AP Language and Composition

English 3 AP* Language and Composition Course Syllabus 2015-2016 Teacher: Ms. Christina Henderson Room: A105 *E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 936.890.7176 Conference: 5th Period: 10:21-11:06 Tutorial: M, W, TH, & F 2:20-3:30 & by appointment Course Description: Welcome to AP* English Language & Composition. This rigorous course is equivalent to a college-level class with an emphasis on writing in an array of modes of discourse, analytical analysis of fiction and nonfiction, and rhetorical analysis of specific selections. In other words, this course is designed to enable the student in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Both the student’s writing and reading should make him/her aware of the interactions among a writer’s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects as well as the way generic conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing. Course Objectives: The AP* Language and Composition course assumes that the student already understands and uses standard American variety English grammar. The intense concentration on language use in this course should enhance the student’s ability to use grammatical conventions both appropriately and with sophistication as well as to develop stylistic maturity in the student’s prose. Upon completing this course, the student should be able to:  analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques;  apply effective strategies and techniques in one’s own writing;  create and sustain arguments based on readings, research, and/or personal experience;  demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic maturity in one’s own writing;  write in a variety of genres and contexts, both formal and informal, employing appropriate conventions;  produce expository, analytical, and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or secondary source material, cogent explanations, and clear transitions;  demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary source material;  move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing, and review;  write thoughtfully about one’s own process of composition;  revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience;  analyze image as text; and  evaluate and incorporate reference documents into researched papers.

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Classroom Expectations: Please remember this is course is equivalent to a college course  Be prepared to learn and work – come to class and always be ready to participate.  Respect others and yourself.  Be courteous to everyone.  Follow all school rules.  No phones unless otherwise instructed.  And remember…“No set of rules can cover all points; some things must be left to observation and daily practice.” – Richard Mulcaster Texts  Miller, George, ed. The Prentice Hall Reader. 9th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2009. Pick up text by Tuesday in Room A205.  McCarthy, Cormac. The Road . ISBN: 9780307387899 Summer Reading  Larson, Erik. The Devil in the White City. ISBN: 9780375725609 Supplementary Works: I strongly encourage you to buy your own copies of these works so you can highlight and annotate them, but they will be provided by the school:  The Awakening, Kate Chopin  The Crucible, Arthur Miller  The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald  A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams  In Cold Blood, Truman Capote  There will be other works that I will recommend over the course of the year. Recommended Texts: Though not required, you will find these works useful to have at home and in college:  A college-level dictionary (Oxford English Dictionary online is also a good reference)  A thesaurus  The Elements of Style, Strunk and White.  The M.L.A. Handbook. Course Supplies:

Single-subject Spiral or Composition Notebook (Journal Entries and Write What You See) Notebook paper Pens (please do not use purple or red ink); Pencils Highlighters

Weekly Agenda: The weekly agenda will be posted on the board each Monday. It is recommended that the students copy the agenda into a planner or other preferred method each Monday. When students are absent, they should refer to the agenda in determining what work has been missed.

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Late Work, Make-up Work, and Absences:  No daily work will be accepted late unless the student is absent on due date and it is excused.  All major assignments to include papers, projects, tests, and any other assignment that is described by me as a major assignment will be turned in on the due date. If a student is absent, it is his/her responsibility to find a way to get the assignment to me. Remember – this course is equivalent to a college class. The penalty for late work is 25 percent of the grade for the first day and 50 percent of the grade for the second day. After the second day, the student will be unable to turn in the assignment.  An Assignment must be turned in before or at the beginning of the class period that it is due 

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or it is considered late. Due to the nature of some major assignments (essays, writing workshops, etc.), some assignments will not be accepted late. The teacher will notify the students in advance when assignments will not follow the traditional late work policy and will not be accepted late. This will apply to essays written outside of class (for the rough draft – especially). It is the student’s responsibility to collect and complete all work missed due to an absence – to include all journal entries. Tests and vocabulary quizzes must be taken on test/quiz day – even if the student is absent the day prior. If a student is absent on the day of the test/quiz, it is the student’s responsibility to make-up the test/quiz. The grade for a missed test or a missed quiz will entered as “0” regardless of the type of absence until the student makes up the missed test or quiz. This is important to remember. If a student knows in advance that he/she will be absent, that student should ask for assignments ahead of time and have them completed when he/she returns to class. I will accept essays via email (must be submitted by the class period due date). It is 10 percent off if sent after class on the same day.

Grading Policy:  Test, Projects, and Papers = 60%  Quiz Grades = 25%  Daily Grades = 15% Projects:  Essays  Outside of Class papers  Timed Writing  Logical Fallacies Cards/ Logos, Pathos, Ethos  Movie Poster  Research Paper  Other – projects tied to individual units as assigned. Journals: It is imperative that each student purchases a composition or single-subject spiral notebook dedicated to journal entries. This journal shall be brought to every class. Journal entries will be completed daily in response to prompts provided by the teacher. Discussion of journal entries may also take place. I will check journal entries periodically – TEN entries will equal one Major grade @ ten points per entry. If the student is absent, he/she is responsible for making up the assignment. Write What You See: Often, after the vocabulary quiz, I will put a picture on the overhead. Students will be required to write what they see. At times, students will write creative stories; at other times students will be required to determine of what the image is trying to persuade the audience and types of Logos, Pathos, and Ethos utilized. Please keep this separate from journal entries. I do recommend starting at the back of your journal. 3 Rev. 8.18.15

Outline of the Year: Note: Each six weeks will include text book readings, warm-up work, grammar practice, journal responses, vocabulary quizzes, independent reading. And you will read a variety of related works: poems, short stories, speeches, essays, letters, editorials, cartoons, biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, etc. Essays: Because The AP* Language and Composition course is a writing enhanced course, there will be several formal writing assignments. This course requires all students to produce several analytical writing assignments. Topics will be based on readings representing a wide variety of prose styles and genres and will include topics such as public policies, popular culture, and personal experiences. We will begin with connecting the links between reading and writing. We will then focus on the fundamentals of writing, concentrating on the elements of drafting to include the components of a thesis statement, gathering and utilizing examples, developing logical organization to include proper transitions, and the elements of revision. The teacher will provide instruction concerning all of these elements. Students will be required to identify authors’ purpose and theses statements of essays provided in the text. Then each student will be required to compose thesis statements from provided topics. The thesis statements will be evaluated by peers as well as the teacher and comments will be provided. Each unit or form of essay will begin with instruction from the teacher concerning the elements of the type of essay that will be drafted by the student. Our first and second essays will be comparison & contrast essays. The teacher will provide instruction concerning the elements of comparison and contrast to include: defining comparison and contrast; choosing a subject; the essentials of finding similarities and differences; structuring a comparison and contrast essay; utilizing analogy, metaphor, and simile; and the revision process of a comparison and contrast essay. The student skills included will center on determining the writer’s subject, purpose, strategy, and audience, and developing the details to support the purpose. Critical reading strategies will be utilized by students. Several comparison and contrast essays will be reviewed and discussed by the class. Each student will then be required to compose a 2-3 page comparison and contrast essay for two separate timed summer reading exams. Our third essay will be a personal narrative focusing on a life-changing event, a loss, or a discovery or realization. We will explore the fundamental elements of narration together, examining and discussing several selections of personal essays provided in the text. In this class, there will be certain steps involved prior to final completion of all essays. Each student will be required to determine the purpose of his/her essay. From that purpose, each student will draft a thesis statement. We will begin our “Writing Workshops” at this time. The thesis statement will be reviewed by class members and finalized after teacher review and approval. Once the thesis is approved, students will develop three main topics to support their individual thesis statements. A peer review will follow. Each student will then draft a personal narrative essay 2-3 pages, typed. Students will be required to bring the draft to class for peer review. Each student is required to have at least two other students review his/her paper. The teacher will also provide feedback as it is critical in the drafting of an essay. This essay is a major grade.

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Our fourth essay will be a description essay. The teacher will provide instruction concerning the elements of description to include: determining what description is; understanding sense impression; the differences in objective and subjective description; what to include and exclude in a descriptive essay; how to describe a person, object, or place; the organization of description; and the revision process of a descriptive essay. The skills included will center on determining the writer’s purpose and developing the details to support the purpose. Critical reading strategies will be employed, as well as utilizing visual strategies. Several descriptive essays composed by various authors will be reviewed and discussed by the class. Each student will then be required to compose a 2-3 page typed descriptive essay. All elements and stages of the Writing Workshop will be included in this process. Our fifth essay will be a definition essay. The teacher will provide instruction concerning the elements of definition to include: determining what definition is; the difference between denotation and connotation; what and how much to include in a definition essay; how to structure a definition essay; and the revision process employed by the student with a definition essay. The student skills included will center on determining the writer’s subject, purpose, strategy, and audience, and developing the details to support the purpose. Critical reading strategies will be utilized by students. Several definition essays will be reviewed and discussed by the class. Each student will then be required to compose a 2-3 page typed definition essay. All elements and stages of the Writing Workshop will be included in this process. Our sixth essay will be an argument & persuasion essay/Research Paper Project – Persuasive Paper. The teacher will provide instruction concerning the elements of argument and persuasion to include: where to begin; the difference between arguing and persuading; determining what we already know about arguing and persuading; how to analyze audience; elements needed to convince a reader; ways to connect the thesis and evidence in an argument; ways to ensure that the argument is logical; structuring an argument; and the revision process of an argumentative or persuasive essay. The student skills included will center on determining the writer’s subject, purpose, strategy, audience, vocabulary, and style. Critical reading strategies will be utilized by students. Several argument & persuasion essays will be reviewed and discussed by the class. Each student will then be required to complete a 5-7 page typed persuasive research paper. The teacher will provide instruction concerning the elements of research paper to include: defining the freshman research paper; the differences between a research paper and other papers; why we are asked to write a research paper; how to use direct quotation; locating topics; the differences between subject, topic, and thesis (a review from the first six weeks); writing with a formal thesis; research strategies; locating reference books; utilizing online resources; caution concerning online sources; utilizing library databases; evaluating print resources; MLA documentation; integrating sources; plagiarism; how research aids in writing the paper; and the revision process of a research paper. . All elements and stages of the Writing Workshop will be included in this process. Our seventh essay will be a cause-and-effect essay. The teacher will provide instruction concerning the elements of cause-and-effect to include: defining cause and effect; the reasons for writing cause and effect analysis; choosing a subject; isolating and evaluating causes and effect; structuring a cause-and-effect analysis; and the revision process of a cause-and-effect essay. The student skills included will center on determining the writer’s subject, purpose, strategy, and audience. Critical reading strategies will be utilized by students. Several cause-and-effect essays will be reviewed and discussed by the class. Each student will then be required to compose a 2-3 page typed cause-and-effect essay. All elements and stages of the Writing Workshop will be included in this process. Our eighth and final essay will be a process essay. This will be the final grade for the course. The teacher will provide limited instruction on the process essay process. The students will be required to read the 5 Rev. 8.18.15

process essay strategies and then compose a 2-3 page typed essay. There will be no Writing Workshop included; however, the teacher will be available to conference and aid in any revision/editing the student may need.

Writing Workshops: Writing Workshops will be included in the various stages of development in the writing process for each essay drafted. Thesis statements, main ideas, introductions, and conclusions will be evaluated by peers as well as the instructor during each drafting stage, and the appropriate revising and editing will be completed for each element in accordance to the feedback provided by the peers and the teacher. The purpose of these workshops is to provide instruction and feedback on all writing assignments. The workshops will also help ensure that students are employing the proper techniques in the writing process. Organization with the help of graphic organizers, sentence structure, and rhetorical structures to include the effective use of rhetoric will be evaluated during the Writing Workshops. We will also work on repetition, proper transitions, proper emphasis, controlling tone, and utilizing the appropriate voice for the writer’s audience during these workshops. Because there should be a balance of generalization and specific illustrative detail in an essay, the workshop will be utilized to ensure that this balance is properly maintained in each student’s essay. At least two class periods prior to submitting final drafts of all papers will be comprised of a peer-review revising and editing session followed by a teacher conference, which will be centered on reviewing and approving proposed revisions.

Course Calendar At-a-Glance:  Course Expectations ; Syllabus Week 1:              

Introductions Begin Journal Entries Becoming a Critical Reader, Thinker, Writer How to Read an Essay; How to Write an Essay; How to Revise an Essay Introduction, Body, Conclusion Thesis – Identifying and Drafting – What does it do and where does it go? MLA “How to Read an Essay” - read p. 1-5 - One dialectical journal (DJ) entry – due Wed – 8.26 “On Cloning a Human Being” - read p. 6-9 – determine the Author’s Purpose and the Thesis of the Essay – you may include this on the same page as your DJ entry – due Wed – 8.26 “How to Write an Essay” – read p. 13-31 – 1 DJ entry and determine the 3 most important things you think you need to do before drafting and essay – you may include this on the same page as your DJ entry – due Thurs. – 8.27 “How to Revise an Essay” – read p.32-43 – 1 DJ and determine the 5 most important tasks when revising an essay – you may include this on the same page as your DJ entry – due Fri. – 8.28 Homework for Tuesday – read Chapter 1 – “Gathering and Using Examples” p. 62-80 – 1 DJ entry and pick 1 topic on p. 80 and compose a thesis statement – due Tuesday – 9.1 Summer Reading Project - Dialectical Journals are due Friday, August 28, during your assigned class period. They may be turned in early for 5 extra points per day. AP Exam Examples

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Week: 2

Week 3:

Week 4:

Week 5:

Weeks 6-10

Weeks 11-16

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Chapter 5 – text – Comparison & Contrast Discussion on The Road Journal Entries AP Examples Overview on Plagiarism. AP Prep Dialectical Journals Vocabulary Ch. 1 Discussion on The Devil in the White City Summer reading exam – Essay 1 – Tuesday – The Road Assign Logical Fallacies Cards Logos, Ethos, Pathos Logical Fallacies overview and handout AP Prep Write What You See Dialectical Journals Journal Entries Summer reading exam – Essay 2 – Tuesday – The Devil in the White City Narrative Essay Overview Vocabulary Ch. 2 Overview of Chopin and The Awakening Write What You See Dialectical Journals Journal Entries Chapter 2 – text – Narration Vocabulary Ch. 3 The Awakening Write What You See Dialectical Journals Study Questions Journal Entries Narrative Essay due Logical Fallacy Cards The Awakening Timed Essay Exam Chapter 3 – text – Description Read The Crucible Dialectical Journals Study Questions AP Exam Prep Journal Entries Write What You See Vocabulary The Crucible; Exam Logical Fallacy Cards Chapter 8 – text – Definition Dialectical Journals Study Questions Timed Writing AP Exam Prep Rhetorical Strategies Journal Entries Vocabulary

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3RD Marking Period

4th Marking Period

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Write What You See The Great Gatsby (I encourage you to purchase your own copy) In Cold Blood Dialectical Journals Study Questions Logical Fallacy Cards Chapter 9, 10, 11 – The Research Paper Assign Research Paper Project – Persuasive Paper - due at end of 6 weeks. Gearing up for the AP Exam – text – AP* Introduction Part I - text – An Overview of the Exam Vocabulary Write What You See Dialectical Journals Logical Fallacy Cards Multiple Choice Passages & Questions Practice Multiple Choice Passages and Questions The Essays on the AP* English Language and Composition Exam Timed Writing Vocabulary Write What You See Chapter 7 – text – Cause and Effect Cause and Effect Essay Logical Fallacy Cards Chapter 6 – text – Process Process Essay A Street Car Named Desire – read play Study Questions

Throughout the Year:   

Vocabulary – Worksheets and Quizzes Weekly Journal Entries – Daily (Each marking period will have a journal check for a Major Grade – number of entries per marking period may vary.) Write What You See – After Vocabulary Quiz (Total will be checked at the end of the year.)

*Please note the schedule is subject to change.

AP* Exam Information: English Language and Composition

Section I Approximately 55 questions (60 minutes) Section II 3 essays (15-minute reading period, 120-minute writing period)

45% of the grade 55% of the grade

We will be discussing the AP*Exam throughout the year and preparing for it extensively. Please don’t panic – one day at a time!

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