AP Language & Composition
Course Overview
Course Overview
AP Language & Composition
Joel E. Ferris High School
Instructor: Sara Wilde-Scott
[email protected]
www.wildeenglish.com
Parents: Please read the highlighted topic areas only; your student is responsible for knowing the rest. The FAQs handout may answer many of your questions and is one page only.
Welcome to Advanced Placement English Language and Composition. I am pleased that you have chosen to take on the challenge this class will provide for you. As an AP student, you are between two worlds; an AP course is college-level work, yet it is taken while you are still in high school.
Our focus in AP Lang (my abbreviation) will be on argument, appeals, and rhetoric. The AP Lang course is focused on the study of non-fiction in all its varied forms—essays, narratives, speeches, articles, current events. Non-fiction is a literature of fact, but it is also a literature of variety and creativity. The writing that you do will primarily emulate and analyze these texts.
This class is intended to prepare you for the AP exam next spring, where a score of 3 or higher can provide you with possible exemption and/or credit from all or part of your college freshman English composition requirements. However, and more importantly, you are here to become a better writer, reader, speaker, and critical thinker—skills that will help you in all areas of your academic life.
Our reading will consist of a sampling from different genres, styles, time periods, and cultures, as well as selections from past AP exams. Note that this class is run as a college-level course; therefore, some of the material we will read and discuss will be more mature than what is generally encountered in high school textbooks. Because you have chosen this course, keep in mind that the topics and issues addressed may be provocative and complex, there may be coarse language on occasion (especially as we work through contemporary responses to the Constitutional Amendments) - not unlike those discussed in a college-level course. See your FAQs for my philosophy on this.
Upon completing the course, students will be able to:
POTENTIAL INDEPENDENT READING NEAR THE END OF SEMESTER ONE:
APPS SUGGESTED/REQUIRED:
REQUIRED MATERIALS (Please have the following supplies with you daily.):
Throughout the year, we will read and work with a variety of nonfiction texts to include:
Seminal documents
Speeches
Essays
Articles
Journals
Visual Rhetoric
The course is nine units - eight and one for review in April. After the exam, we will move into prep for AP Literature by reading a classic novel.
Each unit is 2-3 weeks and includes rhetoric early on, followed by argumentation and, in the second semester (primarily), synthesis.
Class participation will be an important aspect to our daily schedule, and it is important that you stay on top of reading assignments. In this course, you are expected to be an active participant, as well as an active listener. Your attendance and ability to work well with your peers on assignments is imperative to your success in this class. If you know you may have attendance issues, I highly recommend taking the SVL (online) version of this course. Generally, I am also the instructor for that course as well.
WRITTEN WORK:
This is a college-level English course. You are a junior or a senior (or sophomore), yet you will be treated as a college student. A primary goal of most college freshman composition courses is to provide rigorous instruction and practice in writing. The pieces we read for this course should be used as examples and models.
READING:
The goal of AP English Language is to encourage you to read widely and to consider the ideas of others. We will read from a variety of sources, old and new. We will not always agree with the writer, but it is important to consider how the argument is developed and how it impacts our own positions. Rhetoric also involves the beauty and power of words, their intended audience and impact, and delivery.
Reading is an active process. You are to read with a pen or pencil in hand so that you can record your thoughts and reactions. Annotations are critical in this course; as such, you will be instructed on what constitutes active annotation. Don’t be afraid to read twice—most pieces will need more than one reading; you will notice much more the second (or third) time through. There will be times you must present your notes in class to participate in the discussion. (Both the notes and the discussion may be worth credit.)
CONTROVERSIAL TEXTUAL CONTENT – PARENTS PLEASE READ:
Issues that might, from particular political, social, historical, or cultural viewpoints, be considered controversial, including references to ethnicities, nationalities, religions, races, dialects, gender, or class, may be addressed in texts for this AP English Language and Composition course. Fair representation of issues and peoples may occasionally include controversial material. Since AP students have chosen a program that directly involves them in college-level work, participation in this course depends on a level of maturity consistent with the age of high school students who have engaged in thoughtful analyses of a variety of texts. The best response to controversial language or ideas in a text might well be a question about the larger meaning, purpose, or overall effect of the language or idea in context. AP students should have the maturity, skill, and will to seek the larger meaning of a text or issue through thoughtful research.
While some required texts have references to violence, racial tensions, sexual situations, ethnicities, nationalities, religions, dialects, gender, or class, all have been chosen thoughtfully. Serious texts, whether chosen by a teacher or by a student, are not excluded because of controversial subject matter or coarse language. I can provide options for larger assignments that will work for your family values.
GRADING:
You are capable of doing well in this class. Your grades may be lower than what you are normally accustomed to earning, but if you continue to challenge yourself all year, you will find growth in your reading, speaking, and (especially) your writing abilities. Remember that a good attitude is more important than aptitude. As such, I grade largely on completion. Completion means the work is done at an A or B level, is fully complete (answers all questions) and is turned in on time. Some work may need to be re-done. As long as you are working to the best of your abilities, you will do well. I will not baby you, but I will support you. The grading scale of this district will be used. Understand that this is a challenging course, so the work it required of you to get an A or a B in previous English classes may not get you those grades in AP. Again, I cannot stress this enough…NOT ALL WORK GOES IN THE GRADEBOOK.
Practice - 20 percent
ATTENDANCE and MAKE-UP WORK:
I expect you to compose essays and projects of your own thoughts, ideas, and words. When referencing the words or ideas of others, you are to quote or paraphrase, giving credit to that writer. Otherwise, you are stealing (plagiarizing), and it will result in a rewrite for 50 percent.
STUDENT EXPECTATIONS:
Our classroom culture:
1. YOU HAVE TO TALK IN THIS CLASS. Silence is no longer an option for some of you. And, for the “chatterboxes,” take a break sometimes and allow others a chance to speak as well.
2. Slacking, procrastinating, or being “stressed out”—these explain but do not excuse. Just do the work.
3. Maintain a positive attitude—think of this Advanced Placement class as an adventure.
EXTRA HELP:
Please understand that I am here to help you and to support you. We have much work ahead of us, and you will be taking on what may be a (new) role in your own learning. You are encouraged to come to me if you need help—we can meet anytime. Don’t wait until the last minute and expect miracles; ask me for assistance as soon as you feel you are struggling. I can come early to help you if needed. You can always email me if you need help.
AP TEST:
Taking the AP test is encouraged as the research shows that students who take AP tests are more likely to graduate from college. However, the test is optional, and the fee of $90 is the student’s responsibility. You may save thousands in the long term.
TEAMS:
Major assignments will be turned in through Teams. Otherwise, we rarely use this platform.
RESTROOM/LOCKER PASSES:
Please make every effort to use the restroom before class begins. I don't like class disrupted, so just go and come back quickly. Take the pass; it is required. Please do not abuse this policy
DRILLS / FIRE DRILLS / LOCK-DOWN DRILLS
Students and parents must read and complete the handout that was given in class. Students must return the completed form to class that acknowledges that you read this.
Joel E. Ferris High School
Instructor: Sara Wilde-Scott
[email protected]
www.wildeenglish.com
Parents: Please read the highlighted topic areas only; your student is responsible for knowing the rest. The FAQs handout may answer many of your questions and is one page only.
Welcome to Advanced Placement English Language and Composition. I am pleased that you have chosen to take on the challenge this class will provide for you. As an AP student, you are between two worlds; an AP course is college-level work, yet it is taken while you are still in high school.
Our focus in AP Lang (my abbreviation) will be on argument, appeals, and rhetoric. The AP Lang course is focused on the study of non-fiction in all its varied forms—essays, narratives, speeches, articles, current events. Non-fiction is a literature of fact, but it is also a literature of variety and creativity. The writing that you do will primarily emulate and analyze these texts.
This class is intended to prepare you for the AP exam next spring, where a score of 3 or higher can provide you with possible exemption and/or credit from all or part of your college freshman English composition requirements. However, and more importantly, you are here to become a better writer, reader, speaker, and critical thinker—skills that will help you in all areas of your academic life.
Our reading will consist of a sampling from different genres, styles, time periods, and cultures, as well as selections from past AP exams. Note that this class is run as a college-level course; therefore, some of the material we will read and discuss will be more mature than what is generally encountered in high school textbooks. Because you have chosen this course, keep in mind that the topics and issues addressed may be provocative and complex, there may be coarse language on occasion (especially as we work through contemporary responses to the Constitutional Amendments) - not unlike those discussed in a college-level course. See your FAQs for my philosophy on this.
Upon completing the course, students will be able to:
- interpret and analyze samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques;
- employ effective strategies and techniques in their 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 their own writings;
- write in a variety of genres and contexts, both formal and informal, employing appropriate conventions;
- produce expository and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex central idea and develop it with appropriate, specific evidence, cogent explanations, and clear transitions; and
- move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing, and review.
- critical reading strategies and practices;
- a wide-ranging vocabulary used appropriately and effectively;
- a variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of subordination and coordination;
- a logical organization in writing, enhanced by specific techniques to increase coherence, such as repetition, transitions, and emphasis;
- a balance of generalization and specific illustrative detail; and
- an effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone, establishing and maintaining voice, and achieving appropriate emphasis through diction and sentence structure.
POTENTIAL INDEPENDENT READING NEAR THE END OF SEMESTER ONE:
- Into the Wild
- Beautiful Boy
- Just Mercy (not YA version)
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
- The Coddling of the American Mind
- Dreamland
- No One Cares About Crazy People
APPS SUGGESTED/REQUIRED:
- Hoopla
- NYT; FOX News - R
- National Evening News (ABC, CBS, NBC) or CNN/FOX Headline News
- BBC World News - Check local listings for Public Television - R
- The Daily Show / The Colbert Report (Comedy Central, check local listings)
REQUIRED MATERIALS (Please have the following supplies with you daily.):
- One three-ring binder (1 in. or 1.5 in.)
- Dividers for the three-ring binder
- Loose-leaf paper
- Package(s) of Post-It Notes (various colors)
- Index Cards - YOU WILL NEED A MILLION OF THESE.
- Paper, pens, highlighters – blue, green, yellow and orange
- Earbuds or Headphones
- Laptop and charger (no daily loaners) – please be fully charged for class.
Throughout the year, we will read and work with a variety of nonfiction texts to include:
Seminal documents
Speeches
Essays
Articles
Journals
Visual Rhetoric
The course is nine units - eight and one for review in April. After the exam, we will move into prep for AP Literature by reading a classic novel.
Each unit is 2-3 weeks and includes rhetoric early on, followed by argumentation and, in the second semester (primarily), synthesis.
Class participation will be an important aspect to our daily schedule, and it is important that you stay on top of reading assignments. In this course, you are expected to be an active participant, as well as an active listener. Your attendance and ability to work well with your peers on assignments is imperative to your success in this class. If you know you may have attendance issues, I highly recommend taking the SVL (online) version of this course. Generally, I am also the instructor for that course as well.
WRITTEN WORK:
This is a college-level English course. You are a junior or a senior (or sophomore), yet you will be treated as a college student. A primary goal of most college freshman composition courses is to provide rigorous instruction and practice in writing. The pieces we read for this course should be used as examples and models.
- WRITER’S NOTEBOOK: Informal writing is a great way to record thoughts on readings, observations, and ideas. It is a place for DEEP THINKING and INTELLECTUAL IDEAS and should be at least 250 words per entry. We expect depth of thought, response to reading/class issues, voice/style, and length. Use your notebook to peel away the layers and get into the deeper issues of the course. Merely writing 250 words does not guarantee full credit.
- TIMED ESSAYS: You will complete 40-minute timed analytic, argument, and synthesis essays that will be graded according to the AP English rubric. These will be completed in class.
- Writing is a process, and everyone has different strengths and abilities as a write. I want to see you grow this year. Everyone will start and end in different places. We will work together to strengthen your writing, and we will also work together as a class to help each other. Use your readings as well to emulate the writing of different styles that you find effective in both argument and style.
Formal essays should always be typed, double spaced, in an easy-to-read font (11- or 12-point), titled, with no more than 1.0 inch margins, and submitted according to your teacher's instructions. On all assignments you turn in, head your papers in proper MLA format. Always save a copy of your paper for future revision.
READING:
The goal of AP English Language is to encourage you to read widely and to consider the ideas of others. We will read from a variety of sources, old and new. We will not always agree with the writer, but it is important to consider how the argument is developed and how it impacts our own positions. Rhetoric also involves the beauty and power of words, their intended audience and impact, and delivery.
Reading is an active process. You are to read with a pen or pencil in hand so that you can record your thoughts and reactions. Annotations are critical in this course; as such, you will be instructed on what constitutes active annotation. Don’t be afraid to read twice—most pieces will need more than one reading; you will notice much more the second (or third) time through. There will be times you must present your notes in class to participate in the discussion. (Both the notes and the discussion may be worth credit.)
CONTROVERSIAL TEXTUAL CONTENT – PARENTS PLEASE READ:
Issues that might, from particular political, social, historical, or cultural viewpoints, be considered controversial, including references to ethnicities, nationalities, religions, races, dialects, gender, or class, may be addressed in texts for this AP English Language and Composition course. Fair representation of issues and peoples may occasionally include controversial material. Since AP students have chosen a program that directly involves them in college-level work, participation in this course depends on a level of maturity consistent with the age of high school students who have engaged in thoughtful analyses of a variety of texts. The best response to controversial language or ideas in a text might well be a question about the larger meaning, purpose, or overall effect of the language or idea in context. AP students should have the maturity, skill, and will to seek the larger meaning of a text or issue through thoughtful research.
While some required texts have references to violence, racial tensions, sexual situations, ethnicities, nationalities, religions, dialects, gender, or class, all have been chosen thoughtfully. Serious texts, whether chosen by a teacher or by a student, are not excluded because of controversial subject matter or coarse language. I can provide options for larger assignments that will work for your family values.
GRADING:
You are capable of doing well in this class. Your grades may be lower than what you are normally accustomed to earning, but if you continue to challenge yourself all year, you will find growth in your reading, speaking, and (especially) your writing abilities. Remember that a good attitude is more important than aptitude. As such, I grade largely on completion. Completion means the work is done at an A or B level, is fully complete (answers all questions) and is turned in on time. Some work may need to be re-done. As long as you are working to the best of your abilities, you will do well. I will not baby you, but I will support you. The grading scale of this district will be used. Understand that this is a challenging course, so the work it required of you to get an A or a B in previous English classes may not get you those grades in AP. Again, I cannot stress this enough…NOT ALL WORK GOES IN THE GRADEBOOK.
Practice - 20 percent
- Unless otherwise indicated, these homework and classwork assignments provide an opportunity for student learning and will therefore be given points. A loss of points will result for cheating, lack of effort, or turning in late. ANY ASSIGNMENT TURNED IN LATE (NOT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CLASS PERIOD) IS AUTOMATICALLY DEDUCTED 10%. ANY WORK THAT REQUIRES PEER EDITING OR DISCUSSION CANNOT BE RE-DONE AND WILL RECEIVE A ZERO.
- Students will demonstrate mastery of skills and content through various assessments. These may include tests, quizzes, writing, projects, etc.
ATTENDANCE and MAKE-UP WORK:
- It is understandable that, as an upperclassman, you will have a busy year of honors/awards, extracurricular activities and events, and other class obligations that may take up your time and attention, yet I expect that you honor your commitment to this class. You are ultimately responsible for time management of your obligations. It is also expected that you will be in class every day; excessive absences, excused or otherwise, have an inherent negative effect upon your grade, as you will miss valuable learning experiences that cannot be made up. Your peers are depending upon you to be present in class to help us all learn together.
If you are absent and miss a due date for a project, paper, or test, you will be expected to complete/hand in the assignment on the day you return. If you are absent for an in-class prompt, you will be expected to complete the prompt after school in my room from 7:20-8:00AM. I do not offer make-ups after school. Because timed papers are part of an ongoing process, you must meet those deadlines. Computer issues are no excuse for late work. - IT IS NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY TO REMIND YOU OR ASK YOU ABOUT HANDING IN / COMPLETING ANY MISSED ASSIGNMENTS.
- NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED DURING THE LAST TWO WEEKS OF ANY QUARTER.
I expect you to compose essays and projects of your own thoughts, ideas, and words. When referencing the words or ideas of others, you are to quote or paraphrase, giving credit to that writer. Otherwise, you are stealing (plagiarizing), and it will result in a rewrite for 50 percent.
STUDENT EXPECTATIONS:
- No phones unless given permission. This means they stay unseen in your backpack. If you are having an argument with your friend/boyfriend/girlfriend/parent/sibling, it will not be resolved in 50 minutes, so let it go. THIS IS NOT NEGOTIABLE. NOT ON THE DESK, NOT IN THE LAP.
- Fully prepared for class. All materials are expected.
- Respect others and their belongings, including that of this school.
- Be here on time. Work until the bell rings. This class is not a farm; don’t line up like cattle.
- Follow directions the first time they are given. Ask if you are unclear; I get paid to provide you with clarity and guidance.
- ADHERE TO THE BE KIND AND WORK HARD MOTTO.
Our classroom culture:
1. YOU HAVE TO TALK IN THIS CLASS. Silence is no longer an option for some of you. And, for the “chatterboxes,” take a break sometimes and allow others a chance to speak as well.
2. Slacking, procrastinating, or being “stressed out”—these explain but do not excuse. Just do the work.
3. Maintain a positive attitude—think of this Advanced Placement class as an adventure.
EXTRA HELP:
Please understand that I am here to help you and to support you. We have much work ahead of us, and you will be taking on what may be a (new) role in your own learning. You are encouraged to come to me if you need help—we can meet anytime. Don’t wait until the last minute and expect miracles; ask me for assistance as soon as you feel you are struggling. I can come early to help you if needed. You can always email me if you need help.
AP TEST:
Taking the AP test is encouraged as the research shows that students who take AP tests are more likely to graduate from college. However, the test is optional, and the fee of $90 is the student’s responsibility. You may save thousands in the long term.
TEAMS:
Major assignments will be turned in through Teams. Otherwise, we rarely use this platform.
RESTROOM/LOCKER PASSES:
Please make every effort to use the restroom before class begins. I don't like class disrupted, so just go and come back quickly. Take the pass; it is required. Please do not abuse this policy
DRILLS / FIRE DRILLS / LOCK-DOWN DRILLS
- Take all drills very seriously.
- Fire Drills - WAIT for your teacher to check the halls to make sure they are safe; then exit the room, turn right, and exit the building through the north doors.
- Lock-Down Drills – You will be directed to the Library work room. Phones will be silenced.
Students and parents must read and complete the handout that was given in class. Students must return the completed form to class that acknowledges that you read this.