, prior to a senior class field trip to the local Renaissance Festival.
 Comprehensive Test #2—Drama—Test to follow same pattern as the first, tying in usage of
new drama terms.
Week Twelve—The Essence of Poetry
 Notecards due from drama selections.
 “Reading the Poem” pp. 668-76 in Perrine.
 Tone—“If you miss tone, you miss meaning.” Tonal words assignment out of AP from A to
Z by Athena Publishing (finding a tonal scale for meaning across the spectrum; ex: annoyed,
irritated, exasperated)
 Poetry terms defined, discussed, and applied to poems.
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
How to annotate a poem using “Ode on a Grecian Urn” and “The Prelude.” Handout
shared by colleague.
Week Thirteen—Poetry
 Using tonal scale assignment, groups of students will analyze passages from classic texts, out
of AP from A to Z for correct tonal descriptions.
 Further practice using “Daddy,” “Dover Beach,” “Those Winter Sundays” and “The
Groundhog”
 Quiz on poetry terms (format same as novel and drama)
 Creative tonal assignment—Students are to create a “presentation” that our guidance
department would use to promote AP courses and then a response from AP students two
months into their AP classes. Students may use ANY tone they wish as long as meaning is
shown. Thus, responses range from complete sarcasm to betrayal, and more. This allows for
application of knowledge, as well as individual creativity.
 Poetry project assigned—For all poems for weeks 14-15, students are to use poetry terms
and label all terms found in each poem. The purpose of this assignment if for students to
become more comfortable with poetry terms that they have not focused on in their previous
English class experiences. Terms such as conceit, enjambment, caesura, cacophony,
euphony, synecdoche, litotes, and more will become part of students’ ready-to-use poetry
repertoires.
Week Fourteen—Companion Poems
 Using former AP exams, students will take poetry analysis to the next step—analyzing
companions: “The Chimney Sweeper” poems, “Five A.M” and “Five Flights Up,” “Meeting
at Night” and “Parting at Morning,” and the “Eros” pair. Students will analyze first in a
class setting, moving to pairs, and then to self explication. “The Tiger” and “The Lamb” will
be an in class response that students will use in a seminar setting after a timed analysis.
 Major assignment for the week will be an explication of “Crossing the Swamp.” This will be
an out of class assignment due at the end of the week. Students will need to apply as many
poetry terms that can be identified (ie. end-stopped line, enjambment, conceit,
personification, similes, and so on).
Week Fifteen and Sixteen—More Poetry to Practice
 Variety of past AP test poems, as well as selections from the Perrine text will be used for
further practice. Samples of poems: “Modern Love,” “After Apple Picking,” “Dulce Et
Decorum Est,” “To His Coy Mistress,” “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day,” “To
the Virgins, to Make Much of Time,” “Mending Wall,” “My Last Duchess,” and “To an
Athlete Dying Young.”
 Poetry terms project due at the end of week sixteen.
 Students will be able to take any poem previously studied and write a formal explication,
using literary terms and devices discussed during the poetry study.
 In class timed writings—on each Friday using “”Blackberry Picking” and “The Death of a
Toad.” Students will self-score, peer score, and then turn in. Students will have the
opportunity to revise one of these responses.
 “Ballad of Birmingham” imagery project. Students will explicate the poem, but present their
explication in visual form. This will be due the following week and lends itself to personal
creativity and interpretation of a visual project.
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Week Seventeen—Midterm Assessments
 Two and a half days for AP practice test—one day for multiple choice, the rest for essays.
Students will aid in scoring and overall score determined.
 The remaining time will be used in discussion of the text, problem areas, and how scores
could have been strengthened. Scores will be compared to previous practice simulations for
progress charting.
Week Eighteen—The Short Story
 “Reading the Story” in Perrine pp.61-67. Review the story, “The Most Dangerous Game,”
using Perrine study questions.
 Fiction and Form literary terms identified and discussed—quiz to follow in like format of
others.
 Poem, “Child by Tiger” to analyze, followed by the short story, “Destructors.” Discussion of
the element of plot.
 School exams and semester break
THE END OF THE FIRST SEMESTER
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Spring Semester
Week One and Two—Short Stories continued
 Character elements analyzed using “I’m a Fool” and Everyday Use.” Reader Responses used
for each story to connect individual interpretation, terms, and meaning.
 Continue review and analysis of theme, setting, characterization, plot, point of view, diction,
dialogue, tone, etc. using “The Lottery,” “Paul’s Case,” “Hills Like White Elephants.”
 Syntax introduction—using handouts and practice from AP from A to Z. We will analyze
previous three stories looking for syntactical elements and how they affect the reading of the
stories.
 Analysis assignment—Students are to choose a short story in Perrine that is not on the
syllabus and analyze for syntax and literary elements. Formal analysis paper due at the end
of week two.
 Syntax packet—passages students will analyze and then in a “speed dating format,” students
will share their findings with each other.
Week Three—Short Story culmination
 Symbol and irony—“Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” “The Oval Portrait,” and “A Worn
Path.”
 In class timed writing on a passage from one of the stories above. I will take up and evaluate
with a reflection to be submitted after my graded copy is returned. Students will analyze
their own writing only after I have evaluated.
 Fantasy, Freud, and “The Rocking Horse Winner.” Students will discuss the fantasy, as well
as the psychological elements in the story. “Inner Circle, Outer Circle” seminar format.
 Comprehensive Test #3 on short stories and elements of fiction
 Reader responses due from short stories—again, revised and polished.
Week Four and Five—The Darkness of Man’s Heart
 Heart of Darkness—introduction by MSG. in JROTC who has visited the Congo extensively.
Historical background of colonialism.
 Assignment: Webquest by Robert Rozema at http://faculty.gvsu.edu/rozemar/hod/-Students each take an approach to literature and analyze the passages he has chosen using
this approach. He has overviews of the approaches, and we have the Griffith text. Students
will be analyzing throughout our reading. Due at the end of week five.
 Equus—reading in class. Reader responses and mini-seminars used to enhance meaning and
application of drama, syntax, and other literary terms. Psychoanalysis approach view of
Equus and revisited in Heart.
 Practice AP writing test using the poem, “An Author to Her Book,” a passage from Heart,
and a free write which lends itself to Equus or Heart. Whole class peer evaluations and then
taken up—I will take peer evaluations into consideration as I grade.
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Week Six and Seven—War is Hell
 The Things We Carried—Vietnam war background by history teacher and JROTC instructor.
Daily reader responses and seminars on the effects of war on those who experience it first
hand.
 Photo Journal project assigned. Students will choose a theme and follow it throughout the
novel. Final product will use quotes from the book which enlighten this theme. Then,
students use photos to tell the “story” of those in Vietnam in photo journalism format.
Personal connection to the text is key, as well as finding literary elements which help them
show their chosen theme through few words and meaningful pictures. Due week nine.
Week Eight—Vietnam in film and poetry
 View We Were Soldiers Once. As we view we will discuss similarities to Things.
 In an AP essay test format, students will analyze a passage from the novel (from which the
film was taken), We Were Soldiers Once and Young.
 Poetry from the Vietnam era will be explicated. A local attorney actually has two poems
published (one an award winner) we will be using these and others.
 A day will be given post-film to work on photo journals.
 Reader responses will be turned in, self-chosen, from weeks 4-8.
Week Nine and Ten—The Classics return
 Photo Journal sharing day
 A Tale of Two Cities—Study guide will be mandatory. Students will find that the opening
chapters are quite cumbersome. Students will be analyzing historical accuracies and
women’s roles, along with contrasting settings and the moral progression—or digression—
of the characters.
 Daily reader responses will be discussed and used as starters for our class
discussions/seminars. Literary elements—diction, syntax, tone, etc.—will be included in
discussion, as usual.
 Final test will be in AP format, purchased from Prestwick House. I will grade essay portions
and return for students to reflect and revise, if needed.
Week Eleven—From Dickens to Williams
 Drawing characters with quotes—On large sheets of paper, pairs will trace a person and
create one of the main characters from Tale, re-reading the text to find quotes that would
apply to various body parts. The pairs will write the quotes on the respective body parts,
creating characters with meaning. Students will present these and we will display these
around the school. This extends their reading to “reading with purpose and focus.”
 The Glass Menagerie—outside reading and inside class discussion of a modern play. We will
seminar about basic settings, time period importance, and how reality affects dreams.
Week Twelve—Where are we now?
 Final practice testing—two and ½ days of testing and remainder to evaluate, discuss, and
define any further weaknesses.
 Final notecards due from weeks 4-11
 Reader responses from weeks 9-11, revised and polished self-selected entries.
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Week Thirteen and Fourteen—Time is of the essence
 AP Review—Using previously studied novels and plays, students will individually review a
work and present information to the class in a ten-minute oral overview, providing a
handout which includes more detail. Students will have time to research their work further
to include any historical information, author-sensitive key information, and using past openended lists from 1970-present, to list AP questions their individual works would best answer.
 AP Testing
 Research paper assignment—using the four British periods following the Renaissance,
students will research a time period, read select works from the Holt text (or other
approved) and write an analysis paper wherein the works reflect the characteristics of the
time periods in which they are written. Students will have three weeks to complete outside
of class. MLA standards apply.
Week Fifteen—Back to the Good Ole Days of Dungeons and Dragons
 Two workdays in the library for research projects
 Anglo-Saxons and Beowulf—a brief overview of the time period will be given, and students
will read Beowulf as a class. Students will create a visual shield representing either Beowulf,
Wiglaf, Grendel, or Grendel’s mother. Students may use pictures, cut-outs, words, and more
to create their visual interpretation of their chosen character.
Week Sixteen—Murder in the Cathedral
 The Canterbury Tales and Thomas Becket—Overview of the Middle Ages and Chaucer. In
Holt, we will read “The Prologue,” “The Pardoner’s Tale,” and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale.” I
found an online public domain site wherein I downloaded “The Miller’s Tale.” Daily
discussions and readings will make up this final week of “new stuff.”
Week Seventeen
 Research paper sharing—Although students have researched time periods individually, they
will group by like-periods and create a ten-minute presentation on their British period,
characteristics, authors, and popular works.
 Forrest Gump film study (SEE ATTACHMENT E). This will be a culminating project that
entails close film viewing, analysis, and some personal connection. Presentations will be on
the final two days of class.
Week Eighteen
School Wide Exams—entire week for testing, remediation, and retesting
THE END OF THE SECOND SEMESTER
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