AP English Language and Composition Syllabus
Mr.Hughes
anthony.hughes@hcisd.org
Room 5201
Course Objectives:
Students in this course will read and analyze a variety of challenging fiction, non-fiction and
visual texts, creating a true awareness of rhetorical contexts and the purpose and dexterity of
language. Students will acquire skills that will allow them to perform close readings of a diverse
range of texts while also developing the ability to write to a specific audience with a sincere
purpose. Students will analyze various rhetorical devices, they will recognize how these devices
function in given passages, and they will apply these skills in their own writing. This course will
“emphasize the expository, analytical, and argumentative writing that forms the basis of
academic and professional communication, as well as the personal and reflective writing that
fosters the development of writing in any context.” (The College Board, AP English Course
Description, May 2007, May 2008, p. 6) In addition, students will analyze both primary and
secondary sources and they will learn to synthesize the information in these sources in their own
compositions. Finally, students will learn the format for proper attribution of these sources,
primarily the Modern Language Association (MLA) form of documentation.
Grading Scale:
Essays/Tests/Projects 25%: Students will be required to write several drafts for all major essay
assignments. The students will participate in teacher/student conferences and peer/student
conferences throughout the drafting process. In addition, students will self-edit final drafts
before submitting finished pieces for grading. Students must submit all of their drafts along with
their final copies for their portfolios (7 major papers). In addition, in class analysis essays will
be completed as timed writings in each unit of study. Tests will consist of multiple-choice
questions based on rhetorical devices and their function in given passages. Some of the tests will
be based on readings done together, while others will be based on passages that students read
independently both during the summer and during the school year.
Class work/Homework 75%: Daily assignments will vary depending on our specific focus, and
they will be maintained in a Quick Write Response Journal*. Much of the class work will
involve conferencing, drafting, and editing their compositions. Other daily tasks might include
grammar review, rhetorical devices, documentation practice, and vocabulary development.
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Homework will also vary depending on our specific focus. Much of the homework will involve
drafting, outside reading, responding to analytical questions, using rhetorical devices, and
practicing the conventions of writing.
Texts: The Bedford Reader (ninth edition), The Riverside Reader, Everything’s an Argument, A
World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers, Rhetoric, Logic, & Argumentation: A
Guide for Student Writers
*Quick Write Response Journal:
Students will maintain a response journal that will allow them to analyze editorials, important
quotations, and open-ended questions. These responses will either provide practice in analyzing
rhetorical devices, developing arguments, or generating ideas for their own pieces (often times
asking that they connect their own lives to various concepts, decisions, or epiphanies addressed
in our readings). In addition, these journals will often incorporate vocabulary enrichment
exercises, requiring students to enhance their writing with rich and precise word choice.
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AP Language and Composition Syllabus by Unit:
Unit 1: Introduction to the Course: Close Reading, Analysis,
and Revision
During the first two weeks of school, students are introduced to the philosophy of close reading
and its importance to both analyzing writing and composing independent drafts. We will discuss
the course’s focus on drafting and revising for each formal essay throughout the year. Students
will compose multiple drafts of each formal essay; they will rely on student/teacher conferences,
peer/peer conferences, and self-editing techniques to effectively organize their ideas and
incorporate rhetorical strategies and conventions of language in their compositions. Special
attention will be given to enhancing sentence structure and diction in student writing.
Conferencing sessions should provide the basis for valuable revisions of student work.
Establishing a Focus:
The beginning of the school year will be dedicated to introducing the students to the importance
of close reading and the necessity of establishing a purpose, identifying an audience, and creating
an argument. Students will be introduced to the rhetorical triangle and its importance in
connecting the writer, the reader, and the text, through ethical appeal (ethos), emotional appeal
(pathos), and logical appeal (logos). This triangle establishes the basis for all forms of
argumentation that will be analyzed and practiced throughout the year.
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Addressing Summer Requirements:
Students will be assessed on their summer reading at this time. Required summer assignments
will also be collected, and the course will ask that students refer to the summer novels for
purposes of discussion and the summer novels will serve as opportunities for comparison to other
fiction and non-fiction readings throughout the year.
Student Readings for Unit 1 (subject to additions & change):
“The Death of a Moth” by Annie Dillard
“How I Wrote the Moth Essay – and Why” by Annie Dillard
“Good Readers and Good Writers” by Vladimir Nabokov
Unit 2: Rhetoric, Rhetorical Devices, and the Structure of Arguments
Students will be introduced to the necessary terminology to be successful in the course. We will
use The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms and Essential Literary Terms With
Exercises to establish a clear understanding of the lexicon of rhetoric and textual analysis.
Students will be responsible for identifying and using a variety of figures of speech so that they
can then analyze their use in our readings throughout the course.
Rhetorical Figures: Antithesis, apostrophe, chiasmus, parallelism, syllepsis, zeugma,
amplification, anaphora, asyndeton, hyperbaton, and pun. Tropes: imagery, metaphor,
metonymy, personification, simile, and synecdoche.
Writing Arguments: Students will be able to analyze and model the Toulmin Argument,
including making claims, determining warrants, offering evidence, and using qualifiers. As we
work throughout the year, students will apply this knowledge to close reading, and they will
apply it to their own development of arguments.
Visual Texts: Students will also be introduced to the importance of interpreting visual texts, and
they will be given strategies to improve visual literacy.
Unit 3: Narration, Description, and Example
Students will study the method and process of writing essays of narration, description, and
example by reading a variety of fiction and non-fiction pieces. We will take a close look at the
importance of developing a thesis, considering point of view, the effect of dialogue, concrete
language, word choice, and sentence variety.
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Student Readings for Unit 3 (subject to additions & change):
“Remembering my Childhood on the Continent of Africa” by David Sedaris
“Salvation” by Langston Hughes
“The Chase” by Annie Dillard
“Arm Wrestling My Father” by Brad Manning
“Champion of the World” by Maya Angelou
“Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan
“Indian Education” by Sherman Alexie
In Class Analysis Paper:
After reading “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan and “Champion of the World” by Maya Angelou,
analyze the rhetorical devices used to engage the reader and validate their arguments.
Major Paper #1: In class timed writing
Unit 4: Arguments of Definition
Students will study the method and process of writing a definition essay by reading and
analyzing a variety of fiction, non-fiction, and visual texts. Particular focus will be given to
developing a thesis, establishing evidence, examining nuances of connotation and denotation,
and creating unity among paragraphs.
Students will analyze the various arguments of definition, including formal definitions,
operational definitions, and definitions of example. Students will also practice formulating
claims, crafting definitions, and matching claims to definitions. Several informal exercises will
allow students the opportunity to define various things, people, influences in their lives by
making claims and providing evidence.
Student Readings for Unit 4 (subject to additions & change):
Visual Text – “Need is a Very Subjective Word” Hummer Advertisement
“Guys vs. Men” by Dave Barry
“The Androgynous Man” by Noel Perrin
“In Praise of the Humble Comma” by Pico Iyer
“How Come the Quantum?” by John Archibald Wheeler
“Bop” by Langston Hughes
“If You Are What You Eat, Then What Am I?” by Geeta Kothari
“Cookies or Heroin?” by Marie Winn
“I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady
“The Meanings of a Word” by Gloria Naylor
“Being a Chink” by Christine Leong
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In Class Analysis Paper:
Look carefully at Gloria Naylor’s essay “The Meanings of a Word” and Christine Leong’s essay
“Being a Chink.” Analyze the structural similarities between the two essays. Considering the
purpose of the essays, is this an effective organizational structure? Why/why not? Cite specific
evidence to support your assertions.
Major Paper #2: In class timed writing
Unit 5: Comparison and Contrast/Humor
Students will study the method and process of writing comparison and contrast essays by reading
and analyzing a variety of fiction and non-fiction pieces. We will focus on identifying a purpose,
developing a thesis, organizing ideas, and establishing coherence through effective use of
transitions. Students must also focus on style by incorporating figurative language and effective
strategies of argumentation.
In addition, students will explore the use of humor in arguments. By looking at various articles
in The Onion, a number of political and cultural cartoons in The New Yorker, and a variety of
visual texts from television shows like Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show, students will
analyze the use of satire and parody as it relates to addressing an argument.
Student Readings for Unit 5 (subject to additions & change):
“Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts” by Bruce Catton
“Size 6: The Western Women’s Harem” by Fatema Mernissi
“Grammy Rewards” by Deborah Dalfonso
“Like Mexicans” by Gary Soto
“Private Language, Public Language” by Richard Rodriguez
“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
“Neat People vs. Sloppy People” by Suzanne Britt
“Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out” by Dave Barry
In Class Analysis Paper:
Exaggeration often breeds humor. Trace the use of humor in Dave Barry’s “Batting Clean-Up
and Striking Out” and Suzanne Britt’s “Neat People vs. Sloppy People.” How are they similar,
dissimilar, and is their strategy effective? Cite specific evidence from the essays to support your
assertions.
Major Paper #3: Semester Exam
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Second Semester
Unit 6: Classification and Division
Students will study the method and process of writing classification and division essays by
reading and analyzing a variety of fiction and non-fiction pieces. We will focus on developing a
thesis that provides a clear analysis of the subject, establishing consistency in the analysis, and
providing appropriate evidence.
Student Readings for Unit 6 (subject to additions & change):
Visual Text – “What Everyone Should Know About the Movie Rating System” from the Motion
Picture Association of America
“The Plot Against People” by Russell Baker
“But What Do You Mean?” by Deborah Tannen
“The Ways We Lie” by Stephanie Ericsson
“The World of Doublespeak” by William Lutz
“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan
“The Color of Success” by Eric A. Watts
“The Rise of the Blended American” by Jeff Jacoby
“Here Comes the Groom” by Andrew Sullivan
“Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid
In Class Analysis Paper:
After studying the classification essays, address one of the following topics:
• How many different languages do you use at home, at school, among friends, jobs,
elsewhere, etc.? Write an essay classifying them, describing what each is like and
explaining how and when each is used.
OR
• Eric Watts is especially concerned with racial stereotyping in his essay, but race is only
one of the grounds on which people can falsely classify each other’s behavior. Consider
your high school experience, and write an essay about the ways in which people are
classified in your school.
Major Paper #4: Timed Writing
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Unit 7: Causal Arguments
Students will study the method and process of writing causal arguments by reading and
analyzing a variety of fiction and non-fiction pieces. We will focus on understanding causal
relations, formulating a claim, developing causal arguments, and preparing proposals.
Student Readings for Unit 7 (subject to additions & change):
Visual Text – “Garbage In. . .” by Mike Thompson
“Drugs” by Gore Vidal
“Videotape” by Don DeLilo
“Cultural Baggage” by Barbara Ehrenreich
“Women in Science” by K.C. Cole
“Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs” by Stephen Jay Gould
“Who Killed Easter Island?” by Jared Diamond
“A Web of Brands” by Naomi Klein
“Live Free and Starve” by Chitra Divakaruni
“A Giant Step” by Henry Louis Gates
In Class Analysis Paper:
After studying the causal argument essays, address one of the following topics:
•
Chitra Divakaruni’s essay “Live Free and Starve” depends significantly on appeals to the
readers’ emotions. Locate one emotional appeal that either helps to convince you of the
author’s point or, in your mind, weakens the argument. What does the appeal assume
about the reader’s (your) feelings or values? How, specifically, does the appeal
strengthen or undermine Divakaruni’s argument?
Major Paper #5: Timed Writing
Unit 8: Argument and Persuasion
Students will study the method and process of writing argument and persuasion essays by
reading and analyzing a variety of fiction and non-fiction pieces. We will focus on developing
appropriate thesis statements, choosing evidence that relates to various appeals, making claims,
and determining warrants. In addition, students will understand inductive and deductive
reasoning and logical fallacies.
Student Readings for Unit 8 (subject to additions & change):
“Why Don’t We Complain?” by William F. Buckley
“The Island of Plenty” by Johnson C. Montgomery
“The Price of Power: Living in the Nuclear Age” by Kori Quintana
“Being Prepared in Suburbia” by Roger Verhulst
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“Reply to the U.S. Government” by Chief Seattle
“What’s Wrong with Gay Marriage?” by Katha Pollitt
“Gay ‘Marriage’: Societal Suicide” by Charles Colson
Students will account for their close reading of selected texts in a variety of ways: close reading
response forms, says/does analysis, and double-entry notebook technique.
In Class Analysis Paper/Major Paper #6: AP Synthesis Essay
Unit 9: Classic Essays
After laying the groundwork by studying the various modes of discourse, the structures of
arguments, and the rhetorical figures that augment an author’s style of writing, students will turn
their attention to a number of classic essays that often incorporate several methods of argument.
Student Readings for Unit 9 (subject to additions & change):
“The Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson
“Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching” by Lao-Tzu
“The Qualities of the Prince” by Niccolo Machiavelli
“The Origin of Civil Society” by Jean-Jaques Rousseau
“The Defense of Insustice” by Cicero
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr.
“A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift
“Professions for Women” by Virginia Woolf
Students will account for their close reading of selected texts in a variety of ways: close reading
response forms, says/does analysis, and double-entry notebook technique.
Final Major Paper #7: Research Based Essay – Details of the topic will be given at a later
date.
Unit 10: AP Exam Review
Students will take practice AP Tests, both multiple-choice and timed AP Responses in an effort
to prepare for the *AP Exam.
* Students who complete the course will have an opportunity to prepare for and take the AP
English Exam in May. Earning a passing grade on the exam could potentially earn students
college credits. Taking the course in no way guarantees that you will pass the exam, it will
simply provide you with the skills and practice necessary to be prepared for the exam.
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