AP ENGLISH 11 WITH MS.
MEYER
Grab a copy of the class expectations (BLUE)
and the media opt out form (WHITE) before
taking a seat. Find your index cards and sit
accordingly.
CLASS INTRO
• Welcome! Please make sure you have the
BLUE papers and the WHITE opt out media
form. We’ll be going over these shortly.
• Roll – is everyone where he/she’s supposed to
be?  This is AP English 11, room 210, with Ms.
Meyer (1B and 4B)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
• This course is all about rhetoric. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. We will be
learning how to craft professional persuasive arguments, how to analyze and
critique the arguments of other writers, and how both fiction and nonfiction
texts can be persuasive.
• This is much harder than it sounds. Remember, this is a college level class.
You’re skipping your junior and senior years of English and jumping into
freshman-level college English.
• This course is meant to prepare you for the AP exam in May. It is expected
that ALL of you take the exam. It can’t hurt, right? Plus, you get college
credit for a score of a 3 or above.
• I will work with you – no matter what level you are currently at.
CLASS RULES
• Be on time
• Be considerate and respectful – of me AND your peers!
• Don’t sleep.
• Don’t use your phones constantly.
• Have a good attitude and be willing to work. I like to have fun. AP
English is my favorite class (don’t tell my 10th graders). This can be fun
for you too. It all depends on your POV.
WHAT TO EXPECT
• Lots of writing! This class is centered around the art of writing. You
will be reading novels (outside of class) and essays/short stories in
class. My goal is to make you global citizens and get you out of
your bubbles while also strengthening your writing skills.
• Timed writings (45/40 minutes), formal papers, a research project,
a digital portfolio, a book report per semester, Socratic seminars,
philosophical debates, current event reports (weekly),
vocabulary practice, multiple choice practice, etc.
• Journal – you need a composition notebook (or spiral journal) for
this class. It is the one thing I require you purchase. I have used
ones from last year if you want one. We will use these for writing
exercises/journal prompts and your current events. Please
purchase one by the end of the week.
HALL PASSES
• There are two passes near the door. Simply get up (when I
am NOT in the middle of instruction), check the appropriate
box, have me initial, and you’re good to go. You have to
sign the passes out/in.
• We only have two. If you lose them, then it’s bye-bye
breaks.
• Please try not to interrupt the class. Do not leave in the
middle of a test, quiz, seminar, or discussion.
LATE WORK & MAKEUP WORK
• I do not accept late work. Period. Your college professors won’t either. This is
the hardest rule for students to accept. If you have an emergency, you need
to e-mail or text me immediately. Depending on the time you text me, I may
not answer right away, but I will eventually. Please include your name in your
text. 757-575-1402
• Makeup work – if you are absent, longstanding assignments (essays and
projects) are still due! This means you have to upload your assignment to
SharePoint. Homework and agenda will be posted on my class website. You
are expected to check it and come ready for class upon your return. You will
have three days to complete any makeup work. Fair warning: I will make
you take a quiz even if you were absent the day before.
WEEBLY
• Meyerenglish.weebly.com
CONTACT SHEET
• Consider this a contract. You and your parents must sign it. If you sign it and
then tell me you are not aware of certain policies, that is on you. I want this
back next class please.
• The media form is if you do NOT want to be published.
• For next class: bring the MLA cheat sheet (from the summer assignment), the
rubrics for class (from the summer assignment), the media form (if
applicable), and the contact sheet.
• Remind – I will use this to contact you if I decide to change any assignment,
prolong a deadline, or (in the event of snow days) assign new work. The class
code is:
ICE BREAKER – I WILL CHECK YOUR
ITW ESSAY WHILE YOU DO THIS
• Index Card: Put your name on the blank front of the card. On the lined
back, answer the following questions: 1) What is something you think all
people should be able to do? 2) What can you do that is unique? 3)
What is something other people do not know about you?
• Personalized Quote: Using your devices (or your memory), find a quote
that you think captures who you are. This can be your outlook on life,
your personality, a saying you live by, etc. You can use song lyrics,
quotes from famous people, lines from movies, etc. Write this beneath
your answers to the above questions.
• Example: “Don’t dream it, be it.” – Rocky Horror Picture Show
• In the left upper hand corner, write your zodiac sign. In the right upper
hand corner, draw a doodle of your favorite novel/tv show/movie and
provide the title. In the lower left corner, write the name of your favorite
band (or genre of music). In the lower right corner, write the title of your
favorite novel/comic book/short story.
EMBRACE THE SHAKE
• Learn to embrace who you and overcome your challenges. Make your
challenges work for you!
• https://www.ted.com/talks/phil_hansen_embrace_the_shake?language=en
ITW ESSAYS
• We will conduct a review/editing activity with these essays. We will start today
and finish next class (so bring them on Friday too).
• You will need highlighters. I have some on the shelf if you need to borrow one.
SYNTHESIS HIGHLIGHTING
• Highlight your thesis statement. It should be in your introduction (preferably at
the end).
• Highlight any use of I/me/we/you  you need to take this out. Find a way to
say it. Be more specific. (Ex – who is we? Do you mean Americans?
Teenagers? Adults?)
• You refer to an author by his first and last name the FIRST time you mention
them. After that, always refer to them by their last name. Highlight what you
need to change.
• A synthesis essay is NOT a research paper. Did you summarize the sources? Or
did you use them to support YOUR OWN argument. Put a star next to any
paragraph where you summarized the source instead of using it for support.
• Did you explain any of your quotes? You have to introduce& explain a quote.
You cannot have floating quotes. Highlight floating quotes or quotes lacking
follow-ups/explanations.
• Example: According to Freud’s study, dreams may express "profound
aspects of personality" (184). In other words, a person’s dreams may
subconsciously reveal significant details about a person.
MLA
• I am a HUGE stickler for learning MLA formatting. My 10th graders will
remember this. You will be expected to know how to do this in college. Your
professors will not waste time teaching you this, so learn it now.
• Use the Purdue Owl website. All the information you need is there.
• Including:
• Works Cited – URLS are NOT citations
• In-text citations – you need these for when you PARAPHRASE and QUOTE.
Usually, nine times out of ten, it will be the author’s name and the page
number (for a book) or just the author’s name of an online article. Ex
(Meyer 24) or (Meyer). The citation goes before the period.
• 1st page formatting – left corner  name, my name, course (AP English 11),
and date (6 July 2015). In the header section, you have your last name and
the page number.
• All essays should have a title. “Argument Essay” is not a title.