AP English Language and Composition/American Literature Honors
Ms. Heather Rogers
hmrogers@polk.k12.ga.us/770-748-0490
Course Description:
The goal of Advancement Placement English Language and Composition is to help students
“write effectively and confidently in their college courses across the curriculum and in their
professional and personal lives.” (The College Board, AP® English Course Description, May
2007, May 2008, p. 6) Students in the AP Language course read and carefully analyze a broad
and challenging range of nonfiction prose selections, deepening their awareness of effective
rhetoric and syntax. Course readings feature expository, analytical, personal, fictional, and
argumentative texts from a variety of authors and historical contexts; however, the emphasis in
reading and writing will be nonfiction essays. This rigorous course is to help students become
skilled readers and writers. Close reading and analytical writing activities will help students
develop a greater facility with language, making them more alert to an author’s purpose, the
needs of an audience, the demands of the subject, and the resources of language: syntax, word
choice, and tone. Students may be granted advanced placement, college credit, or both as a result
of a satisfactory performance on the AP Exam which is given in the spring.
American Literature and Composition builds on the skills learned in 9th and 10th grade literature
with a focus on the writers from American literature. Students will develop an understanding
and appreciation for the writings that capture the American spirit from the beginnings of the
colonies through the modern period. Students in this course will take the Georgia High School
Writing Test as well as the End-of-Course Test in American Literature and Composition as
required by state law.
Objectives:
In addition to the CCGPS for American Literature and Composition, students will be able to
 use a wide-ranging vocabulary appropriately and effectively.
 use and analyze a variety of rhetorical devices.
 recognize the impact of more advanced literary and rhetorical concepts.
 incorporate these concepts into their own writings.
 examine, manipulate, and compose essays, letters, speeches, images, and imaginative
literature.
 develop and utilize critical thinking skills.
 use a variety of writing styles, including persuasive, expository, synthesis, and narrative.
Students will integrate the use of technology and research in various assignments.
Materials:
Students are expected to bring their materials (text, paper, pencils, and blue or black pens) to
class every day. Each student will be expected to keep a notebook for the class. They may
organize it in a way that works best for them. They will be given items that they will be
expected to keep throughout the year.
Texts will be from the following:
McDougall Littell The Language of Literature: The American Experience
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
The Bedford Reader
Patterns for College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader and Critic
Short Takes: Model Essays and Compositions
Additional texts may be added if time permits. Students are also encouraged to read
independently in order to help prepare for the AP exam and for AP English Literature.
Viewing Selections Include:
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Supersize Me by Morgan Spurlock
The Scarlet Letter
Teaching Strategies
*Students will be given quizzes on most readings. These check for understanding of meaning
and strategies, including the use of rhetorical strategies.
*SOAPSTone – Students are to consider each of the following letters for all works studied:
Subject-Occasion-Audience-Purpose-Speaker-Tone
 Speaker: the individual or collective voice of the text
 Occasion: the event or catalyst causing the writing of the text to occur
 Audience: the group of readers to whom the piece is directed
 Purpose: the reason behind the text
 Subject: the general topic and/or main idea
 Tone: the attitude of the author
*Vocabulary
Students will be given approximately 10 vocabulary words each week to incorporate in their
writing assignments. Students test approximately every two weeks.
*Current Events
Students will complete a Current Events Journal during the first semester. Students will choose
two topics related to current events and follow these topics over the course of eighteen weeks.
Students are to select five news articles related to each topic and summarize each article and
provide a personal response to the articles. Personal responses may be opinionated, but students
should also search for the author’s use of rhetorical strategies and attempt to identify evidence of
bias. The Current Events Journal will count as a test grade.
*TED Talks Journal
Students will complete a TED Talks Journal during the second semester. Students are to watch
ten TED Talks, and summarize and personally respond to each TED talk. Personal responses
should discuss rhetorical strategies and appeals used by speakers. Students should also defend,
challenge, or qualify the claims made by the speaker. The TED Talks Journal will count as a test
grade.
AP Language Approved Outside Reading List:
 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
 The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
 My Antonia by Willa Cather
 Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
 Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin
 The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
 The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Course Planner
Introduction: Introducing the Basic Elements of Rhetoric (Mini-Unit)
Unit Focus Questions: What is rhetoric? How do skilled writers and speakers utilize the
rhetorical strategies to make their writing/speaking more effective?
Readings:
“Joyas Voladoras” by Brian Doyle
“What’s in a Name?” by Henry Louis Gates, Jr
“Thirty-Eight Who Saw a Murder Didn’t Call the Police” by Martin Gansberg
“Panacea” by Dorothy Allison
“Why Marriage is Good for You” by Maggie Gallagher
“The Cost of an Illiterate Society” by Johnathan Kozol
“The Power of Words in Wartime” by Robin Tolmach Lakoff
“The Ways We Lie” by Stephanie Ericsson
“On the Internet, There’s No Place to Hide” by Jonathan Koppell
Media:
Various TED Talks
*In this unit, students will begin learning about the basic elements of rhetoric. The vocabulary
for this unit will focus on developing the necessary terminology for discussing rhetorical
strategies and analyzing texts throughout the year.
Formative Assessment Composition #1:
2009 AP English Language and Composition, Question 3
Prompt: “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would
have lain dormant.” - Horace
Consider this quotation about adversity from the Roman poet Horace. Then write an essay that
defends, challenges, or qualifies Horace’s assertion about the role that adversity (financial or
political hardship, danger, misfortune, etc.) plays in developing a person’s character. Support
your argument with appropriate evidence from your reading, observation, or experience.
Formative Assessment Composition #2:
2014 AP English Language and Composition Exam, Question 2
The passage below is from Last Child in the Woods (2008) by Richard Louv. Read the passage
carefully. Then, in a well-developed essay, analyze the rhetorical strategies Louv uses to develop
his argument about the separation between people and nature. Support your analysis with
specific references to the text.
First Unit: Literature up to 1800.
Unit Focus Question: What are the prevailing themes of human existence?
*Assertion Journals-Students will be given one quote per week for the first nine weeks where he
or she must clearly explain the author’s assertion and defend or challenge it. These writings will
be approximately 3oo words in order to practice argumentation. As students build fluency in this
concept, expectations of syntactical techniques will progress with parallelism, periodic sentence,
subordination, coordination, and varied sentence beginnings.
Readings:
“A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift
“The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato
Native American Myths
from Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford
“Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards
“Speech in the Virginia Convention” by Patrick Henry
The Crisis Papers by Thomas Paine
“The Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson
“Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Media:
“Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen
Independent Reading: Hawthorne, Nathaniel, The Scarlet Letter.
Students 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, as well as identify and comment on the rhetorical and stylistic
choices that the author makes.
Major Composition #1:
Argumentation/Persuasion Synthesis Essay- from the writings of Henry, Paine, and Jefferson.
Students will answer the prompt: What is the individual’s duty to his government? What is the
government’s duty to the individual?
Using MLA style, students will use selections by the authors to support their positions. Peer
reviews will be conducted after the first draft. Conferences with teacher will occur after the final
is submitted.
GHSWT Practice #1
GHSWT Practice #2
Timed Writing #1 – From the 2008 AP Exam-Corporate sponsorship of high schools
Comparison/Contrast Essay -- Prompt: Compare Jefferson’s “Declaration of Independence” to
Stanton’s “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions.” As you write this comparison, note how
each author states his or her main idea and then develops that idea with detailed evidence
Note: Students complete this assignment in class and then edit each other’s work to evaluate the
essays on same component, use of detail to develop a general idea.
Second Unit: 1800-1900 Conformity and Rebellion
Unit Focus Question: What are the justifications for either conforming or rebelling?
*Précis-Using the provided format, students will complete two précis articles per week which
will be credited and then returned to keep in a home portfolio for evaluation at the end of the
quarter. Two of these may be the analyses of editorial cartoons.
Readings:
“Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” by Frederick Douglass
“Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau
“How to Shoot an Elephant” by George Orwell
Walden (selected passages) by Henry David Thoreau
“The Gettysburg Address” by Abraham Lincoln
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
“The Life You Save May Be Your Own” by Flannery O’Connor
from Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Independent Reading:
The Things They Carried Students will read the book and post responses to online blog topics.
Students will also respond to the responses of at least two other students.
Major Composition #2
Prose Analysis – Students will analyze the prose from “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau and
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman exploring the theme of personal freedom.
Timed Writing #2 From the 2008 AP Exam-Analysis of The Great Influenza John M. Barry
Timed Writing #3 From the 2007 AP Exam – “The Ethicist” by Randy Cohen
Third Quarter Modernism, Rhetoric in Narrative (focusing on alienation and loss of identity)
Unit Focus Question: What is the impact of the past on the present and the future in the
United States?
Readings:
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
“Chicago” by Carl Sandburg
“We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Various poems by Langston Hughes
“Mending Wall” by Robert Frost
“The End of Something” by Ernest Hemingway
“Once More to the Lake” by E.B. White
“The Ways We Lie” by Stephanie Ericsson
“The World of Doublespeak” by William Lutz
Independent Reading:
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Students will keep a dialectical journal. Writings will
be shared in classroom discussions. Journals will be turned in at the completion of the reading.
Major Composition #3 Columnist Project
Students will choose one columnist to follow for eight (8) weeks. Students will annotate eight
articles by the columnist. Then, the students will compose an article imitating the style and
language of the columnist whom they chose.
Timed Writing #4 From the 2007 AP Exam-Analysis of “Staying Put: Making a Home in a
Restless World by Scott Russell Sanders
Timed Writing #5 From the 2007 AP Exam – Synthesis, Effects of Advertising
Fourth Unit Post-Modernism
Unit Focus Question: What effect has the quest for inalienable rights produced in American
society?
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr.
“I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady
“Road Warrior” by Dave Barry
“The Necessary Enemy” by Katherine Anne Porter
“Champion of the World” by Maya Angelou
“Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
Viewing:
Miller, Arthur, The Crucible, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder
Senator Joseph McCarthy attacks Edward R. Murrow on CBS, video clip,
AmericanRhetoric.com
Good Night and Good Luck, video clip, AmericanRhetoric.com
Supersize Me by Morgan Spurlock
Independent Reading:
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. Students will complete three (3) 300-500 word responses
based on analytical, expository, and argumentative topics.
Synthesis Essay/Researched Argument Paper– This essay requires students to synthesize a
variety of sources. Students should cite them accurately and refer to them to develop their
position. Using a central argument, support it. Do not merely summarize the sources. One
visual aid must be used and cited.
Research Paper: This assignment is a college-level research assignment requiring a significant
investment of time. Although specific guidelines will be provided during the first week of the
second semester, the paper consists of a topic in American literature to be extensively researched
and written in a document no less than eight pages, not including references. This paper will
conform to the style of the Modern Language Association (MLA). Style manuals are available at
local libraries, book stores, and abbreviated versions are available online at no cost. The paper
will count as two test grades, one a preliminary findings grade, the other a final product grade.
Presentation: Students will need to prepare a five minute professional presentation of their
research findings utilizing some form of visual aid (i.e. PowerPoint, Prezi, video, handouts, etc.).
The presentation needs to highlight the major findings of the research. The presentation counts
as a test grade.
Timed Writing #6 From the 2008 AP exam – Eliminating the Penny
Timed Writing #7 From the 2009 AP exam—Space Exploration
Final Exam Date: The EOCT counts as the final exam in this class.
AP Test Date: TBA
Course Requirements:
(1) In-class work, discussions and activities (2) Research reports and papers on topics provided
by instructor, (3) Unit tests given at the end of each unit, (4) EOCT, (5) Data Based Questions
and essays on topics chosen by the teacher, (6) Homework and readings, (7) Quizzes based on
reading assignments, and (8) the National AP exam. This optional exam will be given at
Cedartown High School in May. The AP program prepares students for collegiate-level courses
by making demands upon the student equivalent to those made by introductory college classes.
Students must be willing to spend time reading and studying on their own every night. Regular
class attendance is essential. Papers and other work that is required will be due on the date
assigned and will be accepted late with a 10 point penalty per day.
Grading Policy:
60% Tests, Data Based Questions (DBQs), Essays, and Research
20% Homework/ Class work/ Reading Quizzes
20% End-Of-Course Test (EOCT)
Make-Up Policy:
Students whose absences are excused shall be permitted to make up work missed. It shall be the
responsibility of the student to arrange with the teacher for making up work missed within three
(3) days after returning to school. Students who are absent for unexcused reasons shall not be
permitted to make up work that was missed
Class Policies: This classroom will adhere to the policies of Polk School District.
1. Be on time
2. Be prepared (book, paper, and pencil)
3. Be respectful (of yourself and others)
Homework/Late Work Policy: Homework is assigned for the purpose of reinforcing the
material taught in class. It is very important for your child's understanding of the material that the
homework be completed in a timely manner. Homework is 20% of the student's overall grade.
Failure to turn in a homework assignment will result in a student being given an after school
detention for the next day. During this period, the student must stay for assigned detention even
if the work has been completed the next day. If the student does not turn in the assignment and
does not stay after school (both) s/he will receive a ZERO for that assignment and an
administrative pink slip.
Note:
The materials used for this course are on an advanced/college level. Although the materials may
contain questionable language or subject matter, the literary value far exceeds any objectionable
material. Signing the syllabus indicates your permission for your child to read any of the
selections on the list and view the videos listed. This syllabus is a tentative schedule and is
subject to change due to time constraints and other outside factors.
Students, please sign below to indicate you have read and understand the AP Language and
Composition syllabus.
Name: ____________________________________ Date: ______________________
Parents, please sign below to indicate you have read and understand this syllabus.
Name: _____________________________________ Date: ____________________
Please return signed form to Ms. Rogers no later than _______________________.
Students, please sign below to indicate you have read and understand the AP Language and
Composition syllabus.
Name: ____________________________________ Date: ______________________
Parents, please sign below to indicate you have read and understand this syllabus.
Name: _____________________________________ Date: ____________________
Please return signed form to Ms. Rogers no later than _______________________.