AP® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION SYLLABUS
CONTACT INFORMATION
Phone: 720-423-6635
Email: Stephanie_price@dpsk12.org
Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 2:45 – 3:45 and by appointment
Website: mrsprice-cec.wikispaces.com
Course Objective:
The purpose of this course is to help students “write effectively and confidently in their college courses
across the curriculum and in their professional and personal lives.” (The College Board, AP® English Course
Description, May 2007, May 2008, p. 6)
Brief 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 rhetoric and how language works. 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 composing abilities. Course readings
feature expository, analytical, personal, and argumentative texts from a variety of authors and historical
contexts. Students examine and work with essays, letters, speeches, images, and imaginative literature. All
students will hone their skills with navigating research databases, as they investigate information to
complete assignments which require technology-assisted resources.
Course reading and writing activities should 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. By early May of the school year, students will have nearly completed a course in
close reading and purposeful writing. 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 (prose
and image based) and writing tasks provide the focus for an energetic study of language, rhetoric, and
argument.
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.
Course Organization:
This course is organized by themes. Each unit requires students to acquire and use rich vocabulary, to use
Standard English grammar, and to understand the importance of diction and syntax in an author’s style.
Therefore, students are expected to develop the following through reading, discussion, and writing
assignments:
a wide-ranging vocabulary used appropriately and effectively
a variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of subordination and coordination
logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques to increase coherence, such as repetition,
transitions, and emphasis
a balance of generalization and specific illustrative detail
an effective use of rhetoric including controlling tone, establishing and maintaining voice, and
achieving appropriate emphasis through diction and sentence structure. (College Board AP English
Course Description, May 2007, May 2008, p. 8)
Reading Expectations:
For each reading assignment students must identify the following: thesis or claim, tone or attitude, purpose,
audience, occasion, evidence or data, appeals (pathos, logos, ethos), assumptions or warrants, style (how
the author communicates his message: rhetorical mode, rhetorical devices, which always include diction
and syntax), organizational patterns found in text (i.e., main idea detail, comparison/contrast, cause/effect,
extended definition, problem/solution, etc.), and use of detail to develop a general idea.
Writing Expectations:
As this is a language and composition course, students are expected to use every assignment that involves writing
to practice their best composition skills. Composition assignments will include: statements, paragraphs, timed
writings, and formal essays (expository, analytical, thematic, and argumentative). We will work with various
composition constructions, Standard Written English, sentence variety, syntax, and diction.
1. Students are expected to move effectively through the stages of the writing process with careful attention to
inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing, and review. Evidence of the writing process must accompany
each final draft.
2. For all formal writing assignments, students will be provided with time in class to write and revise alone, with
peers, and with the teacher one-on-one.
3. Students will also be provided with rubrics and graphic organizers to help them focus on the end goal as they
work through the writing process for formal writing assignments. Rubrics and graphic organizers (along with peer
and teacher conferencing) are designed to help students:
o Establish an effective use of rhetoric
o Balance generalizations and specific, illustrative details
o Develop logical organization
o Develop skillful repetition, transitions, and emphasis
o Develop a variety of sentence structures
o Develop a wide-ranging vocabulary used appropriately
4. Any formal essay which does not demonstrate general rhetorical excellence will be returned to the student for
further revision/editing.
5. All formal essays must be typed in MLA format.
Study Skills:
All AP Language students are concurrently enrolled in Study Skills. Study Skills is a mandatory extension of the AP
Language course which meets every Monday and Wednesday morning from 10:45 to 11:30. This time will be used
for foundational lessons, grammar and usage lessons, multiple choice test practice, weekly vocabulary, and
portfolio/data analysis work. Be aware that the attendance policy applies to Study Skills!
Required Materials:

A 1 ½ inch – 2 inch 3-ring binder with clear cover slips and inside pockets

30 or more page protectors (to start)

A set of 5 dividers

2 Highlighters (different colors)

College ruled, one subject spiral notebook

College ruled loose leaf paper

Post-It “sticky notes” (one package)
Behavior Expectations:

Students demonstrate a willingness to cooperate and a positive attitude.

Students come to class prepared.

Students do not use cell phones (or other electronics) in class without permission.

Unless it is a truly urgent situation, students do not ask to leave class to go to lockers or to the
restroom.

Students are respectful at all times and maintain a scholarly demeanor during class.

Students are responsible for their own learning. Plagiarism will not be tolerated.
Grading Scale: Formal essays will be graded on the 9-point AP Essay rubric. All other assignments will be graded
on a scale of 1 to 10 (weighted by category as noted below).
 10-Point Grading Scale:
10 --- EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS
9.5 --- EXCELLENT
8 ----- MEETS EXPECTATIONS
7.5 --- GOOD
7 ----- SATISFACTORY
6.5 -- DEVELOPING
6 ----- DOES NOT MEET EXPECTATIONS
5 ---- UNSATISFACTORY
0 ----- MISSING
100%
95%
80%
75%
70%
65%
60%
50%
0%
 Grading Categories:
o
o
o
o
Attendance/Participation ----- 10%
Portfolio/Data Analysis -------- 20%
Exams/Formal Assignments --- 50%
Informal Assignments ---------- 20%
Attendance/Late Work Policy:
For each class period that a student is absent, he or she has one day to complete the work that was missed. If a
student is absent on the day an assignment is due, he or she has until the day of his or her return to school to
turn in the work for full credit. Assignments that fall under the “formal assignments” category will be accepted
up to one week late, but the assignment will decrease in value by 10% each day beyond the due date.
Assignments that fall under the “informal assignments” category will be accepted up to two weeks past the due
date, but they will decrease in value by 20% - 40% depending on how far beyond the due date they are turned in.
Excused extended absences will be discussed on an individual basis. Students are responsible for getting their
work ahead of time.
Attendance/participation is worth 10% of the overall grade. Students will earn between 0 and 10 points in this
category every week. Each week, every student will begin with 10 points in this category. Every tardy will deduct
3 points, and every absence will deduct 5 points. Failing to follow classroom behavior and participation
expectations will also lead to deductions from weekly points.
**Course Calendar**
AP Language Boot Camp (Summer 2013)
 Introduction to Rhetorical Analysis
o Major Texts:
 Voice Lessons, Dean
 The Language of Composition, Shea, Scanlon, Aufses
 Various non-fiction excerpts
 Coming Into Language, Baca
o Assignments include rhetorical analysis of a variety of texts through annotation and collaborative
discourse as well as practice with AP worthy sentence and paragraph construction.
Semester One
 Thematic Unit #1: Politics
o Major Texts:
 The Language of Composition, Shea, Scanlon, Aufses
 They Say, I Say, Graff and Birkenstein
 On Seeing England for the First Time, Kincaid
 On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, Thoreau
 Letter from Birmingham Jail, King
 Shooting an Elephant, Orwell
 The Poisonwood Bible, Kingsolver (summer reading assignment)
 A variety of additional non-fiction texts
o Major Writing Assignments:
 Rhetorical Analysis Essay: How did Barbara Kingsolver develop a distinctive voice
for each of the female characters in The Poisonwood Bible?
 Argument Essay: Controversial topic of choice
o Timed essay prompts:
 Compare and contrast Thoreau’s “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” to
King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by focusing on one of the following:
purpose, definition of just law, or figurative language.
 Describe Orwell’s position concerning human motives in “Shooting an
Elephant.” Support or challenge his position using Nathan Price from The
Poisonwood Bible as evidence.
o Study Skills:
 Foundations: Analyzing Arguments and Basic Research Skills
 Multiple Choice Practice:
 The Poisonwood Bible passage
 Various released AP exam questions
 Grammar as Rhetoric:
 Appositives
 Subordination in the Complex Sentence
o Independent Reading:
 Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston OR Revolutionary Road, Yates

Thematic Unit #2: Gender
o Major Texts:
 The Language of Composition, Shea, Scanlon, Aufses
 Professions for Women, Woolf
 There is no Unmarked Woman, Tannen
 Just Walk on By, Staples
 Barbie Doll, Piercy (poem)
 Marlboro Man, McCombe (photo)
 Being a Man, Theroux
 About Men, Ehrlich
 Putting Down the Gun, Walker
 Why Johnny Won’t Read, Bauerlein and Stotsky
 Mind over Muscle, Brooks
 The Kite Runner, Hosseini (summer reading assignment)
 The Poisonwood Bible, Kingsolver (summer reading assignment)
 Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston
 Revolutionary Road, Yates
 A variety of additional non-fiction texts
o Major Writing Assignments:
 Write a personal narrative in which you describe a role that your family or friends
expected of you but that you either refused to play or struggled against. Explain
the origin and nature of the expectation, as well as your reasons for not wanting
to fulfill it. Include a discussion of the reactions you have gotten as you
challenged the role or expectation.
Synthesis Essay: In his book Men are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, John
Gray writes, “A man’s sense of self is defined through his ability to achieve
results… A woman’s sense of self is defined through her feelings and the quality
of her relationships.” Write an essay supporting, challenging, or modifying these
statements. You must use examples from The Kite Runner, your independent
novel from unit one (Their Eyes Were Watching God or Revolutionary Road), and
at least two of the short readings from this unit.
Timed essay prompts:
 Theroux writes, “It is very hard to imagine any concept of manliness that does
not belittle women, and it begins very early. Defend or challenge his assertion.
 What is the speaker’s tone in Piercy’s Barbie Doll? Identify specific lines and
images which reveal the tone.
Study Skills:
 Foundations: Synthesizing Sources and Citing Sources Properly
 Multiple Choice Practice:
 Professions for Women passage
 Various released AP exam questions
 Grammar as Rhetoric:
 Pronouns
 Concise Diction
Independent Reading:
 In Cold Blood, Capote OR The Tortilla Curtain, Boyle

o
o
o

Semester Finals:
o Portfolio Conferences:
 One-on-one conferences to take place throughout December. Dates and times for
each individual will be announced one month in advance along with expectations
for organization, data analysis, and written reflections to be completed prior to
the conference.
o Complete Timed Exam (Date: Saturday, December ________)
SEMESTER TWO
 Thematic Unit #3: Community
o Major Texts:
 Letter from Birmingham Jail, King
 Where I Lived, and What I Lived For, Thoreau
 Health and Happiness, Putnam
 Home at Last, Mengestu
 Facebook Friendonomics, Brown
 from The Gospel of Wealth, Carnegie
 The Happy Life, Russell
 from Lifeboat Ethics, Hardin
 from The Singer Solution to World Poverty, Singer
 World Economic Forum, Zapiro (cartoon)
 Christian Science Monitor Editorial Board, Buffet, Gates, and the Billionaire
Challenge
 Der Speigel Online, Negative Reaction to Charity Campaign
 In Cold Blood, Capote
 The Tortilla Curtain, Boyle
o Major Writing Assignments:
 Rhetorical Analysis Essay: Where I Lived, and What I Lived For, Thoreau
 Consider your independent novel from Unit Two (In Cold Blood, Capote OR The
Tortilla Curtain, Boyle). What do the characters and relationships in the novel
reveal about the author’s beliefs concerning the individual’s responsibility to the
community? Your assertion should be supported by careful rhetorical analysis as
well as additional research into the events in your novel.
o Timed essay prompts:
 How does Brown use humor to make his point in Facebook Friendonomics?
Analyze two specific examples. How would you characterize the humor? Is it
gentle ribbing, stinging sarcasm, or bitter irony?
What are the two central metaphors – the spaceship and the lifeboat – that
Garret Hardin uses for his argument in Lifeboat Ethics? Is contrasting these two
an effective rhetorical strategy?
Study Skills:
 Foundations: Analyzing Visual Rhetoric
 Multiple Choice Practice
 Various released AP exam questions
 Grammar as Rhetoric:
 Parallel Structures
 Cumulative, Periodic, and Inverted Sentences
 Modifiers
Independent Reading
 Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich OR The Pursuit of Happyness, Gardner

o
o

Thematic Unit #4: The Economy
o Major Texts:
 A Modest Proposal, Swift
 On Dumpster Diving, Eighner
 How to Restore the American Dream, Zakaria
 To Be of Use, Piercy (poem)
 The Case for Working with Your Hands, Crawford
 Shopping and Other Spiritual Adventures in America Today, Rose
 Waste, Berry
 Forbes Price Index of Luxury Goods Keeps Pace with Inflation, DeCarlo (table)
o Major Writing Assignments:
 Rhetorical Analysis Essay: A Modest Proposal, Swift
 Synthesis Essay: Are Americans overly materialistic? Or is such a claim too
simplistic? What is your position? Write an essay that answers that question using
your independent novel from Unit Three (Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich OR The
Pursuit of Happyness, Gardner) and at least 2 other sources from this unit.
o Timed essay prompts:
 Do you agree with Crawford’s characterization of schooling and learning in The
Case for Working with Your Hands? Does it fit with your own experience and
observation? To what extent? If it doesn’t, explain why.
 In Waste, Berry writes, “There is no sanity in objecting to the desecration of the
flag while tolerating and justifying and encouraging as a daily business the
desecration of the country for which it stands.” What allusion does the statement
make? What is the major assumption that underlies its claim? Do you agree with
Berry’s position? Why or why not?
o Study Skills:
 Foundations: Satire
 Multiple Choice Practice:
 Various released AP exam questions
 Grammar as Rhetoric:
 Short Simple Sentences and Fragments
 Direct, Precise, and Active Verbs

Semester Finals:
o Complete Timed Exam (Date: Saturday, April ________)
o Attendance of the official AP English Language and Composition Exam on May 9th
o Portfolio Conferences:
 One-on-one conferences to take place throughout May. Dates and times for each
individual will be announced one month in advance along with expectations for
organization, data analysis, and written reflections to be completed prior to the
conference.
o Final Portfolio Presentations will take place between May 12 th and May 23rd (instructions
and expectations TBA).