Scoring Components/ Pages
SC1 The course requires students to write in several forms (e.g., narrative, expository, analytical, and
argumentative essays) about a variety of subjects (e.g., public policies, popular culture, personal
experiences).
SC2 The course requires students to write essays that proceed through several stages or drafts with the
revision incorporating, as appropriate, feedback from teachers and peers.
3, 5–8, 11
SC3 The course requires students to write in informal contexts (e.g., imitation exercises, journal
keeping, collaborative writing, and in-class responses) designed to help them become increasingly
aware of themselves as writers and/or aware of the techniques employed by the writers they read.
3–4
SC4 The course requires students to produce one or more expository writing assignments. Topics should
be based on readings representing a wide variety of prose styles and genres and might include such
topics as public policies, popular culture, and personal experiences.
4, 10
SC5 The course requires students to produce one or more analytical writing assignments. Topics should
be based on readings representing a wide variety of prose styles and genres and might include such
topics as public policies, popular culture, and personal experiences.
3, 6–7
SC6 The course requires students to produce one or more argumentative writing assignments. Topics
should be based on readings representing a wide variety of prose styles and genres and might
include such topics as public policies, popular culture, and personal experiences.
8
SC7 The course requires nonfiction readings (e.g., essays, journalism, political writing, science writing,
nature writing, autobiographies/biographies, diaries, history, criticism) that are selected to give
students opportunities to explain an author’s use of rhetorical strategies or techniques. If fiction
and poetry are also assigned, their main purpose should be to help students understand how
various effects are achieved by writers’ linguistic and rhetorical choices.
10
SC8 The course requires students to analyze how visual images relate to written texts and/or how visual
images serve as alternative forms of texts.
4, 7, 9–10
SC9 The course requires students to demonstrate research skills and, in particular, the ability to
evaluate, use, and cite primary and secondary sources.9, 11
SC10 The course requires students to produce one or more projects such as the researched argument
paper, which goes beyond the parameters of a traditional research paper by asking students to
present an argument of their own that includes the synthesis of ideas from an array of sources.
9, 11
SC11 Students will cite sources using a recognized editorial style (e.g., Modern Language Association
(MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, American Psychological Association (APA), etc.).
9, 11
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 wide-ranging vocabulary used
1
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 a variety of sentence structures.
5, 8
SC14 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.
6–8
SC15 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.
4–5
SC16 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.
8
Advanced Placement Language and Composition
2013-14
SC1—The course requires students to write in several forms
(e.g., narrative,
expository, analytical, and argumentative essays) about a
variety of subjects
(e.g., public policies,
popular culture, personal experiences).
Mr. McDermott
pmcderm@tacoma.k12.wa.us or (253) 571-6728
Welcome to AP Language and Composition. This college level class is the equivalent of an introductory college
composition class, specifically, English 101. Our end game for this class is to prepare for the AP Exam, which you will take
in May and which will, hard work and determination invested, reward you with college credit. It will also prepare you for
further AP courses and for writing at the college level. This class will further your skills as a reader, writer and thinker.
This class focuses for the most part on rhetoric, or the art of language and writing. The 3 main aims of this class are:
 To read nonfiction texts critically, examining the effect the writer intends for the audience.
 To write texts where you, the author, accomplish a specific purpose.
 To develop skills in research, source evaluation and analysis, and synthesis, with the goal of supporting your
argument.
Our main focus will be non-fiction because: 1) AP language and composition focuses on academic writing, which is
primarily expository (explaining), comparative, analysis (close reading), or synthesis (putting things together); and 2)
Most of the reading you will do in college, regardless of your major, will involve nonfiction texts ( as opposed to novels
and poetry). You will be responsible for bringing your Purple Primer to class every day. In addition to the texts and
excerpts found in your primer, we will also be reading (in parts or in their entirety):
 “Usage: A Workbook for Students of English” by Thomas S. La Farge
 Various Argument, Language and Composition texts (including The Aims of Argument & The Language of
Composition)
 “They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing” by Gerald Graff & Cathy Birkenstein
 “50 Essays: A Portable Anthology : 3rd Edition,” Edited by Samuel Cohen
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“The Omnivore’s Dilemma”; ”In Defense of Food”; and “Food Rules” by Michael Pollan
SC1, 2, 3—The course requires students to write in several
“Fast Food Nation” by Eric Schlosser
forms (e.g., narrative, expository, analytical, and
“A Short History of Nearly Everything” by Bill Bryson
argumentative essays) about a variety of subjects (e.g.,
public policies, popular culture, personal experiences).
“Into The Wild” by Jon Krakauer
SC2 The course requires students to write essays that
“Working’ by Studs Terkel
proceed through several stages or drafts with the
revision incorporating, as appropriate, feedback from
“On Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau
teachers and peers. SC3 The course requires students
“The Ballot or the Bullet” by Malcolm X
to write in informal contexts (e.g., imitation exercises,
journal keeping, collaborative writing, and in-class
“A Modest Proposal” By Jonathan Swift
responses) designed to help them become increasingly
“Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream” by Dr.
aware of themselves as writers and/or aware of the
techniques employed by the writers they read.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The Necessary Engagement of Youth Culture,” by Cornel West
“Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America” by Barbara Erhenreich.
“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain.
Release items from previous AP Exams
Supplemental newspaper columns, political cartoons, advertisements, film clips, artworks, websites, poems,
articles, charts and graphs.
Outside readings (2) from a select list of AP approved texts—this is where you get your fiction fix: The Great
Gatsby, Their Eyes Are Watching God, Kindred, Joy Luck Club, Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Road,
Sula, Things Fall Apart, The Sound and the Fury, 1984, Kindred, Fahrenheit 451, Frankenstein, The Grapes of
Wrath, Emma or Pride and Prejudice.
It is from this last group of fiction titles (immediately above) which you will choose each semester to read during your
independent reading time. These will be evaluated in a book discussion held 1-on-1 with me, 1 per semester. Once you
complete a book discussion with me you receive a score based on a reading standard-based rubric. Assignment details,
due dates, and the rubric will be given at the beginning of each semester.
It is your responsibility to research the list of books and decide which one you feel is appropriate for you. If you do not
feel comfortable with certain aspects, as many of the books deal with mature issues, it is up to you to find a book that
fits your feelings and beliefs.
Parent Note: Please feel free to peruse any of the titles listed on the book list above. Although each has literary merit
and has been carefully considered by the AP staff for use in this curriculum, they may contain language, themes or
situations some may find disturbing. Please look over them and ensure you are comfortable with the texts your student
will be reading.
Class activities: Include but are not limited to:
 Socratic Seminars
 Daily Warm up writing
 Text-based analysis
 Practice exam days—taking and writing multiple choice tests, timed writes and
 Analyzing AP exam release items
 Vocabulary acquisition
 5 Major Papers, including Academic writing and Speech writing
 Reviewing, analyzing, and addressing problems of grammar and spelling
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Research and documentation, evaluating sources, and reviewing MLA format for research
Rhetorical analysis and practice, especially looking at tone, syntax, diction and figurative language
Essay writing (narrative, expository, analytical, synthesis, comparison/contrast, argumentative, etc.)
Prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing of work
Peer and self analysis
Journaling, free-writing, collaborative writing, quick writing, and reader response writing
Class Expectations: The work for this class is rigorous and demands a great deal from you; specifically, I expect:
 Thoughtful and complete reading and writing assignments
 Neatly produced work (either word-processed or handwritten in blue/black ink, depending on the
assignment
 SLANT practices in class toward both me as your instructor and your fellow students as a learning
community
 Organization skills
 Excellent study habits
 Positive attitude and genuine effort
 Adherence to classroom rules and the AP contract
 Thoughtful and genuine contributions to the classroom conversation and to any group work to which you
may be assigned to contribute
 Honesty and integrity in your works, words, and actions
Month-by-month Classroom activities, major assignments and assessments:
September
 Sherman Alexi: The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me
SC7 The course requires nonfiction
vs. Zora Neale Hurston: How it Feels to Be Colored Me. This is a 3 day
readings (e.g., essays, journalism,
political writing, science writing,
lesson in Reading as separation, as mapping. Using Alexis’ paragraphs- asnature writing, autobiographies/bios,
diaries, history, criticism) that are
word- fences analogy, students conceive, define & describe the many
selected to give students
virtual and physical dimensions here at Lincoln High School. Likewise,
opportunities to explain an author’s
use of rhetorical strategies or
using Hurston’s “miscellany” of commonplace objects (both drawn and
techniques.
written), students conceive, define & describe what everyday objects
SC3: Daily Warm up writing
comprise their “contents,” and end by asking themselves: Why these?
SC4: Double Entry Journals
 Vocabulary: Compiling your ring of Rhetorical Terms and challenging
SC5: Analysis on Woolf, Hazlitt, and
words; Logos, Ethos, Pathos terms introduced (used throughout course)
Woodham-Smith
 Some Thoughts on Rhetoric—from Carol Elsen’s 2 page list of famous
quotations/ definitions of Rhetoric, students pair up and pick two writer’s definitions and defend them.
 What’s the big deal about AP? Letter from UCLA Undergraduate Admissions. Students are introduced to the
national debate about AP’s inclusiveness. Tracking versus non-tracking—how does this connect to access
and equity in present day America?
 What is Close Reading? Virginia Woolf: Moments of Being. This 2 day lesson adapted from Carol Elsen’s AP
Summer Institute class (p 9 to 13), throws students into the deep end of Rhetorical analysis and writer-ly
moves as an early indication of student abilities. (Hazlitt and Woodham-Smith follow as 19th century
examples).
 William Hazlitt: On the Want of Money
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October
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Cecil Woodham-Smith: The Reason Why (AP Release item #1)
Multiple Choice practice/analysis
Reading Strategies and note-taking skills (double entry journals, power journals)
Grammar Lesson: Parallelism & Comparisons from Usage (137).
Begin Voice Lessons (Nancy Dean) on Diction, Tone & Syntax. I do the first 5 lessons, then students take over
the 3rd week of September.
First Major Paper: My First Life Line, and I Just Wanna Be Average (Maya Angelou & Mike Rose): Someone,
not a family member, from whom you received the greatest help and encouragement. My aim here is
twofold: this is their first Expository and Narrative paper as
SC1 The course requires students
confidence-builder; also, via September’s many exercises and
to write in several forms (e.g.,
narrative, expository, analytical, and
readings and by adapting Carol Elsen’s handout (Responding to “My
argumentative essays) about a
First Lifeline”), this is their first attempt to apply and extent the
variety of subjects (e.g., public
rhetorical moves they have identified in professional writer’s work to
policies, popular culture, personal
experiences). SC2 & SC12 (see
their own experience. Proper Citing of 2 relevant quotes from
below). SC 9, 11 (citing sources)
Angelou & Rose required—citation lesson.
Understanding Diction and Point of View: The Death of Benny Paret by Norman Mailer. This is a good early
example because Mailer’s language and rhetorical strategies (ideally) appear as black and white as the arena
of brutality he depicts. The heavy-handed verbosity typical of an earlier journalistic era should serve as rich
material for student analysis of diction and point of view (also Tone). (C. Elsen) Students write imitations.
SC3 The course requires students to write in informal contexts (e.g., imitation exercises, journal keeping, collaborative writing,
and in-class responses) designed to help them become increasingly aware of themselves as writers and/or aware of the
techniques employed by the writers they read.
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3–4 Lessons: Students take over warm up exercises via Nancy Dean’s examples. As itemized in my power
Voice
point panels for the course and rubric for Warm Up Exercises, each lesson requires students to choose a
quotation from a classic writer in the canon or from an approved contemporary writer; identify/ highlight
the example of Diction in the quote; create 2 short discussion questions which help illuminate the
connotative and denotative meaning of the diction example in the quote; and finally create a quick
instruction directing the class to extend their understanding of the example by writing, brainstorming,
listing, filing in the blank, etc. Students are graded on their template and ability to generate class
participation.
SC7 The course requires nonfiction readings (e.g., essays, journalism, political writing, science writing, nature writing,
autobiographies/biographies, diaries, history, criticism) that are selected to give students opportunities to explain an author’s use of
rhetorical strategies or techniques. If fiction and poetry are also assigned, their main purpose should be to help students understand
how various effects are achieved by writers’ linguistic and rhetorical choices .
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William Faulkner: The Innocent (plus multiple choice questions from Carol Elsen’s lesson)
Barbara Ehrenreich: Nickel and Dimed: On(Not) Getting by in America. Chapter one: Serving in Florida.
Rhetorical Analysis (and Rhetorical Strategies via the Cards students have generated)
SC7: variety of nonfiction texts
Diction, Tone, and Syntax in writing:
SC4 SC5: examples of physical
o Exercise in Tone: index card activity by Carole Elsen employing rich linguistic and
labor—student interview of
rhetorical choices. SC10, SC4: W/
faculty, family, community
o Tips on Tone: packet by Carole Elsen
Baldwin’s essay as comparison &
members, with Interviewees,
source, students describe and
o “The Crisis” by Thomas Paine
Ehrenreich and Saunders as
analyze in writing a moment
primary sources . SC 10
o “Notes of a Native Son” by James Baldwin
when extreme anger over took
o “I Hated Tonto” by Sherman Alexie
them. 2 proper citations from
Baldwin. Mini paper.
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Socratic Seminar #1 (Characteristics of A Life-liner)
Writing to a Prompt: (AP Release item #2)
Multiple Choice practice/analysis
Major Paper #1 Two drafts w/Peer & Teacher Review: Narrative writing
Expositive Writng
SC-2: two drafts w peer review
SC 13, 14, 15, 16. All Major
papers are multi-draft papers
w/ teacher & peer review.
and
November
 2nd Major Paper: Analysis: Compare and Contrast. Shift Change: What Three Decades Have Wrought:
Ehrenreich vs. Studs Terkel.
SC5 SC6 SC9: Analytical/ Comparison essay. SC2,
 Writing to a Prompt (AP Release item #3)
13,14,15,16: 2 drafts w peer & teacher review.
 A Study in Contrasts (Custer, & My Average Uncle)
SC3: Mini Paper on Subjective vs. Objective
 Periodic vs. Cumulative Syntax (MLK & Dickens)
Tone & Diction (Custer, Uncle). Students
 Imagery, Syntax & Diction: AP Lit Prompt: Cormac McCarthy’s The Wolf
write 2 short bios of a classmate using
formal and informal styles. SC3: Mini Paper
 Sentence Writing Formula (p 53 Carole Elsen)
on 19th century vs. 20th century syntax.
 Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed: Chapter Two: Scrubbing in Maine
Students practice both styles describing
themselves via MLK, Dickens & McCarthy.
RSA Animate Smile or Die: Video: Ehrenreich and the Delusion of Positive
Thinking. Political Cartoons on Inequity in America
SC 8, SC 7: Students write in
 Socratic Seminar #2 (What’s a Government to Do? Unemployment & Job Training) response to several Ehrenreich
videos, & 6 related cartoons,
 Quotations and Citations: Supporting an argument
analyzing her ideas and rhetorical
 Multiple Choice/Analysis Practice (AP Release item #4)
strategies, plus create their own
cartoons. Mini Paper. SC9, SC10
 Essay #2 w/ Peer Review: Analysis, and Compare & Contrast writing.
December
 Grammar Lesson: Organization, transitions and paragraph structure in 3 short essays (Cohen & La Farge,
TBA).
 Research Skills: Evaluating source effectiveness: Citing Primary & Secondary Sources.
SC6, 9, 10: Citing from graphs &
Handling Quotations in Literary Essays (Usage: Ch. 9B)
SC7: The course requires
data for supporting evidence
nonfiction readings (e.g.,
Ehrenreich: Chapter Three: Selling in Minnesota.
from the Bureau of Labor
essays, journalism,
Statistics (provided), and
 Plagiarism vs. paraphrasing, summary and analysis of
sources
political writing, science
Ehrenreich’s experience,
writing ...) that are
 First 1-on-1 Book Discussion (a novel from the class list)
with
Meargue for, or against, a
students
selected to give
raise
in the minimum wage. Mini
 Persuasive Writing: Using synthesis of sources
students opportunities to
Paper.
explain an author’s use
 Writing to a Prompt: Analyzing Argument (Release Item #5)
of rhetorical strategies
 Assigned Text: 3 Chapters from Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s or techniques.
Dilemma (Winter
reading assignment)
January
 3rd Major Paper: The Ends of the World as We Know Them (Jared Diamond, Michael Pollan, & Rachel
Carson): Making and Analyzing Good Arguments.
SC7 The course requires nonfiction
 From Everything’s an Argument: 3 Chapters on Ethos, Pathos &
readings (e.g., essays, journalism, political
Logos.
writing, science writing, nature writing,
autobiographies/ biographies, diaries,
 Voice: from Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild
history, criticism) that are selected to give
 Test Preparation: Multiple Choice Items (Release Item #6)
students opportunities to explain an author’s
use of rhetorical strategies or techniques.
 Grammar Lesson: Punctuation with Essential & Non-essential
elements (Usage: Chapter 9A).
 Satire: “A Modest Proposal”
 Writing Satire: The Daily Show clips
SC5 The course requires students to produce one
or more analytical writing assignments. Topics
should be based on readings representing a wide
variety of prose styles and genres and might
include such topics as public policies, popular
culture, and personal experiences.
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February
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Essay #3 w/ Peer Review (SC 12, 13,14,15, 16)
Rhetorical Analysis: “A Letter from Birmingham Jail,” “I Have a Dream,” and “The Necessary Engagement of
Youth Culture”: mini paper Comparison & Analysis.
Syntax: “On Civil Disobedience” and “The Ballot or the Bullet”
Grammar Lesson: Sentence length and type: Dependent & Independent Clauses—19th century vs. 20th
4th Major Paper: Analyzing an Issue: Fast Food Nation
SC8 The course requires students to analyze how visual
images relate to written texts and/or how visual images serve
and Supersize Me, and “Making Meat” from The
as alternative forms of texts. SC9 &10
Omnivore’s Dilemma. What Are We Consuming? To
What End? (Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, & Steven Johnson)
Grammar Lesson (as needed: TBA)
Classical rhetoric: Comparing Quotations on Rhetoric from Classical Writers
Speech-writing using persuasion/argumentation
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Speech of Senator John F. Kennedy, United Steelworkers of America Convention, Convention
Hall, Atlantic City, NJ. Students
SC10 The course requires students to produce one or more projects such as the
write short speech after interviewing
researched argument paper, which goes beyond the parameters of a traditional
family members about work, citing
research paper by asking students to present an argument of their own that
from Terkel, Ehrenreich, Kennedy, etc.,
includes the synthesis of ideas from an array of sources.
for support.
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Writing to a Prompt (Release Item #7)
Multiple Choice practice/analysis
Essay #3 w/ Peer Review. SC 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.
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5th Major Paper: Synthesis: Closing the Achievement Gap. SAT Scores & Poverty data.
Bryson: “Lonely Planet” Ch. 16. “Small World”
SC8 The course requires students to analyze how visual images
relate to written texts and/or how visual images serve as alternative
Ch. 20. &“Darwin’s Singular Notion” Ch. 25
forms of texts. SC9 &10
Socratic Seminar: How Likely is Life Elsewhere?
Writing Skills: Evidence and support from 3 Essays: Woolf’s Death of the Moth, Didion’s On Morality, &
Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant.
Multiple Choice practice/analysis (Release item #8)
SC13 The AP teacher provides instruction and feedback on students’
Essay: Major Paper #5 w/ Peer Review
writing assignments both before and after the students revise their work
that help the students develop a variety of sentence structures. SC 12,
Grammar Lesson (as needed: TBA)
14, 15, 16.
9, 11
March
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April
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Test Preparation
o Continued synthesis, argument and analysis of non-fiction texts
o Review of rhetorical Terms
o Continued practice of rhetorical appeals
o Test strategies
o AP Practice Exam
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Score and Review practice exam
AP Exam
Grammar Lesson (as needed: TBA)
May
7
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The “N” Word
Symbolism: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
College Essay Writing
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College Portfolio s
o Application
o Letters of Recommendation
o Research
Résumé writing
June
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Assessment and Grades
This class is standards-based using formative (practice, not for a grade) and summative (for a grade) assessments. We
will review the standards on which you will be assessed this year, which build upon those from the last two years.
Summative assessments will have a rubric and are assigned a due date. No late assignments will be accepted. This is a
policy change from last year, so please acclimate to it quickly. However, like last year, Below Standard and Approaching
Standard work can be revised for a higher score. Keep in mind the law of averages—fewer graded assignments means
that those that are graded have great weight. Students who are not performing at a satisfactory rate may receive a
phone call home and may also be required to attend Required Academic Study Hall (RASH) until their performance
improves. This is me extending help to you when you are in need. If you fail to take advantage of this opportunity and
your performance does not improve, we will conference to discuss your performance in this class and whether it meets
the standards of AP for the purposes of your transcript. The RASH policy applies to both Lincoln Center and non-Lincoln
Center students. If this policy is not acceptable, please reconsider your enrollment in this class.
*Non-LC students who stay for RASH and need a bus ride home are welcome to stay for Homework Time and take the LC
bus home at 5 PM).
Supplies: In order to be successful in this class, you will need:
 Binder, 2- (or 3-) inch, just for this class)
 8 dividers – labeled
 Current Class Work
 Handouts/Articles
 Vocabulary and Grammar
 Test Items
 Essays
 College Materials
 Miscellaneous
 Loose-leaf college-ruled paper (a small packet is sufficient—no spiral notebooks)
 Composition notebook (college-ruled)
 Pens (black or blue)/pencils
 Post-it notes
 2-3 highlighters
 Index cards for literary terms/vocabulary (lined or unlined, your preference)
 Small dictionary (at home for homework)
 Library card (or your own copies of chosen texts)
8
I have read and understand the above class requirements—including the RASH policy (p. 4-5). If I have any questions or
concerns at any time, I will contact the teacher either in person, by phone, or by email: (253) 571-6730 or
cbockus@tacoma.k12.wa.us .
Student’s Signature: ________________________________________ Date: ________________________
Parent’s/ Guradian’s Signature: _________________________________________ Date: ________________________
Parent’s/ Guardian’s Email:________________________________________________________________
9