AP English Literature and Composition
Welcome to AP English Literature and Composition. This is my ninth year teaching this course, but 2022-2023 is my twenty-fourth year teaching in Goshen. I trained for this class at Wake Forest University, my alma mater, in 2010. The national exam is May 3, 2023.
Here is a link to the College Board for a more detailed description of the exam and the course:
Here is a link to the College Board for a more detailed description of the exam and the course:
The College Board approved syllabus is listed below. Please note that it is subject to change.
Please note the following important points:
GRADING: Grades are earned by participation, timely completion of work, and accuracy of work. Point values are given for all assignments. For example, if an assignment is given worth ten points, students' papers would read the number of points earned over ten possible. The grade scale is concurrent with the Board of Education adopted scale. Progress book is updated once weekly, at minimum. I do not weight any grades; I simply make assignments worth the point value deemed worthy by the complexity of the task and the amount of time spent on it. If students are caught cheating or plagiarizing on any assignment (tests, class work, projects, or research papers), THE STUDENT WILL BE GIVEN A ZERO! Late work is highly discouraged, as late work is not accepted in college, and this is a college-level course.
HOMEWORK: Students have homework almost nightly in this course. Students are given weekly plans electronically and in the print version every Friday. These plans list what is due daily. Students know exactly what their work is for the coming week. Vocabulary tests are Thursdays. Essay rewrites are usually the only addition to the weekly plans. Homework, including essay rewrites, are expected to be submitted ON TIME.
TESTS: All students in this course are expected to take two full-length practice tests.
AP ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION COURSE SYLLABUS 2022-2023
School Profile:
Grades: 9-12
Type: Public High School Total Enrollment: 798 students
Course Overview:
Percentage of Minorities: 93% Caucasian, .8% African American, 5% Multiracial, 2% Other
College Record: 54% enroll into a four-year college/university, 5% into military, 2%
into a vocational school
The AP English Literature and Composition course is comprised
of seniors who have completed the Honors 9, Honors 10, and Honors 11 courses at our high school. These students begin the year as solid writers as well as sound critical readers.
Students will read a variety of literature covering several genres from British and American writers from the sixteenth century to contemporary times. Students will be expected to complete numerous writing samples based upon these works as well as complete focused analytical essays from past AP Exams. Writing coverage is extensive with in-class writing assignments completed every two weeks and outside writing assignments on alternate weeks. Students will engage in peer review and teacher conferencing of all written work so the writer is actively engaged in the writing process. Students will also be given the option to revise teacher evaluated assignments. In addition, coverage of vocabulary, grammar instruction as the need dictates, and practice writing college application essays is also addressed.
This course is taught as a college-level course with emphasis on students’ preparation for the AP English Literature Exam in May.
Upon completion of the course, students will have a sound knowledge of the studied writers/works as well as how to best approach the exam.
Required Texts and Materials:
See attached bibliography.
Performance Tasks:
Timed essay responses practiced biweekly. (Evaluated with the AP nine-point rubric.)
Multiple-choice samples practiced biweekly.
Outside class essays over reading selections. (Evaluated with the AP
nine-point rubric.)
*Rewrites and corrections on each paper
Research projects/papers evaluated with a rubric containing similar concepts as the AP nine-point rubric.
*Rewrites and corrections on each paper
Class discussions over selected works.
Expository and persuasive literary analysis papers. (Evaluated with the
AP nine-point rubric.)
*Demonstrate understanding of rhetoric, including tone, voice, diction and sentence structure.
Snapshots (graphic organizers) over each major work. Explained below.
*Helps students review before the exam.
Reading/reaction logs kept on selected assignments.
*Students focus on tone, voice, diction and sentence structure of the writer.
Summer Reading/Activity Requirements:
Students will read the following works and prepare novel snapshots on each work. A novel snap shot is an outline form that includes the following information: complete title/author, literary movement or time period written, setting, plot summary, point of view/narrator, character map/web, themes/major ideas/motifs, recurring symbols and allusions, tone and/or tone change, connections to other works, cultural literacy box, and memorable quotes.
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Upon completion of all summer reading novels,
students will complete a three-page typed analytical response to the following prompt: When Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood, he said that he had created a new type of book, the non-fiction novel, by applying traditional literary conventions to crime reporting. Read the attached article, “Writing history: Capote’s novel has lasting effect on journalism,” by Van Jensen. Using both the attached article and the novel, demonstrate how Capote uses literary conventions to “tell” his story. Be certain to use specific, illustrative detail for support, MLA documentation style, including a Works Cited page, and a font no larger than 12 point. Arial is the preferred type style and the length is expected to be at least 800 words.
WEEK 1:
The Awakening, with a discussion over women’s roles in the late nineteenth-century and how Chopin demonstrates these roles in her work.
*Essay test over the novel and these key concepts.
WEEK 2:
WEEK 3:
*Writing prompt focuses on the roles of women in society. Students address the argument on if and how women are placed in certain “roles” based upon societal pressures. In the essay, students state their position and provide specific detail from the novel for support for their argument. Time will be allotted for peer evaluation and teacher conferencing with specific attention given to appropriate and effective vocabulary usage, varied sentence structures, balanced detail, and an effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone, establishing and maintaining voice, and achieving appropriate emphasis through diction and sentence structure.
A Prayer for Owen Meany, with discussion over the numerous themes apparent in the novel.
*In-class essay over the novel:
In advising Johnny about writing his Master’s thesis, Owen quoted one of Thomas Hardy’s literary observations in page
519: “A story must be exceptional enough to justify its telling. We storytellers are all ancient mariners, and none of us is justified in stopping wedding guests unless he has something more unusual to relate than the ordinary experiences of every average man and woman.” Explain how A Prayer for Owen
Meany does or does not justify the telling. Discuss the literary techniques that play a large part in this story’s success or failure— plot, characterization, diction, tone, voice, theme, narrative framework (how the story is told).
Brave New World, with a focus on the utopian views in society and a relation to modern-day scientific advances.
*Test over novel.
WEEK 4:
In Cold Blood, with discussions about the contrasts in journalistic writing and novel writing.
* Test over novel.
WEEK 5:
Share sample multiple-choice tests and discuss the types of questions and how they are written.
* Complete sample multiple-choice tests.
WEEK 6: (College Admission Essay/Scholarship Applications) Students collect their applications from schools to which they plan to
apply. We review the prompts and discuss what makes a good application essay. We also use various web sites to view good and bad essays. Students and teacher peer-evaluate the essays and offer suggestions for improvement: sentence structures, details, and word usage.
* Students complete essays that may be used for their real
applications. Time will be allotted for self-evaluation as well as peer evaluation, teacher conference time, and revision before completion.
WEEKS 7-9: (Poetry Study)
Poetry Terms reviewed/covered:
Narrative/lyric poetry
Speaker/tone
Diction
Imagery—denotation & connotation
Figurative language—metaphor, allusion
Symbolism/allegory
Syntax
Rhyme/assonance/alliteration
Rhythm and meter
The above elements are covered while studying the following works:
“War is Kind”; “My Last Duchess”; ”Naming of Parts”; “Miniver Cheevy”;
“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”; “Beauteous Evening”; “Delight in Disorder”; “Rape”; “First Death in Nova Scotia”; “ Lake Isle of Innisfree”; “Meeting at Night”; “Heat”; “Neutral Tones”; “That time of year thou may’st in me behold”; “Hymn to God the Father”; “The Double Play”; “The Battle”; “Woman to Child”; “Advice to my Son”; “Uphill”; “Poison Tree”; “Road Not Taken”; “Because I could not stop for death”; “Sun Rising”; “Man He Killed”; “Silken Tent”; “In the Valley”; “During Wind and Rain”; “Sound and Sense”; “Her Kind”; “The Waking”; “The City”
*Practice poetry free-response questions from past exams.
* A focus of this unit is how each poetic element contributes to the
purpose of the poem.
*Students choose individual poets and compose a series of essays (a total
of five, the final one is 10 pages long) analyzing single and then, in the long essay, multiple poetic elements and how they contribute to the purpose of a single poem.
*Students will be given the opportunity to peer evaluate with classmates as well as conference with the teacher concerning a wide-range of
vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and an effective use of rhetoric.
WEEKS 10-12: Romanticism (1800-1860)
Frankenstein (this novel is studied during these weeks to coincide with October 31st activities at school.)
Students engage in a three-week study of the novel and focus on how
Mary Shelley addresses the controversial issue of man’s quest for knowledge and the balance with moral and ethical principals. The frame narrative is discussed.
*Essay completed over the novel as well as the creation of the monster in the likeness of Shelley’s creature. Students will have to engage in cross- curricular research to discover how scientists during Shelley’s time were experimenting with the concept of life/creation. Students must also make the connection of how this preliminary research has affected us today. This encourages students to mirror the connection Frankenstein made with his creature. Time will be allotted for self evaluation, peer evaluation, and teacher conference time before completion—including a focus on vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail and understanding of rhetoric—tone, voice. Students will then have the opportunity to revise after teacher evaluation has been determined.
WEEKS 13-14: (Greek Tragedy/Tragic Hero Study)
Students read/study Oedipus the King and Antigone by Sophocles. Elements of the tragic hero as well as character studies and recurring images are studied.
*Students will maintain a reading/reaction log while completing assigned
reading assignments. This will aid in class discussions. *Essay writing and check-point quizzes over the works:
Aristotle states that in true tragedy, a noble person of high estate falls from grace due to his/her hamartia—an error or transgression which could be excessive pride(hubris) or some other tragic flaw. His downfall results from his own actions. As he is capable of making choices, he is also capable of accepting the consequences. As he does this, he learns and grows, but his fall may take his life or make him pay some other great price. Discuss how closely Oedipus fits this definition of the tragic hero using details from the play. Judge how well Oedipus would fit Aristotle’s definition of the tragic hero. Time will be allotted for self evaluation, peer evaluation, and teacher conference time before completion. Evaluation emphasis will be placed upon a wide-range of vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will be given the option to revise essays after teacher’s assigned evaluation.
WEEKS 15-17: English Renaissance (1500-1660) Shakespeare
Othello, Macbeth, Hamlet, with connections amongst the works and the elements of tragedy. Students will engage in the richness of the language as well as character study and development.
* Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion. * Timed-writing essays over all three works:
Othello: Othello’s success as a leader of men and his failure as a husband; Othello’s fatal flaw and its result; contrast the behaviors of Bianca, Emilia, and Desdemona toward their mates. This will be evaluated according to the nine-point writing rubric.
Macbeth: Follow the motifs of sleep; borrowed robes; blood and water and discuss how they recur throughout the play. How do these help to unify the play and contribute to its themes?
Hamlet: Hamlet is a play which deals with the loss of innocence; Hamlet shows a conflict between the real and the ideal; Hamlet contrasts what “seems” and what “is” (truth and reality); In a tragedy, the hero normally comes to the realization of a truth of which he had been hitherto unaware. There is, as Aristotle has it, “a change from ignorance to knowledge.” Apply this notion to a discussion of Hamlet.
*As a connection’s assignment, students will read Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and engage in comparison activities as well as written-response comparisons. Time will be allotted for self evaluation, peer evaluation, and teacher conference before completion. Evaluation emphasis will be placed upon a wide-range of vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will be given the opportunity to revise after teacher assigns grade.
WEEKS 18: Advertising Unit
Students will study the various techniques advertisers use to convince consumers to purchase their product. Students will prepare a poster that displays at least five techniques and written explanations detailing the technique.
WEEKS 19: AP Practice Exam
Taken during semester exam week.
WEEKS 20-23: Victorian Period (1830-1901)
Tess of D’Urbervilles
Students will discuss the development of the character Tess throughout the novel and apply these to the Victorian Era. *Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion.
* In-class timed writing evaluated with AP Rubric: (Choose One)
Discuss Hardy’s treatment of religion in Tess. How does his
portrayal of Christianity fit the theme of the novel?
Discuss the theme of alienation in Tess. How do the events of Tess’s life illustrate this theme?
* Time will be allotted for self evaluation, peer evaluation, and teacher conference after completion. Evaluation emphasis will be placed upon a wide-range of vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of
generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will be given the opportunity to revise after teacher assigns grade.
*Class group discussions and presentations of a character tracking
assignment.
Les Miserables
Students work on character development of Valjean and Javart throughout the novel.
*Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion.
*Group discussion and analysis of the characters.
*In-class timed writing evaluated with AP Rubric:
Complete a character study of Javert. Formulate a thesis statement
that reveals who Javert really is and why he conducts himself in the manner that he does. Why can’t he leave Valjean alone? Why can’t he believe people do truly change?
*Upon completion of timed essay, students will have the opportunity to revise the essay after peer-evaluation and teacher conference
time. Focus will be placed on effective and appropriate vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric.
The Importance of Being Earnest
Students will focus on the comic aspect of the characters within the Victorian Period.
*Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion.
*Group discussion and analysis of the characters.
*In-class timed writing evaluated with AP Rubric:
Why or how is The Importance of Being Earnest funny? Analyze some aspects of Wildean wit. Is there a difference between being “witty” and being “funny”?
WEEKS 24-27: (Modern Period: 1901-1960)
Heart of Darkness. Students will engage in discussion concerning the darkness of mankind and the use of inference and symbolism. *Timed essay responses evaluated with AP Rubric.
A number of times the river (the Congo) is described as a snake. In the Bible, the snake is an obvious symbol. Can you suggest any relationship between these two symbols?
Ambiguity is when a word has two or more meanings. Address at least three different ways the word “heart” is used in this novel.
Kurtz, we find out, has a dark, savage side and a good, moral side. Make an argument for the position that Conrad believes, given the right conditions, Kurtz could represent all of us.
*Upon completion of timed essay, students will have the opportunity to revise the essay after peer evaluation and teacher conference time. Focus will be placed on effective appropriate vocabulary usage,
sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will be given the option to revise essays after teacher’s assigned evaluation.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Students will engage in discussion and analysis of Hurston’s character and setting and the African American culture/ideas.
* In-class timed writing evaluated with AP Rubric.
*Follow the development of Janie throughout the novel. How does
Hurston show Janie’s progression to freedom throughout the novel?
* Upon completion of timed essay, students will have the opportunity to
revise the essay after peer evaluation and teacher conference time. Focus will be placed on effective appropriate vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will be given the option to revise after assigned teacher evaluation.
*Group discussion and analysis of the novel/material.
The Metamorphosis
Students participate in discussions/activities relating Kafka’s life to the character Gregor in the novel.
*In-class timed writing evaluated with AP Rubric:
In Classics in Modern Fiction, author Irving Howe discusses the character Gregor and his inability to communicate, his sense of alienation and insecurity, and his sense of insignificance and inferiority. Respond to this discussion showing how Kafka effectively relates these themes. What literary elements does he use to help portray them?
* Upon completion of timed essay, students will have the opportunity to revise the essay after peer evaluation and teacher conference time. Focus will be placed on effective appropriate vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will be given the option to revise after assigned teacher evaluation.
WEEKS 28-31: (The Modern Realistic Theater)
A Doll House. Students will focus on women’s roles in the nineteenth- century and how these tie into the overall elements within the play. *Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion.
*Outside essay:
Ibsen wrote the following in his preliminary notes to A Doll’s House: “A woman cannot be herself in contemporary society; it is an exclusively male society with laws drafted by men, and with counsel and judges who judge feminine conduct from the male point of view.” Discuss how
Nora and Christine illustrate Ibsen’s thought.
An individual’s struggle toward understanding and awareness is the traditional subject for the novelist or dramatist. Apply this statement
to A Doll’s House. Organize your essay according to the following plan:
1) Compare the hero as we see her in an early scene with the hero as we see her in a scene near the end of the play. 2) Describe the techniques that the author uses to reveal the new understanding and awareness that Nora has attained.
*Time will be allotted for students to engage in peer evaluation and teacher conferencing concerning a wide-range of vocabulary, sentence structure variety, attention to detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. After final evaluation by instructor, students will be given the option of revising for another evaluation.
A Raisin in the Sun. Students will discuss character development in connection with thematic concepts in the play.
*Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion.
*Timed essay responses evaluated with the AP Rubric:
Choose one of the following themes, motifs, or symbols. Follow it throughout the play, and demonstrate how it relates to the characters and plot of the play: the value and purpose of dreams; the need to fight racial discrimination; the importance of family; the home; eat your eggs; mama’s plant; Beneatha’s hair.
*Upon completion of timed essay, students will have the opportunity to revise the essay after peer evaluation and teacher conference time. Focus will be placed on effective and appropriate vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will have the option to revise essays after teacher has assigned score.
Death of a Salesman. Discussion of Willy Loman as a tragic character. Discuss cultural expectations and how they are incorporated in the play. *Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion.
* Timed essay responses evaluated with the AP Rubric:
Follow the following themes throughout the play and compose an essay that connects the theme with the various characters and events throughout the play: reality vs. illusion; American dream; tragedy of man.
*Upon completion of timed essay, students will have the opportunity to revise the essay after peer evaluation and teacher conference time. Focus will be placed on effective appropriate vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will have the option to revise essays after teacher has assigned score.
Fences. Students will discuss the various “fences” used throughout the play. Also, character development is addressed.
*Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion.
* Outside essay:
One of the motifs that links this play to many of the plays we’ve read this semester is the notion of the cyclical pattern of family, that is, the idea that the sins and virtues of one generation are played out again in the next. How powerful is this pattern, and is there any real hope to break free of it?
* Time will be allotted for students to engage in peer evaluation and teacher conferencing concerning a wide-rage of vocabulary, sentence structure variety, attention to detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. After final evaluation by instructor, students will be given the option of
revising after teacher evaluation.
* Group discussions over key elements in the play.
WEEKS 32-33: (Postmodern and Contemporary Literature 1960-)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Students will discuss this contemporary work as a piece of literature in connection with the study of ethics in the medical field.
*Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion.
* Tracking Poster: Students will track key elements/ideas throughout the novel and present them visually using posters, models, or any other creative method they choose to use.
*In-class timed writing evaluated with the AP rubric:
Write an essay expressing your reaction to the message of this poem excerpt as it relates to the novel.
This man is freed from servile bonds Of hope to rise or fear to fall:
Lord of himself, though not of lands, And having nothing, yet hath all
Sir Henry Wotton, “Character of a Happy Life,” 1614
* Upon completion of timed essay, students will have the opportunity to
revise the essay after peer evaluation and teacher conference time. Focus will be placed on effective and appropriate vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will have the option to revise essays after teacher has assigned score.
The Things They Carried. Students will study this contemporary piece of literature in relation to O’Brien’s writing style as well as make the connection to the concept of the importance one places with his/her important items.
*Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion. *In-class timed writing evaluated with AP Rubric:
Students will track the elements of “bravery” and “effects of war” throughout the novel. Students will then respond to these elements in connection to society’s views.
* Upon completion of timed essay, students will have the opportunity to revise the essay after peer evaluation and teacher conference time. Focus will be placed on effective and appropriate vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will have the option to revise essays after teacher has assigned score.
*Class group discussions and presentations.
WEEK 34: (Short Story Unit)
Students will read the short stories below and evaluate them making judgments, evaluating using inferences and conclusions.
“The Story of an Hour”
“Araby”-style, diction, syntax, simile and metaphor
“Rocking Horse Winner”-irony and symbol
“Fall of the House of Usher”-Poe’s style
“A Good Man is Hard to Find”-O’Connor’s irony
“The Yellow Wallpaper”—classic short fiction
“Young Goodman Brown”-classic short fiction
“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”-classic short fiction
“How Far she Went”-classic short fiction
*Reading/reaction logs to aid in class discussion.
*Students will complete a research paper over one short story writer we
The paper will require students to research and document what critics have stated about the writer in connection with his works. The paper must use the MLA style of documentation and be approximately three to four pages in length. *Time will be allotted for students to engage in peer evaluation and teacher conferencing concerning a wide-rage of vocabulary, sentence
structure variety, attention to detail, and the effective use of rhetoric.
After final evaluation by instructor, students will be given the option of revising after teacher evaluation.
WEEKS 35-36 AP Practice Exam
Students practice/review key literary elements while discussing key point from our selected reading for use on the open essay.
Bibliography
Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood. New York: Vintage Books, 1993.
Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. New York: Bantam Books, 1981.
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1990. DiYanni, Robert. Literature Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Boston: McGraw
Hill, 2007.
studied.
Hardy, Thomas. Tess of d’Urbervilles. New York: Bantam Books, 1971. Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables. New York: Pocket Books, 1964.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York:
Harperperennial Modern Classics, 2006.
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1989. Irving, John. A Prayer for Owen Meany. New York: Ballantine Books, 2001. Kafka, Fanz, The Metamorphosis. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 1993. Kesey, Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. New York: The Viking Press,
1962.
O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. New York: Broadway Books, 1990. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Bantam Books, 1980.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Bantam Books, 1981.
Stoppard, Tom. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. New York: Grove
Press, 1967.
Wilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest. New York: New American
Library, 1985.
Please note the following important points:
GRADING: Grades are earned by participation, timely completion of work, and accuracy of work. Point values are given for all assignments. For example, if an assignment is given worth ten points, students' papers would read the number of points earned over ten possible. The grade scale is concurrent with the Board of Education adopted scale. Progress book is updated once weekly, at minimum. I do not weight any grades; I simply make assignments worth the point value deemed worthy by the complexity of the task and the amount of time spent on it. If students are caught cheating or plagiarizing on any assignment (tests, class work, projects, or research papers), THE STUDENT WILL BE GIVEN A ZERO! Late work is highly discouraged, as late work is not accepted in college, and this is a college-level course.
HOMEWORK: Students have homework almost nightly in this course. Students are given weekly plans electronically and in the print version every Friday. These plans list what is due daily. Students know exactly what their work is for the coming week. Vocabulary tests are Thursdays. Essay rewrites are usually the only addition to the weekly plans. Homework, including essay rewrites, are expected to be submitted ON TIME.
TESTS: All students in this course are expected to take two full-length practice tests.
AP ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION COURSE SYLLABUS 2022-2023
School Profile:
Grades: 9-12
Type: Public High School Total Enrollment: 798 students
Course Overview:
Percentage of Minorities: 93% Caucasian, .8% African American, 5% Multiracial, 2% Other
College Record: 54% enroll into a four-year college/university, 5% into military, 2%
into a vocational school
The AP English Literature and Composition course is comprised
of seniors who have completed the Honors 9, Honors 10, and Honors 11 courses at our high school. These students begin the year as solid writers as well as sound critical readers.
Students will read a variety of literature covering several genres from British and American writers from the sixteenth century to contemporary times. Students will be expected to complete numerous writing samples based upon these works as well as complete focused analytical essays from past AP Exams. Writing coverage is extensive with in-class writing assignments completed every two weeks and outside writing assignments on alternate weeks. Students will engage in peer review and teacher conferencing of all written work so the writer is actively engaged in the writing process. Students will also be given the option to revise teacher evaluated assignments. In addition, coverage of vocabulary, grammar instruction as the need dictates, and practice writing college application essays is also addressed.
This course is taught as a college-level course with emphasis on students’ preparation for the AP English Literature Exam in May.
Upon completion of the course, students will have a sound knowledge of the studied writers/works as well as how to best approach the exam.
Required Texts and Materials:
See attached bibliography.
Performance Tasks:
Timed essay responses practiced biweekly. (Evaluated with the AP nine-point rubric.)
Multiple-choice samples practiced biweekly.
Outside class essays over reading selections. (Evaluated with the AP
nine-point rubric.)
*Rewrites and corrections on each paper
Research projects/papers evaluated with a rubric containing similar concepts as the AP nine-point rubric.
*Rewrites and corrections on each paper
Class discussions over selected works.
Expository and persuasive literary analysis papers. (Evaluated with the
AP nine-point rubric.)
*Demonstrate understanding of rhetoric, including tone, voice, diction and sentence structure.
Snapshots (graphic organizers) over each major work. Explained below.
*Helps students review before the exam.
Reading/reaction logs kept on selected assignments.
*Students focus on tone, voice, diction and sentence structure of the writer.
Summer Reading/Activity Requirements:
Students will read the following works and prepare novel snapshots on each work. A novel snap shot is an outline form that includes the following information: complete title/author, literary movement or time period written, setting, plot summary, point of view/narrator, character map/web, themes/major ideas/motifs, recurring symbols and allusions, tone and/or tone change, connections to other works, cultural literacy box, and memorable quotes.
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Upon completion of all summer reading novels,
students will complete a three-page typed analytical response to the following prompt: When Truman Capote wrote In Cold Blood, he said that he had created a new type of book, the non-fiction novel, by applying traditional literary conventions to crime reporting. Read the attached article, “Writing history: Capote’s novel has lasting effect on journalism,” by Van Jensen. Using both the attached article and the novel, demonstrate how Capote uses literary conventions to “tell” his story. Be certain to use specific, illustrative detail for support, MLA documentation style, including a Works Cited page, and a font no larger than 12 point. Arial is the preferred type style and the length is expected to be at least 800 words.
WEEK 1:
The Awakening, with a discussion over women’s roles in the late nineteenth-century and how Chopin demonstrates these roles in her work.
*Essay test over the novel and these key concepts.
WEEK 2:
WEEK 3:
*Writing prompt focuses on the roles of women in society. Students address the argument on if and how women are placed in certain “roles” based upon societal pressures. In the essay, students state their position and provide specific detail from the novel for support for their argument. Time will be allotted for peer evaluation and teacher conferencing with specific attention given to appropriate and effective vocabulary usage, varied sentence structures, balanced detail, and an effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone, establishing and maintaining voice, and achieving appropriate emphasis through diction and sentence structure.
A Prayer for Owen Meany, with discussion over the numerous themes apparent in the novel.
*In-class essay over the novel:
In advising Johnny about writing his Master’s thesis, Owen quoted one of Thomas Hardy’s literary observations in page
519: “A story must be exceptional enough to justify its telling. We storytellers are all ancient mariners, and none of us is justified in stopping wedding guests unless he has something more unusual to relate than the ordinary experiences of every average man and woman.” Explain how A Prayer for Owen
Meany does or does not justify the telling. Discuss the literary techniques that play a large part in this story’s success or failure— plot, characterization, diction, tone, voice, theme, narrative framework (how the story is told).
Brave New World, with a focus on the utopian views in society and a relation to modern-day scientific advances.
*Test over novel.
WEEK 4:
In Cold Blood, with discussions about the contrasts in journalistic writing and novel writing.
* Test over novel.
WEEK 5:
Share sample multiple-choice tests and discuss the types of questions and how they are written.
* Complete sample multiple-choice tests.
WEEK 6: (College Admission Essay/Scholarship Applications) Students collect their applications from schools to which they plan to
apply. We review the prompts and discuss what makes a good application essay. We also use various web sites to view good and bad essays. Students and teacher peer-evaluate the essays and offer suggestions for improvement: sentence structures, details, and word usage.
* Students complete essays that may be used for their real
applications. Time will be allotted for self-evaluation as well as peer evaluation, teacher conference time, and revision before completion.
WEEKS 7-9: (Poetry Study)
Poetry Terms reviewed/covered:
Narrative/lyric poetry
Speaker/tone
Diction
Imagery—denotation & connotation
Figurative language—metaphor, allusion
Symbolism/allegory
Syntax
Rhyme/assonance/alliteration
Rhythm and meter
The above elements are covered while studying the following works:
“War is Kind”; “My Last Duchess”; ”Naming of Parts”; “Miniver Cheevy”;
“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”; “Beauteous Evening”; “Delight in Disorder”; “Rape”; “First Death in Nova Scotia”; “ Lake Isle of Innisfree”; “Meeting at Night”; “Heat”; “Neutral Tones”; “That time of year thou may’st in me behold”; “Hymn to God the Father”; “The Double Play”; “The Battle”; “Woman to Child”; “Advice to my Son”; “Uphill”; “Poison Tree”; “Road Not Taken”; “Because I could not stop for death”; “Sun Rising”; “Man He Killed”; “Silken Tent”; “In the Valley”; “During Wind and Rain”; “Sound and Sense”; “Her Kind”; “The Waking”; “The City”
*Practice poetry free-response questions from past exams.
* A focus of this unit is how each poetic element contributes to the
purpose of the poem.
*Students choose individual poets and compose a series of essays (a total
of five, the final one is 10 pages long) analyzing single and then, in the long essay, multiple poetic elements and how they contribute to the purpose of a single poem.
*Students will be given the opportunity to peer evaluate with classmates as well as conference with the teacher concerning a wide-range of
vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and an effective use of rhetoric.
WEEKS 10-12: Romanticism (1800-1860)
Frankenstein (this novel is studied during these weeks to coincide with October 31st activities at school.)
Students engage in a three-week study of the novel and focus on how
Mary Shelley addresses the controversial issue of man’s quest for knowledge and the balance with moral and ethical principals. The frame narrative is discussed.
*Essay completed over the novel as well as the creation of the monster in the likeness of Shelley’s creature. Students will have to engage in cross- curricular research to discover how scientists during Shelley’s time were experimenting with the concept of life/creation. Students must also make the connection of how this preliminary research has affected us today. This encourages students to mirror the connection Frankenstein made with his creature. Time will be allotted for self evaluation, peer evaluation, and teacher conference time before completion—including a focus on vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail and understanding of rhetoric—tone, voice. Students will then have the opportunity to revise after teacher evaluation has been determined.
WEEKS 13-14: (Greek Tragedy/Tragic Hero Study)
Students read/study Oedipus the King and Antigone by Sophocles. Elements of the tragic hero as well as character studies and recurring images are studied.
*Students will maintain a reading/reaction log while completing assigned
reading assignments. This will aid in class discussions. *Essay writing and check-point quizzes over the works:
Aristotle states that in true tragedy, a noble person of high estate falls from grace due to his/her hamartia—an error or transgression which could be excessive pride(hubris) or some other tragic flaw. His downfall results from his own actions. As he is capable of making choices, he is also capable of accepting the consequences. As he does this, he learns and grows, but his fall may take his life or make him pay some other great price. Discuss how closely Oedipus fits this definition of the tragic hero using details from the play. Judge how well Oedipus would fit Aristotle’s definition of the tragic hero. Time will be allotted for self evaluation, peer evaluation, and teacher conference time before completion. Evaluation emphasis will be placed upon a wide-range of vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will be given the option to revise essays after teacher’s assigned evaluation.
WEEKS 15-17: English Renaissance (1500-1660) Shakespeare
Othello, Macbeth, Hamlet, with connections amongst the works and the elements of tragedy. Students will engage in the richness of the language as well as character study and development.
* Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion. * Timed-writing essays over all three works:
Othello: Othello’s success as a leader of men and his failure as a husband; Othello’s fatal flaw and its result; contrast the behaviors of Bianca, Emilia, and Desdemona toward their mates. This will be evaluated according to the nine-point writing rubric.
Macbeth: Follow the motifs of sleep; borrowed robes; blood and water and discuss how they recur throughout the play. How do these help to unify the play and contribute to its themes?
Hamlet: Hamlet is a play which deals with the loss of innocence; Hamlet shows a conflict between the real and the ideal; Hamlet contrasts what “seems” and what “is” (truth and reality); In a tragedy, the hero normally comes to the realization of a truth of which he had been hitherto unaware. There is, as Aristotle has it, “a change from ignorance to knowledge.” Apply this notion to a discussion of Hamlet.
*As a connection’s assignment, students will read Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and engage in comparison activities as well as written-response comparisons. Time will be allotted for self evaluation, peer evaluation, and teacher conference before completion. Evaluation emphasis will be placed upon a wide-range of vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will be given the opportunity to revise after teacher assigns grade.
WEEKS 18: Advertising Unit
Students will study the various techniques advertisers use to convince consumers to purchase their product. Students will prepare a poster that displays at least five techniques and written explanations detailing the technique.
WEEKS 19: AP Practice Exam
Taken during semester exam week.
WEEKS 20-23: Victorian Period (1830-1901)
Tess of D’Urbervilles
Students will discuss the development of the character Tess throughout the novel and apply these to the Victorian Era. *Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion.
* In-class timed writing evaluated with AP Rubric: (Choose One)
Discuss Hardy’s treatment of religion in Tess. How does his
portrayal of Christianity fit the theme of the novel?
Discuss the theme of alienation in Tess. How do the events of Tess’s life illustrate this theme?
* Time will be allotted for self evaluation, peer evaluation, and teacher conference after completion. Evaluation emphasis will be placed upon a wide-range of vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of
generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will be given the opportunity to revise after teacher assigns grade.
*Class group discussions and presentations of a character tracking
assignment.
Les Miserables
Students work on character development of Valjean and Javart throughout the novel.
*Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion.
*Group discussion and analysis of the characters.
*In-class timed writing evaluated with AP Rubric:
Complete a character study of Javert. Formulate a thesis statement
that reveals who Javert really is and why he conducts himself in the manner that he does. Why can’t he leave Valjean alone? Why can’t he believe people do truly change?
*Upon completion of timed essay, students will have the opportunity to revise the essay after peer-evaluation and teacher conference
time. Focus will be placed on effective and appropriate vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric.
The Importance of Being Earnest
Students will focus on the comic aspect of the characters within the Victorian Period.
*Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion.
*Group discussion and analysis of the characters.
*In-class timed writing evaluated with AP Rubric:
Why or how is The Importance of Being Earnest funny? Analyze some aspects of Wildean wit. Is there a difference between being “witty” and being “funny”?
WEEKS 24-27: (Modern Period: 1901-1960)
Heart of Darkness. Students will engage in discussion concerning the darkness of mankind and the use of inference and symbolism. *Timed essay responses evaluated with AP Rubric.
A number of times the river (the Congo) is described as a snake. In the Bible, the snake is an obvious symbol. Can you suggest any relationship between these two symbols?
Ambiguity is when a word has two or more meanings. Address at least three different ways the word “heart” is used in this novel.
Kurtz, we find out, has a dark, savage side and a good, moral side. Make an argument for the position that Conrad believes, given the right conditions, Kurtz could represent all of us.
*Upon completion of timed essay, students will have the opportunity to revise the essay after peer evaluation and teacher conference time. Focus will be placed on effective appropriate vocabulary usage,
sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will be given the option to revise essays after teacher’s assigned evaluation.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Students will engage in discussion and analysis of Hurston’s character and setting and the African American culture/ideas.
* In-class timed writing evaluated with AP Rubric.
*Follow the development of Janie throughout the novel. How does
Hurston show Janie’s progression to freedom throughout the novel?
* Upon completion of timed essay, students will have the opportunity to
revise the essay after peer evaluation and teacher conference time. Focus will be placed on effective appropriate vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will be given the option to revise after assigned teacher evaluation.
*Group discussion and analysis of the novel/material.
The Metamorphosis
Students participate in discussions/activities relating Kafka’s life to the character Gregor in the novel.
*In-class timed writing evaluated with AP Rubric:
In Classics in Modern Fiction, author Irving Howe discusses the character Gregor and his inability to communicate, his sense of alienation and insecurity, and his sense of insignificance and inferiority. Respond to this discussion showing how Kafka effectively relates these themes. What literary elements does he use to help portray them?
* Upon completion of timed essay, students will have the opportunity to revise the essay after peer evaluation and teacher conference time. Focus will be placed on effective appropriate vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will be given the option to revise after assigned teacher evaluation.
WEEKS 28-31: (The Modern Realistic Theater)
A Doll House. Students will focus on women’s roles in the nineteenth- century and how these tie into the overall elements within the play. *Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion.
*Outside essay:
Ibsen wrote the following in his preliminary notes to A Doll’s House: “A woman cannot be herself in contemporary society; it is an exclusively male society with laws drafted by men, and with counsel and judges who judge feminine conduct from the male point of view.” Discuss how
Nora and Christine illustrate Ibsen’s thought.
An individual’s struggle toward understanding and awareness is the traditional subject for the novelist or dramatist. Apply this statement
to A Doll’s House. Organize your essay according to the following plan:
1) Compare the hero as we see her in an early scene with the hero as we see her in a scene near the end of the play. 2) Describe the techniques that the author uses to reveal the new understanding and awareness that Nora has attained.
*Time will be allotted for students to engage in peer evaluation and teacher conferencing concerning a wide-range of vocabulary, sentence structure variety, attention to detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. After final evaluation by instructor, students will be given the option of revising for another evaluation.
A Raisin in the Sun. Students will discuss character development in connection with thematic concepts in the play.
*Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion.
*Timed essay responses evaluated with the AP Rubric:
Choose one of the following themes, motifs, or symbols. Follow it throughout the play, and demonstrate how it relates to the characters and plot of the play: the value and purpose of dreams; the need to fight racial discrimination; the importance of family; the home; eat your eggs; mama’s plant; Beneatha’s hair.
*Upon completion of timed essay, students will have the opportunity to revise the essay after peer evaluation and teacher conference time. Focus will be placed on effective and appropriate vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will have the option to revise essays after teacher has assigned score.
Death of a Salesman. Discussion of Willy Loman as a tragic character. Discuss cultural expectations and how they are incorporated in the play. *Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion.
* Timed essay responses evaluated with the AP Rubric:
Follow the following themes throughout the play and compose an essay that connects the theme with the various characters and events throughout the play: reality vs. illusion; American dream; tragedy of man.
*Upon completion of timed essay, students will have the opportunity to revise the essay after peer evaluation and teacher conference time. Focus will be placed on effective appropriate vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will have the option to revise essays after teacher has assigned score.
Fences. Students will discuss the various “fences” used throughout the play. Also, character development is addressed.
*Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion.
* Outside essay:
One of the motifs that links this play to many of the plays we’ve read this semester is the notion of the cyclical pattern of family, that is, the idea that the sins and virtues of one generation are played out again in the next. How powerful is this pattern, and is there any real hope to break free of it?
* Time will be allotted for students to engage in peer evaluation and teacher conferencing concerning a wide-rage of vocabulary, sentence structure variety, attention to detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. After final evaluation by instructor, students will be given the option of
revising after teacher evaluation.
* Group discussions over key elements in the play.
WEEKS 32-33: (Postmodern and Contemporary Literature 1960-)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Students will discuss this contemporary work as a piece of literature in connection with the study of ethics in the medical field.
*Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion.
* Tracking Poster: Students will track key elements/ideas throughout the novel and present them visually using posters, models, or any other creative method they choose to use.
*In-class timed writing evaluated with the AP rubric:
Write an essay expressing your reaction to the message of this poem excerpt as it relates to the novel.
This man is freed from servile bonds Of hope to rise or fear to fall:
Lord of himself, though not of lands, And having nothing, yet hath all
Sir Henry Wotton, “Character of a Happy Life,” 1614
* Upon completion of timed essay, students will have the opportunity to
revise the essay after peer evaluation and teacher conference time. Focus will be placed on effective and appropriate vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will have the option to revise essays after teacher has assigned score.
The Things They Carried. Students will study this contemporary piece of literature in relation to O’Brien’s writing style as well as make the connection to the concept of the importance one places with his/her important items.
*Reading/reaction log to aid in class discussion. *In-class timed writing evaluated with AP Rubric:
Students will track the elements of “bravery” and “effects of war” throughout the novel. Students will then respond to these elements in connection to society’s views.
* Upon completion of timed essay, students will have the opportunity to revise the essay after peer evaluation and teacher conference time. Focus will be placed on effective and appropriate vocabulary usage, sentence structure variety, a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail, and the effective use of rhetoric. Students will have the option to revise essays after teacher has assigned score.
*Class group discussions and presentations.
WEEK 34: (Short Story Unit)
Students will read the short stories below and evaluate them making judgments, evaluating using inferences and conclusions.
“The Story of an Hour”
“Araby”-style, diction, syntax, simile and metaphor
“Rocking Horse Winner”-irony and symbol
“Fall of the House of Usher”-Poe’s style
“A Good Man is Hard to Find”-O’Connor’s irony
“The Yellow Wallpaper”—classic short fiction
“Young Goodman Brown”-classic short fiction
“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”-classic short fiction
“How Far she Went”-classic short fiction
*Reading/reaction logs to aid in class discussion.
*Students will complete a research paper over one short story writer we
The paper will require students to research and document what critics have stated about the writer in connection with his works. The paper must use the MLA style of documentation and be approximately three to four pages in length. *Time will be allotted for students to engage in peer evaluation and teacher conferencing concerning a wide-rage of vocabulary, sentence
structure variety, attention to detail, and the effective use of rhetoric.
After final evaluation by instructor, students will be given the option of revising after teacher evaluation.
WEEKS 35-36 AP Practice Exam
Students practice/review key literary elements while discussing key point from our selected reading for use on the open essay.
Bibliography
Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood. New York: Vintage Books, 1993.
Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. New York: Bantam Books, 1981.
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1990. DiYanni, Robert. Literature Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Boston: McGraw
Hill, 2007.
studied.
Hardy, Thomas. Tess of d’Urbervilles. New York: Bantam Books, 1971. Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables. New York: Pocket Books, 1964.
Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York:
Harperperennial Modern Classics, 2006.
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1989. Irving, John. A Prayer for Owen Meany. New York: Ballantine Books, 2001. Kafka, Fanz, The Metamorphosis. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 1993. Kesey, Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. New York: The Viking Press,
1962.
O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. New York: Broadway Books, 1990. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Bantam Books, 1980.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Bantam Books, 1981.
Stoppard, Tom. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. New York: Grove
Press, 1967.
Wilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest. New York: New American
Library, 1985.