Advanced Placement English III: Language and Composition
A Course Overview and Syllabus with Performance Guidelines
INSTRUCTOR: Mr. Kevin Kaup
EMAIL: KKaup2@sheldon.k12.tx.us
CONFERENCE PERIOD: Seventh Period
ROOM: X306
PHONE: 281-727-3586
TUTORIAL TIMES: Tuesday
and by appointment
Textbooks:
Allen, Janet, et. al., ed. Holt McDougal Literature: American Literature.
Anderson, Jeff, and Kelly Gallagher. Writing Coach: Writing and Grammar for the 21st
Century.
Resources:
Axelrod, Rise B., Charles R. Cooper, and Alison M. Warriner. Reading Critically, Writing Well.
Barnet, Sylvan, and Hugo Bedau. Current Issues and Enduring Questions.
Cohen, Samuel. 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology.
De Tocqueville, Alexis. Democracy in America.
Kennedy, X. J., Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Jane E. Aaron. The Bedford Reader.
Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. Patterns for College Writing.
Lunsford, Andrea A., and John J. Ruszkiewicz. Everything’s an Argument.
Roskelly, Hephzibah, and David A. Jolliffe. Everyday Use.
Shea, Renée H., Lawrence Scanlon, and Robin Dissin Aufses. The Language of Composition.
Novels and Major Works:
Asimov, Isaac. Words from the Myths. 1966 American non-fiction book.
Bernstein, Carl, and Bob Woodward. All the President’s Men. 1974 American non-fiction book.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. 1925 American novel.
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. 1953 American play.
Note to Students and Parents: The above lists are comprised of works intended for reading and instruction, as of
this writing. However, these lists are open to amendment, in response to time constraints, resource availability, or
any other factors that the instructor feels should be addressed in order to cater to the students’ best interests.
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Philosophy and Major Goals:
The AP English Language and Composition course is designed to give students multiple
opportunities to work with the rhetorical situation, examining the authors’ purposes in addition
to audience and the subjects in texts. Students write in a variety of modes for a variety of
audiences, developing a sense of personal style and an ability to analyze and articulate how the
resources of language operate in a given text. In concert with the College Board’s AP English
Course Description, this course teaches students to read primary and secondary sources
carefully, to synthesize material from these texts in their own compositions and to cite sources
using conventions recommended by the Modern Language Association (MLA). As co-creators in
a media-rich society, students also study the rhetoric of visual media, such as photographs,
films, advertisements, comic strips, and music videos.
Please find, below and on the following pages, a detailed explanation of teaching strategies,
course guidelines, critical opportunities for reading and writing, and grading criteria. Though
the course uses the state-adopted textbook based on American Literature arranged
chronologically, the course is based primarily on the released AP essays and numerous,
thematic non-fiction pieces from additional textbooks used in the course. For example,
extensive readings from books such as 50 Essays, The Bedford Reader and Everything’s an
Argument will be assigned. The last book listed aims at helping students learn to analyze
arguments and to effectively write such analyses.
Students will:
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experience the composing process through writing, reading, and oral/written exercises;
learn a definition of voice in writing that can be recognized in published works and used
to develop the power of their own voice in writing; and
learn to develop a sense of address--that is, to learn to have a sense of speaking directly
to listeners as they write. These listeners are:
 your instructor;
 other students in the class;
 the audience beyond the class, made up of any person(s) who might be moved or
affected by, or interested in, what you are telling; and
 your own inner listener, who is always present and listening, and to whom you are
always speaking in any strong or effective writing.
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A Generalized Description of Learning Goals and Objectives:
Students will:
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learn to see in their mind’s eye what they read and write;
learn that the story is the primal form in speaking and writing from which other forms
(argumentation, definition, exposition, etc.) are derived;
demonstrate, in their work, the writing of various forms:
 voice;
 movement;
 coherence;
 clear development of a central idea and contributing ideas; and
 sense of address
understand style (diction, syntax, tone, etc.);
sharpen conventional mechanical and grammar skills both in class writing and in each
revised and fully finished work to produce a competently-edited final draft paper based
on a careful examination of various sources and/or an analysis of arguments within a
given text;
experience the testing process of the Advanced Placement (AP) examination and a
college-level course in high school so that college holds no mystery;
know that the name of the game is work; and
experience the personal satisfaction of having three hours of college credit if a passing
grade of “3” or higher is earned on the AP exam. This requires a minimum of a level-six
paper for each of the three prompts on the AP Language exam.
Rhetorical Knowledge:
Students will:
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focus on a purpose;
respond to the needs of different audiences;
respond appropriately to different kinds of rhetorical situations;
use conventions of format and structure appropriate to the rhetorical situation;
adopt appropriate voice, tone, and level of formality; and
write in several genres.
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Critical Thinking, Reading and Writing
Students will:
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use writing and reading for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating;
understand a writing assignment as a series of tasks, including finding, evaluating,
analyzing, and synthesizing appropriate primary and secondary sources;
integrate their ideas with those of others; and
understand the relationships among language, knowledge and power.
Cognitive Objectives
Students will:
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read and demonstrate knowledge of selected works of literature from fiction, nonfiction, drama, film and poetry;
demonstrate knowledge of man’s relationship to himself, to others, and to the universe
through identifying philosophical concepts and major concerns;
demonstrate analytical skill in reading and writing about literature;
demonstrate skills in investigative research; and
demonstrate skills in argumentation and persuasion.
Affective Objectives
Students will:
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demonstrate an involvement in literary selections through:
 recognizing ideas and values presented by the writers; and
 responding to the writer’s values as well as the reader’s own values
demonstrate an involvement in the process of identifying ideas and values in literature
and testing those against the reader’s ideas and values;
demonstrate an involvement in the process of identifying the basic emotions of man
through:
 recognizing those expressed in literature; and
 relating those to his or her own emotional responses
demonstrate an involvement in the process of identifying topics appropriate for
argumentation and persuasions and in understanding his or her values; and
demonstrate skills in research in selecting topics of interest and objectively studying
them.
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Readings
Readings, primarily non-fiction, will be assigned as they relate to various writing assignments.
Reading will be taken from various texts, paperbacks, and handouts.
Routines and Procedures
Attendance: Tardy students will be given one free tardy per nine weeks. After that, they will
receive an afterschool teacher detention for every tardy. Instructional time is extremely
important, and your attendance and participation are vital to your success in this course.
Diligence and Timeliness: Work must be turned in on time. If you know that you are going to be
absent, it is your responsibility to acquire your assignments in advance. Be in my room the next
morning to find out what went on during the period you were away. Acquire someone’s phone
number and call him or her.
Homework: Homework exists every night of each semester. There will always be an essay,
speech, or article to read and interpret. There will always be a composition at some stage in the
writing process on which to work. There are numerous usage rules to review, to relearn, and to
analyze each week. There is a notebook to keep organized.
Proper Heading: I will assign an automatic 50 to a paper turned in without the proper heading.
Use Modern Language Association (MLA) headings.
Assessment: You should keep a copy of everything you have turned in. Some grades will be
determined by the progress you make, and at times I will evaluate your writing and give you a
grade according to the AP Writing Rubric. Please remember that this is a college level course
and you will not have as many major grades as you have experienced in non-AP courses in high
school. Therefore, you must do your very best on each and every assignment. You will have
three or four major grades per nine weeks.
Grades: Quality of performance is the primary basis for grades. Papers will not be accepted
after the due date. Course grades will be the average of the grades for daily work, major work
or essays, and quizzes. All papers will be graded on the quality of content and presentation. The
AP Writing Rubric will be used to grade essays holistically. Scores will range from a 0 to a 9. A
rubric will be given to every student. Be sure papers are well organized, have accurate content,
and reflect adherence to the writing process.
Scholastic Dishonesty/Plagiarism: Please read and commit to memory the KHS Student
Handbook/Code of Conduct policy regarding cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic
dishonesty. These are all prohibited by SISD policy and the rules of this class.
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Routines and Procedures (continued)
Definition of Cheating: Cheating includes, but is not limited to:
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copying from another student’s test paper;
using materials during the test that are not authorized by the teacher;
collaborating with another student without authorization; and/or
using misappropriated test materials and/or answer keys.
Definition of Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the act of using someone else’s work and not telling—
whether intentional or not. Document every quotation, every paraphrase, every concept
harvested from the work of another writer. I will immediately notify parents of any dishonesty.
Further offenses (whether in this class or others) could adversely affect membership in the
class.
Binder Organization: Please purchase a 2” binder. Using pocket dividers with labels, organize
your binder as follows:
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Daily Journal (for quotes and/or speech and poetry prompts and grammar reviews);
Vocabulary (an ongoing list)
Class Lecture Notes on selected readings
Works in Progress
Resources
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Please return the yellow copy of this page to the teacher and keep the pink copy in your binder
for your own records.
I, ___________________________ , and I, ___________________________ , have received and
Parent’s/Guardian’s Printed First and Last Name
Student’s Printed First and Last Name
read the following document:
Advanced Placement English III: Language and Composition
A Course Overview and Syllabus with Performance Guidelines
We understand that this document can and will change throughout the course of the school
year in order to best meet the needs of the students. We also understand that any tests,
projects, or other assignments/requirements that are not presently listed on the syllabus may
be added at any time according to the teacher’s discretion.
_________________________________
_________________________________
Parent’s/Guardian’s Printed First and Last Name
Student’s Printed First and Last Name
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Parent’s/Guardian’s Signature
Student’s Signature
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Date Signed
Date Signed
Parent/Guardian Contact Information:
Home Address:
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Parent’s/Guardian’s Home Phone Number: _______________________________________
Parent’s/Guardian’s Cell Phone Number:
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