AP English Literature and Composition Syllabus 2015-2016
Ms. Hall
Room 304
ehall@worcestercs.org
3097-8785 x304
Materials:
 Binder
 Loose leaf
 Pens (blue or black) and/or pencils
 Sticky notes
Scoring Components
SC1: The course includes an intensive study of representative works such as those by authors cited in
the AP English Course Description. By the time the student completes English Literature and
Composition, he or she will have studied during high school literature from both British and American
writers, as well as works written in several genres from the sixteenth century to contemporary times.
SC2: The course teaches students to write an interpretation of a piece of literature that is based on a
careful observation of textual details, considering such elements as the use of figurative language,
imagery, symbolism and tone.
SC3: The course teaches students to write an interpretation of a piece of literature that is based on a
careful observation of textual details, considering the work’s structure, style and themes.
SC4: The course teaches students to write an interpretation of a piece of literature that is based on a
careful observation of textual details, considering the work’s social, cultural and/or historical values.
SC5: The course includes frequent opportunities for students to write and rewrite timed, in-class
responses.
SC6: The course includes frequent opportunities for students to write and rewrite formal, extended
analyses outside of class.
SC7: The course requires writing to understand: Informal/exploratory writing activities that
enablestudents to discover what they think in the process of writing about their reading (such
assignments could include annotation, free writing, keeping a reading journal, reaction/response
papers, and/or dialectical notebooks).
SC8: The course requires writing to explain: Expository, analytical essays in which students draw
upon textual details to develop an extended interpretation of a literary text.
SC9: The course requires writing to evaluate: Analytical, argumentative essays in which students
drawupon textual details to make and explain judgments about a work’s artistry and quality.
SC10: The course requires writing to evaluate: Analytical, argumentative essays in which students
draw upon textual details to make and explain judgments about a work’s social, historical and/or
cultural values.
SC11: The AP teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing assignments, both
before and after the students revise their work that help the students develop a wide-ranging
vocabulary used appropriately.
SC12: The AP teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing assignments, both
before and after the students revise their work that help the students develop a variety of sentence
structures.
SC13: The AP teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing assignments, both
before and after the students revise their work that help the students develop logical organization,
enhanced by specific techniques to increase coherence. Such techniques may include traditional
rhetorical structures, graphic organizers, and work on repetition, transitions, and emphasis.
SC14: The AP teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing assignments both before
and after they revise their work that help the students develop a balance of generalization and specific,
illustrative detail.
SC15: The AP teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’ writing assignments both before
and after they revise their work that help the students establish an effective use of rhetoric including
controlling tone and a voice appropriate to the writer’s audience.
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AP English Literature and Composition Syllabus 2015-2016
Course Description
This course will take us deep into fiction, drama, and poetry, which we will analyze with a
critical eye. We will examine British and American works spanning from the sixteenth century to
the modern era. [SC1] Our task is to uncover the meaningful questions about and raised by
literature, and discover whatever answers may exist, through class discussions and activities and
many writing assignments of varying type and length. There will be lots of writing –
timedpieces, formal pieces with several chances for revision, journals, etc. There will also be lots
of vocabulary in context and grammar instruction as needed. Three independent reading projects
will round out our readings, and we will prepare for the AP exam given in May.
This course is structured by genre and thematic focus. Therefore, while you will see lots of
poetry during our poetry unit, you will also see poetry scattered throughout other units as it
relates to the overarching themes of those units. The AP exam occurs several weeks before the
end of the school year; after the exam we will spend the remainder of the course working on a
research paper that synthesizes your ability to analyze literature with existing literary criticism.
To facilitate your research, we will spend two days at a college library.
Because the spirit of this course is in your interaction with literature of great merit, what matters
most is not your grade, but your committed effort to understanding and analyzing the readings as
part of the class, and to developing and improving your writing as an individual.
Texts
Kelly J. Mays, Ed. – The Norton Introduction to Literature, Eleventh Edition
Greg Johnson & Thomas R. Arp, Ed. – Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, & Sense, Twelfth
Edition
Thomas Foster – How to Read Literature Like a Professor
William Shakespeare – The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Tennessee Williams – A Streetcar Named Desire
Sophocles – Oedipus Rex
Charlotte Bronte – Jane Eyre
Kate Chopin – The Awakening
Henrik Ibsen – A Doll’s House
Frederick Rebsamen. – Beowulf, An Updated Verse Translation
John Gardener – Grendel
Joseph Conrad – Heart of Darkness
Reading and Writing Expectations
This course requires you to read closely and analytically. Whether you are reading at home or in
class, you should be annotating texts directly or on sticky notes. Careful annotation will be
demonstrated and practiced in class; it will aid you in understanding what you read, help foster
interesting and focused class discussions, and provide ideas for your writing. As we look at a
wide range of literature, consider your responses to the texts and connections you can make to
other texts and to life in general. [SC7]
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AP English Literature and Composition Syllabus 2015-2016
Writing assignments will vary in length and duration. Compositions will include statements,
paragraphs, journals, reactionary responses, timed writes (such as AP prompt-based essays), and
formal essays (expository interpretations of literary texts, argumentativejudgments about a
work’s artistry, quality, or value). [SC7, SC8, SC9] Critical writing will be based on close
textual analysis of structure, style (figurative language, imagery, symbolism, tone), theme, and
social/cultural/historical values. [SC2, SC3, SC4] Many assignments will be workshopped in
class. I will evaluate drafts and conference with students, and students will conduct peer reviews
in pairs or small groups. Many of these timed responses and formal analyseswill be rewritten at
least once; some of our informal, short, in-class assignments will lead to more formal, extended
responses, thus allowing you to fully develop your ideas over varying periods of time. [SC5,
SC6] Through direct instruction, practice, and writing workshops, we will work on developing
the following: wide-ranging vocabulary, a variety of sentence structures, logical organization and
coherence, a careful balance of generalization and detail, and appropriate tone and voice. [SC11,
SC12, SC13, SC14, SC15]
Independent Genre Study
You will independently read three longer works during the year (although integration of your
chosen work into class discussions is welcomed and encouraged). For each, you will complete a
graphic organizer, generate AP-style multiple choice questions, and write a formal paper of 3+
pages which we will then workshop in class. All texts are available either in your anthologies, on
your Chrome books, or in my classroom. [SC1]
#1: Drama – due November 24
Choose one of the following plays to read independently. Complete an Essential Literary
Synopsis worksheet; generate five AP stem-based multiple choice questions based on
play’s use of figurative language, imagery, tone, and/or symbolism; write an extended
formal response arguing how the text’s use offigurative language, imagery, tone, and/or
symbolism contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. [SC2]
Medea; Trifles; The Importance of Being Earnest; King Lear; A Raisin in the
Sun; Death of a Salesman; The Glass Menagerie
#2: British Literature prior to 1900 – due February 12
Choose one of the following novels to read independently. Complete an Essential
Literary Synopsis worksheet; generate five AP stem-based multiple choice questions
based on novel’s development of social, cultural, and/or historical values; write an
extended formal response arguing how the text’s social, cultural, and/or historical values
contribute to the meaning of the work as a whole. [SC4]
A Tale of Two Cities; Great Expectations; Frankenstein; Dracula; Jude the
Obscure; Tess of the D’Urbervilles; Pride and Prejudice; Emma; Wuthering
Heights
#3: Modern American Literature (post-1900) – due May 2
Choose one of the following novels to read independently. Complete an Essential
Literary Synopsis worksheet; generate five AP stem-based multiple choice questions
based on novel’s development of structure, style, and theme; write an extended formal
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AP English Literature and Composition Syllabus 2015-2016
response arguing how the text’s structure, style, and/or theme contributes to the meaning
of the work as a whole. [SC3]
The Things They Carried; Snow Falling on Cedars; Catch 22; A Prayer for Owen
Meany; Beloved; As I Lay Dying; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; The Color
Purple; A Farewell to Arms
Schedule
Pre-Course Assignment
 Actively read the following and be prepared to discuss at the beginning of the school
year:
o Othello by William Shakespeare
o The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
o Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
 Choose one of the two essay prompts for each selection and write a well-developed
essay, to be emailed to me over the summer or submitted on the first day of school. The
essay choices come from old AP exams; the purpose of these essays is introduce you to
the type of critical thinking expected from you in this course. You will receive a grade for
completion, and we will workshop these essays during the first week of school so that
you may revise one of your choice.
Unit 1 – Introduction to Close Reading
1 week
Texts:
Othello
The Joy Luck Club
Slaughterhouse Five
How to Read Literature Like a Professor
 Summer reading essays due
o After teacher critique, choose one essay to revise for peer review and
resubmission
o Focus on – thesis statement
 Review of summer reading assignments
o Close reading of key passages from Othello (verbal and dramatic irony, rhetorical
strategies), The Joy Luck Club (narrator, point of view), and Slaughterhouse Five
(tone)
o Introduction to AP multiple choice questions: developing MC questions (group
work)
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AP English Literature and Composition Syllabus 2015-2016
Unit 2: Drama – The Tragic Figure in Literature
8 weeks
Texts:
Oedipus Rex
A Streetcar Named Desire
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Ishiguro, “A Family Supper”
Olsen, “I Stand Here Ironing”
Rich, “Living in Sin”
Plath, “Daddy”
Dickinson, “Much Madness is Divinest Sense”
In our study of drama, we will examine the tragic figure as he or she functions within the family
system. We will analyze both classical and modern tragedies, and examine how family
relationships contribute to the tragedy.Students have examined a number of dramas previously
and should be familiar with Aristotle’s idea of the tragic figure; we will nevertheless review this
idea, especially as it applies to the modern tragic figure of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named
Desire. Along with the family system, a primary theme in this unit is the consequences of a
character’s search for the truth.
Major Assignments:
 Quizzes, tests, journals, annotations, vocabulary, grammar, etc.
 Timed Write #1: Dramatic Irony
 Annotation &Explication: “To be or not to be”
 Thesis Development: Use 3x3 to introduce a theme in Oedipus Rex. Develop into a
thesis statement. Group analysis of theses. Timed write from thesis.
 Analysis: Defend your analysis of one relationship in Hamlet. Explain how Shakespeare
uses language to develop this relationship, and how it affects the meaning of the play as a
whole.
 Analysis: Tracking an idea – track the development of Blanche’s breakdown as she
experiences it and as it is perceived by other characters in the play.
 Analysis: Formal paper – One definition of madness is “mental delusion of the eccentric
behavior arising from it.” But Emily Dickinson wrote: “Much madness is divinest
Sense—To a discerning Eye—“ Novelists and playwrights have often seen madness with
a “discerning Eye.” Consider one character’s descent into an apparent state of insanity.
Then write a well-organized essay in which you explain how his or her behavior might be
judged reasonable. Consider the play’s structure and tone in your response.
Unit 3: Poetry – Intensive Study
6 weeks
Texts:
Selections from Norton Introduction to Literatureand Structure, Sound, and Sense
This unit will explore poetry technique and how it contributes to meaning and purpose of the
poem. We will use the following list of poems to examine individual techniques, consistently
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AP English Literature and Composition Syllabus 2015-2016
keeping our focus on the meaning of the poem as a whole. We will write more extensively on
some poems than others.
Reading the poem – Plath, “Mirror”; Rich, “Storm Warnings”
Denotation & Connotation – “Pathedy of Manners”; Frost, “Desert Places”; Ryan “Tree
Heart/True Heart”
Imagery – Keats, “To Autumn”;
Figurative Language – Keats, “Bright Star” (personification/apostrophe); Donne, “A
Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” (metaphysical poetry); Marvell, “To His Coy Mistress”;
Blake, “The Sick Rose” (symbol); Piercy, “Barbie Doll” (irony); Crane, “War Is Kind” (irony)
Allusion – Plath, “Lady Lazarus”; Yeats, “Leda and the Swan”
Tone – Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn”; Donne, “The Flea”; Parker, “Resume”
Musical Devices – Perrine’s, Chapter 11 (review of sound devices’ effect on poems)
Rhythm and Meter – Perrine’s, Chapter 12 (selected poems)
Structure: Sonnet – Shelley, “Ozymandias”
Explication – Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
Major Assignments:
 Quizzes, tests, journals, annotations, vocabulary, grammar, etc.
 Timed Write #1: AP Prompt
 Timed Write #2: Musical Devices poem from Perrine’s Chapter 11
 Explication #1: Annotation and Critical Analysis of “The Love Song of J. Alfred
Prufrock”
 Explication #2: Poetry Project – Choose a poem. Create poetry video & be prepared to
discuss image and text break choices (& soundtrack, if applicable). Create PPT on deeper
analysis of poem. Write paper on analysis of poem.
Unit 4: Fiction – The Short Story: Intensive Study
2 weeks
Texts:
Selections from Norton Introduction to Literature
You have read many short stories in previous classes, and completed in English 11 an intensive
study of how the elements of fiction function within a story and contribute to its overall meaning.
We will analyze a number of short stories in this unit, focusing on how particular techniques are
addressed by the author and serve to create meaning. Though brief, this unit’s ideas will continue
into our larger study of fiction.
Setting – Updike, “A & P”
Narrator, Point of View, Tone – Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants”; Le Guin, “The Ones
Who Walk Away from Omelas”
Structure – Porter, “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”
Irony, Humor – Melville, “Bartleby the Scrivener”
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AP English Literature and Composition Syllabus 2015-2016
Major Assignments:
 Quizzes, tests, journals, annotations, vocabulary, grammar, etc.
 Timed Write #1: Updike (Perrine’s p. 377)
 Timed Write #2: AP Prompt
 Analysis Essay: Tone& Theme
Unit 5: Fiction – Character’s Search for Identity
4 weeks
Texts:
Jane Eyre
Joyce, “Araby”; “Eveline”
Wilbur, “The Writer”
The bildungsroman, or coming-of-age narrative, is the primary focus of this unit. We will
analyze how setting, tone, point of view, and author’s style facilitate the development of the
character’s personality and identity.
Major Assignments:
 Quizzes, tests, journals, annotations, vocabulary, grammar, etc.
 Timed Write: Epiphany in Joyce’s short stories – how does the character’s epiphany (or
reader’s epiphany about the character) affect the meaning of the story?
 Timed Write: AP Prompt (Q3 on bildungsroman) using Jane Eyre
 Group work: Develop multiple choice questions from AP stems on “The Writer”
 Analysis: Formal Paper –Develop a thesis arguing a theme/meaning of the work as a
whole for Jane Eyre. Group discussion and evaluation of theses. Write a formal paper;
revise after peer review. Consider structure, tone, etc., in your argument.
Unit 6: Fiction – Character’s Search for Direction
3 weeks
Texts:
The Awakening
A Doll’s House
Chopin, “The Story of an Hour”
Margaret Atwood “Happy Endings”
We will consider a character’s search for direction – for a purpose in life – through a particular
critical lens, the cultural and historical context of women at the turn of the nineteenth century. A
key concept in this unit is the epiphany or revelation a character experiences; we will analyze the
catalysts for such revelations, asking how the authors effectively use irony and diction to
emphasize these moments of self-realization.
Major Assignments:
 Quizzes, tests, journals, annotations, vocabulary, grammar, etc.
 Timed Write: Language use in “The Story of An Hour”
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AP English Literature and Composition Syllabus 2015-2016


Timed Write: Character development in A Doll’s House – Analyze a character.
Analysis: Formal Paper – Analyze a character’s self-discovery. How does the author use
irony and diction to emphasize the revelation, and for what purpose? What might the
author be trying to say about women of this era?
Unit 7: Fiction – Archetype of the Hero & Dissolution of the Archetype
6 weeks
Texts:
Beowulf
Grendel
Heart of Darkness
Eliot, “The Hollow Men”
Gaiman, “Snow, Glass, Apples”
Robinson, “MiniverCheevy”
This unit combines classical and modern texts in an examination of archetype (the hero, the
monster, good and evil) and allusion. We will consider the social, cultural, and historical
importance of the heroic figure, as well as the nature and significance of our concepts of good
and evil.
Major Assignments:
 Quizzes, tests, journals, annotations, vocabulary, grammar, etc.
 Timed Write: Language use and structure in Beowulf
 Timed Write: Comparison of Beowulf’s dragon vs. Grendel’s dragon – purpose of each?
 Annotation and Explication: Good vs. Evil archetypes in “Snow, Glass, Apples”
 Analysis: Evaluation of Good vs. Evil archetypes (breakdown!) in Heart of Darkness
Unit 8: AP Exam Review
1-2 weeks
This unit will be complete by May 3.
Unit 9: Literary Criticism Research Paper
5 weeks
Choose a novel or play of literary merit. Develop a thesis about a theme or meaning of the work
as a whole. Conduct research of literary criticism of the work; use literary criticism to support
your arguments in a formal paper.
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