AP® English Language & Composition Course Syllabus Siegel High School 2015-2016
Instructor: Mrs. Nikki Hall Email:
[email protected] Phone: 615-904-3800 ext. 29528
Room Number: 119 Planning Period: 5th Period http://apcentral.collegeboard.com
Course Overview Students in this introductory college-level course read and carefully analyze prose written in a variety of time periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts, increasing their understanding of rhetoric and its effects. Through analytical reading and frequent writing, students develop their awareness of the interactions among a writer’s purpose, audience and rhetorical strategies, while strengthening their own effectiveness in composition abilities. Throughout the year, students write in several modes—expository, analytical, and argumentative. Students read, analyze, and respond to essays, letters, speeches, images, and fiction. Students increase their understanding of images as text by completing frequent analyses of various nonprint media throughout the course. Some featured authors include Truman Capote, Frederick Douglass, Sophocles, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, Patrick Henry, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Summer reading and writing are required for this course and this task will be assessed according to strict guidelines. Students prepare for the AP® English Language and Composition Exam and may be granted advanced placement, college credit, or both as a result of satisfactory performance. Primary course textbook: Shea, Renee H., Lawrence Scanlon, and Robin Dissin Aufses. The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013. Print. Teacher resources include the following: The Norton Reader 50 Essays American Literature (district textbook) They Say. I Say. The Art of Voice: Language and Composition Writing America: Language and Composition in Context In addition to the material above, please note that students will also read a number of outside texts throughout the school year. This list will include the following American pieces: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, In Cold Blood, Columbine, Of Mice and Men, and The Great Gatsby. Students will be responsible for buying/borrowing a copy of these books. If a student is unable to procure these texts for any reason, he/she is expected to speak with the instructor on an individual basis before the book study begins. Course reading and writing activities help students gain analytical skills, making them more adept at identifying and explaining an author’s use of rhetorical strategies as well as extensively analyzing other writers’ strategies, the students will also learn how to apply those effective techniques in their writing. With timed in-class writing and extended out of class written assignments, the students will acquire and hone skills in all phases of the writing process, from the inquiry phase to the revising and the editing phase.
Nikki Hall
AP Language and Composition
2016-2017
As this is a college-level course, performance expectations are appropriately high, and the workload is challenging. Students are expected to commit to a minimum of four to six hours of course work per week outside of class. Often, this work involves long-term writing and reading assignments; therefore, effective time management is vital. Although the course will delve deeply into an author’s choice of rhetoric, including his or her grammatical choices, students must bring to the course sufficient command of grammatical and mechanical conventions and an ability to read and discuss prose. The course is constructed in accordance with the guidelines described in the AP® English Language and Composition Course Description published by the College Board. Assignments and areas of study Throughout the semester students will be responsible for a number of assignments. Each week students will be expected to read and complete written assignments both in and out of scheduled class time. Some of these assignments include the following: Assertion Journals*: Beginning during the first few weeks of school, students receive one quote per week from a well-known writer or an author whose words we will study. For each quote, students must complete three tasks: (a) clearly explain the writer’s assertion, (b) defend or challenge that assertion, (c) note the complexity of the issue and any possible opposing viewpoints to his/her opinion. These journal entries are roughly 300-400 words and are informal in character, yet they are academic in nature. This assignment allows students practice in clarifying their position while acknowledging differing points of view (sometimes the most difficult area for students). After the first assertion journal entries we begin working in some syntactical techniques of which students should be aware (parallelism, varied sentence structure, etc.). This will allow students to explore organization and structure in their own writing, thereby developing a more complex sense of style. Synthesis*: Each quarter students will be responsible for completing at least one synthesis essay (outside of class) based on the class readings and focused on the central theme for each unit. Students are given time to develop their first synthesis in class with direct assistance from the instructor. A rough draft and peer editing are critical elements to completing the first synthesis essay. Students will also have an opportunity to look at a sample synthesis essay and discuss its structure, organization, and effectiveness. After the first synthesis essay, students will complete most of the work on their own and outside of scheduled class time. Be sure to utilize STAR Time. In order to fulfill the requirements of a synthesis essay, students must use the minimum number of sources (the list is provided—all of which come from the unit of study) and properly document them by including a properly formatted works cited page. The essay must be at least three pages but no more than six pages. Students will also be required to use standard MLA formatting: size 12 font, Times New Roman or Arial, 1inch margins, complete MLA heading, and a title. Rhetorical Analysis*: The art of rhetoric is the foundation of this course. Students will read a variety of text and show their comprehension through analysis of each work. We will discuss the Rhetorical Triangle with each text and students will provide analysis through oral discussions, presentations, and/or written response to prompts. *These assignments will prepare students for the format presented on the Free Response section of the AP exam Nikki Hall
AP Language and Composition
2016-2017
Vocabulary: Each quarter students will be responsible for keeping a vocabulary notebook that highlights all unfamiliar vocabulary from the readings they complete for class. After providing the MLA reference citation, students must write the word, its part of speech, and a definition. They must also record the sentence from which the word was taken, using correct in-text/parenthetical documentation. This approach allows students to gain a wide-range of vocabulary that is used appropriately, reiterates the importance of research and MLA citations, and holds students accountable for comprehension regardless of any background vocabulary. Discussion The course offers many opportunities for students to collaboratively practice the skills they need, derived from the belief that learning can only occur if students have opportunities to check their understanding and clarify their thinking. Students will be responsible for developing their own questions and articulating their position in response to their peer’s questions. These discussions and the preliminary work for said discussions will often be assessed for a grade. Reading Students will spend a good deal of time reading essays, speeches, excerpts from larger prose pieces, entire books, and poetry. The area of focus, while reading, will be analyzing the effects of rhetorical devices. Students will also be responsible for “reading” other media such as advertisements and editorial cartoons. Required readings and the anchor text(s) for each quarter is as follows: Fast Food Nation & The Jungle (Summer Reading) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Q1) The Crucible (Q2) In Cold Blood & Columbine (Q3) The Great Gatsby (Q3) **Various articles, excerpts, speeches, historical documents and other texts will be used throughout the year. AP Language and Composition Exam This class is designed to prepare the students for the AP exam in May. All students in this class will be prepared for that exam by the end of the school year (approximately $92). As students are expected to take the AP exam, they will be exempt from a final exam in the course. Should a student elect to NOT take the AP exam, he/she will be required to take an alternative exam during finals week to count as their final exam grade. This final exam will be the exact same format as an AP exam selected by the course instructor. Grading Policy Essays: These are due at the BEGINNING of the hour, unless otherwise noted. If you are absent on the day an essay is due, it is your responsibility to see that I still receive your assignment on the due date. If you are absent, you should always email your assignment to me to fulfill the due date requirement, but you must also submit a hard copy to me upon your return. Please note that computer malfunctions and/or printer issues are not acceptable excuses for turning work in late. Life happens; plan accordingly! Major Assignment/Projects: If a major assignment is turned in late, 10 points will be deducted for each day it’s late. After three days, I will no longer accept the assignment. Vocabulary: Pay close attention to the requirements (format) and due dates for this assignment; it will NOT be accepted late for any reason. Turn it in early if you know that you will be absent, sick, field trip, etc.
Nikki Hall
AP Language and Composition
2016-2017
Make-up Work The experience of class cannot be replicated; therefore, absences hamper the student’s learning process. Students have the responsibility of initiating make-up plans and completing the make-up work in the time allotted in the student handbook. If a student knows that he or she is going to be absent for any reason (doctor’s visits, band trips, college visits), get the work beforehand to ensure that it is still turned in on time. Plagiarism Copying or accepting another person’s work without acknowledging it, whether that work is published or unpublished, professional or amateur is plagiarism. Plagiarism is unacceptable in this course and will not be tolerated. Any student who submits a plagiarized paper for any assignment will receive a ZERO for that assignment. While a resubmission of the work will be necessary, any additional points earned for a resubmission is solely at the discretion of the instructor. Furthermore, if a student copies another student’s paper with the permission of the original author, both students will receive the zero. Lastly, plagiarism is a serious offense that can result in expulsion for a college or university program. As this AP program is as stringent as a college course, the consequences outlined here are set to maintain the importance of originality and ownership. Grading Grades will be based on the 100 point scale; weight will be given to assignments based on requirements, length, and difficulty. Grades will include: Composition—formal and informal writing, assertion journals, rhetorical analysis, synthesis Tests and Quizzes—reading material, graded discussions, projects Daily assignments—homework, group work, independent practice Vocabulary—appropriate number of vocabulary terms and MLA formatting Grading Scale Per Siegel High School’s student handbook, the grading scale is as follows: A=93-100 B=85-92 C=75-84 D=70-74
F=Below 70
Also, note that all students in the AP program will have five extra points added to their raw average each grading period and to the midterm exam (and final exam should a student neglect to take the AP exam as mentioned above). For this reason, I WILL NOT provide any opportunities for extra credit or grade replacements. Your first attempt should be your best attempt!
Nikki Hall
AP Language and Composition
2016-2017
