AP
Literature and Composition
Course Description
AP Literature and Composition engages students in the careful reading and critical analysis of literature. Students will deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. Students will consider a work’s structure, style, and themes as well as figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone. Students will read works from several genres and periods from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century. Our focus will be World literature, multiple choice questioning, and the analytical AP Literature and Composition writing responses which deal with prose, poetry, and an open ended essay question. Some form of research will be required each nine weeks. Information on the research topic and due dates will be given in class.
Grade Distribution
The grading scale is: A = 90% - 100%, B = 80% - 89%, C = 70% - 79%, D = 60% - 69%, F = 59% and below. Nine weeks grades are weighted by the following distribution: quizzes/tests = 10%, essays/writing = 50%, research/projects = 25%, and classwork = 15%,
Attire and Behavior
The
Student
Code of Conduct will be enforced. Respect
for all individuals at all times is required.
Students must be seated and working when the tardy bell rings.
A reminder, the teacher dismisses
the class, not the bell. No
food, drinks, nor gum are allowed in class.
Cell phones or any other electronic devices are NOT allowed in the
classroom. Students are required to
dress appropriately according to the Student Code of Conduct.
Females should make sure that midriff and upper body areas are not
exposed. Male students should wear
pants at the waist; hats should be removed before entering the classroom.
Each
student is required to bring regular sized white notebook paper, assigned
textbook, and blue or black ink
pens to class. All work is to be done in blue
or black ink. Each student
will maintain a writing portfolio which will be kept in the classroom.
Students may want to purchase sticky notes and highlighters to be used in
class.
Our class time is vital. Make up work will be done outside of class. I am available from 7:30 – 8:00 most mornings and Tuesday afternoons until 4:00. My planning period times are: A and B days – 4th period (1:55 – 3:25). To ensure that students are well prepared for the required AP writing, the following is required:
Go to the website www.chompchomp.com.
Click on Grammar Bytes, EXERCISES, and then click on the assigned topic.
After clicking on the topic, click on the appropriate handout, print, and
complete. Access to computers in the
classroom will be available each morning from 7:30 – 8:00 and of course, the
computers in our
| Subject/verb agreement exercises 1,3,5, due September 6/7 | |
| Pronoun agreement exercises 1,3,5, due September 27/28 | |
| Irregular verbs exercises 2,4,6, due October 11/12 | |
| Word choice exercises 2,3,6,8, due November 1/2 | |
| Fragments exercises 1,3,5,7, due November 29/30 | |
| Comma Splices exercises 1,3,5, due December 7/8 |
Students
are expected to take pride in their own work.
This means all work is done with honesty and integrity.
All work is your OWN work.
The school academic integrity policy will be enforced.
AP
English Literature and Composition Standards
Reading
Standards
Students
to understand the experience of literature, the interpretation of literature,
and the evaluation of literature
Experience:
the subjective dimension of reading and responding to literary works,
including pre-critical impressions and emotional responses.
Interpretation: the analysis
of literary works through close reading to arrive at an understanding of their
multiple meanings.
Evaluation:
both an assessment of the quality and artistic achievement of literary
works and a consideration of their social and cultural values.
| to understand a work’s complexity | |
| to absorb its richness of meaning | |
| to analyze how that meaning is embodied in literary form |
Writing
Standards
Emphasis
is placed on helping students develop stylistic maturity, which, for AP English,
is characterized by the following:
| a wide-ranging vocabulary used with denotative accuracy and
connotative resourcefulness; |
| a variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of
subordinate and coordinate constructions; |
| a logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques of
coherence such as repetition, transitions, and emphasis; |
| a balance of generalization with specific illustrative detail; and |
| an effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone,
maintaining a consistent voice, and achieving emphasis through parallelism
and antithesis. |