AP Language and Composition/ Pre-AP English 11 Course Requirements and Highlights 2017-2018 Bassett High School Mrs. Sarah Kenny- Rm. 13 Email: [email protected]

The AP Language and Composition class is designed for eleventh graders who plan to take AP or dual enrollment English during their senior year and who will take the AP test in May. The content of the course includes an in-depth study of the types of writing: description, narration, persuasion and argumentation, and exposition. The course of study includes the mechanics, process, and analysis of written expression. Students utilize methods of writing that encourage "intelligent writing" instead of simply "mechanically- correct" writing. The course also includes in-depth analyses of classic and contemporary American literature. Because of this demanding course, students must have a serious attitude and be willing to work hard toward improving writing and literary analysis skills.

Course Introduction AP Language and Composition not only teaches academic writing but personal writing as well. The goal of this course is to introduce students to various rhetorical modes: argument, rhetorical analysis, and synthesis. The expectations and requirements are high, but the knowledge and increased writing skills are imperative for success in higher-level fields. In an AP Language and Composition course, students are required to read works of literature and rhetoric and to develop a sophisticated and differentiated style of responding to these different works. Reading the works is fundamental and required; being able to discuss the works intelligently, either in small groups or in large class settings, is also necessary. Being able to write about the works’ content and style is essential.

You will be doing a lot of writing. In fact, you will have to write a lot more than I can formally assess.

The number of written assignments will vary depending on the level of the students’ previous preparation in composition. We will write a minimum of 2 essays per grading period, in and out of class. Essays will be assessed using performance rubrics.

A. Method of Instruction This class is a combination of lecture, group discussion, peer conferences, reading requirements, oral presentations, seminars and writer’s workshop.

B. Expected Course Outcomes In preparation for the AP examinations in English, students should read widely and reflect on their reading through extensive discussion, writing and rewriting. Students should assume considerable responsibility for the amount of reading and writing they do. The AP course assumes students already understand and use Standard English. The intense concentration on language in this course will enhance the following:  a wide-ranging vocabulary used appropriately and effectively;  a variety of sentence structures;  a logical organization;  a balance of detail; C. Course Goals and Objectives In the AP course, students will  create and sustain arguments based on reading and research,  demonstrate mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic maturity in their own writings,  write in a variety of genres and contexts,  analyze and apply effective strategies and techniques in their own writing,  identify and explain an author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques.  read extensively and master a wide range of types of literature  read a wide range of nonfiction works  read closely for detail  read for literary devices and structures and rhetorical strategies  read challenging works of recognized literary merit  respond to reading through thoughtful inquiry  articulate responses orally in rich discussions conducted in an atmosphere of open exploration and acceptance of alternative interpretations  write intelligent, insightful, and sensitive critical analyses of literary passages and works in both impromptu and prepared essays D. Student Suggested Supplies  3-ring binder (1 ½ or 2 inches)  Folder or binder insert(s) with pockets  Loose leaf paper (college ruled)  Highlighters  Pencils  Pens (blue or black)  Dry Erase Markers  Sticky pads (your preference for annotation)  Available textbooks

E. Recent Novels of Study  The Grapes of Wrath- John Steinbeck  A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie – Tennessee Williams  The Awakening – Kate Chopin  Pilgrim at Tinker Creek – Annie Dillard  The Things They Carried – Tim O’Brian  Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas- Frederick Douglas  Death of a Salesman and The Crucible – Arthur Miller  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn –Mark Twain

F. Student Evaluation  Evaluations will occur throughout the English section of the course in the following areas: i. Tests (worth 200 points) ii. Quizzes (worth 100 points) iii. Essays (100 or 200 points-- As Posted on Assignment) iv. Research/Projects (200 points) v. Oral Presentation (200 points) vi. Daily assignments/ homework (100 points) G. Grading Scale and Credits

LETTER GRADE NUMBER RANGE HCPS Courses DE/AP Courses

A+ 100-97 4.0 5.0

A 96-93 4.0 5.0 A- 92-90 3.7 4.7 B+ 89-87 3.3 4.3 B 86-83 3.0 4.0 B- 82-80 2.7 3.7 C+ 79-77 2.3 3.3 C 76-73 2.0 3.0 C- 72-70 1.7 2.7 D+ 69-68 1.3 2.3 D 67-66 1.0 2.0 D- 65-60 .7 1.7 F 59-0 0 0

H. Specific Classroom Policies Electronic Devices: On occasion, cell/smart phones/watches etc. may be a part of our classroom projects, but on all other occasions, these devices are to be turned off and out of sight. If the teacher sees the cell phone, she will take it and place it in cell phone jail until the end of class. There is to be absolutely no contact with electronic devices during formal assessments.

Food and Drink: Please adhere to BHS policies regarding keeping cafeteria food in the designated eating areas. Also, beverages should be in containers with screw on tops (sealed until your arrival in the school). Snacks and treats may be discretely consumed in class as long as students clean up after themselves. Messes, trash, unpleasant odors, disruptive sharing, etc. will result in the loss of food and beverage privilege. Every effort must be made to maintain a sanitary and healthy environment.

Attendance: Daily attendance is mandatory and does affect the overall success of a student in this course. If a student misses more than 50% of a class period, he/she will earn an absence.

Tardy Policy: Each day a student must make every effort to be punctual. Please read the policy updates in your student handbook/agenda. Students are allowed only two tardies per class per semester before disciplinary action will be taken. Students should be in the classroom before the bell rings—not running in at the tail end of the bell.

Technical Problems: Personal computer/printer problems should not be used as an excuse for late work. The school library has computers for your use. Students should complete assignments in time to troubleshoot technical difficulties before deadlines.

Make-up work: The student is responsible for taking care of any work missed due to absences. All students with a verified absence will have three days to make up any missed work. Unexcused, late assignments may not be accepted. The student will receive credit for his missed work only if the absence was verified or excused and if the teacher receives the completed work before the three- day period. If a student does not report to class but has been in school during the day an assignment is due, he must turn in the assignment before he leaves, or it will not be accepted. Student activities and school sanctioned trips will not excuse a student from any required work. If a student is absent the day of a quiz/test, the student must be prepared to take the missed quiz /test the next day the class meets. Being absent before an assignment is due or before a test does not excuse the student from turning in the assignment or from taking the test on the scheduled day.

Personal Conduct: Respect one another. Lack of consideration for the teachers or students will not be tolerated.

Paper Organization: All assignments should be organized using MLA format. The student’s name, course number, instructor’s name, and date of submission should fall on the first four lines on the left-hand margin. Each essay should have a title, centered on the following line (line 5). All essays should be typed in a 12-point, double-spaced, easily readable font.

Plagiarism/Cheating: (taken from PHCC English 111 syllabus; Mrs. J. Staples) Cheating is the actual or attempted practice of fraudulent or deceptive acts for the purpose of improving one’s grade or obtaining course credit; such acts also include assisting another student to do so. Typically, such acts occur in relation to exams, projects or homework. However, it is the intent of this definition that the term cheating not be limited to the above listed situations only, but that it include any and all actions by a student that are intended to gain an unearned academic advantage by fraudulent or deceptive means. Plagiarism is a specific form of cheating which consists of the misuse of the published and/or unpublished works of others by misrepresenting the material so used as one’s own work. Penalties for cheating and plagiarism are a 0% on the assignment, a referral to the assigned administrator and a parent conference. Plagiarism can include submitting a paper written by someone else as your own; written by means of inappropriate collaboration; written by you for another class, submitted without the permission of both instructors; purchased, downloaded, or cut and pasted from the Internet; or that fails to properly acknowledge its source through standard citations. An honor code will be enforced.

Student Assistance: Students are encouraged to seek help from the instructor as soon as they feel the need. There is help available afterschool and some evenings. Please, contact the instructor immediately to set up a time to receive assistance.

Clear, Explicit Evidence of Each Curricular Requirement

Curricular Requirements Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 {CR1}The course requires Each class begins with five While learning to write During the narrative writing students to write in informal minutes of free writing in descriptively, the students read unit, students work in pairs to contexts (e.g. imitation journal. These journals are “Subway Station” by Gilbert create a children’s book. exercises, journal keeping, collected each week. I read Highet. Using this essay as a They write the story, keeping collaborative writing, and in- them quickly, not marking model, the students brainstorm the elements of strong class responses) designed to grammatical errors, but I do and write a descriptive essay narration and grammar in help them become increasingly respond to their content and about a place they find equally mind. They also illustrate, aware of themselves as writers style in the margins. . disgusting, yet irresistible at the bind and present the book to and of the techniques employed same time. The students elementary school children. by the writers they read. present these essays in a Writer’s Workshop the next day in class. They receive feedback from the teacher and each other. {CR2}The course requires Expository writing: students Analytical writing: students Argumentative essay: expository, analytical, and write a comparison and write an essay that analyzes the students read and analyze argumentative writing contrast essay or a division rhetoric of Upton Sinclair’s The Martin Luther King’s “I assignments that are based on and classification essay. Jungle, a novel with flawed Have a Dream” speech, readings representing a wide Either option requires the organization, characterization, focusing on his methods of variety of prose styles and students to engage poetry. and style, but strong imagery persuasion. Using the same genres. The comparison and contrast and detail. emphatic qualities, the essay discusses two poems of student will write his a student’s choosing; the persuasive essay and share it division and classification with the class in a writer’s poem discusses a poetic term, workshop atmosphere. such as rhythm, near rhyme, Students will analyze and or canto. discuss the quality of the rhetoric, paying close attention to each other’s avoidance of logical fallacy. {CR3} The course requires Nonfiction readings Students analyze “Waiting” by Dick Gregory’s “Shame” nonfiction readings (e.g., accompany each writing unit Peggy McNally and “The offers personal narrative in a essays, journalism, political such that students read at Prince and the Toddler” by nonfiction arena. Students writing, science writing, nature least two examples of each Dave Barry, focusing on analyze his use of rhetorician writing, writing mode before writing syntax, style and author strategies during class autobiographies/biographies, their own essays in that intention. Using these non- discussion and also in essay diaries, history, criticism) that mode. For instance, the fiction selections, the students format. are selected to give students personal narrative unit begins create an essay about cycles opportunities to identify and with readings of “Salvation” that define their lives, utilizing explain an author’s use of by Langston Hughes and the same patterns of syntax and rhetorical strategies and “The Biggest Play of His style. techniques. If fiction and Life” by Rick Reilly. poetry are also assigned, their Students also listen to several main purpose should be to help narratives and, after each students understand how narrative, discuss the various effects are achieved by rhetorical strategies used writers’ linguistic and rhetorical therein. Class discussion of choices. this type center around the DIDLS model. {CR4} The course teaches When we explore the While preparing to write the In the course of writing both students to analyze how landscape of the AP synthesis persuasive research paper, their process papers and their graphics and visual images both essay, students are asked to students must analyze the cause and effect papers, relate to written texts and serve interpret the tone of various graphic statistics that students are asked to interpret as alternative forms of text Dr. Seuss political cartoons accompany the information. various diagrams of the themselves. and use their own Students learn to weigh the processes they are interpretations to further their quality of the information by researching as well as any own writing. Students must analyzing the variables and graphs and charts that pertain find applicable political interpreting the information in to their cause and effect cartoons when constructing their writing. Students are also papers their own synthesis questions encouraged to create original for class consumption. visual images to accompany the research assignment. {CR5} The course teaches Researched argument essay, Research paper: students Researched literary analysis: research skills, and in students first evaluate the choose a social issue they feel throughout the course, particular, the ability to strength of a commonly held strongly for or against. After students are encouraged and evaluate, use, and cite primary opinion and then present their extensive research, students expected to analyze the and secondary sources. The own findings on the matter. create a 10-page paper, utilizing merits and shortcomings of course assigns projects such as the MLA guidelines. As an the literature studied. the researched argument paper, exercise that encourages Furthermore, they also which goes beyond the students to become familiar research other criticisms of parameters of a traditional with other research styles, the the literature and cite relevant research paper by asking students transform their papers material to support their students to present an argument from MLA to APA and analyses. of their own that includes resubmit them. analysis and synthesis of ideas from an array of sources. {CR6} The course teaches Although I assume students The formal argument research The final essay analyzes students how to cite sources have had two years of MLA paper utilizes the MLA and the some element of Faulkner’s using a recognized editorial practice prior to their taking APA style manual’s protocol writing style (DIDLS) in As I style (e.g., MLA, The Chicago this course, the first research for citation and documentation. Lay Dying, citing from Manual…). paper follows MLA protocol critical sources. and attempts to bolster students’ understanding of the ins and outs of the MLA style. The AP teacher provides Before students tackle each Teacher provides extensive and On a regular basis, especially instruction and feedback on genre of writing, especially thorough written feedback at the beginning of the students’ writing assignments, analysis, the teacher creates a following each student paper. course, the teacher conducts a both before and after the writer’s workshop The feedback is both positive thirty-minute troubleshooting students revise their work, that atmosphere where students and negative and generally lesson on matters such as the help the students develop these share preliminary ideas and aims at reducing the amount condensation of the language, skills: A wide-ranging rough drafts to collect mechanical errors and stylistic selection of verbs and vocabulary appropriately and feedback and suggestions flaws. modifiers, coordination and effectively used; a variety of from classmates and the subordination, construction sentence structures, including teacher. Students receive both content of thesis statements, and appropriate use of and mechanic grades on their diction, parallel and balanced subordination and coordination; essays. Students always have structure, and sentence logical organization, enhanced the opportunity to correct errors variety. by specific techniques to to improve the mechanics increase coherence, such as grade. repetition, transitions, and Short vocabulary lessons emphasis; a balance of accompany fiction and non- generalization and specific, fiction readings as necessary illustrative detail; an effective and as discovered through the use of rhetoric, including course of active reading controlling tone, establishing exercises. and maintaining voice, and achieving appropriate emphasis through diction and sentence structure.

*****Syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.***** I. Affidavit

Complete the following affidavit and return the portion below to Mrs. Kenny by Tuesday, August 15, 2017.

Please keep the rest of the syllabus in your notebook.

My signature below indicates I have read and understand these requirements and expectations and have been given a copy of my own to keep.

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