3537 Farmdale Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90016
Ms. M. Flowers
A DVANCED P LACEMENT E NGLISH L ANGUAGE
AND C OMPOSITION AND P ROFESSIONAL R EADERS AND W RITERS S YLLABUS
Course Objectives and Expectations:
In accordance with the AP Language Course Description, students will explore the ways that rhetoric shapes our lives inside and outside of the classroom. In this college level course, students will prepare for college, career, and real life experiences through a rigorous examination of rhetoric. In order to achieve this goal, they will learn the necessary tools to write analytically, read critically, and communicate effectively:
 Students will read and annotate complex texts, as well as develop and expand their vocabulary.
 Students will form thesis statements and write well developed, organized and coherent narrative, expository, analytical, descriptive and persuasive essays about various subjects.
 Students will prewrite, draft, revise, edit, and publish the essays and other writings for submission in their portfolios.
 Students will write journals, imitations of authors, collaborative compositions, timed writes, metacognitive reflections, self evaluations, peer evaluations, letters, and etc.
 Students will use logos, pathos, and ethos in their own writings, as well as support their thesis statements with evidence from a diverse selection of readings. (Readings will differ in style, genre, discipline, and organization, and etc.)
 Students will revise for ideas, organization (i.e. spatial, chronological, deductive, and etc.), grammar, sentence variety, balance of interpretations and evidence, diction, tone, and fulfillment of rhetorical purpose.
 While students will evaluate the rhetorical context of some fiction, they will primarily examine nonfiction texts.
 Students will use parenthetical citations and works cited pages to cite primary and secondary sources for each of their major essays using the MLA format.
 Students will create their own essential questions and engage in Socratic seminars about texts from various disciplines.
 Students will write a researched argument paper in which they synthesize various sources.
 Students will collaborate on projects that both prepare them for the test and the real world.
 In addition, students will complete mini research activities throughout the year.
 Students will practice and use grammar, syntax, and vocabulary rhetorically to “construct arguments drawn from their own observations, experiences, and readings.”
Please Note : I have included more texts than we will cover as a whole class. We will use the texts that we do not cover for anticipatory sets, independent exercises, and culminating activities (i.e. jigsaw,
Socratic seminar, journals, small group discussions, think alouds, write arounds, panel discussions, role plays, dialectical journals, assessments, imitation activities, modeling, etc.) In addition, I may add other types of texts not included in this syllabus as they become available (ie. newspaper articles, periodicals, scholarly journals, CNN clips, commercials, movie clips, ads, speeches, etc.)
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Essential Questions:
What is rhetoric? What are rhetorical strategies? How does the writer use rhetorical strategies to shape the text? How do rhetorical strategies reinforce the purpose? What appeals does the writer use to impact the audience? How does the audience mold the writer’s use of diction, style, and tone?
 “How To Mark A Book” by Mortimer J. Addler
 “Three Ways to Persuade” by John Edmund
 “Letter From Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr.
 “The Politics of The English Language” by George Orwell
 “The Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson
 “The Gettysburg Address” by Abraham Lincoln
 Sinners in The Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards
Essential Questions:
What does the writer describe? “What is the dominant impression of the subject?” Are the descriptions clear? What rhetorical strategies does the writer use to describe the subject? What is the purpose of the description? How effective are the writer’s rhetorical choices? How effectively does the writer describe the subject? How does the writer’s perspective influence the audience’s perception of the description? How does the writer’s diction contribute to the effectiveness of the rhetorical strategies?
How does the writer organize the descriptive text?
 “Ultima” by Rudolfo Anaya (Excerpt from Bless Me Ultima)
 “Arm Wrestling with My Father” by Brad Manning (BR 144)
 “Shooting Dad” by Sarah Vowell (BR 152)
 “Silent Dancing” by Judith Ortiz Cofer (BR 162)
Essential Questions:
What is narration? What are the elements of narrative writing? How does the author use the elements of narrative writing to convey the text’s purpose? How do different writers use the narrative elements as rhetorical devices to construct meaning? How is the narrative organized?
 “Champion of the World” by Maya Angelou (BR 88)
 “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan (BR 94)
 “The Chase” by Annie Dillard (BR 99)
 “Family Values” by Richard Rodriguez
 “Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl named Maria” by Judith Ortiz Cofer
 “Stranger in the Village” by James Baldwin
 “Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit” by Leslie Marmon Silko
 “American Dreamer” by Bharati Mukherjee
 “Saving the Life That Is Your Own: The Importance of Models in the Artist’s life” by Alice
Walker
 “The Way to Rainy Mountain” by N. Scott Momaday
 “Salvation” by Langston Hughes
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 “The Good Farmer” by Barbara Kingslover
Essential Question:
Novel: What is the function of the novel? What are its rhetorical features? How does the author use those rhetorical features? How does the novel serve as a historical, social, political, scientific, and/or economic critic of the world in which we live?
 The Narrative of Frederick Douglass
 The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Essential Questions:
What is the purpose of the extended definition? How is this subject unique or similar to other subjects?
How effectively has the writer explored the subject? What types of examples does the writer use to support his/her description? Does the writer appear trustworthy in his/her definition of the subject?
What other rhetorical strategies does the writer appear trustworthy in his/her definition? How is the definition essay organized?
 “Needs” by Thomas Sowell (BR 499)
 “Pride” by Dagoberto Gilb (BR 503)
 “The Meaning of A Word” by Gloria Naylor(BR 486)
 “Being A Chink” by Christine Leong (BR 492)
 “On Being A Cripple” by Nancy Mairs (50 Essays 231)
 “Outdoors” by Toni Morrison (Excerpt from The Bluest Eye)
 “Defining Poverty” by Michael Harrington
 “Notes of a Native Speaker” by Eric Liu (50 Essays 205)
 “Americanization is Tough on Macho” by Rose Del Castillo Guilbault
 “Self Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
 “The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato (50 Essays 284)
Essential Questions:
What examples does the author use? What is the purpose of the examples? Does the author effectively use examples? How could the example have been more effectively? What appears to be the rhetorical elements of an exemplification/illustration essay? How is an exemplification/illustration essay organized?
 “Cellular Phones of the Future” cartoon by Barry Blitt (visual image)
 “On Compassion” by Barbara Lazear Ascher (BR 195)
 “Homeless” by Ann Quindlen (BR 200)
 “Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples (BR 205)
 “A Measure of Restraint” by Chet Raymo (BR 212)
 “Signs” by Scott Russell Sanders (BR 219)
 “What Adolescents Miss When We Let Them Grow Up In Cyberspace” by Brent Staples
 “Sex, Lies, and Conversation: Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other” by Deborah Tannen
 “Acts of Resistance” by Elaine Scarry
 “Unplugged: The Myth of Computers in the Classroom” by
 “The Multicultural Mistake” by K. Anthony Appiah
 “Cyberspace: If You Don’t Love It, Leave It” by Esther Dyson
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 “Delusions of Grandeur” by Henry Louis Gates
 “The Gangster as Tragic Hero” by Robert Warshaw
 “What’s American about American Poetry” by Billy Collins
 “The Culture of Disbelief” by Stephen L. Carter
Essential Questions:
What is the process? What is the purpose of the process analysis? Has the writer included all the necessary steps and provided developed explanations? Are the steps effectively organized? How clearly does the writer show the connection between the steps and the purpose? What evidence does the writer provide to support his/her rhetorical choices? How does the writer organize his/her process analysis text?
 “How You Became You” by Bill Bryson (299)
 “The Patriot Act of the 18 th Century” by Ishmael Reed
 “Natural Selection” by Charles Darwin
 Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Essential Questions:
What does the writer compare? Why does the author make the comparison? Do the subjects share enough features to establish a basis for comparison? How does the writer organize the comparison and contrast essay? Do you think the writer effectively organized the essay? To what extent is the analysis of the similarities and differences balanced?
 “Neat People vs. Sloppy People” by Suzanne Britt (239)
 “Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out” by Dave Barry (244)
 “Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa” by David Sedaris (250)
 “Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrast” by Thomas L. Friedman (258)
 “Loose Ends” by Rita Dove
 “Of Altruism, Heroism, and Nature’s Gifts in the Face of Terror” by Natalie Angier
 “Supersaturation, or, The Media Torrent and Disposable Feeling” by Todd Gitlin
 “The Plug In Drug” by Marie Winn
 “Size 6: The Western Women’s Harem” by Fatema Mernissi (265)
What is the thesis statement? What causal relationship does the writer explore? What are the causes?
What are the effects? What is the purpose of the causal relationship? How does the writer organize the text? How does the structure clarify the causes and effects? What rhetorical strategies does the writer use in his/her causal analysis?
 “Garbage in . . . “ Cartoon by Mike Thompson
 “A Web of Brands” by Naomi Klein
 “Live Free and Starve” by Chitra Divakaruni
 “Drugs” by Gore Vidal
 “Safe-Sex Lies” by Meghan Daum
 “Videotape” Don Delillo
 “I Listen to My Parents and I Wonder What They Believe” by Robert Coles
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 “Why Men Don’t Last: Self Destruction as a Way of Life” by Natalie Angier
Essential Questions:
How has the writer classified information? Why did he/she classify information in this manner? How effective are the groupings in fulfilling their rhetorical purpose? What are some other ways the author could have classified the information? How did the author organize the classification essay?
 “What Everyone Should Know About the Movie Rating System, chart for the Motion Picture
Association of America” (Visual Image) (375)
 “But What Do You Mean” by Deborah Tannen (390)
 “The Crisis of national Identity” by Samuel P. Huntington (400)
 “The Ways We Lie” by Stephanie Ericson (407)
 “The World of Doublespeak” by William Lutz (417)
 “The Arab World” by Edward T. Hall
 “Why The Rich Are Getting Richer, and Poor, Poorer” by Rober Reich
What is the thesis statement? What types of evidence does the writer use to support his/her claim?
What types of appeals does the writer use? Why does the writer use those appeals? How effective are those appeals? What type of diction does the writer use? What evidence from the text suggests the writer’s use of such diction? Who is the audience? How does the audience shape the tone of the text?
What is the writer’s style? What do you notice about the syntax? Why does the writer choose that style?
 “Corporate America Flag” image from Adbusters Media Foundation
 “Too Much Pressure” by Colleen Wenke
 “Why Don’t We Complain” by William F. Buckley
 “Why I Stopped Being A Vegetarian” By Laura Fraser
 “A Vegetarian Philosophy” by Peter Singer
 Excerpts from Fast Food Nation
 “Close Encounters with US Immigration” by Adnan R. Khan
 “Everything Isn’t Racial Profiling” by Linda Chavez
 “The FBI Is Reading Over Your Shoulder” by Zara Gelsey
 “How The USA Patriot Acts Defends Democracy” by Viet D. Dinh
 “The Penalty of Death” by H.L. Menchken
 “The Death Penalty Is A Step Back” by Coretta Scott King
 “Face Facts: Patriot Act Aids Security, Not Abuse” by Rosenzweig
 “Playing with Fire: The Civil Liberties Implications of September 11 th ”
 “Needed: Affirmative Action for the Poor” by Laura D’ Andrea Tyson
 “Unplugged: The Myth of Computers in the Classroom” by David Gelernter
 “I Worked Hard for That Furrowed Brow” by Ellen Goodman
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Attendance and Materials
Class attendance complements successful academic performance. Class attendance means that you are in the classroom when the tardy bell rings and bring all necessary materials. The necessary materials include: texts (T), 2-inch binder, 5-tab dividers, filler paper, single-subject notebook (100 pages) (T), single-subject notebook (70 Sheets) (T), dark blue/black pens, dark green/purple pens, assorted color highlighters, pencils, and a composition book (T). Class attendance also means that you are responsible for missed assignments and must take initiative to ensure the completion of all missed work in a timely manner. [(T) = I will provide this item]
Grading Procedures
Students will progressively work on their writings and projects to include in their class portfolios. I will write comments and return assignments so that students may rewrite and resubmit their writings.
I will also use the portfolio grade to determine the students’ final grades in the class. In addition, students will take a number of vocabulary and content based exams in the course: I will use these scores to monitor the students’ academic growth. I will consider the students’ performance on such exams when I issue their final grades. Therefore, students should consistently apply themselves on every assignment.
Overall Class Grade
100 - 90 %
89.9 - 80 %
79.9 - 70 %
69.9 - 60 %
59.9 and below %
A
B
C
D
F
9
8
7
6
5
Essays
50
47
43
40
37
100
94
86
80
34
4 34 68
3 32 64
2 30 60
1 28 56
0 0 0
 Beginning the week of Monday, September 21, 2009, every student will post two comments of 250 words or more per week on www.professorflowers1.wikispaces.com
. You will receive more specific instructions
 Homework: I will not accept late assignments. In addition, students must complete all prewrites and preliminary drafts and submit them with the final draft. I will not accept any published drafts if they are not typed and accompanied by the preliminary assignments.
 Students must take the Advanced Placement Exam for this class. Students can either take the official AP Exam or take the exam with me. Regardless of what students choose, I will calculate the exam into their final grade. Students will take the official exam on Wednesday,
May 12, 2010
Please sign this syllabus to show that you have read and understand the information provided.
Student’s Name: __________________________ Student’s Signature: ___________________
Parent’s Name : ___________________________ Parent’s Signature: ____________________
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