AP® English Literature and Composition Syllabus
2013 - 2014
AP English
Literature and Composition
Mrs. Amanda C. Gutierrez
School Profile
Magdalena High School is part of the Magdalena Municipal School District
in Magdalena, New Mexico. Students from the village of Magdalena, Alamo
Reservation, and surrounding areas attend this school of approximately one
hundred and twenty students. The population of the students is diverse and
many of the students are bilingual, speaking both English and either Spanish
or Navajo. Magdalena Elementary, Middle, and High School are contained
all in one large building and campus.
Magdalena High School;
Magdalena, New Mexico
Ethnic Diversity (HS): 50% Native American, 35% Hispanic, 14.95% Anglo,
.02% African American, .01% Asian American
College Record (2010): of the total HS student .09 went to a four year
college and/or university; and another .06% went on to trade school or an
apprenticeship program with a work and technical school component.
Course Description
The AP English Literature and Composition course will engage students in
active reading and analytical writing of literature from various genres (drama,
poetry, short story, novel, etc.) and periods (16th to 21st century). Students will
close read to examine a piece of literature for style, structure, themes, and
literary elements. Writing assignments will require students to relate to,
analyze, and evaluate literature. The course will involve the understanding of
literature and its complexity, richness of meaning, literary artistry, textual
details, and historical/ social context. As a culmination of the course, students
will be assessed with the AP English Literature and Composition Exam,
giving them the opportunity to earn college credit for an undergraduate
university English literature course.
C4: 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.
Course Goals
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To close read, annotate, and discuss imaginative literature
To analyze and understand the methods writers use to provide
meaning and pleasure
To analyze and evaluate a work’s structure, style, themes, and
literary devices
To read and study work’s from various genres and periods and
deeply examine a few works through writing and discussion
To consider a work’s complexity, themes, literary elements, and
historical/ social values
To write, edit, and revise critical and analytical essays
To expand academic and standard vocabulary
To improve and develop writing through grammar mini lessons,
editing and revision
To complete timed writing assignments that will prepare students
for the AP exam
C2: 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.
Course Texts and Literature
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald from the 1920’s in America
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton from the early 20 century in America
Hamlet by Shakespeare from the 16 century English literature
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini from the 21 century
th
C3: 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.
th
st
“A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen from the 19th century
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte from 19th century English Literature
Various Shorts Stories: “Yellow Wallpaper,” “Evelyn,” “Miss Brill,” etc.
Various Poems from 16th to 21st century: Shakespeare, Donne, Wordsworth,
Dickinson, Yeats, Frost, Kooser, Wilbur, etc.
Performance Tasks
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Timed essays on previous AP prompts
Annotations and short analytical responses to weekly literature
Graphic organizers to analyze poetry and short stories
Short writings to analyze poetry and prose pieces
Personal essays, college entrance essays, and creative writing
Literary analysis essays (timed and not timed/ several drafts)
Reading journal and quizzes
Student Evaluation
Grades will be divided into three categories: tests, class and home work, and
participation. Test will consist of quizzes, essays, and tests. Class and home
work will be writing assignments and other assignments given weekly, such as
journals, one page papers on literary analysis, S.P.O.T.T.T.S. etc.
Participation will be graded through measurable assignments: Have You
Read It Quizes, annotations in literature, exit slips with discussion questions,
etc.
Category
Tests
Class and Home Work
Participation
Percentage
45
40
15
Student work will be examined for focus, effective word choice, organization,
inventive sentence structure and solid arguments and analysis of literature
with supportive evidence from the text (i.e. embedded text and quotations).
Students will meet with teacher in one on one essay evaluation conferences.
Students will receive comments and scores on each essay or writing
assignment. Students will also work in pairs or small groups to give
constructive criticism and do peer editing. Student essays will be graded
based on the AP Literature and Composition 9 point scale general rubric
which requires students to write a persuasive analysis of literature. At least 3
essays will have several rough drafts and a typed final draft to go into a four
year portfolio. [C8, C9, C10, C11, C12]
C7: The course requires writing to
understand: Informal/exploratory
writing activities that enable
students 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).
C8: 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.
C12: 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.
C13: 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.
C14: 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.
C15: 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.
Major Works Course Schedule
Summer Requirements: Students read The Great Gatsby over the summer and
came to school on the first day ready for discussion, quizzes, projects, and essays
on this classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
1st Term: Review summer reading for the first week of school including an essay
on the summer novel; Boot camp with 2 essays a week for the next 7 weeks (5
weeks on prose/ short stories and 2 weeks on poetry)
Short Stories: “Teenage Wasteland,” “Yellow Wallpaper,” “The Test,” “A Pair
of Tickets,” “Greasy Lake,” “I Stand Here Ironing,” “The Tell- Tale Heart,” “A
Rose for Emily” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find”
Poems: “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” “We Real Cool,” “Ballad of Birmingham,” “I
Wondered Lonely as a Cloud” and “Oh No”
2nd Term: Short Modern Play “A Doll’s House” continue weekly schedule; start
working on the free response section of the test; Ethan Frome (early American
novel) begin reading after the play and finish over winter break. Review and write
an essay when students return.
Short Stories: “The Story of an Hour,” “Everyday Use,” “A & P,” “Happy
Endings,” “A Word Path,” and “Miss Brill”
Poems: “A Blind Woman,” “Walking on Tiptoe,” “The Mending Wall,” “The
Naked and the Nude,” “The Bean Eaters,” and “A Noiseless Patient Spider”
3rd Term: Write and go over Ethan Frome when students return from break;
Shakespeare Play (Hamlet), continue weekly schedule; Wuthering Heights
(British novel) at the end of the third term
Short Stories: “Evelyn,” Excerpt from Scott Fitzgerald’s The Crack-Up, “The
Duchess and the Jeweller,” and “Blue Winds Dancing”
Poems: “The Second Coming,” “The Flea,” “A Valediction: forbidding
Mourning,” “A Night Thought,” and several of Shakespeare’s sonnets and other
Italian and English sonnets
4th Term: Finish Wuthering Heights; Modern Novel (Kite Runner); continue
weekly schedule; prepare for the test
Short Stories: “Young Goodman Brown,” “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” “I
Stand Here Ironing,” “War,” and “This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona”
Poems: “Birches,” “Winded,” “It was not Death, for I stood up,” “The Sun Has
Set,” “All Day I Hear,” and “My Last Duchess”
Possible other literature to read: Segments from classic novels, many other poems
and short stories may be added depending on time and academic need. Poems
and short prose sections from release test questions from previous years’ AP
Literature and Composition Exam will be used throughout the year as practice.
C1: 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.
Weekly Schedule
Boot Camp
Read 2 short stories a week; 2 one page essays due a week; Each week
focuses on a specific literary element: characterization, setting, point of view,
plot, and theme
After Boot Camp
Monday
HYRI quiz
Literature Day
and Discussion
Novel Reading
Homework Due
with annotations
Tuesday
Journal
Literature Day
Vocabulary
Homework Due
Wednesday
Journal
Short Story,
Poetry, or/and
Multiple Choice
SPOTS or DJ
homework due
Thursday
Mini Grammar
Lesson
Essay
Evaluation/
Writing
Student Writing
Conferences
No Homework
Due
Essay Assignments:
 After reading the short story “Miss Brill,” write an analytical essay on
how the protagonist changes in throughout the story.
 After reading the short story “Everyday Use,” select one of the three
major characters (Mama, Maggie, or Dee) to analyze a central
characteristic of that character and how the author uses the
character’s words, actions, thoughts, descriptions, and words of other
characters to develop the character throughout the piece.
 After reading an excerpt from The Street, write an analytical essay on
how Petry establishes Lutie Johnson’s relationship to the urban
setting through the use of literary devices.
 After reading the short story “By the Waters of Babylon,” write an
essay analyzing how the setting is used as an organizing element that
develops the work’s meaning as a whole?
 After reading the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” write an essay
analyzing the significance of the point of view in and how it develop
the meaning of the work as a whole?
 After reading the short story “The Test,” write an essay in which you
analyze the significance of the point of view in the story and how it
determines the reader’s attitude toward characters and situations in
the piece.
 In the short story “Happy Endings,” analyze how Margret Atwood
departs from the formal plot structure and what purpose does this
departure have?”
 In the short story “A Worn Path” analyze how Eudora Welty uses
setting and symbolism to work together to develop the theme of
C8: 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.
C5: The course includes frequent
opportunities for students to write
and rewrite timed, in-class
responses.
C9: The course requires writing to
evaluate: Analytical,
argumentative essays in which
C6:
The course
includes
frequent
students
draw upon
textual
details
opportunities
for students
to write
to make and explain
judgments
and
rewrite
formal,
extended
about
a work’s
artistry
and quality.
analyses outside of class.
C8: The course requires writing to
explain: Expository, analytical
C10: The
requiresdraw
writing
essays
in course
which students
to
evaluate:
Analytical,
upon textual details to develop an
argumentative
essays inofwhich
extended
interpretation
a literary
students draw upon textual details
text.
to make and explain judgments
about
a work’s
historical
C9:
The
coursesocial,
requires
writing to
and/or
cultural
values.
evaluate: Analytical, argumentative
essays in which students draw
upon textual details to make and
explain judgments about a work’s
artistry and quality.
C10: 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.
C11: 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.
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racism and how the piece reflects the struggle for African American
civil rights during the mid 1900’s?
Close read and annotate Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem “How
Do I Love Thee.” Then write an analytical essay on her use of
enjambment and end-stopping lines to create and emphasize theme.
Students will write an analytical essay using the novel Ethan Frome to
answer the following question:
The eighteen-century British novelist Laurence Sterne wrote, “No
body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to
have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength,
both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.”
From the novel, analyze how Ethan Frome’s mind is pulled in the
conflicting directions by two compelling desires, ambitions,
obligations, or influences. Then, in a well- organized essay, identify
each of the two conflicting forces and explain how this conflict with
Ethan illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole.
A Doll’s House is full of references to dolls, puppets, and playthings.
Trace these references throughout the play while summarizing
Ibsen’s ideas about gender and societal roles. Write an analytical
essay explaining the symbolism and how these references reflect the
societies view of women and their domestic roles during this time
period.
Consider the character of Torvald Helmer in the play A Doll’s
House. Is Torvald an antagonist? A misogynist? Or could Torvald be
just as much a victim of nineteenth century societal norms? Analyze
in an essay your opinion on Torvald and the effects of society on the
way he treats Nora.
At the end of the play A Doll’s House, Nora slams the door to the
“doll house” and walks away. Yet she leaves Torvald with hope for
“the greatest miracle.” Why did Ibsen write an ambiguous ending?
Cite evidence from Nora’s and Torvald’s closing speeches to indicate
what you believe to be the ultimate ending to this drama.
Write an essay in which you analyze two key passages in which
Shakespeare highlights the central theme of betrayal in the play Julius
Caesar. Analyze how these passages illuminate the theme and
contribute to the work as a whole.
Write an essay in which you analyze the pattern of literary devices
that Shakespeare uses in Brutus’s speech to the conspirators in the
play Julius Caesar and how this use of literary devices contributes to
the meaning of the speech as a whole.
Write a sonnet in which you follow all the necessary elements of
sonnets. Make sure to contain a metaphor. Write a paragraph below
you sonnet explaining the theme and the meaning of your metaphor
within your sonnet.
Close read “Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, research the social
issue Swift satirized in this essay and write a short analytical piece
describing your opinion on Swifts essay.
C8: 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.
C9: 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 artistry and quality.
C10: 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.
 Consider Emerson’s quote from his first essay on “Art” when he states:
“The best of beauty is…a radiation from the work of art, of human character. Art has not yet come
to its maturity if it do not put itself abreast with the most potent influences of the world, if it is not practical
and moral, if it do not stand in connection with the conscience.”
Think of the art that infiltrates our world today. Think of how pop culture influences the writings, music, and art
of today. Reflect on digital art and its influences on theater, movies, and art. Consider if “artist” in the twenty-first
century meet Emerson’s expectations. Has most art today “come to its maturity” and does it “put itself abreast
with the most potent influences of the world” and reach our inner principles? Comment on this issue using your
opinion, backing it up with research and specific examples of modern art and pop cultural influences.
 After reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, consider the novels literary elements, artistry, and
writing quality. Think about the quality of writing in all the other poems, short stories, plays, and novels
you have read throughout the year. Write a book review in which you become a critique and judge the
work’s artistry and writing quality as a whole. Give specific examples to support your opinion.
 Close read and annotate Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise.” Write an essay on how the tone shifts in the
poem and how these tonal shifts contribute to the overall effect and theme of the poem. What do these
tone shifts reveal about the speaker as well?