AP® Language and Composition – The Language of Character
Course Overview
The mission of the English Department is to inspire students to embrace the power of
language as the foundation for imaginative dialogue with one’s self and world.
The course overview and objectives are taken from the AP® English Course
Description (The College Board).
Course Description
Juniors in AP Language and Composition class are challenged to engage as
readers and writers of their world. The course focuses on the overarching
theme of human character, following such topics as character development,
emerging dispositions, public v. private self, inner conflict, as well as the
concept of human beauty. Throughout the course, students practice
methods of analysis and interaction with texts from various time periods
and genres, including both fiction and nonfiction. They discover the art of
writing with purpose and for an intended audience, and they become critical
of readings in this context as well. Students learn to recognize the stylistic
elements that make language powerful, and they develop the argumentative
skills to apply this authority as original authors themselves. Over the
course of the year, students uncover and polish their own powers of
communication through discussion and debate, building vocabulary, and
engaging in an intensive writing and revision process.
General Teaching Methods and Strategies
Close Reading
How to Read a Paragraph and Beyond: The Art of Close Reading by Dr. Richard
Paul and Dr. Linda Elder
At the start of the year, students are introduced to strategies of close
reading and analysis as a “breaking down” of language. They learn the
levels of reading to paraphrase, explicate, analyze, assess, and interact with
an array of texts (Paul and Elder). They practice the process of studying
language at its closest level through an examination of individual words,
finding greater meaning and depth through their own interpretations.
Students are encouraged to use this skill of close reading throughout the
year as they seek to understand the true meanings and implications behind
the readings they encounter.
Style Analysis and SOAPSTone
“SOAPSTone: A Strategy for Reading and Writing” by Ogden Morse (College
Board AP® Central)
In addition to strategies of close reading, students are taught to evaluate
given texts specifically for elements of style that stand out as remarkable.
In light of studying language, they learn to analyze an author’s use of
diction, point of view, syntax, selection of detail, organization, and figurative
language in a particular reading. In addition, students apply the
“SOAPSTone” process of text analysis to readings as well as to their own
compositions, in order to be more critical as learners. The following
questions (Morse) are used to guide their study:
Who is the Speaker?
What is the Occasion?
Who is the Audience?
What is the Purpose?
What is the Subject?
What is the Tone?
Throughout the year, students engage in this analysis method of stylistic
elements in order to enhance their understanding of the writer’s work.
Rhetorical Analysis
“What are Essays?” by Joseph Kelly, ed. (The Seagull Reader)
As critical readers, students are asked to examine the art of a given author’s
argument, through strategies of rhetorical analysis. They are taught to
uncover the crafty use of appeals to ethos, logos and pathos as well as
inductive and deductive reasoning in an argument (Kelly). Their analysis of
readings is guided by a study and appreciation of an author’s purpose, the
intended audience of a piece, the examination of the validity of assertions
and claims presented, the types of appeals used, as well as an
understanding of possible rhetorical modes in use.
Source Documentation
Throughout the year, students practice parenthetical documentation in
order to cite the sources of all of their work. In the spring term, they write a
critical argumentative essay synthesizing sources that they have researched,
in addition to a given reading packet on the topic of beauty. With this
assignment in particular, students are taught various methods of MLA
source documentation, including in-text citation as well as footnotes,
endnotes, bibliography and works cited list format.
Vocabulary
The Least You Should Know about Vocabulary Building: Word Roots by Teresa
Glazier
Over the course of the year, students study vocabulary through root words
in order to gradually build a broader word bank, as well as develop a better
knowledge of word origins and methods of understanding words in context.
Student Writing
Throughout the course of the year, students write several major essays that
are drafted through various stages of revision and both peer and teacher
feedback. Lessons and corrections associated with these major essays focus
on the organization of ideas, proper English grammar and sentence
structure, and developing rhetorical skill and voice as a writer. Each essay
assignment includes a rubric outline that is then returned with the
corrected draft in order to better help students monitor their own
development as writers.
In addition to these larger essays, students regularly engage in less formal
writing in class, such as journal responses, quote identifications of style, as
well as close-reading explications and “annotations” of all readings, for the
purpose of developing their broader skills as readers and writers.
Student Evaluation
Students are assessed each trimester based on a system of accumulated
points. Graded projects, essays, quizzes and exams are assigned a
particular point value based on their level of difficulty and relative
importance to the course objectives. At the end of each trimester, student
achievement grades are based on the calculated average of their points
throughout the term. In addition, each student receives a separate grade for
effort each trimester, which is based on their accumulated effort and
attitude points earned in a similar fashion to the achievement points. At the
year end, the final year grade reflects a cumulative average of both the
achievement and effort grades for the year.
Course Outline
 Fall Focus: Style Analysis
 Unit Theme: Individualism and Autonomy
Comparative study essay
 Unit Theme: Character Development
Style analysis essay
 Unit Theme: Emerging Dispositions
Expository writing
 Winter Focus: Rhetorical Analysis
 Unit Theme: Public v. Private Self
Speech analysis project
 Unit Theme: Inner Conflict
Rhetorical analysis essay
 Spring Focus: The Art of Argument
 Unit Theme: Inherent Beauty
Analysis presentation
Synthesis essay
 Organization and Study Strategies
AP practice work
Portfolio project
 Unit Theme: Presenting Self
Personal narrative essay
Course Syllabus – Breakdown
 Fall Trimester
 Unit Theme: Individualism and Autonomy
Timeframe: four weeks
Resources
“English is a Crazy Language” by Richard Lederer (The Norton Sampler)
“Notes on Punctuation” by Lewis Thomas (The Norton Reader)
“In Praise of the Humble Comma” by Pico Iyer (The Norton Sampler)
“Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson (Self-Reliance and Other Essays)
“Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau (The Arlington Reader)
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Topics and Skills
In the first trimester, students are introduced to the idea of studying
language through various texts and time periods. Beginning with essays
regarding language by Lederer, Thomas and Iyer, they look closely at
different styles of addressing similar topics. They further practice close
reading skills with Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” and an excerpt from Thoreau’s
“Civil Disobedience.” They examine the process by which these authors
express their individualism and the responsibility of self-reliant citizens.
Major Projects and Writing
Comparative study essay Following these readings, students are asked to
make connections between the thoughts of these two transcendentalists and
the actions of Christopher McCandless, as presented in Krakauer’s Into The
Wild (required summer reading). This brief essay offers an early look at the
student’s writing skills and ability to draw connections between independent
works.
 Unit Theme: Character Development
Timeframe: four weeks
Resources
“How it Feels to be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston (The Norton Reader)
“Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid (The Bedford Reader)
“Only Daughter” by Sandra Cisneros (The Bedford Reader)
“Indian Education” by Sherman Alexie (The Bedford Reader)
“How Boys Become Men” by Jon Katz (The Norton Sampler)
“Writing About Yourself: The Memoir” by William Zinsser (On Writing Well)
Various works of art (The Art Book and The American Art Book)
“The Death of a Moth” by Annie Dillard (The Norton Sampler)
“The Death of the Moth” by Virginia Woolf (The Norton Sampler)
Topics and Skills
In this second unit of the fall, students are introduced to reading personal
narratives and memoirs. Through several excerpts of both fiction and nonfiction narration, they address the topic of developing character through
developing language. In this unit, students learn to closely examine
rhetorical devices such as diction, syntax, tone, imagery and an author’s
intentional use of inference. By studying these tools of language, students
make connections between an author’s methods of writing and the persona
they portray through their words.
In addition, students are introduced during this unit to analyzing artwork
and images as similar to studying language. After viewing several paintings,
they learn to “break down” the various aspects of style in a painting, similar
to the way they have learned to “break down” the language of a text for the
purpose of analyzing style.
Major Projects and Writing
Style analysis essay In this essay, students are expected to take one of the
studied narrations and write a formal style analysis of the piece. They apply
the skills of close reading and “break down” of language in order to support
their integrated thoughts about how that particular author has chosen to
represent his developing character in the piece. Students are graded and
given feedback at two points in the drafting process; first, with a complete
rough draft that they submit for editing and revision suggestions, and
second with a polished final draft ready for “publishing.”
 Unit Theme: Emerging Dispositions
Timeframe: two weeks
Resources
“Design Flaws” by Bill Bryson (The Bedford Reader)
“On Compassion” by Barbara Ascher (The Bedford Reader)
“What is Happiness” by John Ciardi (The Sundance Reader)
“Guys vs. Men” by Dave Barry (The Norton Sampler)
“Indian Takeout” by Jhumpa Lahiri (The Bedford Reader)
“Neat People vs. Sloppy People” by Suzanne Britt (The Bedford Reader)
“Batting Clean-up and Striking Out” by Dave Barry (The Bedford Reader)
“A Giant Step” by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (The Norton Sampler)
“The Wounds That Can’t Be Stitched Up” by Ruth Russell (The Norton Sampler)
“How to Dump a Friend” by Lucinda Rosenfeld (The Bedford Reader)
“A Small Place” by Jamaica Kincaid (The Arlington Reader)
“The Ways We Lie” by Stephanie Ericsson (The Bedford Reader)
“The Truth about Lying” by Judith Viorst (Subjects/Strategies)
“Why We Travel” by Pico Iyer (The Arlington Reader)
“Silent Dancing” by Judith Ortiz Cofer (The Bedford Reader)
Topics and Skills
In this third unit of the fall trimester, students are taught to recognize
various rhetorical modes in non-fiction. The pieces they study are very
different, although they all focus on diverse aspects of human emotion and
disposition. Through the comparative study of given readings, students
identify the primary modes of each piece, as well as the method of
combining strategies within a single piece. With the focus on expository
writing, students begin to address the purpose and intended audience of
given readings through their guided analysis.
Major Projects and Writing
Expository writing For this assignment, students are asked to practice
expository writing with the given topic of “human dispositions.” They
choose the rhetorical mode they would like to focus on and a topic regarding
character that interests them. Students write several drafts and engage in
the peer editing process before submitting a final draft to be graded.
AP Practice Work
In the fall, AP practice work focuses on essay prompts that ask students to
analyze the style of a given reading. In practicing several of these, students
become more skilled at identifying various rhetorical devices and seeking the
overall purpose of given pieces. The timed aspect of the AP work also helps
them develop ways to clarify their writing in a structured setting without the
benefit of a more comprehensive drafting process.
Fall Exam
The major topics covered on the fall exam are rhetorical devices and style
analysis through study of a quote, a paragraph, and through comparing two
different text excerpts.
 Winter Trimester
 Unit Theme: Public v. Private Self
Timeframe: two weeks
Resources
“Drill, Grill and Chill” by Maureen Dowd (New York Times)
“A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift (Readings for Writers)
“What are Essays?” by Joseph Kelly, ed. (The Seagull Reader)
“Now Hear This: The Art of Speech” by Tod Olson (Literary Cavalcade)
“I Have a Dream” Martin Luther King, Jr. (Readings for Writers)
“Checkers Speech” by Richard Nixon (The History Place)
“Inaugural Address” by John F. Kennedy (The History Place)
“We Stand Passively Mute” by Robert S. Byrd (US Senate)
Topics and Skills
At the start of the winter term, students read and examine Jonathan Swift’s
“Modest Proposal,” as an introduction to satire and persuasive writing. In
this first unit of the winter trimester, students begin to study ethos, logos
and pathos as a way to further enhance their understanding of appeals and
rhetoric. Again, they practice drawing connections between the intended
audience of a piece, the claims asserted, and the types of appeals presented
in order to evaluate the rhetorical value of an argument. Through this unit,
students are made aware of the difference between the public and the
private self, through studying the impact of works intended for very public
settings.
Major Projects and Writing
Speech analysis project To further this study, students read a variety of
famous political speeches, exploring each one for its rhetoric and overall
purpose. As a final project for the unit, students choose a political speech
that interests them, and they demonstrate their understanding of rhetorical
analysis by comprehensively annotating the speech and presenting their
thoughts and findings to the class.
 Unit Theme: Inner Conflict
Timeframe: eight weeks
Resources
“Will the Real Shakespeare Stand Up?” by Scott Smith (SKY)
Othello by William Shakespeare
Topics and Skills
In this second unit, students continue to become proficient in rhetorical
analysis as they study Shakespeare’s Othello. At the core of this play is an
inner conflict that students study in light of the dramatic effect it can have
on a person’s character. Although it is fiction, this particular Shakespeare
work contains many forms of argument and rhetoric, providing the students
many opportunities to see examples of appeals to ethos, logos and pathos,
as well as various language techniques in the drama. As they read the text,
class discussions focus on the many distinct methods that Iago uses to
convince his audience, as well as the powerful arguments he holds with
himself in his soliloquies.
Major Projects and Writing
Rhetorical analysis essay For this essay, students choose a passage from
the Shakespeare text on which to perform an in-depth analysis of rhetoric.
By examining the style of a particular character’s persuasive skills with
another, they are able to examine the power of drama as written dialogue, as
well as the effect of Shakespeare’s skilled and intentional use of language.
In writing the rhetorical analysis essay, students practice in-text citation as
a method of documenting their work. Students are graded and offered
feedback at two points in the drafting process; first, with a complete rough
draft that they submit for editing and revision suggestions, and second with
a polished final draft ready for “publishing.”
AP Practice Work
Similar to the fall, in the winter, AP practice work focuses on essay prompts
that ask students to analyze the style as well as the rhetoric of a given
reading. In practicing several of these, students become more skilled at
analyzing the use of various appeals, rhetorical devices, in addition to
seeking the overall purpose of given pieces. At the end of the term, students
devote several days to practicing multiple choice exam strategies.
Winter Exam
In addition to questions regarding Othello, the major topics covered on the
winter exam are types of appeals, rhetorical devices, and general language
analysis through the examination of various short writings.
 Spring Trimester
 Unit Theme: Inherent Beauty
Timeframe: four weeks
Resources
“A Woman’s Beauty: Put-Down or Power Source?” by Susan Sontag (Fifty Great
Essays)
“Women and Beauty” by Sophia Loren (Women and Beauty)
“Barbie Gets a Bum Rap: Barbie’s Place in the World of Dolls” by Sherrie Inness
(The Barbie Chronicles)
“Elegy for My Mother” by M. G. Lord (The Barbie Chronicles)
“Thank Barbie for Britney: She’s Not That Innocent” by Kay Hymowitz (National
Review Online)
“A Grown-up Barbie” by Jane Hamill (NPR)
“Here’s Looking at You, Kid!” by Martha Beck (O, The Oprah Magazine)
“Drugs, Sports, Body Image and G.I. Joe” by Natalie Angier (New York Times)
“Cure or Quest for Perfection?” by Ellen Goodman (The Arlington Reader)
“Our Barbies, Ourselves” by Emily Prager (The Bedford Reader)
“The Face of Beauty” by Diane Ackerman (Subjects/Strategies)
Topics and Skills
This major unit of the spring term asks students to apply their personal
experience and beliefs to a redefining of the concept of beauty. They
evaluate various essays, poems, images, and personal narratives presenting
distinct views of beauty. In studying argument, they learn the classic
formula, as well as other effective methods of organizing information.
During this term in particular, students practice breaking down the content
and context of various images, graphics and charts to discover important
argumentative features. Students use the information given and their
knowledge of rhetoric to clarify their own belief about beauty, using their
own personal experiences and observations as support.
Major Projects and Writing
Analysis presentation At the start of this unit, students are asked to
formally present their rhetorical analysis annotations of a given essay on
beauty to the class. This assignment requires students to combine many
aspects of analysis and breakdown that they have acquired over the course
of the year in their study of language and rhetoric.
Synthesis essay In this major “researched” paper of the term, students
conduct research on the topic of beauty in order to find support for the
definition of the concept that they will argue in their essay. They essay they
produce demonstrates their understanding of methods of argumentation
and the skillful use of rhetorical devices. Students are also taught to use
research critically and to evaluate the source of their findings. During this
unit, students learn various citation methods in order to properly document
their sources. Again, students are graded and given feedback at two points
in the drafting process; first, with a complete rough draft that they submit
for editing and revision suggestions, and second, with a polished final draft
ready for “publishing.”
AP Practice Work: Portfolio Project
Timeframe: two weeks
Portfolio project In the weeks leading up the AP exam, students are asked
to conclude their AP exam preparation with the portfolio project. Their
portfolio must include all significant compiled notes from the year, wellorganized and presented. In addition, they must complete a given number
of practice multiple choice tests and prompt responses. The portfolio grade
is largely based on the student’s deliberate organization skills demonstrated.
Final Exam
The final exam for the course functions as a method of preparing for the AP
exam, as well as a way to gage the student’s understanding of rhetoric and
the study of language. The students are given a list of significant
vocabulary pertaining to the course that they are asked to define as a
demonstration of their knowledge of the topics.
 Unit Theme: Presenting Self
Timeframe: two weeks
Topics and Skills
In this unit on narration, students focus on their own development of
character. They learn various skills of writing personal narration and
methods of presenting themselves effectively through the skilled use of
language.
Major Projects and Writing
Personal narrative essay The personal narrative essay is an opportunity
for students to work through many drafts in order to “show,” not “tell” some
significant aspect of their character or some influential moment of their life.
Students often submit over five drafts after much prewriting and revision
before finishing the year with a “published” piece.
Teacher Resources
Course Texts
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Self-Reliance and Other Essays. New York: Dover, 1993.
Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor Books, 1996.
Shakespeare, William. Othello. Ed. Norman Sanders. Updated ed. Cambridge:
Cambridge UP, 2005.
Supplements
The American Art Book. New York: Phaidon, 1999.
Angier, Natalie. “Drugs, Sports, Body Image and G.I. Joe.” NY Times on the Web
22 Dec. 1998. The New York Times Company. 2 Apr. 2006
<http://www.bebeyond.com/LearnEnglish/BeAD/Readings
/SteroidsGIJoe.html>
The Art Book. London: Phaidon, 1999.
Beck, Martha. “Here’s Looking at You, Kid!” O, The Oprah Magazine. Apr. 2006:
266-8.
Bloom, Lynn, and Louise Smith, eds. The Arlington Reader: Canons and Contexts.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003.
Byrd, Robert C. “Senate Remarks by Robert C. Byrd: We Stand Passively Mute.”
US Senator Robert C. Byrd. 12 Feb. 2003. United States Senate. 15 Apr.
2007 <http://byrd.senate.gov/speeches/byrd_speeches_2003february/
byrd_speeches_2003march_list/byrd_speeches_2003march
_list_1.html>
Connelly, Mark, ed. The Sundance Reader. 3rd ed. Boston: Thomson Heinle, 2003.
Cooley, Thomas, ed. The Norton Sampler: Short Essays for Composition. 6th ed.
New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2003.
DiYanni, Robert, ed. Fifty Great Essays. Boston: Longman, 2002.
Dowd, Maureen. “We Are America: Drill, Grill and Chill.” New York Times 20 May
2001, T:114.
Eschholz, Paul and Alfred Rosa, eds. Subjects/Strategies: A Writer’s Reader. 9th
ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2002.
Glazier, Teresa. The Least You Should Know about Vocabulary Building: Word
Roots. 4th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers,
1993.
Hamill, Jane. “A Grown-up Barbie.” NPR Morning Edition. 22 May 2006. National
Public Radio. 26 May 2006 <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/
story.php?storyId=5419659>
Hymowitz, Kay. “Thank Barbie for Britney: She’s not that innocent.” National
Review Online 3 May 2002. 15 April 2005
<http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commenthymowitz050302.asp>
Kelly, Joseph, ed. The Seagull Reader: Essays. New York: W. W. Norton &
Company, 2002.
Kennedy, John F. “Inaugural Address.” The History Place: Great Speeches
Collection. 15 Apr 2007 <http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/
jfk-inaug.htm>
Kennedy, X., Dorothy Kennedy and Jane Aaron, eds. The Bedford Reader. 8th ed.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003.
Loren, Sophia. Women and Beauty. 1st ed. New York: William Morrow &
Company, 1984.
McCuen, Jo Ray and Anthony Winkler, eds. Readings for Writers. 10th ed. Boston:
Thomson Heinle, 2001.
McDonough, Yona. The Barbie Chronicles: A Living Doll Turns Forty. New York:
Simon & Schuster, 1999.
Olson, Tod. “Now Hear This: The Art of Speech.” Literary Cavalcade Sept.
2004:14-19.
Peterson, Linda, John Brereton, and Joan Hartman, eds. The Norton Reader. 10th
ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000.
“Richard M. Nixon: Checkers Speech.” The History Place: Great Speeches
Collection. 15 Apr 2007 <http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/
nixon-checkers.htm>
Smith, Scott S. “Will the Real Shakespeare Stand Up?” SKY Dec. 1992: 96-100.
Zinsser, William. On Writing Well. New York: HarperPerennial, 1998.
General References
College Board. AP English Course Description. New York: The College Board, 2006.
Hacker, Diana. A Pocket Style Manual. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2000.
Morse, Ogden. “SOAPSTone: A Strategy for Reading and Writing.” College Board
AP Central® 31 Aug. 2005 <http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/
members/article.1,3046,175-186-0-45200,00.html>
Paul, Dr. Richard and Dr. Linda Elder. How to Read a Paragraph and beyond: The
Art of Close Reading. Dillon Beach, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking,
2003.