Syllabus+for+AP+Literature

ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION SYLLABUS ABBREVIATED COURSE OVERVIEW The Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition course is designed to provide the opportunity for the able, motivated student to do college-level work in high school. Following the curricular requirements detailed in the AP English Literature and Composition Course Description, we will study writing and the basics of rhetorical theory, including structure, creativity, style (diction, syntax, details, figurative language), and appeals (ethos, pathos, logos). In AP Literature class, students will study and practice composition skills, close, detailed reading strategies, and critical and analytical interpretations. True, most students will have as a goal to obtain credit for College English, and through avenues of reading literature from a wide range of authors and examining the process of thought and self-expression, our community of learners will prepare for the examination and for collegiate and career writings. Our year is divided into six thematic units. Students should expect to have at least two in-class essays and at least two papers of 600 words each per unit. In the second semester, students will write a research paper, an analysis of some aspect of a novel or play. Because we are “works in progress,” our writings should exhibit editing and revision. Equally, because we practice writing and write frequently, one should expect that certain writings will be revised and polished into final drafts. Eventually, these masterpieces of communication will be housed in an English portfolio. The portfolio will be divided into sections in coordination with our studies in this class, and the portfolio will show proof of scholarship and writing ability. Along the journey to the final portfolio, you will experience lessons in class which will work and rework the use of vocabulary, the recognition of denotation and connotation of words, and the effective and correct use of words. Along with diction, lessons will emphasize logical and coherent organization of thoughts, the appropriate working of the thesis, the introduction, and the conclusion. Also, the use of proper, complete, and effective sentences will be studied and included with the revision process. The arrangement of words and sentences and the ability to use a variety of sentence patterns and structures will be focal points in the writing process and contribute most effectively to the writer’s style.

GRADING SCALE Numerical Letter Grade 93-100 A 85-92 B 75-84 C 70-74 D 0-69 F

FIRST SEMESTER

UNIT ONE: IDENTITY Essential Questions · Who am I? ·  How do individuals develop values and beliefs? Diagnostic Reading and Writing Introduction to Genre/Literature: Reading, analyzing, and composing; developing analytical/interpretive ideas

Poetry: Review basic literary terms, including tone, speaker, situation, metaphor, simile, forms, and structures, such as the sonnet and valediction. In-class reading selections from the Bedford text

Short Story: Analysis and interpretation; author’s purpose; identification of major elements; using Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” and Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” Introduce cultural criticism of authors; setting as time, place, cultural context, the importance and effects of setting; symbolism; generalizations

Novel: Summer Reading Selections; dialectic journal

Basics of Composition: Bridging the persuasive writing emphasis in the eleventh grade; reviewing evidence and support; thesis; claim; academic voice; diction; purpose; correct manuscript form; Internet sources

Writing: Sentence sense/sentence patterns (Harbrace Handbook, chapter one through three) Writing: several creative responses Timed In-class Writing Annotation; sentence variety Thesis statement review Writing: Revision exercise; “A Closer Look at My Writing”, self- assessment and reflection on writing; Parallel Assignments; poetry response Essential Questions · How do our values and beliefs shape who we are as individuals and influence our behavior? · How are people transformed through their relationships with others?

Drama: __Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,__ William Shakespeare

Writing: critical analysis on some aspect of __Hamlet__; Revisions using global revision technique; review using descriptive adjectives; correctly integrating quotations In-class Writings; poetry responses

Vocabulary

UNIT TWO: NATURE, TECHNOLOGY, AND CREATION OF SELF Essential Questions · When is it appropriate to challenge the beliefs or values of society? · How do individuals reconcile competing belief systems within a given society (e.g., moral beliefs conflicting with legal codes)?

Poetry: “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” an introduction to __Frankenstein__; several poems from the Bedford text Novel: __Frankenstein__ ; discussion of style of an author and what contributes to the style of the author; movements in literature (Romanticism, Naturalism, Existentialism, etc.)

Writing: In class writings; college essay reminders “Thinking Critically about Visual Images” (Bedford Reader); agreement (subject/verb and pronoun/antecedent; identifying the antecedent); poetry responses Major Writing Assignments: Parallel assignment/Comparison/contrast essay, analyzing two poems, possibly with a work of art as well Review of the methods of development. Review of introduction; the structure of literary arguments; “Framing an Argumentative Thesis”; developing and supporting the thesis; introductions; “Writing Arguments” (pages 516-545 Harbrace); sentence structure and variety; subordination and coordination (chp. 24 Harbrace); specific details and generalizations Revision: “Questions for Revision” and “Questions for Editing” (from __Bedford__ __Reader__) Irony and tone Vocabulary: Intense vocabulary study in preparation for __Frankenstein;__ exactness in use of vocabulary; wordiness and needless repetition

UNIT THREE: DISCOVERING OUR SELVES, OUR PROMISES, OUR FAULTS Essential Questions · Can literature be a vehicle for social change? · What are the responsibilities of the individual in regard to issues of social justice?

Novel: __A__ __Lesson before Dying__; how issues are reflected in literature; symbolism and description; conventional symbols; archetypes Poetry: Emily Bronte’s poetry and Sylvia Plath’s poetry “Wuthering Heights” as a review to poetry and a transition to the novel __Wuthering Heights.__

Essential Questions · To what extent does a culture or society shape an individual’s understanding or concept of happiness? · What are the potential conflicts when one person’s reality is another person’s illusion?

Novel: __Wuthering Heights__: culture and history; how social and cultural issues influence authors; use of parallelism in literature; comparison and contrast of the two houses, two settings, characters; literary criticism, including Joyce Carol Oates.

Writing: Narration, description, and organization; focus on verbs used; active and passive voice; stylistic exercises In-class Writings, Parallel Assignment on __A Lesson before Dying__ Revision Exercises: Focus on specific and concrete language; using the “Literary Present” Writing: Revision of thesis and introduction; revising and editing drafts; discuss the importance of the conclusion in writing; sentence unity (chp. 23 Harbrace); poetry responses . Styles and how authors develop style; Use of parallel structure (multiple examples from Gaines) and ambiguity; parallelism (chp. 26 in Harbrace) Parallel assignment on __Wuthering__ __Heights__ (usually a former question 3 from an AP exam)

Vocabulary: Assessing usage within rhetorical situations; denotations and connotations

UNIT FOUR: FACING ISSUES

Essential Questions · How does one’s perspective shape or alter truth? · In a culture where we are bombarded with other people and other things trying to define us, how do we make decisions for ourselves? · How is who we want to be as revealing as who we are and how we are perceived by others?

Poetry: Shakespearean and Italian sonnets; form and structure; poetry meter revisited; Literary analysis of a variety of poems; Discuss works of Walt Whitman, E. A. Robinson, and contemporary authors from text Tone and style

Drama: __Macbeth__; review of the tragedy; the theme of power and motivation; influence

Writing: analysis of a sonnet; peer editing and revision; working with commas and essential/nonessential clauses; passive and active voice review; voice of verbs; emphasis and variety in writing (chps. 29 and 30 in Harbrace); being concise (coordinate with vocabulary); revision work on sentence variety pages 370-380 Harbrace Handbook In-class writings Outside of Class: Parallel assignments; poetry responses Writing: Research Paper analyzing an aspect of the novel; review the basic concept of the Research Paper (chp. 34 in Harbrace); Revision exercises to work on logical organization, using repetition, and transitions

UNIT FIVE: LESSONS TO LEARN

Essential Questions · How do we define who we are? · How do we form and shape our identities? · Is humankind inherently good or evil? <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· Have the forces of good and evil changed over time and if so, how? <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· Are we governed/guided by fate, freewill, a greater power, or do we fall somewhere on the spectrum between? Drama: __ Oedipus Rex__; the Classics Allusions Short Story Groups

Drama: __A Doll House__: Realism and Naturalism; the well-made play; Selected works; elements of satire –defining and identifying irony, satire, sarcasm, and humor; excerpts from novels such as __Gulliver’s Travels__ and __The__ __Adventures of Huckleberry Finn__

Writing: Critical Analysis/Evaluation of __Oedipus Rex;__ Parallel Assignments; Demonstrating control of tone through precise diction, appropriate syntax, and logical sequencing of paragraphs In-class Writings Writing: Review of the literary analysis (chp. 35 Harbrace ) Review for AP test

UNIT SIX: INTEGRITY OR IDENTITY REVISITED

Essential Questions <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· What are the benefits and consequences of questioning/challenging social order? <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· What is the meaning of life and does that shape our beliefs regarding death?

Review for AP test Review of Literary Works for Question 3 Novel:__ 1984__; discussion of satire

Writings: Literary Analysis/Parallel Assignment on __1984__ Parallel syntax; formal/informal diction In-class Writings; Parallel Assignments Vocabulary

Adopted Textbooks Glenn, Cheryl, Et. al. __Hodges Harbrace Handbook__. Fifteenth Edition. United States: Thomson Heinle, 2004.

Meyer, Michael. __The Bedford Introduction to Literature__. Seventh Edition. Boston: St. Martin’s Press, 2005.

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