A.P. English Literature and Composition
2016-2017 Summer Reading Document
othello-dialectical-journal-assignment template.docx

A.P. Literature and Composition 2016-2017

Course Overview Welcome to AP English Literature and Composition! This course will follow the curricular requirements outlined by the College Board in the AP English Literature and Composition Course Description which focuses on building skills necessary for college-level reading, writing, and critical thinking. This is considered a college-level course; this means that you will be asked to read and analyze challenging, provocative, dense, and sometimes controversial material. You will also be expected to come to class prepared to challenge yourself and others with interesting discussion points. The course design is based on the premise that the AP English Literature exam measures skills that you need in order to be successful in college. In other words, the focus of the course is not the exam; rather, it is the skill set that will lead to success on the exam and to success in college. The course will focus on improving skill sets related to confidence and facility with language; skill in critical reading, writing, and thinking; and success in academic endeavors. Students taking the AP Literature and Composition test in the spring can possibly earn 3 hours college credit, with a score of 3 (not taken at some universities), 4, or 5. This course includes using approaches that develop skills to study and write about poetry, drama, fiction and non-fiction. This course will build on the vocabulary of rhetorical techniques as well as introduce additional terms of literary analysis for poetry and fiction. We will also look specifically at strategies to identify tone, and how to apply critical theory to the texts we study. An end-of-course exam will occur for all 12th grade students, and this will account for 20% of their entire yearly grade.

Homework and Preparation In order to be successful in this class, you will come to class every day prepared to work with the text we are studying. Discussing varying aspects of literature, including style and structure, will be a daily practice. In preparation for these discussions, you will sometimes be asked to complete written homework to accompany your reading homework. Not all homework assignments will be formally graded, but all will contribute to your overall success in this course. You will also complete a number of in-class essays in which you will demonstrate both your ability to analyze a particular text as well as your ability to write well. After each writing assignment, we will discuss and debrief the prompt and work to understand the elements of a strong paper.

Cheating and Plagiarism Plagiarism is using phrases from someone else’s work without giving that person proper credit, cutting and pasting from the internet without citing sources, or turning in someone else’s work as your own. Be ETHICAL--Don’t Do It! You will receive a zero for the assignment, and I will notify your parents/guardians.

Grading unit tests, computer projects, and writing assignments will make up most of the grades in this class. Daily work should be utilized in order to practice the skills and concepts necessary for success on graded assignments (formative assessments). It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to master these skills through these formative activities in order to be successful on the summative (graded) assessments. Chances to make up tests and projects will be given on a case-by-case basis (excused absences only). Most work is due at the beginning of the class period on the day of the due date. Make-up work will be negotiable if there is an excused absence, but even excused excessive absenteeism will affect performance on most assessments. Please see me if you are having difficulty with completion of the required curriculum.

  • Tests/Essays/Presentations/Projects- 55%
  • Discussions/Homework- 10%
  • Quizzes- 10%
  • Poetry responses- 25%

Major Texts

  • Applebee, Arthur N. The Language of Literature: British Literature. McDougal Littell: Evanston, IL., 2006.
  • Booth, Alison and Kelly Mayes. The Norton Anthology to Literature. W.W. Norton & Company: NY. 2010.
  • Othello
  • Jane Eyre
  • A Doll’s House
  • The Road- To be Purchased by Student
  • A Streetcar Named Desire
  • Macbeth
  • Selected Stories and Essays