Wethersfield Public Schools
Course Outline
Course Name: English 15006-01: University of Connecticut English 1010: Seminar in Academic
Writing and AP® English Language & Composition
Department: English
Grade(s): 12
Level(s): ECE UConn/ Advanced Placement
Course Number(s): 15006-01
Credits: WHS 1; UConn 4
Course Description:
Students in this introductory college-level course read and carefully analyze a broad and
challenging range of nonfiction prose selections, deepening their awareness of how rhetoric and language
work. Through close reading and frequent writing, students develop their ability to work with language
and text with a greater awareness of purpose and strategy, while strengthening their own composition
abilities through argumentation and reflection. Course readings feature expository, analytical, personal,
and argumentative texts from a variety of authors and historical contexts, taught in thematic units.
Students interpret and work with essays, letters, speeches, images, and imaginative literature concerning
such topics as politics, education, language, and popular culture. Featured authors include Jonathan
Swift, Tim O’Brien, Jamaica Kinkaid, Richard Rodriguez, George Orwell, Ralph Waldo Emerson,
Sherman Alexie, Martin Luther King Junior, Brent Staples, David Denby, Stephen Jay Gould, Virginia
Woolf, Gay Talese, Theodore Roosevelt, Rachel Carson, Joyce Carol Oates, Leonard Pitts Junior and
William Shakespeare. Students frequently confer about their writing in class peer review and editing
sessions. Summer reading and writing are required. Students prepare for the AP® English Language and
Composition Exam and may be granted advanced placement, college credit, or both as a result of
satisfactory performance.
Central course textbooks include The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric; and They
Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (with Readings).
Supplemental articles and essays will be added as appropriate from sources such as daily print and web
media. For full publication data, see Teacher Resources below.
Course reading and writing activities are designed to help students gain textual power, making them more
alert to an author’s purpose, the needs of an audience, the demands of the subject, and the resources of
language: syntax, diction, and tone. The critical skills that students learn to appreciate through close and
continued analysis of a wide variety of nonfiction texts can serve them in their own writing as they grow
increasingly aware of these skills and their pertinent uses. During the course, a wide variety of texts
(including prose, poetry, fiction, film and still image) and writing tasks provide the focus for an energetic
study of ideas, language, rhetoric, and argument.
The main textbook of the course, The Language of Composition, is designed to foster the skills necessary
to be a sophisticated thinker, reader, and writer. Following the opening three chapters that provide the
groundwork for the rhetorical analysis and close reading skills necessary for success on the Advanced
Placement English Language and Composition test, the book is divided into thematically organized
chapters. Each chapter “is anchored by a central essay and a classic essay, and includes a range of
additional nonfiction readings, poetry and fiction, and visual texts” (ix). Reinforcement of the rhetorical
skills addressed in the opening chapters is accomplished by opportunities to discuss and interpret each
AP English Language and Composition
Page 1
reading, to analyze rhetoric and style, and to write. Suggestions for writing “extend the conversation
from the reading and suggest ways that students might practice some of the strategies that the writer uses”
including writing expository, analytical, personal, and argumentative texts (xi). At least two such writing
assignments will be assigned for each thematic chapter, with each essay going through a peer review and
instructor review process. Interviews with included writers discussing their craft aid students in making
the connections between their own writing and the writing of professionals. “Conversation sections”
including four or more short texts, give students practice writing the synthesis essay (xi). “Student
Writing sections serve as guided peer-review sessions encouraging students to think critically about
revision strategies,” and “Grammar as Rhetoric and Style sections bring grammar to life, going beyond
dos and don’ts to explore why grammar is important and how writers can use it to persuade (xi-xii). The
course does not necessarily use the thematic chapters in the order provided, but takes advantage of the
flexibility of thematic units to explore timely issues. For example, studying political writing in the month
of October, preceding November elections, is an excellent method of reinforcing the real world
application of rhetorical skills.
As this is a college-level course, performance expectations are appropriately high, and the workload is
challenging. Students are expected to commit to a minimum of five hours of course work per week
outside of class. Often, this work involves long-term writing and reading assignments, so effective time
management is important. Because of the demanding curriculum, students must bring to the course
sufficient command of mechanical conventions and an ability to read and discuss prose.
The course is constructed in accordance with the guidelines described in the University of Connecticut
English 1010 Statement of Pedagogical Principles and Practices and the AP College Board.
Required Instructional Materials:
The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric, Shea, Scanlon, Aufses. Bedford/St. Martin’s,
2008.
Revised/Approval Date: June 25, 2012, Approved by Administrative Team October 10, 2012
Approved Student Programs & Services Committee December 13, 2012
Approved Board of Education January 8, 2013
Key: NCTE Standards, 2010; CSDE Standards, 2006
Authors/Contributors: Kristen M. Mucinskas and Jeffrey T. Roets
AP English Language and Composition
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Overarching Skills
This section includes 21st Century skills and discipline focused skills such as inquiry skills, problem
solving skills, research skills, etc. These objectives should be taught and assessed through the integration
of the other units. This unit is not meant to be taught in isolation as a separate unit.
Title: AP Language and Composition Course Overview
Enduring Understandings
 Recognizing and analyzing rhetorical
structures and strategies allows readers to
read complex texts with understanding and
to write prose of sufficient richness and
complexity to communicate effectively
with mature readers.
Essential Questions
 What makes a text complex?
 How can good writing be structured?
 How can rhetorical strategies be used?
 How does one communicate effectively
with a wide variety of audiences?
 How does grammar influence rhetoric and
style?
Objectives (skills)
(Show link to standards in parenthesis after objective) The student will:
S.1
Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use
of rhetorical strategies and techniques. (NCTE 3, 9; CSDE 1.2)
S.2
Apply effective strategies and techniques in students’ own writing.
(NCTE 5; CSDE 1.4, 3.2)
S.3
Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research and/or personal experience.
(NCTE 7, 9, 12; CSDE 3, 4)
S.4
Write for a variety of purposes. (NCTE 5, 9, 12; CSDE 3.2, 4.2)
S.5
Produce expository, analytical and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex
central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or
secondary sources, cogent explanations and clear transitions. (NCTE 5, 8; CSDE 3, 4)
S.6
Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic
maturity in their own writings. (NCTE 9, 10; CSDE 4)
S.7
Demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources.
(NCTE 8 )
S.8
Move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to
inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing and review. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4)
S.9
Write thoughtfully about own process of writing. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4.2)
S.10
Revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience. (NCTE 4; CSDE 4.2)
S.11
Analyze image as text. (NCTE 3; CSDE 1)
S. 12
Evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched papers. (NCTE 8)
(Above skills language directly quoted from the AP College Board AP English Language and
Composition Course Description.)
Instructional Support Materials
 The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric, Shea, Scanlon, Aufses. Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2008.
 The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Andrea A. Lunsford and Robert Connors. Bedford St. Martins,
1999.
AP English Language and Composition
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
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They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Graff, Birkenstein. Second
Edition, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2010.
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-english-course-description.pdf
https://learn.uconn.edu/
Barron’s AP Language and Composition, Ehrenhaft, Third Edition, 2010.
Suggested Instructional Strategies
 Process writing
 Teacher/ student conferencing regarding writing
 Close reading
 Discussion
 Reader’s response journal
 Lecture on authors’ backgrounds, context, history
 Textbook suggested reading questions for homework
 Reader’s circles
 Practice tests will begin with untimed, teacher assigned portions of past AP Language and
Composition tests. As units progress, time will be reduced until practice time under teacher
supervision is equal to the time allotted for response on the actual AP test.
 Peer reading and editing
 Conferencing with teacher
 Self-reflection and evaluation
 Evaluate other student responses using AP criteria and guidelines for open ended responses
 Like all of the essays students will write for this class, at least two drafts will be examined by
peers and the instructor before the final draft is turned in for assessment. The intent is for
drafting and editing to be seen as an integral part of the five canons of rhetoric: invention,
arrangement, style, memory and delivery. The drafting process, including peer and instructor
review, will be the norm for every essay written for the class. Also a norm is the use of MLA
style citation for the recognition of any sources.
Suggested Assessment Methods
(Include use of school-wide analytic and course specific rubrics)
 Rhetorical writing including 2-3 research papers, and another 2-5 synthesis papers encompassing
rhetorical strategies including narration, description, exemplification, comparison/contrast,
classification and division, definition, process analysis, cause and effect, and argument.
 Textbook suggested reading questions for homework
 Reader’s response journal
 Self reflection and evaluation
 Evaluate other student responses using AP criteria and guidelines for open ended responses
 AP Language and Composition Practice Exams
 AP Language and Composition Exam (May test date to be determined by the College Board)
 WHS school wide rubrics for effective communication, higher order thinking, problem solving,
and technology
AP English Language and Composition
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Unit 1A: Introduction to Rhetoric
Time Frame: First full two weeks of September
Length of Unit: First two weeks of a six week unit
Enduring Understandings
 recognizing rhetorical strategies and how
they are used is necessary for effective
communication.
Essential Questions
 How can rhetoric be used to persuade an
audience?
 How can appeals to ethos, logos, and
pathos improve communication?
 Why does the arrangement or organization
of a piece matter?
 What is the value of analysis and
recognition of rhetorical strategies when
reading?
Objectives (knowledge and skills)
(Show link to standards in parenthesis after objective) The student will:
1.1
Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s
use of rhetorical strategies and techniques. (NCTE 3, 9; CSDE 1.2)
1.2
Apply effective strategies and techniques in students’ own writing.
(NCTE 5; CSDE 1.4, 3.2)
1.3
Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research and/or personal experience.
(NCTE 7, 9, 12; CSDE 3, 4)
1.4
Write for a variety of purposes. (NCTE 5, 9, 12; CSDE 3.2, 4.2)
1.5
Analyze image as text. (NCTE 3; CSDE 1)
Instructional Support Materials
 The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric, Shea, Scanlon, Aufses. Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2008. Chapter 1.
 The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Andrea A. Lunsford and Robert Connors. Bedford St. Martins,
1999.
 They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Graff, Birkenstein. Second
Edition, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2010.
Suggested Instructional Strategies
 Baseline timed AP Practice test (before reading or teaching the materials in units 1-3)
 Close reading
 Discussion
 Lecture on authors’ backgrounds, context, history
 Textbook suggested reading questions for homework
 Content specific vocabulary generated from textbook
 Timed writings based on teacher/textbook/student-generated questions
 Textbook assignments on identifying rhetoric
AP English Language and Composition
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Suggested Assessment Methods
 The course opens with an immediate follow-up on a summer assignment, which consists of
reading the text They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing and responding to
the writing prompts that follow each section of “They Say,” “I Say,” “Tying it All Together,”
“Entering the Conversation” and the readings found in chapters fourteen and sixteen. This
exercise allows students to explore the social and conversational aspect of academic writing and
models the composition concepts behind the synthesis essay, and the rhetorical concepts behind
close reading analysis. The text offers templates of rhetorical tools that students can immediately
add to their own writing toolboxes. Students will read several of the attached writings (chapter
13, “Is Fast Food the New Tobacco?”) and write two response essays, in multiple drafts, to
practice the skills of summarizing, quoting, determining what matters, assuming a position,
planting naysayers, using transitions, and being aware of the need for meta-commentary as a
writer. (9/1- 9/16)
 Essay #1: As a final assessment of the summer reading of They Say; I Say the students will join
the conversation about American eating habits by writing an argumentation essay in response to
David Zinzenko’s essay “Don’t Blame the Eater.” Students will use their own experience and
knowledge as part of their argument to agree, disagree, or both with Zinzenko’s column.
Students will be expected to represent Zinzenko’s views near the beginning of their text and to
both summarize and quote from his arguments.
 Baseline AP practice test
 Content specific vocabulary quizzes
 Timed writings based on teacher/textbook/student-generated questions
 Textbook assignments on identifying rhetoric
 Test at conclusion of units one(1) through three (3)
 WHS school wide rubrics for effective communication, higher order thinking, problem solving,
and technology
AP English Language and Composition
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Unit 1B: Close Reading
Time Frame: Third and fourth weeks of September
Length of Unit: Second two weeks of a six week unit
Enduring Understandings
 Readers create meaning through the
analysis of rhetorical structure and style as
well as personal connections to the piece.
 Multiple readings can allow for a deeper
understanding of a piece.
Essential Questions
 How do readers create meaning?
 How can style - diction and syntax - affect
meaning?
 How can writing in response to reading
enable a deeper understanding of a
selection?
 How does grammar influence style?
Objectives (knowledge and skills)
(Show link to standards in parenthesis after objective) The student will:
2.1.
Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s
use of rhetorical strategies and techniques. (NCTE 3, 9; CSDE 1.2)
2.2
Apply effective strategies and techniques in students’ own writing.
(NCTE 5; CSDE 1.4, 3.2)
2.3
Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research and/or personal experience.
(NCTE 7, 9, 12; CSDE 3, 4)
2.4
Write for a variety of purposes. (NCTE 5, 9, 12; CSDE 3.2, 4.2)
2.5
Produce expository, analytical and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex
central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or
secondary sources, cogent explanations and clear transitions. (NCTE 5, 8; CSDE 3,4)
2.6
Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic
maturity in their own writings. (NCTE 9, 10; CSDE 4)
2.7
Write thoughtfully about own process of writing. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4.2)
2.8
Analyze image as text. (NCTE 3; CSDE 1)
Instructional Support Materials
 The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric, Shea, Scanlon, Aufses. Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2008. Chapter 2.
 The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Andrea A. Lunsford and Robert Connors. Bedford St. Martins,
1999.
 They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Graff, Birkenstein. Second
Edition, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2010.
 Visual advertisements from contemporary periodicals (student generated/choice)
Suggested Instructional Strategies
 Close reading
 Discussion
 Reader’s response journal
 Lecture on authors’ backgrounds, context, history
 Textbook suggested reading questions for homework
 Introduction of reader’s circles
 Untimed AP practice tests
 Content specific vocabulary generated from textbook
 Timed writings based on teacher/textbook/student-generated questions
AP English Language and Composition
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

Textbook assignments on identifying style
Test at conclusion of units one(1) through three (3)
Suggested Assessment Methods
 Using the first three chapters of The Language of Composition, students will be introduced to the
terms, filters, and skills of rhetorical analysis including the rhetorical triangle; the classic appeals
of logos, ethos and pathos; Burke’s Pentad; Toulmin’s model of analysis; arrangement models;
tropes of diction and syntax; conventions of genre; and a variety of other terms. Knowledge and
application of rhetorical terminology will be assessed weekly (These quizzes will continue for
months – even after exhausting a glossary of terms once, we will continue to come back to the
definitions and examples in order to build an easy familiarity with rhetorical terminology. The
Silva Rhetorica will be a regularly used source). Close reading and text annotation will be
covered, including the use of graphic organizers and the dialectic journal. A reading journal will
be used and reviewed weekly; this practice will continue throughout the year. Students will write
responses and essays, prompted by the text-book and in-class discussion, as ungraded, multi-draft
exercises designed to allow practice of rhetorical analysis and synthesis writing techniques.
(9/19- 10/7)
Following the introduction of rhetorical terms and analysis, a practice AP English Language and
Composition test will be given to provide a baseline score.
 Essay #2: Since this is a class for seniors, all of the students will be facing college application
deadlines; as a way to both allay some of their stress and apply their newly learned rhetorical
skills, the students will go through the drafting process on the topic of their choice (personal
narrative or argumentative) or as suggested by the schools to which they are applying. Students
will apply close reading analysis skills to each other’s writing, suggesting rhetorical models and
devices that can be used to improve to their essays. Much attention will be paid to the canons of
rhetoric and the expanded rhetorical triangle; there’s nothing like the fear of college rejection to
inspire a real understanding of speaker, audience, subject, purpose, context and genre.
 Content specific vocabulary quizzes
 Timed writings based on teacher/textbook/student-generated questions
 Textbook assignments on identifying style
 Untimed AP practice tests
 WHS school wide rubrics for effective communication, higher order thinking, problem solving,
and technology
AP English Language and Composition
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Unit 1C: Synthesizing Sources; Entering the Conversation
Time Frame: First two weeks of October
Length of Unit: Last two weeks of a six week unit.
Enduring Understandings
 When a writer writes about a topic he/she
enters an ongoing conversation.
 Synthesizing what others have said before
you is a necessity for full involvement in a
topic.
 Valid arguments require adequate and
reliable support.
Essential Questions
 Why is synthesis of other writers’
information necessary for a valid opinion?
 Why is research an integral part of reading
and writing?
 How can a writer use rhetorical strategies
and synthesized material to advance an
argument?
 What are viable forms of support?
 How does grammar influence rhetoric and
style?
Objectives (knowledge and skills)
(Show link to standards in parenthesis after objective) The student will:
3.1
Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use
of rhetorical strategies and techniques. (NCTE 3, 9)
3.2
Apply effective strategies and techniques in students’ own writing. (NCTE 5)
3.3
Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research and/or personal experience.
(NCTE 7, 9, 12; CSDE 3, 4)
3.4
Write for a variety of purposes. (NCTE 5; CSDE 3.2, 4.2)
3.5
Produce expository, analytical and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex
central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or
secondary sources, cogent explanations and clear transitions. (NCTE 5, 8)
3.6
Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic
maturity in their own writings. (NCTE 9, 10)
3.7
Demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources.
(NCTE 8)
3.8
Move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to
inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing and review. (NCTE 5)
3.9
Write thoughtfully about own process of writing. (NCTE 5)
3.10
Revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience. (NCTE 4)
3.11
Analyze image as text. (NCTE 3)
3. 12
Evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched papers. (NCTE 8)
Instructional Support Materials
 The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric, Shea, Scanlon, Aufses. Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2008. Chapter 3.
 The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Andrea A. Lunsford and Robert Connors. Bedford St. Martins,
1999.
 They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Graff, Birkenstein. Second
Edition, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2010.
 Barron’s AP Language and Composition, Ehrenhaft, Third Edition, 2010.
AP English Language and Composition
Page 9
Suggested Instructional Strategies
 Close reading
 Discussion
 Reader’s response journal
 Lecture on authors’ backgrounds, context, history
 Textbook suggested reading questions for homework
 Reader’s circles
 Untimed and timed practice AP tests
 Peer reading and editing
 Conferencing with teacher
 Content specific vocabulary generated from textbook
 Timed writings based on teacher/textbook/student-generated questions
 Textbook assignments on identifying style
 Test at conclusion of units one(1) through three (3)
Suggested Assessment Methods
 Test at conclusion of units one(1) through three (3) - AP Practice test (timed)
 Synthesis essay which references the skills learned in units 1-3
 WHS school wide rubrics for effective communication, higher order thinking, problem solving,
and technology
AP English Language and Composition
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Units four through ten and twelve (unit eleven is test preparation.) all practice the skills introduced in
units one through three through thematic readings. Students are assessed on these skills on the AP
Test and through a final project.
Unit 2: Politics
Time Frame: last week of October - first two weeks of November
Length of Unit: 3 weeks
Enduring Understandings
 Recognizing and analyzing rhetorical
structures and strategies allows readers to
read complex texts with understanding and
to write prose of sufficient richness and
complexity to communicate effectively
with mature readers.
Essential Questions
 What is the nature of the relationship
between the citizen and the state?
 How does grammar influence rhetoric and
style?
Objectives (knowledge and skills)
(Show link to standards in parenthesis after objective) The student will:
4.1
Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use
of rhetorical strategies and techniques. (NCTE 3, 9; CSDE 1.2)
4.2
Apply effective strategies and techniques in students’ own writing.
(NCTE 5; CSDE 1.4, 3.2)
4.3
Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research and/or personal experience.
(NCTE 7, 9, 12; CSDE 3.4)
4.4
Write for a variety of purposes. (NCTE 5, 9, 12; CSDE 3.2, 4.2)
4.5
Produce expository, analytical and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex
central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or
secondary sources, cogent explanations and clear transitions. (NCTE 5, 8; CSDE 3,4)
4.6
Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic
maturity in their own writings. (NCTE 9, 10; CSDE 4)
4.7
Demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources.
(NCTE 8)
4.8
Move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to
inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing and review. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4)
4.9
Write thoughtfully about own process of writing. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4.2)
4.10
Revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience. (NCTE 4; CSDE 4.2)
4.11
Analyze image as text. (NCTE 3; CSDE1)
4. 12
Evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched papers. (NCTE 8)
Instructional Support Materials
 The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric, Shea, Scanlon, Aufses. Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2008. Chapter 13.
 Daily newspapers
 Recent periodicals
 The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Andrea A. Lunsford and Robert Connors. Bedford St. Martins,
1999.
 They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Graff, Birkenstein. Second
Edition, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2010.
AP English Language and Composition
Page 11
Suggested Instructional Strategies
 Close reading
 Discussion
 Reader’s response journal
 Lecture on authors’ backgrounds, context, history, (as needed)
 Textbook suggested reading questions for homework
 Reader’s circles
 Untimed and timed practice AP tests
 Process writings
 Peer reading and editing
 Conferencing with teacher
 Content specific vocabulary generated from textbook
 Timed writings based on teacher/textbook/student-generated questions
 “Grammar as Rhetoric and Style: Subordination in the Complex Sentence”
Suggested Assessment Methods
 The first thematic chapter introduced will be “Politics,” in which students will consider the
relationship between the citizen and the state, with a primary focus on colonialism. Students will
begin their rhetorical work by reading and annotating Jamaica Kincaid’s “On Seeing England for
the First Time” and Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” answering questions concerning
content, rhetoric and style, and applying Toulmin’s model of analysis (claim, data, and warrant).
As with each thematic chapter to follow, students will be asked to maintain a reading journal for
each reading and be prepared to write in class in response to text-generated questions.
 Essay #3: Having read their first “classical essay” in Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” and analyzed
his brilliant, and to some, shocking, use of satire, students will bring Swift’s influence forward to
today, explaining how his satiric style influences contemporary satires such as The Colbert
Report. This is a more amorphous assignment question than they are accustomed to, so time will
be spent in class discussing angles of approach (invention) and structure (arrangement). We will
also watch and analyze an episode of Colbert Report in class to familiarize the students with this
concept.
 Students will work in this unit to consider what colonialism means to the colonized and the
colonizers. A grammar as rhetoric and style focus will be on subordination in the complex
sentence. Then, following a close rhetorical study and analysis of Chris Hedges “From The
Destruction of Culture,” Oliver Goldsmith’s “National Prejudices,” Virginia Woolf’s “Thoughts
on Peace in an Air Raid,” Henry David Thoreau’s “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience,” Wole
Soyinka’s “Every Dictator’s Nightmare,” students will discuss the power and rhetorical moves of
images and will examine the painting “Guernica” by Pablo Picasso, and the editing of Picasso’s
image by the UN, The New Yorker, and Harper’s. All of this close reading and analysis of
political essays, beyond providing practice of the rhetorical skills needed to succeed on the AP
test, will lead up to our first formal synthesis essay. Making use of the Conversation: Focus on
Colonialism section of the text book, we will add to our knowledge of perspectives on
colonialism by reading and considering George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant,” Chinua
Achebe’s “The Empire Fights Back,” Eavan Boland’s poem “In Which the Ancient History I
Learn is Not My Own,” the National Park Service’s “Christiansted: Official Map and Guide
(travel brochure),” and Bombay Company’s print advertisement “What Part of You Lives in
Bombay.” (10/10 – 11/4)
 Essay #4: Using all of the sources (minimum of 4) from the chapter, students will respond to one
of the following prompts:
 Write an essay in which you discuss the individual’s struggle against the power of the colonizer.
AP English Language and Composition
Page 12



OR
George Orwell says of the imperialist, “He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it.” Write an
essay exploring the implications of this statement.
Reader response journal
Textbook suggested reading questions
WHS school wide rubrics for effective communication, higher order thinking, problem solving,
and technology
AP English Language and Composition
Page 13
Unit 3: Language
Time Frame: Last three weeks of November
Length of Unit: 3 weeks
Enduring Understandings
 Recognizing and analyzing rhetorical
structures and strategies allows readers to
read complex texts with understanding and
to write prose of sufficient richness and
complexity to communicate effectively
with mature readers.
Essential Questions
 How does the language we use reveal who
we are?
 How does grammar influence rhetoric and
style?
Objectives (knowledge and skills)
(Show link to standards in parenthesis after objective) The student will:
5.1
Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use
of rhetorical strategies and techniques. (NCTE 3, 9; CSDE 1.2)
5.2
Apply effective strategies and techniques in students’ own writing.
(NCTE 5; CSDE 1.4, 3.2)
5.3
Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research and/or personal experience.
(NCTE 7, 9, 12; CSDE 3.4)
5.4
Write for a variety of purposes. (NCTE 5, 9, 12; CSDE 3.2, 4.2)
5.5
Produce expository, analytical and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex
central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or
secondary sources, cogent explanations and clear transitions. (NCTE 5, 8; CSDE 3,4)
5.6
Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic
maturity in their own writings. (NCTE 9, 10; CSDE 4)
5.7
Demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources.
(NCTE 8)
5.8
Move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to
inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing and review. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4)
5.9
Write thoughtfully about own process of writing (NCTE 5; CSDE 4.2)
5.10
Revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience. (NCTE 4; CSDE 4.2)
5.11
Analyze image as text. (NCTE 3; CSDE1)
5. 12
Evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched papers. (NCTE 8)
Instructional Support Materials
 The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric, Shea, Scanlon, Aufses. Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2008. Chapter 9.
 The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Andrea A. Lunsford and Robert Connors. Bedford St. Martins,
1999.
 They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Graff, Birkenstein. Second
Edition, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2010.
Suggested Instructional Strategies
 Close reading
 Discussion
 Reader’s response journal
 Lecture on authors’ backgrounds, context, history
 Textbook suggested reading questions for homework
AP English Language and Composition
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Reader’s circles
Untimed and timed practice AP tests
Process writing
Peer reading and editing
Conferencing with teacher
Content specific vocabulary generated from textbook
Timed writings based on teacher/textbook/student-generated questions
“Grammar as Rhetoric and Style: Concise Diction”
Suggested Assessment Methods
 In this unit we will be looking at how the language we use reveals who we are. As homework
over the break, students will read and analyze Richard Rodriguez’s “Aria: A Memoir of a
Bilingual Childhood,” and George Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language.” All textbook
generated questions for discussion and questions on rhetoric and style will be addressed. Upon
return from break, we will discuss both essays and questions, leading up to two “essays” that will
call on the more creative side of the rhetorical process and provide students with a chance to
explore some different genres of rhetoric.
 Essay #7 (in 2 parts):
o Part I – The Epistle -Turn Rodriguez’s argument against itself. Using several passages
from “Aria,” write a letter to the author explaining how his own points undermine his
position that bilingual education or any kind of policy that separates students on the basis
of language is a disservice to the nonnative English speaker.
o Part II – Visual Layout as Rhetoric – Suppose “Politics and the English Language” were
being reprinted in a specific contemporary magazine (your choice). Redesign the essay
by adding visual images and graphic displays that will appeal to the magazine’s audience.
Do not change Orwell’s language; simply download the essay from the Internet, and then
redesign it by including graphs, charts, cartoon characters, icons, color or different fonts.
Explain the rhetorical effect that you intend these changes to have.
 Choice from textbook “Suggestions for Writing” pp. 595-597
 Untimed and timed practice AP tests
 WHS school wide rubrics for effective communication, higher order thinking, problem solving,
and technology
AP English Language and Composition
Page 15
Unit 4: Education
Time Frame: The month of December
Length of Unit: 3 weeks
Enduring Understandings
 Recognizing and analyzing rhetorical
structures and strategies allows readers to
read complex texts with understanding and
to write prose of sufficient richness and
complexity to communicate effectively
with mature readers.
Essential Questions
 To what extent do our schools serve the
goals of a true education?
 How does grammar influence rhetoric and
style?
Objectives (knowledge and skills)
(Show link to standards in parenthesis after objective) The student will:
6.1
Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use
of rhetorical strategies and techniques. (NCTE 3, 9; CSDE 1.2)
6.2
Apply effective strategies and techniques in students’ own writing.
(NCTE 5; CSDE 1.4, 3.2)
6.3
Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research and/or personal experience.
(NCTE 7, 9, 12; CSDE 3.4)
6.4
Write for a variety of purposes. (NCTE 5, 9, 12; CSDE 3.2, 4.2)
6.5
Produce expository, analytical and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex
central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or
secondary sources, cogent explanations and clear transitions. (NCTE 5, 8; CSDE 3,4)
6.6
Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic
maturity in their own writings. (NCTE 9, 10; CSDE 4)
6.7
Demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources.
(NCTE 8)
6.8
Move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to
inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing and review. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4)
6.9
Write thoughtfully about own process of writing. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4.2)
6.10
Revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience (NCTE 4; CSDE 4.2)
6.11
Analyze image as text. (NCTE 3; CSDE1)
6.12
Evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched papers. (NCTE 8)
Instructional Support Materials
 The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric, Shea, Scanlon, Aufses. Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2008. Chapter 4.
 The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Andrea A. Lunsford and Robert Connors. Bedford St. Martins,
1999.
 They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Graff, Birkenstein. Second
Edition, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2010.
 Waiting for Superman, Davis Guggenheim, 2010.
 Race to Nowhere, Vicki Abeles, 2009.
 Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) for MLA Specifications
Suggested Instructional Strategies
 Close reading
 Discussion
AP English Language and Composition
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Reader’s response journal
Lecture on authors’ backgrounds, context, history
Textbook suggested reading questions for homework
Reader’s circles
Untimed and timed practice AP tests
Process writing
Peer reading and editing
Conferencing with teacher
Content specific vocabulary generated from textbook
Timed writings based on teacher/textbook/student-generated questions
“Grammar as Rhetoric and Style: Appositives”
Suggested Assessment Methods
 Education is something the students feel they know – at least from the perspective of being a
student for eleven years. With this thematic unit we are able to explore both what they know
about education via personal experience, and what they don’t know about education but have
experience with anyway. Students will have to both look beyond what they think they know, and
analyze how their own views – developed and developing – have been formed. As a transition
from our unit on politics, we will begin the unit by viewing the TED talk of Dr. Jonathan Haidt
on the necessity of stepping out of the “moral matrix” in order to better understand the politics of
today. Stepping out of a “moral matrix” is an excellent metaphor for rhetorical analysis as well;
as consumers and producers of rhetorical messages, we need to be able to step away from our
own initial reactions and judgments and instead endeavor to understand the who, the what, the
why, the where, the when and the how of any given message. In other words, as both consumers
and producers of rhetoric, we need to be meta-aware of the rhetorical strategies at work in any
given message.
This meta-awareness of rhetoric is immediately challenged by the essay “I Know Why the Caged
Bird Cannot Read” by Francine Prose, in which she “attacks” high school reading lists and many
of the books the students know and love. Following the opportunity to discuss and respond to
questions raised by Prose and by the textbook, students will write their first truly analytical essay.
(11/7 – 11/18)
 Essay #5: The difficulty with the following prompt is that students tend to respond emotionally,
and in the case of Prose’s essay, they are angry and want to defend their own reading. However,
this prompt does not ask them to argue, but to analyze Prose’s rhetorical stance, or attitude.
Students will respond to the following prompt: Define Francine Prose’s attitude towards high
school reading lists and how such texts are taught in high schools, and analyze the rhetorical
strategies the writer uses to communicate that attitude.
 Following the Prose essay, students will continue to read and analyze essays on education,
including Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “From Education,” Sherman Alexie’s “Superman and Me,”
Margaret Talbot’s “Best in Class,” James Baldwin’s “A Talk to Teachers,” Kyoko Mori’s
“School,” Billy Collin’s poem “The History Teacher,” Horace Mann’s “From Report of the
Massachusetts Board of Education,” Leon Botstein’s “Let Teenagers try Adulthood,” Todd
Gitlin’s “The Liberal Arts in an Age of Info-Glut,” David Broder’s “A Model for High Schools,”
Floyd Norris’ “U.S. Students Fare Badly in International Survey of Math Skills,” and Norman
Rockwell’s painting “The Spirit of Education.” While the above list is long and varied, each
essay will be read and discussed in either small groups or in a whole class discussion model.
Beyond continuously practicing their rhetorical analysis skills and building their non-fiction
reading stamina, students are also building a body of knowledge beyond their own experiences on
the broader discussion being held on education. Capping this glut of “educational research” will
be a viewing of and a visual and rhetorical analysis of Davis Guggenheim’s “propaganda” film
AP English Language and Composition
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Waiting for “Superman.” Views on the film and the issues it raises will be shared with the class
by the principal of the school and a teacher’s union member. The grammatical focus for this unit
is on the use of appositives. (11/21- 12/23)
Essay #6: In light of the wealth of information and opinions about education at their fingertips,
students will write a blended argument and synthesis essay in which they consider the educational
problems and solutions raised by the film Waiting for “Superman.” Students will need to
consider not only the validity of the arguments raised (synthesis part), but also the rhetorical
devices - both visual and verbal -used to deliver Guggenheim’s message (analysis part). A huge
difficulty in writing this assignment will be in the conscious prioritizing choices that each student
will have to make; they will need to choose to leave some arguments out and focus on only a few.
Students will need to consider their own rhetorical stance and again use the focus of the rhetorical
triangle to keep their essays from turning into meandering leviathans.
Untimed practice AP tests
Midterm exam is a timed practice AP test
WHS school wide rubrics for effective communication, higher order thinking, problem solving,
and technology
AP English Language and Composition
Page 18
Unit 5: Community
Time Frame: Month of January – first week of February
Length of Unit: 3 weeks
Enduring Understandings
 Recognizing and analyzing rhetorical
structures and strategies allows readers to
read complex texts with understanding and
to write prose of sufficient richness and
complexity to communicate effectively
with mature readers.
Essential Questions
 What is the relationship of the individual to
the community?
 How does grammar influence rhetoric and
style?
Objectives (knowledge and skills)
(Show link to standards in parenthesis after objective) The student will:
7.1
Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use
of rhetorical strategies and techniques. (NCTE 3, 9; CSDE 1.2)
7.2.
Apply effective strategies and techniques in students’ own writing.
(NCTE 5; CSDE 1.4, 3.2)
7.3
Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research and/or personal experience.
(NCTE 7, 9, 12; CSDE 3.4)
7.4
Write for a variety of purposes. (NCTE 5, 9, 12; CSDE 3.2, 4.2)
7.5
Produce expository, analytical and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex
central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or
secondary sources, cogent explanations and clear transitions. (NCTE 5, 8; CSDE 3,4)
7.6
Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic
maturity in their own writings. (NCTE 9, 10; CSDE 4)
7.7
Demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources.
(NCTE 8)
7.8
Move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to
inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing and review. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4)
7.9
Write thoughtfully about own process of writing. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4.2)
7.10
Revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience. (NCTE 4; CSDE 4.2)
7.11
Analyze image as text. (NCTE 3; CSDE1)
7.12
Evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched papers. (NCTE 8)
Instructional Support Materials
 The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric, Shea, Scanlon, Aufses. Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2008. Chapter 6.
 The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Andrea A. Lunsford and Robert Connors. Bedford St. Martins,
1999.
 They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Graff, Birkenstein. Second
Edition, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2010.
Suggested Instructional Strategies
 Close reading
 Discussion
 Reader’s response journal
 Lecture on authors’ backgrounds, context, history
 Textbook suggested reading questions for homework
 Reader’s circles
AP English Language and Composition
Page 19
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Untimed and timed practice AP tests
Process writing
Peer reading and editing
Conferencing with teacher
Content specific vocabulary generated from textbook
Timed writings based on teacher/textbook/student-generated questions
“Grammar as Rhetoric and Style: Parallel Structures”
Suggested Assessment Methods
 During the first segment of this quarter, students will give attention to the relationship and
meaning of the individual to the community, paying particular attention to Martin Luther King,
Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” and Henry David Thoreau’s “Where I Lived, and What I
Lived for.”
Essay #8: Students will choose one of two personal expository essays topics to write on, using
the King or Thoreau essays as models.
1. “Describe a time when your participation in, or loyalty to, two different communities conflicted.
Explain the nature of the conflict and how you resolved it.” OR
2. “Using the reflective style of Thoreau, write your own philosophical essay entitled ‘Where I Live
and What I Live For’ (note present tense).
(Essay topics found in The Language of Composition.)
 Students will then work in this unit to consider what it means to belong to a larger community.
Following a close rhetorical study and analysis of Jane Howard’s “All Happy Clans are Alike: In
Search of the Good Family,”Amitai Etzioni’s “The New Community,” Anna Quindlen’s
Commencement Speech at Mount Holyoke College, and Lori Arviso Alvord’s “Walking the Path
between Worlds,” students will draw from previous discussions about the power of images and
will examine the painting “Reflections” by Lee Teter, and the sculpture “Three Servicemen” by
Frederick Hart as they then work to complete a synthesis essay. Other works for consideration
include Bertrand Russell’s “The Happy Life,” Peter Singer’s “The Singer Solution to World
Poverty,” Garrett Hardin’s “Lifeboat Ethics: The Case against Helping the Poor,” John
Betjeman’s poem “In Westminster Abbey,” and the films Gran Torino (2008) or Rear Window
(1954).
 Essay #9: Synthesis focus: Students will write about the discussion that might ensue among at
least five of the writers/artists studied in this chapter if those writers were to focus on the
following question: What are the characteristics of a productive and successful community at the
start of the twenty-first century?
 Untimed practice AP tests
 Synthesis essay: “Focus on the Individual’s Responsibility to the Community”
 WHS school wide rubrics for effective communication, higher order thinking, problem solving,
and technology
AP English Language and Composition
Page 20
Unit 6: Pop Culture
Time Frame: February - first full week of March (includes break week)
Length of Unit: 3 weeks
Enduring Understandings
 Recognizing and analyzing rhetorical
structures and strategies allows readers to
read complex texts with understanding and
to write prose of sufficient richness and
complexity to communicate effectively
with mature readers.
Essential Questions
 To what extent does pop culture reflect our
society’s values?
 How does grammar influence rhetoric and
style?
Objectives (knowledge and skills)
(Show link to standards in parenthesis after objective) The student will:
8.1
Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use
of rhetorical strategies and techniques. (NCTE 3, 9; CSDE 1.2)
8.2
Apply effective strategies and techniques in students’ own writing.
(NCTE 5; CSDE 1.4, 3.2)
8.3
Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research and/or personal experience.
(NCTE 7, 9, 12; CSDE 3.4)
8.4
Write for a variety of purposes. (NCTE 5, 9, 12; CSDE 3.2, 4.2)
8.5
Produce expository, analytical and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex
central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or
secondary sources, cogent explanations and clear transitions. (NCTE 5, 8; CSDE 3,4)
8.6
Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic
maturity in their own writings. (NCTE 9, 10; CSDE 4)
8.7
Demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources.
(NCTE 8)
8.8
Move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to
inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing and review. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4)
8.9
Write thoughtfully about own process of writing. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4.2)
8.10
Revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience (NCTE 4; CSDE 4.2)
8.11
Analyze image as text. (NCTE 3; CSDE1)
8.12
Evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched papers. (NCTE 8)
Instructional Support Materials
 The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric, Shea, Scanlon, Aufses. Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2008. Chapter 11.
 The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Andrea A. Lunsford and Robert Connors. Bedford St. Martins,
1999.
 They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Graff, Birkenstein. Second
Edition, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2010.
 Current television shows (Simpsons, Reality TV)
Suggested Instructional Strategies
 Close reading
 Discussion
 Reader’s response journal
AP English Language and Composition
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Lecture on authors’ backgrounds, context, history
Textbook suggested reading questions for homework
Reader’s circles
Untimed and timed practice AP tests
Process writing
Peer reading and editing
Conferencing with teacher
Content specific vocabulary generated from textbook
Timed writings based on teacher/textbook/student-generated questions
“Grammar as Rhetoric and Style: Modifiers”
Suggested Assessment Methods
 During the second segment of this quarter, students will address the extent to which pop culture
reflects our society’s values, beginning by analyzing the arguments and rhetorical moves of
David Denby’s “High School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies,” and Mark Twain’s “CornPone Opinions.”
 Essay #10: Students will use Twain’s argument of “Corn-Pone Opinions” - that there are no
independent or original opinions, only opinions we conform to- to analyze the genre of “Teen
Movies” as discussed by Denby. Do the conventions of the genre support Twain’s assertion? Is
teen life defined by the “word of mouth” conventions seen in these movies?
 This unit will then analyze the extent that pop culture reflects our society’s values. Then,
following a close rhetorical study of Brent Staples’, “Godzilla vs. The Giant Scissors: Cutting the
Antiwar Heart Out of a Classic,” Vine DeLoria, Jr.’s “We Talk, You Listen,” Scott McCould’s
graphic essay “Show and Tell,” and Theresa Wiltz’s “Popular Culture in the Aftermath of
September 11 is a Chorus without a Hook, a Movie without an Ending,” students will draw from
previous discussions about the power of images and words while examining the poem “Emily
Dickinson and Elvis Presley in Heaven” by Hans Ostrom and the painting “The Innocent Eye” by
Mark Tansey. Students will also examine the cartoon by Stuart McMillen, “Amusing Ourselves
to Death,” which uses words from Neil Postman’s book of the same name.
 Essay #11: Paying particular attention to rhetorical stance and tone, students will write an essay
arguing against a fictional older generation’s claim that the popular culture of today’s youth
proves that Aldous Huxley was right, that we have become “a trivial culture, preoccupied with
some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and centrifugal bumble puppy” and that we have
an “infinite appetite for distractions.”
 WHS school wide rubrics for effective communication, higher order thinking, problem solving,
and technology
AP English Language and Composition
Page 22
Unit 7: Gender
Time Frame: Last three weeks of March
Length of Unit: 3 weeks
Enduring Understandings
 Recognizing and analyzing rhetorical
structures and strategies allows readers to
read complex texts with understanding and
to write prose of sufficient richness and
complexity to communicate effectively
with mature readers.
Essential Questions
 What is the impact of the gender roles that
society creates and enforces?
 How does grammar influence rhetoric and
style?
Objectives (knowledge and skills)
(Show link to standards in parenthesis after objective) The student will:
9.1
Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use
of rhetorical strategies and techniques. (NCTE 3, 9; CSDE 1.2)
9.2.
Apply effective strategies and techniques in students’ own writing.
(NCTE 5; CSDE 1.4, 3.2)
9.3
Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research and/or personal experience.
(NCTE 7, 9, 12; CSDE 3.4)
9.4
Write for a variety of purposes. (NCTE 5, 9, 12; CSDE 3.2, 4.2)
9.5
Produce expository, analytical and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex
central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or
secondary sources, cogent explanations and clear transitions. (NCTE 5, 8; CSDE 3,4)
9.6
Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic
maturity in their own writings. (NCTE 9, 10; CSDE 4)
9.7
Demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources.
(NCTE 8)
9.8
Move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to
inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing and review. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4)
9.9
Write thoughtfully about own process of writing. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4.2)
9.10
Revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience (NCTE 4; CSDE 4.2)
9.11
Analyze image as text. (NCTE 3; CSDE1)
9.12
Evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched papers. (NCTE 8)
.
Instructional Support Materials
 The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric, Shea, Scanlon, Aufses. Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2008. Chapter 7.
 The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Andrea A. Lunsford and Robert Connors. Bedford St. Martins,
1999.
 They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Graff, Birkenstein. Second
Edition, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2010.
Suggested Instructional Strategies
 Close reading
 Discussion
 Reader’s response journal
 Lecture on authors’ backgrounds, context, history
 Textbook suggested reading questions for homework
AP English Language and Composition
Page 23
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Reader’s circles
Untimed and timed practice AP tests
Process writing
Peer reading and editing
Conferencing with teacher
Content specific vocabulary generated from textbook
Timed writings based on teacher/textbook/student-generated questions
“Grammar as Rhetoric and Style: Pronouns”
Suggested Assessment Methods
 In this unit students will address the impact of the gender roles that society creates and enforces,
paying attention to Steven Jay Gould’s, “Women’s Brains,” and Virginia Woolf’s “Professions
for Women.”
 Essay #12: Students will write a timed analysis essay in which they analyze the rhetorical
strategies used by Paul Theroux in the first seven paragraphs of his essay “Being a Man.”
 This unit will then analyze the impact that gender roles in society create and enforce. A close
study will be made of John and Abigail Adams’ “Letters,” Gretel Ehrlich’s “About Men,” Judith
Ortiz Cofer’s “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met A Girl Named Maria,” Paul Theroux’s
“Being a Man,” Stephen Lewis’ “AIDS Has a Woman’s Face,” Deborah Tannen’s “There Is No
Unmarked Woman,” Zora Neal Hurston’s “Sweat,” and Marge Piercy’s poem “Barbie Doll.”
Students will draw from previous discussions about the power of images and words while
examining Cathy Guiswaite’s cartoon Cathy and Bill Broadway’s table “New and Newer
Versions of Scripture” as they work to prepare an argument for their research paper on how
gender is defined by communities and popular culture.
 Essay #13: Major Research Project- Students must research, analyze and synthesize sources
concerning how their own gender or their opposite gender (their choice) is defined by popular
culture. Primary sources must include film, TV, music, advertisements, art, and social media.
The hardest part of this paper is not the research, but the wrestling with language that will be
necessary in describing and defining popular definitions of gender.
 Timed AP practice test
 WHS school wide rubrics for effective communication, higher order thinking, problem solving,
and technology
AP English Language and Composition
Page 24
Unit 8: Sports and Fitness
Time Frame: April (through break)
Length of Unit: 3 weeks
Enduring Understandings
 Recognizing and analyzing rhetorical
structures and strategies allows readers to
read complex texts with understanding and
to write prose of sufficient richness and
complexity to communicate effectively
with mature readers.
Essential Questions
 How do the values of sports affect the way
we see ourselves?
 How does grammar influence rhetoric and
style?
Objectives (knowledge and skills)
(Show link to standards in parenthesis after objective) The student will:
10.1
Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use
of rhetorical strategies and techniques. (NCTE 3, 9; CSDE 1.2)
10.2
Apply effective strategies and techniques in students’ own writing.
(NCTE 5; CSDE 1.4, 3.2)
10.3
Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research and/or personal experience.
(NCTE 7, 9, 12; CSDE 3.4)
10.4
Write for a variety of purposes. (NCTE 5, 9, 12; CSDE 3.2, 4.2)
10.5
Produce expository, analytical and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex
central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or
secondary sources, cogent explanations and clear transitions. (NCTE 5, 8; CSDE 3,4)
10.6
Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic
maturity in their own writings. (NCTE 9, 10; CSDE 4)
10.7
Demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources.
(NCTE 8)
10.8
Move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to
inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing and review. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4)
10.9
Write thoughtfully about own process of writing. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4.2)
10.10
Revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience. (NCTE 4; CSDE 4.2)
10.11
Analyze image as text. (NCTE 3; CSDE1)
10.12
Evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched papers. (NCTE 8)
Instructional Support Materials
 The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric, Shea, Scanlon, Aufses. Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2008. Chapter 8.
 The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Andrea A. Lunsford and Robert Connors. Bedford St. Martins,
1999.
 They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Graff, Birkenstein. Second
Edition, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2010.
 Sports Illustrated
 ESPN Magazine
Suggested Instructional Strategies
 Close reading
 Discussion
 Reader’s response journal
 Lecture on authors’ backgrounds, context, history
AP English Language and Composition
Page 25
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Textbook suggested reading questions for homework
Reader’s circles
Untimed and timed practice AP tests
Process writing
Peer reading and editing
Conferencing with teacher
Content specific vocabulary generated from textbook
Timed writings based on teacher/textbook/student-generated questions
“Grammar as Rhetoric and Style: Precise, Direct, and Active verbs”
Suggested Assessment Methods
 In this unit students will address the question of how sports and fitness affect the way we see
ourselves. A central essay such as Gay Talese’s “The Silent Season of a Hero” and Theodore
Roosevelt’s classic essay “The Proper Place for Sports” will be examined as we create the
framework of this unit.
 Essay #14: Carefully considering Roosevelt’s audience, students will write an essay in which
they assess both the veracity of Roosevelt’s argument and the rhetorical moves he makes in
making it.
 This unit will then analyze the question of how values of sports affect the way we see ourselves.
A close study will be made of additional non-fiction writers of note. John McMurtry’s “Kill ‘Em,
Crush ‘Em, Eat “Em Raw!,” Frances Williard’s from How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle, Kris
Vervaecke’s “A Spectator’s Notebook,” Rick Reilly’s “The Real New York Giants,” and Samuel
G. Freedman’s “For Fasting and Football, a Dedicated Game plan” will be analyzed in addition to
John Updike’s poem “Ex-Basketball Player,” Maxine Kumin’s poem “Prothalamion,” and
Edward Koren’s cartoon “Untitled.”
 Essay #15: How do the values of sports affect the way we see ourselves? Drawing from their
own experiences, the readings of the unit, and any contemporary sports films, students will write
an essay that answers this question. They will begin by defining what they believe to be the
values of sports, and then apply those values to how they see themselves.
 Timed AP practice tests
 WHS school wide rubrics for effective communication, higher order thinking, problem solving,
and technology
AP English Language and Composition
Page 26
Unit 8B (Supplemental): AP Test Preparation and Review, in accordance with student AP test
participation
Time Frame: Last two weeks of April – first week of May (up to test date as determined by the College
Board)
Length of Unit: 2 weeks
Enduring Understandings
 Recognizing and analyzing rhetorical
structures and strategies allows readers to
read complex texts with understanding and
to write prose of sufficient richness and
complexity to communicate effectively
with mature readers.
Essential Questions
 Are you ready for the test? How does one
know this?
Objectives (knowledge and skills)
(Show link to standards in parenthesis after objective) The student will:
11.1
Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use
of rhetorical strategies and techniques. (NCTE 3, 9; CSDE 1.2)
11.2
Apply effective strategies and techniques in students’ own writing.
(NCTE 5; CSDE 1.4, 3.2)
11.3
Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research and/or personal experience.
(NCTE 7, 9, 12; CSDE 3.4)
11.4
Write for a variety of purposes. (NCTE 5, 9, 12; CSDE 3.2, 4.2)
11.5
Produce expository, analytical and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex
central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or
secondary sources, cogent explanations and clear transitions. (NCTE 5, 8; CSDE 3,4)
11.6
Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic
maturity in their own writings. (NCTE 9, 10; CSDE 4)
11.7
Demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources.
(NCTE 8)
11.8
Move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to
inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing and review. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4)
11.9
Write thoughtfully about own process of writing. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4.2)
11.10
Revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience. (NCTE 4; CSDE 4.2)
11.11
Analyze image as text. (NCTE 3; CSDE1)
11.12
Evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched papers. (NCTE 8)
Instructional Support Materials
 The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric, Shea, Scanlon, Aufses. Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2008
 The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Andrea A. Lunsford and Robert Connors. Bedford St. Martins,
1999.
 They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Graff, Birkenstein. Second
Edition, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2010.
AP English Language and Composition
Page 27
Suggested Instructional Strategies
 Close reading
 Discussion
 Reader’s response journal
 Lecture on authors’ backgrounds, context, history
 Textbook suggested reading questions for homework
 Reader’s circles
 Untimed and timed practice AP tests
 Process writing
 Peer reading and editing
 Conferencing with teacher
 Content specific vocabulary generated from textbook
 Timed writings based on teacher/textbook/student-generated questions
Suggested Assessment Methods
 Timed AP practice tests (full length)
 WHS school wide rubrics for effective communication, higher order thinking, problem solving
AP English Language and Composition
Page 28
Unit 9: Nature
Time Frame: May - June
Length of Unit: 4 weeks
Enduring Understandings
 Recognizing and analyzing rhetorical
structures and strategies allows readers to
read complex texts with understanding and
to write prose of sufficient richness and
complexity to communicate effectively
with mature readers.
Essential Questions
 What is our responsibility to nature?
 How does grammar influence rhetoric and
style?
Objectives (knowledge and skills)
(Show link to standards in parenthesis after objective) The student will:
12.1
Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use
of rhetorical strategies and techniques. (NCTE 3, 9; CSDE 1.2)
12.2
Apply effective strategies and techniques in students’ own writing.
(NCTE 5; CSDE 1.4, 3.2)
12.3
Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research and/or personal experience.
(NCTE 7, 9, 12; CSDE 3.4)
12.4
Write for a variety of purposes. (NCTE 5, 9, 12; CSDE 3.2, 4.2)
12.5
Produce expository, analytical and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex
central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or
secondary sources, cogent explanations and clear transitions. (NCTE 5, 8; CSDE 3,4)
12.6
Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic
maturity in their own writings. (NCTE 9, 10; CSDE 4)
12.7
Demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources.
(NCTE 8)
12.8
Move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to
inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing and review. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4)
12.9
Write thoughtfully about own process of writing. (NCTE 5; CSDE 4.2)
12.10
Revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience. (NCTE 4; CSDE 4.2)
12.11
Analyze image as text. (NCTE 3; CSDE1)
12. 12
Evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched papers. (NCTE 8)
Instructional Support Materials
 The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric, Shea, Scanlon, Aufses. Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2008. Chapter 12.
 The New St. Martin’s Handbook, Andrea A. Lunsford and Robert Connors. Bedford St. Martins,
1999.
 They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Graff, Birkenstein. Second
Edition, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2010.
 Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962.
Suggested Instructional Strategies
 Close reading
 Discussion
 Reader’s response journal
 Lecture on authors’ backgrounds, context, history
AP English Language and Composition
Page 29











Textbook suggested reading questions for homework
Reader’s circles
Untimed and timed practice AP tests
Process writing
Peer reading and editing
Conferencing with teacher
Content specific vocabulary generated from textbook
Timed writings based on teacher/textbook/student-generated questions
“Grammar as Rhetoric and Style: Cumulative, Periodic, and Inverted Sentences”
Formal debate rules explained
Research for formal debate topics
Suggested Assessment Methods
 Students will address the question of our responsibility to nature. This unit will analyze the
question of what is our responsibility to nature? A close study will be made of additional nonfiction writers of note. A selection from Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, a selection of Ralph
Waldo Emerson’ Nature, Terry Tempest Williams’ “The Clan of One-Breasted Women,”, Chief
Seattle’s “Message to President Franklin Pierce,” Wendell Berry’s “An Entrance to the Woods,”
Wangari Muta Maathai’s “2004 Nobel Peace Prize Speech,” Joyce Carol Oates’ “Against
Nature,” and Sarah Orne Jewett’s short story “A White Heron,” and William Wordsworth’s
poem “The Tables Turned” will be analyzed in addition to Royal Dutch Shell’s advertisement
“Cloud the Issue or Clear the Air” and Asher B. Durand’s painting “A Kindred Spirit.”
Contemporary journalism on the environmental issue of the day will also be sought and analyzed
in preparation for the final summative assessment.
 Final Summative Assessment: For the final assessment, students will be required to synthesize
information in preparation for verbal rhetorical debate and to judge the rhetorical effectiveness of
the debating strategies of their classmates. The class will generate a debate topic based on an
environmental issue of the day. This topic must take into account the science of the environment
as well as the political positions and realities that surround any major environmental issue. (An
example for 2012 might be a debate concerning whether or not an oil pipeline from the Canadian
tar sands to Texas’ oil refineries should be built. Issues that would have to be considered would
include environmental impact of both the tar sands and the pipeline, national security, diplomacy,
eminent domain, special interests and the power of lobbyists, states’ rights and energy policy.)
In teams of three, students will write debate propositions with pro/con arguments for the topic and
then the class will decide on one debatable statement to argue. Then each team of three will be
responsible for researching and preparing arguments for and against the statement over the next
three weeks. They will write and practice talking points and consider rhetorical strategies for
delivering those points, including the use of multi-media tools. On the debate days/ designated
final exam days, teams will flip a coin to determine which teams will argue pro or con and then
debate in a mutually agreed upon format. Students waiting their turn for debate will judge the
teams for rhetorical effectiveness (defined by student designed rubric) and pronounce the winners
of each round. Debate will be single elimination, with the final round judged not only by the
students but by guest judges drawn from the community.
AP English Language and Composition
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