Name: _______________________________________________________
Mrs. Anne Weisgerber
aweisgerber@fc.summit.k12.nj.us
Summit Senior High School
Room 239
Keep this for reference with your important class papers
AP English Language and Composition Syllabus
Exam Date: Weds, 13 May 2015
Primary Textbooks:
Barrows, Marjorie Westcott, ed. The American Experience: Non-Fiction. New York: The Macmillan
Company, 1968.
Dillard, Annie and Cort Conley, eds. Modern American Memoirs. New York: Harper Perennial, 1995.
Gibaldi, Joseph, ed. Modern Language Association Handbook for Writers of Research Papers: Sixth Edition.
NY: MLA of America, 2003.
Kirszner, Laurie C. and Stephen R. Mandell, eds. Common Ground. New York: St. Martin’ s Press,
1994.
Lopate, Phillip. The Art of the Personal Essay. New York: Doubleday, 1994.
Course Overview / Description: The Advanced Placement course in English Language and
Composition involves students in the study of language and rhetoric as it pertains to writing and
reading. There is NO FICTION on the AP Lang exam. It is an exam that rates a student’s ability to
identify, decode, and respond critically to rhetoric and argument. It is a college course, a course in
real argument, being offered in a high school.
By understanding the power of language to inform, entertain and persuade, students will develop
critical skills in reading literary and informational texts across disciplines. Students will study works
of fiction and non-fiction by exploring the authors’ subject, audience, purpose, tone and occasion
for writing. They will learn to identify and apply rhetorical strategies and techniques to improve their
ability to communicate effectively. Regular writing assignments will focus on rhetorical analysis of
persuasive texts, and the synthesis of multiple sources to support a position. Students will apply
these skills in the development of a critical and persuasive academic voice in writing and speaking in
order to become articulate, productive, and responsible global citizens.
The course engages students in becoming skilled readers of complex texts written in a variety of
periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a
variety of purposes and audiences. The attention in reading is directed toward content, purpose, and
audience. Students must constantly have pen to paper to excel on the Advanced Placement exam.
The concentration is on nonfiction selections: correspondence, journals, autobiography and memoir,
biography, articles, and essays. The fiction and poetry texts are used to highlight stylistic decisions.
The intense attention to language use enhances the students’ use of grammatical conventions and
rhetorical and linguistic choices in their own oral and written communication.
The composition component stresses the expository, analytical, and argumentative, as well as the
personal and reflective essays.
Name: _______________________________________________________
The research project is a position paper followed by a debate. In teams of four, students agree
upon a topic and a resolution. Students research both sides of a current issue—i.e. the war in Iraq—
and prepare careful arguments with a plethora of evidence from current reputable sources using
books, periodicals, on-line databases, other Internet sources, and personal interviews, when possible.
Students must analyze, evaluate, and synthesize the information from a minimum of five distinct
sources. The group of four then divides into teams of two: an affirmative team and a negative team.
Students write individual papers covering their part of the case, developing their particular position.
These position papers prepare them for the formal debate, which adheres to National Forensic
League format. All sources are carefully attributed in both the written papers and the oral debates
correctly using MLA guidelines.
Grading System:
Essays 35%: Students write every week; essays vary from single paragraphs to four page papers and
are weighted accordingly. Grading rubrics are provided to the students before they write so that they
clearly understand the focus. Longer papers are peer-edited in class before students type the final
copies. Student reviewers are supplied with written instructions guiding them in their particular
consultative tasks for each different assignment.
Individual consultations (detailed written comments and/or face-to-face exchanges) are provided by
the teacher between rough and final drafts. Special attention is given to achieving a balance between
generalization and specific, illustrative details and examples.
The research paper rough draft is teacher-reviewed in its entirety with written and oral suggestions
providing the students ample opportunity to revise and edit. Parenthetical citations are taught to
Modern Language Association standards.
All compositions are kept in student folders with error tally sheets on which students keep track of
ongoing grammar concerns by category. Teacher instruction is given to the entire class after each
final draft is graded on persisting concerns with mechanics, organization, documentation, word
choice, syntax—whatever is needed.
Late Work Policy: Any long range paper or project (those assigned three days to weeks in advance)
must be turned in on the date due to avoid penalty: the lowering of the grade, 10 points for each day
late. The excuse of absence will not suffice unless there is a note from a parent certifying that the
student was incapacitated immediately preceding the due date OR the student was incapacitated on
the due date and there was no viable alternative for bringing in the paper.
Tests 25%: Many tests are in the format of the AP exam—multiple choice. The remaining are short
answer and essay, testing knowledge of content and concepts and testing analysis skills with new
material.
Quizzes 20%: Quizzes are used primarily to check learning of vocabulary words and comprehension
of reading assignments.
Homework 10% / Class work 10%: Daily assignments cover a variety of tasks: reading, writing,
vocabulary acquisition, grammar study and exercises. Students keep a weekly personal vocabulary list
of five words culled from each week’s reading assignments and in addition learn a teacher given
word of the day. Journal assignments are teacher reviewed at least twice per quarter with careful
notations of commendations and recommendations both for students’ writing and interpretative
Name: _______________________________________________________
skills; this feedback is ongoing throughout the academic year. Students are expected to be prepared
every day for class and to engage actively in class and small group discussions.
Course Organization:
The course is divided by Unit Themes.
Each unit requires students to acquire and use rich vocabulary, to use Standard English grammar,
and to understand the importance of syntax and diction in an author’s style. Thus, students are
expected to demonstrate the following:
 ever-increasingly sophisticated vocabulary, used appropriately and effectively
 varying sentence structure, including correct subordination, coordination, and parallelism
 logical and coherent organization enhanced by techniques such as repetition, smooth
transitions, and emphasis
 appropriate balance of generalization and specific detail
 an effective grasp of rhetoric including establishing and maintaining voice, managing tone, and
achieving desired emphasis through diction and syntax (College Board AP English Course
Description, May 2007, May 2008, p. 8)
For each reading assignment students must identify the following:
 Thesis
 Tone
 Purpose
 Audience
 Occasion
 Evidence
 Appeals
 Assumptions
 Style
Plagiarism Policy: All assignments are to be completed by the individual student unless specifically
stated otherwise. Any assignment that is plagiarized from or completed by some other person will
earn zero points and may be subject to further consequences as per the school’s Cheating/
Plagiarism policy (see student handbook.) Note: this English teacher will not write recommendation letters for
plagiarists.
Name: _______________________________________________________
Syllabus: English III AP
SUMMER READING: Choice of One with a written component: Where Men Win Glory, by Jon
Krakauer; Moneyball, by Michael Lewis; The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot;
The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, by Amy Chua; Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell. Students also
viewed a documentary from a large selection.
Interwoven into each week:
Articles and essays related to themes in the unit
Several sample passages with critical reading questions to accompany close reading
Vocabulary in context of the reading
5 personal vocabulary words/week (student chosen)
5 Words of the Day/week (teacher chosen)
Primary Readings:
Work and Family
Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich
Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller
King Lear, by William Shakespeare
Bread Givers, by Anzia Yezierska
The American Identity
What is the What, by David Eggers.
Writings and letters of Dr. Martin Luther King (i.e. Birmingham Jail, Beyond Vietnam)
Film: Lost Boys of Sudan.
The Narrative of Frederick Douglass.
Conflict and War
“Gettysburg Address,” “Second Inaugural Address” by Abraham Lincoln
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain.
The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien
The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane.
Tragedy and Hope of the American Dream
In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote.
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Film: Citizen Kane.
Name: _______________________________________________________
The exam, essential FAQs
The exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes long.
Exam Date: Weds, 13 May 2015
Exam Length: 3 hours, 15 minutes
Section I -- Multiple Choice = 45% of exam
60 minutes; 52-57 multiple-choice questions; 4 different passages (5 in 2000).
Guaranteed to get
 one pre-20th C passage (19th or 18th C) often British.
 One 20th C passage (usually)
 Work has to have been initially written in English! No Greeks or Romans.
(Translation changes integrity of the piece.)
The multiple-choice questions test how well students are able to analyze the rhetoric of
prose passages.
After Section I, there is a bathroom break.
Section II – 55%. Students have 15 minutes to read + 2 hours to write 3 essay responses.
Nobody will prompt students when to move on; time is self-managed.
Part I: 1st essay = synthesis essay.
You have 15 minutes reading time, and then 40 minutes of writing. Read the source
material. How can you enter that conversation? What will your engaging opening be? How
can you add to the discussion this material engenders? You cannot start writing essay until
15 minutes is up and all the materials in the green booklet are read, annotated. (You can
mark up the materials and begin thesis/1st ¶.) Then can open the pink booklet and begin
writing essay response. Total of 55 minutes: 15 reading and 40 writing.
Part II: 2nd Essay = Rhetorical Analysis
40 minutes to read, annotate, organize, and write. Read the prompt. Clarify which rhetorical
strategies are to be discussed, as they must be discovered in the passage. Allow 10-12
minutes to read and annotate the passage and organize thesis/plan. There might be two
approaches to a response: 1) discuss it chronologically by chunking discussion, or 2) discuss
the dominant devices.
This is the analysis prompt – this must be approached with formality and with an academic
voice. Over and over in this course of study, we will identify a device or technique, give
illustrative examples of it, and explain its function. What is its effect? Why is that response
desired? That is rhetorical analysis.
Part III: 3rd Essay = Free Response to a topic of choice. Brainstorm for best examples
from history, current events, and literature. 40 minutes to brainstorm, organize, and write.
For full examples of all three essay prompts, visit the College Board at www.collegeboard.com
Name: _______________________________________________________
Mrs. Anne Weisgerber
English III Advanced Placement English Language and Composition
2012-2013
Late Paper/Project Policy
Any long range paper or project (those assigned three days to weeks in
advance) must be turned in on the date due to avoid penalty: the lowering
of the grade by 10 points for each day late.
The excuse of absence will not suffice unless there is a note from a parent
certifying that the student was incapacitated immediately preceding the
due date OR the student was incapacitated on the due date and there was
no viable alternative for bringing in the paper.
I hereby certify that I have read and understood the rules in English III A.P.
concerning late papers and projects.
Signature____________________________
Date________________________________