Mrs. Harrison
Holyoke High School
Email: mharrison@hps.holyoke.ma.us
Class Website: harrisonenglishhhs.weebly.com
AP Literature and Composition
2015-2016 Syllabus
Course Description: This course will be an introductory, but
intensive, survey of British, American and world literature from the
sixteenth century to the present. Students will learn to read and
comprehend some of the finest poetry, plays, novels, short stories and
essays ever written in a variety of time periods and cultures.
Students’ reading, writing and oral skills will be strengthened through
exploration of the themes and techniques of narrative fiction, nonfiction, drama and poetry. Cultural, historical and theoretical context
will be integrated into discussion by means of lecture and secondary
readings and resources, allowing us to situate our close readings of
the texts within the historical moment of their production and
reception. Certain films may also be used to further students’
understanding of the texts.
Note: AP English is both demanding and intellectually stimulating. It
is designed to be a college-level course. Assignments will necessitate
in-depth study of difficult literary concepts and techniques. It requires
your best effort consistently and emphasizes your development of
thought and mature habits of critical thinking. Class participation is
an essential element. To participate, you must complete the reading
assigned for each class session, think carefully about what you have
read, take notes and come to class ready to share your ideas.
Attendance is therefore very important. Written assignments, both
short and long term, will also be an important and frequent feature of
the course. This course is intended, above all, to give you the
opportunity to hone your critical thinking skills as well as to
strengthen and refine the quality of your written expressions.
Reading and Writing Assignments:
In AP Literature and Composition, Students will…
 Actively read and annotate
 Sharpen skills in close reading by perceiving patterns of
language such as motifs, symbols, images and metaphors as well
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as the effect of tone and the contributions to poetry of sounds
and metrical devices
Write and revise compositions in response to interpretive
exercises to analyze and explicate given literary selections
Write and revise critical essays that analyze and explicate
poetry, including consideration of structure and style as they
reflect content
Analyze and explicate, in discussion or critical essay, short
prose narratives, selected novels and plays
Write and/or present orally critical analysis or persuasive
selections
Examine, in discussion or essay, the logic, syntax, structure and
tone of prose and poetry selections as those elements combine
to produce an effect on the reader
Write documented evaluative and expository essays on topics
relating to literature
Sharpen organizational and transitional skills in writing
Write and revise interpretations of literature that evaluate the
work’s social, cultural and/or historical values
Write and revise analytical argumentative essays in which
students draw upon textual evidence to make and explain
judgments about a work’s social, historical and/or cultural
values
Write and revise analytical argumentative essays in which
students evaluate and explain a work’s literary merit, or lack
there of, focusing on the work’s artistry and quality
I will provide instruction and feedback on students’ writing
assignments both before and after the students revise their work.
This will help students:
1. Develop a variety of sentence structures (Syntax will also
be tackled during weekly homework assignments.)
2. Develop a balance of generalization and specific
illustrative detail
3. Establish an effective use of rhetoric including controlling
tone and a voice appropriate to the writer’s audience
Analysis of the AP literature and Composition Exam, including sample
essay responses and sample multiple-choice questions, will be studied
throughout the year.
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Close reading strategies will be emphasized, and essay writing
techniques are a focus for this year; all essays will be grated using a
rubric.
A formal documented research paper will be assigned during the
second semester.
Course Planner: The exact sequence of outside reading books will
vary from year-to-year, and books may be added or subtracted as the
year progresses. I prefer to tailor assignments to the particular
students and a time constraints of each school year. Therefore, works
are organized thematically around the broad title of “The Human
Experience” which allows for substitutions and additions or
subtractions. Each assignment will include references to specific
thematic possibilities for the included text/s. One or two longer works
will be used per quarter.
Summer Reading: This is required and expected to be completed on
the first day of school. See the class or HPS website for this year’s
assignment.
Texts and Other Possible Works:
Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. New York:
Harper, 2003.
Print
Rankin, Estelle M., and Barbara L. Murphy. AP English Literature,
2014-2015. New York: McGraw Hill, 2014. Print.
Perrine’s Literature Structure Sound and Sense AP, Twelfth Edition
British Literature:
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Sherlock Holmes, Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle
Heart of Darkness, Joseph
Conrad
Macbeth, William
Shakespeare
Hamlet, William
Shakespeare
Much Ado About Nothing,
William Shakespeare
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A Midsummer Night’s
Dream, William
Shakespeare
Frankenstein, Mary Shelly
1984, George Orwell
Wuthering Heights, Emily
Bronte
Great Expectations,
Charles Dickens
A Christmas Carol, Charles
Dickens
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The Picture of Dorian
Gray, Oscar Wilde
The Importance of Being
Earnest, Oscar Wilde
Brave New World, Aldous
Huxley
Jane Eyre, Charlotte
Bronte
Pride and Prejudice, Jane
Austen
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American Literature:
The Crucible, Arthur
Miller
The Scarlet Letter,
Nathaniel Hawthorne
I Know Why the Caged
Bird Sings, Maya Angelou
The Death of a Salesman,
Arthur Miller
Their Eyes Were Watching
God, Zora Neale Hurston
The Good Earth, Pearl S.
Buck
The Color Purple, Alice
Walker
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The Great Gatsby, F. Scott
Fitzgerald
 The Awakening, Kate
Chopin
Analytical essays, book files and other assessments follow all outside
reading assignments.
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Weekly Class Format:
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Allusion Posters
Poetry Analysis homework assignment – SPOTTTS or TYPCAST
Timed Writing (bi-weekly)
You are also required to independently read one book or play, from
the AP Reading List, per semester. If you would like to read a work
that is not on the list you must submit a proposal to me proving that
your choice has literary merit.
Unit 1: Rituals and Routines, Reviewing Summer Reading and the
AP Literature and Composition Exam
During this unit we will begin with discussion and writing about the
summer reading. Assessments during the first few weeks will include
objective tests, short essays and graded discussions.
Objectives:
1. To provide an overview for students of the
requirements/expectations of AP Literature and Composition
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2. To review the critical thinking, analysis, and writing skills
necessary for success in an advanced literature course
3. To introduce students to the components of the AP Literature
and Composition Exam
Skill Focus – Analysis of:
 Diction
 Juxtaposition
 Details
 Contrast
 Imagery
 Point of View
 Setting
 Narrative Structure
 Figurative Language
 Poetic Devices
 Syntax
 Poem Structure
 Sound Devices
 Concrete & Abstract
Constructs
 Paradox
 Ambiguity
Works will offer the opportunity to write and discuss the literary
elements, listed above, which create narrative power. Poetry study
will provide opportunities to write about the wealth of tools and
literary techniques available to the poet.
Unit 2: Character, Speaker, and Theme
Objectives:
1. To explore characterization in prose and drama and articulate
how characterization can reveal theme
2. To analyze speaker/voice in poetry and to explore how patterns
of language create meaning.
3. To write an effective AP level analytical essay
Skill Focus – Analysis of:
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Diction
Syntax
Speaker
Detail
Voice
Theme
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Point of View
Characterization
Organization
Development
Sentence Variety
Analysis
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Works will offer the opportunity to write and discuss the literary
elements, listed above, which create narrative power. Poetry study
will provide opportunities to write about the wealth of tools and
literary techniques available to the poet.
Possible Authors: Connell, Wolff, Greene, Munro, Ishiguro,
Walker, Mansfield, Baldwin, Joyce, Fitzgerald, Chekhov, Welty,
Gordimer, Cather, Jackson, Porter, Hemingway, Hawthorne,
Gilman, Márquez, Bradbury, Moore, Twain, Camus, Updike, de
Maupassant, Wharton, Poe, Chopin
Longer Works: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Student
Choice - Independent Reading Novel
Unit 3: Tone, Satire, and Irony
Objectives:
1. To explore tone in prose, poetry, and drama and to articulate
how tone can reveal larger thematic meaning or purpose
2. To analyze how patterns of language create tone
3. To write an AP level essay that incorporates effective
commentary about tone, satire, and/or irony
4. To compare two texts and write an analysis essay comparing
and contrasting the texts’ presentation of character, ton, or
theme
Skill Focus – Analysis of:
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Tone
 Paradox
Mood
 Absurdity
Denotation and
 Stylistic Maturity
Connotation
 Characterization
 Imagery
 Musical Devices
 Irony – Verbal,
 Rhythm and Meter
Situational, Dramatic
 Sound and Meaning
 Pattern
 Satire
 Comedy of Manners
Works will offer the opportunity to write and discuss the literary
elements, listed above, which create narrative power. Poetry study
will provide opportunities to write about the wealth of tools and
literary techniques available to the poet.
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Possible Authors: Tennyson, Shakespeare, Owen, Hayden,
Dickenson, Brooks, Williams, Ferlinghetti,, Bishop, Hughes, Mathis,
Collins, Pastan, Hardy, Larkin, Housman, Donne, Keats, Plath,
Trethewey, Rich, Oliver, Frost, Olds, Ryan, Browning, Hopkins,
Heaney, Stevens, Bradstreet, Marvell, Whitman, Blake, Herbert,
Wilbur, James, Cullen, Piercy, Blake, Bysshe Shelley, Wordsworth,
Auden, Clifton, Cummings, Milton, Robinson, Atwood, Eliot, Yeats,
Musgrave, Dove, Levertov, Drayton, Hardy, Arnold, Nash, Auden,
Roethke, Angelou, Poe, Stafford, Byron, Sexton, Pope, Kumin, Rich,
Kinnel, Thomas, McKay, Reece, Dunbar, Jonson
Longer Works: The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, Pride
and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
Unit 4: The Elements of Drama – Sonnets and Shakespeare
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The Nature of Drama
Realistic and Nonrealistic Drama
Tragedy and Comedy
The plays will span the period from the Elizabethan to the modern era
and will be studied with appropriate attention to the historical
background of each work. Opportunities to write will include
journaling, short reaction papers and one critical paper focusing on a
single character in one of the plays read.
Possible Authors: Shakespeare, Glaspell, Martin, Nottage, Albee,
Ives, Ibsen, Williams, Valdez, Sophocles, Molière, Chekov, Wilde,
O’Neill, Oakes, Hansberry, Wasserstein
Unit 5: Test Preparation
The four weeks prior to the AP Literature and Composition Exam will
consist of a focused preparation for the test. Students have ample
opportunities to complete practice tests which will include both the
writing and multiple-choice sections of the test. Materials for these
practice sessions will be drawn from former AP Released Exams and
student generated multiple-choice items and prompts.
Late Work Policy:
Homework Assignments: All assignments will receive a 50%
reduction if they are late.
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Major Assignments: For each day a major assignment (analytical
essays, projects, etc.) is late you will receive a full letter grade
reduction. For example, if you turn in an essay three days late, an “A”
paper will automatically be reduced to a “D”.
Exception 1: I will grant essay and project extensions if a reasonable
excuse is presented and okayed by me at least one day before the due
date. This does not apply to homework. Having “a lot of homework”
or “a big game” are not reasonable excuses.
Exception 2: If you are absent the day an assignment is due you may
hand it in the next day.
Note: Being absent the day something is assigned only guarantees an
extension if it is due the next day. It is YOUR responsibility to get
missing assignments by checking the missing work folder or the class
website. Also feel free to email me for assignments if you are absent.
Missed Exams and Quizzes: If you are absent the day an exam or
quiz is administered, you have two weeks to make them up without it
impacting your grade. If you make up the exam or quiz after the twoweek make-up window, but before the end of the marking term, you
will receive a letter grade reduction.
Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty is referenced in the
student handbook. It is unacceptable to plagiarize or paraphrase
anyone else’s work with out citation. If the information did not come
directly from your brain the information does not belong to you. You
are expected to represent your own work, in all forms, honestly. Any
form of academic dishonesty will result in the immediate loss of credit
for the assignment and possible disciplinary action.
Evaluation: Grades will be based on the following percentages:
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Exams/Analytical Essays/Projects
Quizzes/Timed Writing
Classwork/Discussions/Socratic Seminars
Homework
35%
20%
25%
20%
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Supplies: You are required to bring the following items to class every
day unless otherwise noted. If you are unable to purchase any of these
items please see me ASAP.
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A Dictionary
A Large Three Ring Binder and a package of dividers
A Notebook to be used solely for AP Literature
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