AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
Course Description
School Characteristics:
The high school in which I teach is a suburban public school which is accredited by the Southern Association of Secondary
Schools and recognized as a member of the College Board. Our enrollment as of this date is 2,856. Last year’s senior class
had 566 students. Our ethnic population consists of the following groups: 3% Asian, 4% African-American, 22% Hispanic,
71% Anglo and other. Most of our students will go on to higher education upon graduation: 91% are college bound; 64% will
attend 4-year institutions, 36% will go either to a 2 year or Technical School. The faculty consists of 141 teachers. Of these,
45% have Masters Degrees; 1% has Doctoral Degrees. Four of us are Nationally Certified Teachers.
It is our school policy to insure that our AP classes reflect the diversity of our student population.
The school provides English Teachers with the necessary equipment to practice for the free response sections of the
exam including the media equipment to view visuals: CD players, VHS and DVD players, class computers and projectors.
We also have access to a computer lab with Internet for research and composition.
The school provides each student with textbooks for use inside and outside of the classroom. Each student has a copy of a
reader: The Bedford Reader, Reading For Writers and/or Frames of Mind. Each student also has a personal copy of the
Glencoe Language Arts Grade 11 Grammar and Language Workbook
In May 2006, four hundred and sixty-eight (468) students took nine hundred and twenty-seven (927) exams in twenty- five
(25) subjects. Students scored a three (3) or better on fifty-eight percent (58%) of these exams.
College Credit:
Students who choose to take AP English Language and Composition are in an Advanced Placement (AP) course. The school
districts’ grading system is based on a 4 point scale, but AP courses are weighed on a 5 point scale. Any student taking this
class is encouraged to take the AP English Language and Composition Exam in May. College credit will be determined by the
student’s performance on this exam. Policies differ from one university to another. Therefore, it is the student’s responsibility
to secure in writing the policy of the college of his choice. Each student must make arrangements with the counselor to pay a
registration fee in order to take the exam.
Course Objectives:
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.” (CollegeBoard AP English Course Description, May 2007, May 2008. p. 6)
Therefore, students will be expected to read critically, think analytically, and communicate clearly both in writing and speech.
The goals for students are as follows:
 analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an
author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques;
 apply effective strategies and techniques in their own writing;
 create and sustain arguments based on readings, research, and/or personal
 experience;
 demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as
 stylistic maturity in their own writings;
 write for a variety of purposes;
 write in a variety of genres and contexts, both formal and informal, employing
 appropriate conventions;
 produce expository and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex
 central idea and develop it with appropriate, specific evidence, cogent
 explanations, and clear transitions;
 move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful
 attention to inquiry and research, synthesizing, drafting, revising, editing,
 and review:
 write thoughtfully about their own process of composition;
 revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience;
 analyze image as text; and
 evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched papers
(CollegeBoard AP English Course Description, May 2007, May 2008. p. 9)
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Grades/Assessments
Essays 30% : Most essays will first be written as an in-class essay and graded as a rough draft. Rough drafts will be selfedited and peer-edited before students type the final copies. Final copies make up 30% of the six weeks’ grade. Rough drafts,
and editing assignments are part of the daily work which will be 20% of the six weeks’ grade. Students must submit all drafts
with final copies. Graded final copies will be kept in a portfolio.
Essays Scores will be as follows:
Score
Grade for Rough Drafts
9
100
8
95
7
90
6
85
5
80
4
75
3
70
2
65
1
60
Grade for Final Copies
100
90
85
75
70
60
50
40
30
Tests 25%: Most tests consists of multiple-choice questions over reading selections. These questions ask students to analyze
rhetorical devices and their function given passages. Some passages will be from texts which students have previously read
and studied, but some passages will be from new material that the student will be analyzing for the first time.
Quizzes 25%: Quizzes are primarily to check for reading and basic understanding of a text. Each unit has at least one quiz
over vocabulary from the readings. Also, each unit has at least one quiz over grammatical and mechanical concepts reviewed
in daily tasks as well as from the discussions and/or annotations of syntax from the readings.
Daily 20%: Daily assignments consist of a variety of tasks. Some of these tasks involve individual steps leading to a larger
product, such as plans, research, drafts, and edits for an essay. Other daily tasks consist of grammar reviews, vocabulary
exercises, annotation of texts, and fluency writing. Most lessons will begin with a warm-up or anticipatory task. These will
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focus on a grammatical or writing concept that connects to the day’s reading assignment. (Items for these mini-lessons are
from PSAT/NMSQT Practice Tests, SAT Preparation Booklets, Harbrace College Handbook, and Glencoe Grammar and
Composition Handbook) Students do these exercises during the first 5 minutes of the class period.
Course Organization
The course is organized by themes. (See Fall and Spring Semesters pages 5 - 31)
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 will be expected to develop the following:
 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; and
 an effective use of rhetoric including controlling tone, establishing and maintaining voice, and achieving appropriate
emphasis through diction and sentence structure.
(CollegeBoard AP English Course Description, May 2007, May 2008. p. 8)
For each reading assignment students must identify the following:
 Thesis or Claim
 Tone or Attitude
 Purpose
 Audience and Occasion
 Evidence or Data
 Appeals: logos, ethos, pathos
 Assumptions or Warrants

Style (How the author communicates his message: rhetorical mode, rhetorical devices always including diction and
syntax.
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FALL SEMESTER
INTRODUCTION
AP Course Description
Class rules and Responsibilities
Grading System
Rhetorical Terms (Definitions)
Rhetorical Modes
Rhetorical Devices
READING
RHETORICAL MODES
RHETORICAL DEVICES
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Verlaan, Saskia. “Perspectives on Fear”
Narration
Imagery
Description
Figurative Language
Comparison/Contrast
Definition
Example
Cofer, Judith Ortiz. “The Myth of the Latin Woman:
Classification
Stereotype
I Just Met a Girl Named Maria”
Comparison/Contrast
Allusion
Exposition
Exemplification
Description
Narrative
O’Brien, Tim. “How to Tell a True War Story”
Narrative
Assertion
Description
Point of View
Repetition
Imagery
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VIEWING
Picasso, Pablo. Weeping Woman. ARS, NY.
Picasso, Pablo. Guernica. Museo Reina Sofia.
CNN Video Extension (Comp21) Frames of Mind.
ASSESSMENTS
Quizzes: Students will be given a quiz over most readings. These will check for understanding of meaning and strategies.
Quiz: Vocabulary from readings
Quiz: Grammar (from warm-up exercises, syntax discussions, and/or reading annotations)
Test: Definitions of Rhetorical Modes and Devices
Composition: Letter
Prompt: Write a letter to a future teenage relative (son, daughter, niece, nephew). Reflect on September 11, 2001. Try
to capture that day in a story of self-contained dramatic moments. (Review Obrien’s selection.) Keep the narrative
dramatic and free of commentary. Allow people and dialogue into your story. Let the story represent how 9/11
affected you.
Composition: Memoir
Prompt: Select a moment from memory, an experience that has stayed with you. In a well written essay, recreate that
experience, and then analyze it, figuring out what it means to you.
Original Visual:
Prompt: Create a 5” object, sculpture, or painting that reflects the central idea of your memoir. These will be displayed
in the class.
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UNIT 1: OBLIGATIONS WITHIN A SOCIETY
FOUNDATION FOR THE AMERICAN MINDSET
READING
RHETORICAL MODES
RHETORICAL DEVICES
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Plato. “Death of Socrates: Crito” from Phaedo
Argumentation/
Argumentative dialogues
Persuasion
Rhetorical questions
Conflict
Analogy
Irony
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Plato. “Allegory of the Cave” from The Republic
Comparison/Contrast
Allegory
Argumentation/
Symbolism
Persuasion
Abstract concepts
Narration
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Cicero. “On Duties”
Argumentation/
Allusion
Persuasion
Analogy
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Machiavelli, Niccolo. From The Prince
Comparison/Contrast
Contrast
Argumentation/
Juxtaposition
Persuasion
Antithesis
Irony
Paradox
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Hobbes, Thomas. From Leviathan
Argumentation/
Diction; Connotation
Persuasion
Repetition
Cause/Effect
Parallel Structure
Rhetorical question
Analogy
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____________________________________________________________________________________________
Dekanawida. From The Iroquois Constitution
Exposition
Example
Illustration
Symbol
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
READINGS ON CURRENT EVENTS
Theme related articles
Articles that reflect claims or central ideas made by the authors studied in this unit
Submissions from students with teacher’s approval
______________________________________________________________________________________________
VIEWING
David, Jacques –Louis. The Death of Socrates (oil on canvas in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY)
Theme related photos, video clips, and/or cartoons from current periodicals will be discussed as these become available.
Students may contribute selections for viewing with teacher’s approval.
ASSESSMENTS
Quizzes: Students will be given a quiz over most readings. These will check for understanding of meaning and strategies.
Quiz: Vocabulary from readings
Quiz: Grammar (from warm-up exercises, syntax discussions, and/or reading annotations)
Composition: Argumentative/Persuasive Essay over Hobbes or Machiavelli
Prompt: Reading Niccolo Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes, one gets a similar view of mankind but with radically
different suggestions for its management. Using your own critical understanding of contemporary society as
evidence, write a carefully argued essay that explains your support of either Machiavelli or Hobbes.
Composition: Comparison/Contrast
Prompt: Compare and contrast The Iroquois Constitution to U.S. Democracy and/or the U.S. Constitution.
Composition: Synthesis Essay
Prompt: What is the individual’s duty to his government? What is the government’s duty to the individual? In an
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essay that synthesizes and uses for support at least four of the readings from this unit, discuss the obligations of
individuals within a society. Remember to attribute both direct and indirect citations. Refer to the sources by
author’s last names or by titles. Avoid mere paraphrase or summary.
UNIT 2: OBLIGATIONS WITHIN A SOCIETY – DOCUMENTS AND SPEECHES
READING
RHETORICAL MODES
RHETORICAL DEVICES
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Henry, Patrick
Argumentation
Rhetorical Questions
“Speech in the Virginia Convention”
Allusion
Syntax: parallel structure, repetition
Claim/Thesis
Refutation
Appeals
Deductive reasoning
Paine, Thomas
Persuasion
Aphorisms
from “The Crisis, Number 1”
Appeals
Argument by Analogy
Jefferson, Thomas
Argumentation/Persuasion
Audience
The Declaration of Independence
Occasion
Syntax:
repetition, parallel structure…
fragment (creating tone shift)
Tone shift
Rationalism qualities
Diction, Connotations
Structure
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady
Perssuasion/Argumentation
Occasion
Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions
Analogy
Parallel document (to Jefferson)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Lincoln, Abraham
The Gettysburg Address
Persuasion/Argumentation
Occasion
Structure
Progression
Repetition
Diction, connotations
Allusion
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
King, Martin Luther
Argumentation/Persuasion
Appeals
I Have A Dream
Narration
Allusion
Description
Imagery
Example
Syntax: Repetition, parallelism
Comparison/Contrast
Transcendental qualities
Cause/Effect
READINGS ON CURRENT EVENTS
Theme related articles
Articles that reflect claims or central ideas made by the authors studied in this unit
Submissions from students with teacher’s approval
VIEWING
"
Trumbull, John. The Declaration of Independence. Mural in the Capitol Building Washington, D.C.
Patrick Henry Arguing “the Parson’s Cause”. (c. 1830) Oil Painting thought to be the work of George Cooke. The Virginia Historical
Society, Richmond
“The Horse America Throwing his Mater” (1779) Political cartoon of King George. Library of Congress.
King, Martin Luther. I Have a Dream. Video Clip (American Rhetoric.com)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) Video clip “Mr. Jefferson Smith takes the constitutional oath of office” American
Rhetoric.com
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Theme related photos, video clips, and/or cartoons from current periodicals will be discussed as these become available. Students may
contribute selections for viewing with teacher’s approval.
ASSESSMENTS
Quizzes: Students will be given a quiz over most readings. These will check for understanding of meaning and strategies.
Quiz: Vocabulary from readings
Quiz: Grammar (from warm-up exercises, syntax discussions, and/or reading annotations)
Test: American Documents and Speeches
Composition: Compare/Contrast
Prompt: Compare Paine’s paper with Henry’s speech as persuasive works. In your composition, consider claim, occasion,
audience, data or evidence, assumptions, and conclusions.
Composition: Compare/Contrast
Prompt: Compare I Have a Dream to The Gettysburg Address and The Declaration of Independence.
Composition: Compare/Contrast
Prompt: Compare Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence to Stanton’s Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions
Composition: Synthesis Essay
Prompt: What is the individual’s duty to his government? What is the government’s duty to the individual? In an
essay that synthesizes and uses for support at least four of the readings from this unit, discuss the obligations of
individuals within a society. Remember to attribute both direct and indirect citations. Refer to the sources by
author’s last names or by titles. Avoid mere paraphrase or summary. (Yes, same prompt, different sources.)
UNIT 3: NATURE OF MAN
INDEPENDENT READING: Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath.
Students will do an annotated reading of this novel. They are responsible for identifying and understanding the elements about
the plot chapters: characterization, setting, initial incidents, conflicts, climaxes, resolutions, and conclusions. The intercalary chapters
which are essays commenting on society in general rather than on the characters in particular, will be considered in greater depth.
(See readings below for Intercalary chapters.)
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READING
Grapes of Wrath Chapter 1
(the corn)
RHETORICAL MODES
Description
Cause/Effect
Grapes of Wrath Chapter 3
(the turtle)
Narration
Description
RHETORICAL DEVICES
Imagery
Symbolism
Personification
Allegory
Symbolism
Imagery
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Grapes of Wrath Chapter 5
Argumentation/Persuasion
Extended Metaphor
(plea for change)
Exposition
Personification
Cause/Effect
Analogy
Symbolism
Dialect
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Grapes of Wrath Chapter 7
Argumentation/Persuasion
Point of View
(salesmen)
Classification
Claim-Assumption-Warrant (commercial)
Colloquialism
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Grapes of Wrath Chapter 9
Argumentation/Persuasion
Imperative Sentences
(tenants forced to sell)
Narration
Point of View
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Grapes of Wrath Chapter 11
Comparison/Contrast
Imagery
(horse vs tractor)
Description
Romantic qualities vs Realistic ones
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Grapes of Wrath Chapter 12
Description
Parallel Structure
(Highway 66)
Example
Repetition
Refrain
Personification
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Grapes of Wrath Chapter 14
(poetic & philosophic)
Argumentation
Definition (of Man)
Cause/Effect
Syntax: types of sentences,
fragments, parallel structure,
repetition, prepositional phrases…
Imagery
Paradox
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Grapes of Wrath Chapter 17
Argumentation/Persuasion
Claim – Data – Warrant
(needs of man)
Example
Transcendental qualities
Grapes of Wrath Chapter 19
(repetition of history)
Argumentation/Persuasion
Example
Cause/Effect
Cause/Effect
Claim – Data – Warrant
Rationalism qualaities
Grapes of Wrath Chapter 21
Syntax: parallel structure, repetition…
(anger fermenting)
Irony
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Grapes of Wrath Chapter 25
Cause/Effect
Irony
(reason for title)
Syntax
Allusion
Tone shift
Realism qualities
Grapes of Wrath Chapter 29
Description
Imagery
(winter in California)
Example
Irony
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thoreau, Henry David
Argumentation
Appeals
From “Civil Disobedience”
Cause/Effect
Anecdote
Evidence
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Perkins, Joseph
Argumentation
Syntax: conditional clause…
“Homeless: Expose the Myths”
Coherence
Connotation “Myth”
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Quindlen, Anna
“Homeless”
Argumentation
Example
Definition (of home)
Process Analysis
Narrative
Effect
Assumptions
Cliché
Eighner, Lars
Irony
“On Dumpster Diving”
Satire (mild)
Allusions (to Steinbeck)
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ericsson, Stephanie
Classsification
Figurative language
“The Ways We Lie”
Definition
Stereotypes
Example
Hyperbole
Narration
Generalization (General to Specific)
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ascher, Barbara Lazear
Example
Generalization
“On Compassion”
Description
Supporting examples
Cause/Effect
Allusion
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
READINGS ON CURRENT EVENTS
Theme related articles
Articles that reflect claims or central ideas made by the authors studied in this unit
Submissions from students with teacher’s approval
VIEWING
Photographs from the Depression 1930s
Theme related photos, video clips, and/or cartoons from current periodicals will be discussed as these become available. Students may
contribute selections for viewing with teacher’s approval.
ASSESSMENTS
Quizzes: Students will be given a quiz over most readings. These will check for understanding of meaning and strategies.
Quiz: Vocabulary from readings
Quiz: Grammar (from warm-up exercises, syntax discussions, and/or reading annotations)
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Test: The Grapes of Wrath
Composition: Journal Entry
Prompt: Using Ascher’s essay as a springboard, consider a personal experience that involved misfortune. Have you ever had
to beg on the street, been evicted from your home, or had to scrounge for food? Have you ever been asked for money by
beggars, worked in a soup kitchen, or volunteered at a shelter or public hospital? Write about such an experience in your
journal.
Composition: Letter to the Editor of a local newspaper
Prompt: Write a letter to the school or city newspaper expressing your views on the treatment of homeless people in our city.
Offer a suggestion or solution to this situation.
Composition: Synthesis
Prompt: How does an individual judge right from wrong? What is the role of the individual in confronting injustice?
In an essay that synthesizes and uses for support at least five intercalary chapters from Grapes of Wrath as well
as three other selections from this unit’s readings, write an essay in which you discuss the role of the individual in
confronting injustice. Remember to attribute both direct and indirect citations. Refer to the sources by author’s last
name or by title. Avoid mere paraphrase or summary.
For the Grapes of Wrath Unit, students will write rough drafts or in-class essays for at least five of the following compositions
and polish two of their drafts for final essays.
Composition: Analysis
Prompt: Read Chapter 5 from Grapes of Wrath. In a well-developed essay, identify the theme this chapter, and explain how
Steinbeck supports his main idea. Use short embedded quotations or paraphrase from the chapter as evidence for your thesis.
Composition: Analysis
Prompt: Read Chapter 11 from from Grapes of Wrath. Identify Steinbeck’s attitude towards the tractor and the horse.
Explain how this contrast develops the theme of this chapter.
Composition: Comparison/Contrast
Prompt: In Chapter 17 of Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck comments on the birth of civilization from physical needs to
governmental issues. In “Civil Disobedience,” Thoreau discusses the function of government. In a well- developed essay,
compare and contrast Steinbeck’s idea of government to Thoreau’s beliefs. Be sure to use evidence from both selections.
Composition: Analysis
Prompt: Explain how Steinbeck establishes his claim or thesis in chapter 19.
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Composition: Analysis
Prompt: Chapter 25 gives the reason for the title of Grapes of Wrath. Explain how Steibeck develops his claim or thesis in
this chapter. Be sure to use evidence from the text.
Composition: Argumentation
Prompt: In Chapter 27, Steinbeck comments on honesty. Identify the theme of this chapter, then qualify, defend, or challenge
Steinbeck’s claim and assumptions.
Composition: Analysis
Prompt: In Chapter 29, Steinbeck returns to the theme that if people are angry, they will take action. Explain how he uses
realism to illustrate the horrid conditions which angered the people.
UNIT 4: MAN VS SOCIETY
INDEPENDENT READING: Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter.
Students will do an annotated reading of this novel. They are responsible for identifying and understanding its elements:
characterization, setting, initial incidents, conflicts, climaxes, resolutions, and conclusions.
READING
RHETORICAL MODES
RHETORICAL DEVICES
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Scarlet Letter Ch.1
Description
Figurative language
“The Prison Door”
Imagery
Symbolism
Syntax
Romanticism qualities
The Scarlet Letter Ch.2
Description
Syntax: Periodic Sentence
“The Market-Place
Narration
Analogy
Comparison/Contrast
Staples, Brent. “Just Walk on By:
Examples
Stereotype
Black Men and Public Space”
Cause/Effect
Anecdote
Diction, Connotation
Coherence
Transitions
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Edwards, Jonathan. “Sinners
In the Hands of an Angry
God”
Argumentation/Persuasion
Comparison
Goodman, Ellen
“Putting in a Good Word for Guilt”
Exposition
Definition
Contrast
Davidson, James West, and Mark
Hamilton Lytle. “The Visible
And Invisible Worlds of Salem”
Gelsey, Zara
“The FBI is Reading Over Your
Shoulder”
Exposition
Cause/Effect
Narration
Argument/Persuasion
READINGS ON CURRENT EVENTS
Theme related articles
Articles that reflect claims or central ideas made by the authors studied in this unit
Submissions from students with teacher’s approval
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Figurative Language
Syntax (rhythm becomes
meaning)
Diction
Audience and Occasion
Appeals
Connotation
Diction
Colloquialism
Simile
Syntax: grammatical ellipsis,
Parallel structure…
Inference
Assumption
Juxtaposition
Evidence
Diction, Connotation
Analogy
Example
Effect
Claim – Data – Warrant
Thesis – Evidence – Assumption
VIEWING
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. Starring Daniel Day Lewis and Winona Ryder.
Senator Joseph McCarthy attacks Edward R. Murrow on CBS video clip American Rhetoric.com
Good Night and Good Luck video clip American Rhetoric.com
Theme related photos and/or cartoons from current periodicals will be discussed as these become available. Students may contribute
selections for viewing with teacher’s approval.
ASSESSMENTS
Quizzes: Students will be given a quiz over most readings. These will check for understanding of meaning and strategies.
Quiz: Vocabulary from readings
Quiz: Grammar (from warm-up exercises, syntax discussions, and/or reading annotations)
Test: The Scarlet Letter
Composition: Analysis
Prompt 1: Read the following passage (paragraph 3 “I might be, … martyrdom.” from The Scarlet Letter Chapter 5 “Hester
at Her Needle.” Then write an essay showing how Hawthorne depicts Hester’s inner turmoil. Consider such rhetorical
devices as diction, figurative language, syntax, irony, and tone.
OR
Prompt 2: Read the following passage (paragraph 7 “Hester sought not, … wrong, beneath.”) from The Scarlet Letter
Chapter 5 “Hester at Her Needle.” Then write an essay analyzing the author’s use of clothing to reveal Hester’s
self-perception, the attitude of Hester’s neighbors, and the nature of her daughter’s conception. Consider such
rhetorical devices as diction, imagery, syntax, irony, and tone.
Composition: Comparison/Contrast
Prompt: Read the following passages from The Scarlet Letter. Passage 1 is from Chapter 2 “The Market-Place.” (paragraph
11 “The young woman… by herself.”) Passage 2 is from Chapter 3 “The Recognition.” (Paragraphs 1 and 2 “From
this intense… his lips.”) Then write a carefully reasoned and fully elaborated analysis of Hawthorne’s attitude toward
these two characters. Consider allusion, irony, imagery, syntax, organization of details, and other rhetorical devices.
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Composition: Analysis
Prompt: Read Chapter 9 “The Leech” from The Scarlet Letter. Then write an essay analyzing how Hawthorne uses setting,
allusion, metaphor, irony, diction, and tone to reveal character.
Composition: Analysis
Prompt: Read Chapter 22 “The Procession” from The Scarlet Letter. Then write an essay analyzing how Hawthorne uses
rhetorical devices, including irony and extended metaphor, to reveal the conclusion.
Composition: Argumentation Letter to the editor.
Prompt: Using Jonathan Edward’s sermon as a model, write a letter to the editor of our school newspaper using fear tactics to
deter your audience from doing something.
Composition: Comparison/Contrast
Prompt: Both Jonathan Edwards and Ellen Goodman deal with the idea of guilt in their writings. In an essay, define guilt.
Then compare and contrast the rhetorical strategies each author uses to deliver his/her message about guilt.
Composition: Journal Entry
Prompt 1: Write a journal or diary entry reflecting on a time when you felt isolated from society.
OR
Prompt 2: What does guilt imply about free will and choice? If we had no free will and choice, how would guilt likely
affect us?
Composition: Letter to the Editor
Prompt: Write a letter to the local newspaper expressing you views on the treatment of a minority group or outsider in your
community. What suggestions or solutions do you have to offer?
Composition: Synthesis
Prompt: Who are considered outsiders in our society? Why are they in this position? How does society treat them? Should
society be more tolerant of them? Using at least five sources from this unit, including The Scarlet Letter, write an
essay which discusses the position of the outsider in society. Remember to attribute both direct and indirect citations.
Refer to the sources by author’s last names or by titles. Avoid mere paraphrase or summary. Refer to the sources by
the author’s last name or title. Remember to attribute both direct and indirect citations.
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RESEARCH PAPER: THE DOCUMENTED ESSAY
Task and Prompt:
 Choose a current event that reflects one of the themes that we studied this semester.
 Research the topic through different types of sources (newspapers, magazines, news stories, interviews, online
sources, radio broadcasts, visuals, …).
 Take careful notes, making sure that you cite your sources accurately using MLA format.
 Develop an argument about this topic.
 Establish a claim.
 Then integrate a variety of sources into a coherent, well-written essay.
 Use the sources to support your position; avoid mere paraphrase or summary.
 Your argument should be central.
 Remember to attribute both direct and indirect citations, using MLA format. (Give credit where credit is due.)
 Create a Works Cited page using MLA format.
 Plagiarism will result in a zero.
FINAL EXAM
Students will have two hours to take their final exam; it is worth 25% of the semester average. (There are eighteen weeks in a
semester. Each six weeks’ grading period is worth 25% of the semester average.)
Part 1: Multiple Choice
This section is interpretation of new material. Students will read four passages and answer forty-five to fifty-five questions.
Reading selections and questions are similar to those on released AP English Language Exams.
Part 2: Free Response
Students will have one hour to write an in-class essay. The prompt will ask for rhetorical analysis, comparison/contrast, or
argumentation. This essay will be graded on the AP Rubric or 9 point scale.
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SPRING SEMESTER
INTRODUCTION
AP Course Description
Class rules and Responsibilities
Grading System
Rhetorical Terms (Definitions)
Rhetorical Modes
Rhetorical Devices
UNIT 1: ETHICS
INDEPENDENT READING: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby.
Students will do an annotated reading of this novel. They are responsible for identifying and understanding the elements about
the plot chapters: characterization, setting, initial incidents, conflicts, climaxes, resolutions, and conclusions.
GROUP STUDY AND PANEL PRESENTATIONS: The class will be divided into six groups and each group will consider,
discuss, and present one of the following topics in greater depth. Each group will also be responsible for connecting and synthesizing
the novel to essays which we will read for this unit.
 Materialism and the corruptive effect of wealth
 Subversion of the American Dream
 Disillusionment
 Deceit
 Hypocrisy
 Substance abuse and illegal trafficking,
21
READING
Burgess, Anthony.
“Is America Falling Apart?”
RHETORICAL MODES
Persuasion/Argumentation
RHETORICAL DEVICES
Exaggerations
Hyperbole
Tone
Claim
Appeals
Evidence
Buckley, William F.
Argumentation/Persuasion
Purpose
“Why Don’t We Complain?”
Toulmin Model
Claim-Assumption-Warrant
Examples
Appeals
Irony
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Wechsler, Henry and Charles Deutsch
Argumentation/Persuasion
and George Dowdall.
Comparison/Contrast
“Too Many Colleges Are Still in Denial
Definition
About Alcohol Abuse”
Purpose
Evidence
Diction/connotation
Audience (2nd Person in
Paragraph 24)
Data
Note: Pair this opinion essay with the scientific paper (especially the chart and tables) also by Wechsler.
(See Viewing at the end of this unit.)
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Konner, Melvin
Argumentation
Language (of science)
“Why the Reckless Survive”
Definition (of Man)
fragments, parallel structure,
Cause/Effect
repetition, prepositional phrases…
Imagery
Paradox
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Kondracke, Morton M.
“Don’t Legalize Drugs”
Parallels
Concession
Appeal to logic
Evidence (evaluating statistics)
Deduction (paragraphs 6 & 7)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Vidal, Gore.
Argumentation
Appeal (Ethos; consider the author)
“Drugs”
Cause/Effect
Point of View
Journalistic paragraphs
Lutz, William.
“The World of Doublespeak.”
Argumentation
Cause/Effect
Classification
Examples
Definition
Thesis
Assumptions
Euphemism
Quotations as evidence
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ericsson, Stephanie
Classification
Figurative language
“The Ways We Lie”
Definition
Stereotypes
Example
Hyperbole
Narration
Generalization (General to Specific)
(Note: Although we studied this essay in the fall semester, we will review it because it fits our topic.)
King, Martin Luther
Argumentation/Persuasion
Appeals
I Have A Dream
Narration
Allusion
Description
Imagery
Example
Syntax: Repetition, parallelism
Comparison/Contrast
Transcendental qualities
Cause/Effect
(Note: Although we studied this essay in the fall semester, we will review it as a contrast to the subversion of the American Dream
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READINGS ON CURRENT EVENTS
Theme related articles
Articles that reflect claims or central ideas made by the authors studied in this unit
Submissions from students with teacher’s approval
VIEWING
“Health and Behavioral Consequences of Binge Drinking in College: A National Survey of Students at 140 Campuses”
by Henry Wechsler, Andrea Davenport, George Dowdall, Barbara Moeykens, and Sonia Castillo.
Chart of Binge Drinkers
Table of Drinking Styles of Students
Table of Risk of Alcohol-Related Problems
Table of Alcohol-Related Driving Behavior
Table of Students Experiencing Secondary Binge Effects
Hopper, Edward. Nighthawks. 1942. oil on canvas. Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago.
Tooker, George. The Subway. 1950. Egg tempera on composition board. Collection of Whitney Museum of American Art.
(Note: See Readings For Writers p. 233)
Theme related photos, video clips, and/or cartoons from current periodicals will be discussed as these become available. Students may
contribute selections for viewing with teacher’s approval.
ASSESSMENTS
Quizzes: Students will be given a quiz over most readings. These will check for understanding of meaning and strategies.
Quiz: Vocabulary from readings
Quiz: Grammar (from warm-up exercises, syntax discussions, and/or reading annotations)
Test: The Great Gatsby
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Composition: Journal Entry
Prompt: Using Konner’s essay as a springboard, consider a personal experience that involved reckless behavior. Describe
your own or someone else’s irrational behavior and speculate about its causes.
Composition: Letter to the Principals at our high school based on survey findings.
Prompt: Interview a sample of people on the campus about their drinking (or substance abuse) habits, and write a piece aimed
at our high school principal and our six assistants principals about whether they are in denial about drinking (or substance
abuse) on our campus. Offer a suggestion or solution to this situation.
Composition: Comparison/Contrast
Prompt: Read the essays by Ericsson and Lutz. Consider the similarities/differences that are evident between liars and
doublespeakers. Then write a well developed essay to compare/contrast the two. Be sure to use evidence from both essays to
support your assertion.
Composition: Synthesis
Prompt: How does a person lose sight of his dreams? How does a person become disconnected? Read F. Scott Fizgerald’s
novel, The Great Gatsby and Joyce Carol Oates poem’ “Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks, 1942.” Also, view and analyze
Edward Hopper’s painting, Nighthawks. Then write a well developed essays on the effects of disillusionment and/or
isolation on an individual.
Prompt: How do the problems of alcohol and prohibition relate to modern problems with drugs? Using the essays by Vidal
and Kondracke as well as one other essay or article on this topic, defend, challenge, or qualify the concept of legalizing
illegal drugs.
Prompt: What is the American Dream? What ethics and/or values should an individual consider in his pursuit of this dream?
In an essay that synthesizes and uses for support evidence from The Great Gatsby as well as three other selections from
this unit’s readings, write an essay in which you discuss how an individual can degrade/ruin/or subvert the ideal
concept of the American Dream in pursuing his personal dream. Remember to attribute both direct and indirect
citations. Refer to the sources by author’s last name or by title. Avoid mere paraphrase or summary.
25
UNIT 2: ADVERTISING, MEDIA, AND IMAGE
READING
RHETORICAL MODES
RHETORICAL DEVICES
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DeLillo, Don. “Videotape”
Cause/Effect
Point of View (2nd Person Persona)
Description
Narrator (Voice)
Repetition
Parallel Structure
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Roberts, Doug. “Disability in the Media”
Division/Analysis
Examples
Cause/Effect
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mairs, Nancy. “Disability”
Comparison/Contrast
Diction; Connotations
Description
Metaphor
Cause/Effect
Simile
Argument/Persuasion
Examples
Understatement
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Gould, Stephen Jay.
Mixed Methods
Audience
“A Biological Homage to Mickey Mouse
Narration
Diction; Synonyms
Description
Imagery
Comparison/Contrast
Process Analysis
Division/Analysis
Cause/Effect
Definition
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Postman, Neil “Amusing Ourselves to Death”
Argumentation/Persuasion
Media Criticism
26
Winn, Marie. “Television: The Plug-in Drug”
Argumentation/Persuasion
Toulmin Model
Division/Analysis
Thesis
Appeals
Effect of Quotations
Rhetorical Questions
Repetition
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
READINGS ON CURRENT EVENTS
Theme related articles
Articles that reflect claims or central ideas made by the authors studied in this unit
Submissions from students with teacher’s approval
______________________________________________________________________________________________
VIEWING
Finch, Christopher. The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdom. (1975, rev. 2004)
Graphs
“The Evolution of Mickey Mouse” in Bedford p. 619.
“Humans feel Attraction for Animals with Juvenile Features…” in Bedford p. 620
Commercials and Advertisements: Students may contribute selections for viewing with teacher’s approval.
Theme related photos, video clips, and/or cartoons from current periodicals will be discussed as these become available.
ASSESSMENTS
Quizzes: Students will be given a quiz over most readings. These will check for understanding of meaning and strategies.
Quiz: Vocabulary from readings
Quiz: Grammar (from warm-up exercises, syntax discussions, and/or reading annotations)
Test: AP Multiple Choice Interpretation of New Material
Composition: Analysis of “Videotape”
Prompt: In a well-developed essay, analyze DeLillo’s use of repetition in “Videotape.” Consider the effect of
repetition as this device echoes the theme.
27
Composition: Journal Entry
Prompt: Reflect on how some documentary footage of a disaster or crime affected you. Then write a journal entry
about the effects of this footage. Consider how your responses were affected by how often you saw the footage?
Why do you think you responded as you did?
Composition: Classification
Prompt: Write an essay by method of classification in which you sort one of the following subjects into categories f
your own. Make clear your purpose and the basis of your classification. Explain each class with definitions and
examples (You may find it helpful ton make up a name for each group.) Check your classes to be sure they neither gap
nor overlap.
Possible topics:
Talk shows
Stand-up Comedians
News Shows
Comic strips
Movie Monsters
Sports announcers
Commercials
Album/CD Covers
Book Covers
Movies for Teens or Men or Women
Composition: Visual/Media/Advertisement Analysis
Prompt: Read “Thinking Critically About Visual Images” (Bedford pp. 26-30). Choose a video clip, video
commercial, or advertisement. Analyze how the artist/director established the assertion. Be prepared to present your
analysis along with the visual to the class. (Note: If your visual is on-line, be careful to copy the full URL of the
image so that you can go quickly to the source.)
Composition: Synthesis Essay
The following prompt is the Sample Question from the College Board on Television and its influence in U.S.
presidential elections.
(Note: See English Language and Composition Course Description. May 2007, May 2008.)
Introduction: Television has been influential in United States presidential elections since the 1960’s. But just what is
this influence, and how has it affected who is elected? Has it made elections fairer and more accessible or has it moved
candidates from pursuing issues to pursuing image?
Prompt: Read the given sources. Then in an essay that synthesizes at least three of the sources for support, take a
position that defend, challenges, or qualifies the claim that television has had a positive impact on presidential
elections. Remember to attribute both direct and indirect citations. Refer to the sources by author’s last names or by
titles. Avoid mere paraphrase or summary.
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UNIT 3: INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH: DOCUMENTED ESSAY
For this unit, students will choose a sci-fi novel that discusses an issue of science or technology which interests them. Students will
read the novel and annotate the scientific aspects (biological, geological, technological…). Next, students will research non-fiction
scientific sources about these aspects from the novel. Then in a well developed documented essay, students will discuss whether or
not the author has incorporated credible science into his fiction. Along with pre-writings, outlines, drafts, and Works Cited, the final
copy should include at least one visual (image, graph, or chart). The final copy may be a documented essay or a documented power
point presentation.
Task and Prompt:
 Choose a SCI-FI novel that that discusses an issue of science or technology which interests you.
 Annotate the scientific aspects discussed in the novel (biological, geological, technological…)
 Research the scientific aspects through different types of sources (scientific journals, newspapers, magazines,
news stories, interviews, online sources, radio broadcasts, visuals, …).
 Take careful notes, making sure that you cite your sources accurately using MLA format.
 Develop an argument about whether or not the science is credible in this piece of fiction.
 Establish a claim.
 Then integrate a variety of sources into a well-written essay or a documented power point presentation.
 Use the sources to support your position; avoid mere paraphrase or summary.
 Create or use a visual (image, graph, table..) to support your position.
 Your argument should be central.
 Remember to attribute both direct and indirect citations, using MLA format. (Give credit where credit is due.)
 Create a Works Cited page using MLA format.
 Plagiarism will result in a zero.
Suggested Fiction for this project (Note: Students will receive a fuller list of titles.)
Cook, Robin. Acceptable Risk
Crichton, Michael. Congo
Blindsight
Jurrasic Park
Chromosome 6
State of Fear
Contagion
Timeline
Vector
Koontz, Dean. Watchers
Shelly, Mary. Frankenstein
Orwell, George. 1984
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World
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UNIT 4: HUMOR AND SATIRE
READING
RHETORICAL MODES
RHETORICAL DEVICES
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Perelman, S.J. “Insert Flap ‘A’ and Throw Away
Process Analysis
Exaggeration
Hyperbole
Absurdity
Sarcasm
Mock-Seriousness
Diction: Unusual Word Choice
Swift, Jonathan
“A Modest Proposal”
Argumentation/Persuasion
Cause/Effect
Humorous Devices
Irony
Satire
Hyperbole
Understatement
Diction: Unusual word choice
Garner, J.F. “The Three Little Politically
Correct Pigs”
excerpt from Politically Correct
Bedtime Stories
Narrative
Parody
Mock-Seriousness (Allusions)
Diction: Unusual Word Choice
Absurdity
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
READINGS ON CURRENT EVENTS
Theme related articles
Articles that reflect claims or central ideas made by the authors studied in this unit
Submissions from students with teacher’s approval
30
VIEWING
From Television
The Daily Show with John Stewart
The Colbert Report
Theme related photos and/or cartoons from current periodicals will be discussed as these become available. Students may contribute
selections for viewing with teacher’s approval.
ASSESSMENTS
Quizzes: Students will be given a quiz over most readings. These will check for understanding of meaning and strategies.
Quiz: Vocabulary from readings
Quiz: Grammar (from warm-up exercises, syntax discussions, and/or reading annotations)
Test: AP Multiple Choice Interpretation of New Material
Composition: Analysis
Prompt: Carefully read the letter (January 30, 1801) from Charles Lamb to the English romantic poet William
Wordsworth Then paying particular attention to the tone of Lamb’s letter, write an essay in which you analyze the
techniques Lamb uses to decline Wordsworth’s invitation.
(Note: This prompt is Question 1 from the 1998 AP English Language and Composition Test)
Composition: Analysis
Prompt: Carefully read the excerpt from a letter (Bath, October 4, 1746) written by the eighteenth-century author Lord
Chesterfield to his young son, who was traveling far from home. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how the
rhetorical strategies that Chesterfield uses reveal his own values.
(Note: This prompt is Question 1 from the 2004 AP English Language and Composition Test)
Composition: Analysis
Prompt: Read the article from The Onion, a publication devoted to humor and satire. Then write an essay in which
you analyze the strategies used in the article to satirize how products are marketed to consumers.
(Note: This prompt is Question 2 from the 2005 AP English Language and Composition Test)
31
Composition: Comparison/Contrast and Analysis
Prompt: View a parody feature film and the original movie or movies that it ridicules (for example George Lucas’ Star
Wars and Mel Brooks’ Star Balls). Then compare the two and discuss how the director/screen play writer uses
humorous devices to create the parody
Composition: Creative Writing of a Parody
Prompt: Choose a popular movie, book, TV Show, or song. Then using humorous rhetorical devices develop a scripted
scene for a parody. (A scene from a movie or a chapter from a book will suffice.) Be prepared to share your
production with the class.
FINAL EXAM
Students will have two hours to take their final exam; it is worth 25% of the semester average. (There are eighteen weeks in a
semester. Each six weeks’ grading period is worth 25% of the semester average.)
Part 1: Multiple Choice
This section is interpretation of new material. Students will read four passages and answer forty-five to fifty-five questions.
Reading selections and questions are similar to those on released AP English Language Exams.
Part 2: Free Response
Students will have one hour to write an in-class essay. The prompt will ask for rhetorical analysis, comparison/contrast, or
argumentation. This essay will be graded on the AP Rubric or 9 point scale.
32
Works Cited
Texts
2005 Official Student Guide to the PSAT/NMSQT. College Board
50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. Samuel Cohen, Editor. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004
Adventures in American Literature. Pegasus Edition. Dallas: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1989.
CollegeBoard AP English Course Description, May 2007, May 2008.
Davidson, James West, and Mark Hamilton Lytle. “The Visible and Invisible Worlds of Salem.” After the Fact: The Art of
Historical Detection (Vol. 1) New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1982. 28-55.
DiYanni, Robert, and Pat C. Hoy II. Frames of Mind. United States: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2005.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1925.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers Sixth Edition. New York: The Modern Language Association of
America, 2003.
Glencoe Grammar and Composition Handbook. United States: Glencoe, 2000.
Hodges, John C. et al. Harbrace College Handbook. Thirteenth Edition. Austin: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.1998.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Penguin Books, 1983.
Jolliffe, David, and Hephzibah Roskelly. Everyday Use: Rhetoric at Work in reading and Writing. New York: Pearson/Longman,
2005.
33
Kennedy, X. J., et al. The Bedford Reader. (9) New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006.
The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Nonfiction Prose. Linda H. Peterson, General Editor, John C. Brereton, Joan E. Hartman
(Eds.). New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000.
McCuen, Jo Ray, and Anthony Winkler. Readings for Writers. (9) Austin: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1998.
SAT Preparation Booklet School Edition 2004-2005. College Board
Shea, Renee H. and Lawrence Scanlon. Teaching Nonfiction in AP English: A Guide to Accompany 50 Essays. New York:
Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005.
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.
Strunk, William. Elements of Style. Ithaca, N.Y.: Priv. print. [Geneva, N.Y.: Press of W.P. Humphrey], 1918; Bartleby.com, 1999.
ISBN 1-58734-060-7
Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. New York: Penguin Group, Inc., 2003.
Images
De Nanteuil, Luc. Jacques-Louis David. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1990.
http://americanrhetoric.com/
www.google.com
Images
http:// www.cagle.com/teacher
Political cartoons; 5 new cartoons each week; often with comments by the cartoonist; lesson plans; print for classroom use
34
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/cartoons
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/ads
“American Advertising: A Brief History” essay identifies questions for analyzing ads; provides sources
http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/sargent/index.html or Google “cartoons Ben Sargent”
Political cartoons by a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize
http://keithcarterphotographs.com/images.html
Black and white photography by Keith Carter; he holds the endowed Walles Chair of Art at Lamar University
Beaumont, Texas.
CDs
Clauss, Patrick. I.claim. CD-ROM ISBN 0-312-44015-4
packaged with any Bedford/St. Martin’s textbook
bfwpub.com/techsupport or techsupport@bfwpub.com
DiYanni, Robert, and Pat C. Hoy. Frames of Mind: A Rhetorical
Reader With Occasions for Writing (with Comp21 CD-Rom and Info Trac) Published by Thomson Heinle & Heinle, 2005.
ISBN: 0838460895
Fine Art Transparencies
Museo de Arte. Glencoe Spanish Fine Art Transparencies
Part of ISBN: 0-07-868664-4
Musee de l’art. Glencoe French Fine Art Transparencies
Part of ISBN: 0-07-868660-1
Literature: The Reader’s Choice American Literature.
ISBN 0-02-817719
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