Advanced Placement

English Language and Composition

2017-18 Syllabus
Mrs. Rene Whitley
[email protected]

Summer Assignment classroom.google.com: 4gqebu

2nd hr. classroom.google.com code: u6f6hzx
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Course Description
The AP English Language and Composition course requires students to become skilled
readers of prose written in a variety of rhetorical contexts and skilled writers who
compose for a variety of purposes. Both their reading and their writing should
make students aware of interactions among a writers purposes, reader expectations,
and an authors propositional content, as well as the genre conventions and the
resources of language that contribute to effectiveness in writing.

AP English Language and Composition students will read a variety of texts. Reading
facilitates informed citizenship and thus increases students capacity to enter into
consequential conversations with others about meaningful issues. Also contributing
to students informed citizenship is their ability to gather source materials representing particular
conversations and then make their own reasonable and informed contributions
to those conversations. Students ability to engage with outside sources in their reading,
writing, and research is an important measure of their intellectual growth. While writing
represents a significant component of this course, the core skill required is the ability to read
well. In reading another writers work, students must be able to address four fundamental
questions about composition such as what, how, to whom, and why something is either said or
written. The answers to these questions inform students own composition processes as they
learn to read like writers and write like readers.

AP English Language and Composition encourages students to become skilled readers of prose
written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts and to compose for a variety
of purposes. Reading and writing assignments highlight the interactions among the writers
purpose(s), the audiences expectation(s), the subject matter, and the way generic conventions
and language choices contribute to effective writing.

In this course, students will compose in a variety of forms - narrative, exploratory, expository,
argumentative- and on a variety of subjects from personal experiences to public policies, from
imaginative literature to popular culture. We will examine the expository, analytical,
argumentative, and synthesis writing that forms the basis of academic and professional
communications and the personal and reflective writing that fosters writing in any
context. Students will move beyond such programmatic responses as the five-paragraph
essay. Although such formulaic approaches may provide minimal organization, they often
encourage unnecessary repetition and fail to engage the reader. Students will be encouraged to
place their emphasis on content, genre, purpose, and audience to allow this focus to guide their
organization. Imitation exercises, journaling, collaborative writing, and in-class responses are a
few of the assignments students can expect on a daily basis. In addition, students will read a
wide variety of prose styles from many disciplines and historical periods to gain an
understanding of the connections between interpretive skills in reading and writing. Stylistic
development is nurtured by emphasizing the following:
a wide-ranging vocabulary used appropriately and effectively;
a variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of subordination and
coordination;
a logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques to increase coherence, such as
repetition, transition, 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.

Course Requirements and Goals

Upon completing the course, students should be able to:

Use wide-ranging vocabulary appropriately and effectively

Use a variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of subordination and
coordination
Use logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques to increase coherence, such as
repetition, transitions, and emphasis
Use a balance of generalizations and specific illustrative detail
Use effective rhetoric, including controlling tone, establishing and maintaining voice, and
achieving appropriate emphasis through diction and sentence structure
Analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identify and explain an authors use of
rhetorical strategies and techniques
Apply effective strategies and techniques in their own writing
Create and sustain arguments based on readings, research, and/or personal experience
Write for a variety of purposes
Write to a specific audience
Write in a variety of genres
Produce expository, analytical, and argumentative compositions that introduce complex
central ideas and develops them with appropriate evidence drawn from primary or
secondary sources, cogent explanations, and clear transitions
Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic
maturity in their writing
Demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources
Move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to
inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing, and review/reflection
 Write thoughtfully about their own process of composition
Revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience
Analyze image as a text
Evaluate and incorporate reference documents into research papers
Develop peer editing skills
Develop independence and become a self-directed learner
Course Timeline
First Semester
Note, the order of units may change as necessary.
Unit One
Rhetorical Skills Unit: How do we argue?

Skills Focus: Introduction to Rhetorical Skills, Modes of Rhetoric, The Rhetorical Situation,
Appeals to Ethos, Logos, and Pathos, Rhetorical Analysis of Visual Texts, Determining Effective
and Ineffective Rhetoric, Rhetorical Terms

Resources: Textbook (The Language of Composition chapters), An Introduction to Rhetoric -

chapter 1, Close Reading: The Art and Craft of Analysis - chapter 2,
Analyzing Arguments: From Readings to Writing - chapter 3,
Synthesizing Sources: Entering the Conversation - chapter 4
Guided Rhetorical Analysis using Letter from Birmingham Jail by MLK, Jr., other excerpts,
and commercials, President Bushs 9-11 Speech etc.
Assessments: Quizzes, Literary Review, Analyzing a Rhetorical Situation, Analyzing Visuals,
Rhetorical Prcis, Thesis Statement, Argumentative Essay, Personal Writing, and Exam Prep

Unit Two
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (2001)

Skill Focus: Analyzing Rhetorical Situation, Rhetorical Triangle, Appeals to Ethos, Logos,
Pathos, Analyzing Visual Rhetoric and their relationship to theme, Synthesizing sources
(students will analyze linking/parallel themes and discrepant (similar theme through different
perspective) by making connections to anchor text, i.e., Teenage Affluenza is Spreading Fast
(2007). The following ideas will be considered:
complex, debatable issues in texts
clear and focused position on either side of an argument
diverse perspectives within the sources

Assessment: Timed essay: Students will write a free response synthesis essay, focusing on a
clear position and incorporating two sources.

Unit Three
Political Unit: What is the relationship between the citizen and the state?

Skill Focus: Rhetorical Skills (parody and satire), Rhetorical triangle, Counter-argument, Prcis

Resources: Textbook, They Say/I Say, AmericanRhetoric.com, Troy Library Video (youtube),
A Modest Proposal, Great Debaters Clip (Last Debate at Harvard, George Orwell Political
Language Essay, Political Cartoons

Assessment: Quizzes on Rhetorical Skills & Rhetorical Triangle, and Prcis. Individual
Political Expression Assignment, Personal Writing, and Exam Prep

Unit Four
Food Unit: How does the American culture of food affect us?

Skill Focus: Rhetorical Skills, Entering the Conversation-Synthesis, Expansion of counter-

argument

Resources: Consider the Lobster, Restaurant Menus, Commercials, V-Series Topic Reader-
Food, Food Network Clips, Review of Guy Fierris Restaurant from NY Times, Food
Documentaries: forks/knives, They Say/I Say

Assessments: Quizzes, Analysis of Variety of Text, Group Project- select a food issue and
research and present both sides of the argument, Unit Test, Personal Writing, Exam Prep:
Students create their own Synthesis Prompt

Mid-term Exam
The semester exam will include rhetorical terms, multiple-choice questions, and one of the
rhetorical analysis questions from a former AP Exam as well as a synthesis question.

Second Semester

Unit Five
Synthesizing Sources Unit: Whats your position on mandatory community service in high
school?

Skill Focus: Synthesizing, Citing Sources, Thesis, Evidence, Writing Process, Peer Review,
Analysis

Resources: Textbook (The Language of Composition), They Say/I Say, Newsweek and other
magazines and newspapers

Assessment: Synthesis/Argumentation essay explaining students position on mandatory

community service in high school. Student must use at least three sources, integrated and cited
properly to support the position. Specific Genre, Audience, and Purpose must be met.

Note: This assignment helps students review how to use sources properly to develop their
essays. Our librarian will make a presentation to the class about how to find reliable academic
sources on the Internet and will review the material to be found on the Michigan Electronic
Library. We will review incorporating materials effectively and MLA in-text citations as well as
the works cited portion of the paper. At this point, we will also go into detail about what
constitutes plagiarism, the consequences of plagiarism (for the purposes of this class, a zero on
the assignment as well as consequences they will encounter later in life), and how to effectively
avoid plagiarizing materials. These assignments require students to develop and support their
claims using both sources and personal experience.

Unit Six
Developing Forms of Discourse Unit: Is education meeting the needs?

Skills Focus: Different Forms of Argument: Agree, Disagree, Qualify and AP Test Prep: MC
question stems, Close Reading

Resources: Textbook (chapter 4), They Say/I Say, 2 Million Minutes, Cyber School and Charter
School Debates, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BtHCjrzUQQ, NCLB argumentation.

Assessments: Memoir/Personal Narrative Writings, Argumentative Essay, Prcis, and Synthesis

Prompt

Unit Seven
AP Test Prep Unit: How can I improve my score?

Skills Focus: Comprehensive

Resources: AP Released Tests and Samples from published Test Prep Materials

Assessments: Quizzes (all skills), Practice Prompts, Practice MC questions, Self and Peer
Scoring, Grammar Quizzes, and Evaluating Student Samples

Unit Eight
(E)dentity Unit: How do I present myself to the world?

Skills Focus: Self Reflection and Evaluation

Resources: V Rader (E)dentities, Articles, Facebook. Instagram and Twitter, Terms and
Conditions May Apply, Patriot Act, NASA, Snowden (news articles), Scroogled, The Circle, and
1984 Fictional Excerpts

Assessments: Individual Projects (PSA about digital world and media)

Final Exam: All students will take the final exam, including those that take the AP Exam
administered by the College Board.
 Grading
Essays 30%: All essays will begin as in-class writing. The rough drafts will be graded as part of
the daily work and students will utilize both self-revision and peer revision before they submit
their final copies. Students must submit all drafts with the final copy.

Note: The nine-point AP scoring scale will serve as the rubric for major writing assignments.

Tests 30%: Multiple-choice tests will be based on prior released AP Exams and will be
comprised of questions based on rhetorical devices and their function in both familiar and
unfamiliar passages. These will require students to analyze the passages.

Quizzes 25%: Quizzes will cover readings, vocabulary, grammar, and mechanics.

Daily Assignments 15%: Daily assignments include a wide variety of tasks. These may include
drafts, edits, research for essays, annotations of texts, class discussions, dialectical journals,
graphic organizers, reviews, and grammar exercises, and the like.

Notes: If you have an excused absence, you have one day to submit your assignment for full
credit. Otherwise, late work is only accepted with a Late Assignment ticket. You are
allowed one (1) Late Assignment ticket per quarter, and it is only valid on Daily
Assignments.

Check your school email and Remind messages regularly. When you sign up for Remind
messages, you have the option to receive email messages if you prefer not to use a phone. If
you sign up for Remind messages and you change your phone number, you are expected to
sign up for Remind messages again.

NO EXTRA CREDIT!

Teaching Strategies
SOAPSTone
Subject-Occasion-Audience-Purpose-Speaker-Tone - Tommy Boley
This is a text-analysis strategy that teaches the students how to craft a more thoughtful thesis.
Speaker - the individual or collective voice of the text
Occasion - the event or catalyst causing the writing of the text to occur
Audience - the group of readers to whom the piece is directed
Purpose - the reason behind the text
Subject - the general topic and /or main idea
Tone - the attitude of the author

OPTIC
Overview-Parts-Title-Interrelationships-Conclusion
The following steps are used to help students approach visual texts:
Overview - Write down a few notes on what the visual appears to be about.
Parts - Focus on the parts of the visual. Write down any elements or details that seem
important.
Title - Highlight the words of the title of the visual (if one is available).
Interrelationships - Use the title as the theory and the parts of the visual as clues to detect
and specify the interrelationships in the graphic.
Conclusion - Draw a conclusion about the visual as a whole. What does the visual
mean? Summarize the message of the visual in one or two sentences.

Rhetorical Analysis - Active Reading

For each reading assignment, students must identify the following with evidence to support.
Thesis or claim
Tone or attitude
Purpose
Audience and occasion
Evidence or data
Appeals: logos, ethos, and pathos
Assumptions or warrants
Style (rhetorical mode, rhetorical devices)

Stephen Dunning Small-Group Revision Process

After students have written a first draft, they form small groups. Each student brings four copies
of his/her piece to be shared with the group.
Each person has 10-15 minutes to share their piece of writing
The first person passes out his/her piece to the group. (S)he reads the piece aloud while
the others follow along annotating questions/concerns/suggestions to help the writer in
the revision process.
After the oral reading, the author sits back and listens to the discussion amongst the other
three. The author may not speak but should take notes during this time.
The other three members of the group discuss the piece as if the author were not
present. The focus should be on ideas, rather than mechanical issues. Grammar,
spelling, and punctuation errors should be notes on the paper. The discussion should last
approximately ten minutes. (Author should seek out tutorials on grammar and mechanics
issues.)
The author should thank the other members of the group when finished and collect all
papers.
Repeat this process for all members of the group.

Building Student Independence: Gradual Release of Responsibility /

Collaborative Group Activities
Roaming Team Leader
Students team in groups of six. After a topic discussion, one student from each group moves to
another group, i.e., #2 from each group. Roaming leader moves counter-clockwise through
groups, spending approximately 3-5 minutes. S/he debriefs his/her discussion ideas to next
group, moving through all groups.

Pair-Square
Partners pair up with another partner group to discuss a topic or reading.

Say Something
Students form trios and alternately read a difficult portion from a text. After each reading, the
listeners synthesize and summarize what they heard in the reading. The second person may not
repeat what has already been stated.

Clock Partners
Students roam the room and ask 12 students for their signatures that will correspond to the hours
on a clock. At various times, an hour will be called and then students meet with that partner to
discuss the topic or text.

Quiz/Quiz/Trade
Students write a multiple-choice question about the authors use of rhetorical devices in a
reading and write on a 3x5 card. Each student debriefs their question with another
student. After both have debriefed, students trade cards and find another partner. Students then
debrief their new card and switch again. The process can be repeated according to time
allotment.

Each Teach (Jig Saw)

Each student within a group silently reads a different article, annotating in the margins. Each
person teaches his/her article to the rest of the group. This can be done by exchanging
information with one other student, followed by each partner team teaching another partner team.

Paired Verbal Fluency (activating prior knowledge)

Following a homework reading assignment, students pair off in quartets. Students number off;
the first student takes a specific number of seconds to talk about the topic. When time is called,
switch to #2. This new student continues to summarize the reading, but no information may be
repeated. Each student is allowed an increasing number of seconds to talk (20-40-60-80). This
is helpful for adding more information to prior knowledge. To synthesize information, reverse
the number of seconds allowed (80-60-40-20). This is an excellent opening activity for
reviewing the homework reading assignment.

3-2-1
Students read an article and write 3 ideas they found interesting, 2 ideas they can apply to their
personal lives, and 1 question they still have. An alternate activity is to make connections; 3
text-to-text, 2 text-to-self, and 1 text-to-world connections.

Silent Discussion
After reading a selection or participating in an activity, each student writes a reflection or
synopsis of what s/he experienced. After approximately 2 minutes, partners switch notebooks
(or paper). Each student reads his/her partners response and then silently responds to the
writing. After 1 minute, switch again.

Vocabulary Acquisition - Robert Marzanos Six-Step Process

Step 1: Explain - Provide student-friendly description, explanation, or example of new
term.
Step 2: Restate - Ask students to restate description, explanation, or example in their own
words.
Step 3: Show - Ask students to construct picture, symbol, or graphic representation of
term.
Step 4: Discuss - Engage students periodically in structured vocabulary discussions that
help them add to their knowledge of the terms in their vocabulary notebooks.
Step 5: Refine and Reflect - Periodically ask students to return to dialectic notebooks to
discuss and refine entries.
Step 6 - Apply in Learning Games - Involve student periodically in activities that allow
them to interact with terms.

Teaching Style
Because style is a major component of writing skill, students will learn and apply the use of
verbals, phrases, and clauses to improve the quality and sophistication of their
writing. Primarily, students will model authors style, transferring this knowledge to their own
writing. In addition, students will learn figures of rhetoric in a piece of writing, particularly
schemes and tropes. (See Marzanos approach above to facilitate learning of these terms.)

Schemes: parallelism, isocolon, antithesis, zeugma, anastrophe,

parenthesis, ellipsis, asyndeton, polysyndeton,
alliteration, anaphora, epistrophe, anadiplosis,
antimetabole, chiasmus, erotema, hypophora,
epiplexis.

Tropes: metaphor, simile, synecdoche, metonymy, antonomasia

(periphrasis), personification, anthimeria, litotes, irony,
oxymoron, and paradox.

Periodic Activities
Timed readings and writings Team building
Journal writing Vocabulary reinforcement
Prompt writing Copychange
Brainstorming Self Reflection
Peer Review Discussion/think tank activities

Student Resources
Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. New York:
 Henry Holt and Company, 2001.
Graff, Gerald and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic
Writing. New York; W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2014.
Shea, Renee H., Laurence Scanson and Robin Dissin Aufses. The Language of Composition.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013.

Teacher Resources
Ehrenreich, Barbara, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. New York:
Henry Holt and Company, 2001.
Fisher, Douglas and Nancy Frey. Better Learning Through Structured Teaching: A Framework
for the Gradual Release of Responsibility. Alexandra, VA: ASCD, 2014.
Fox, Stephen. Advanced Composition Skills: 20 Lessons for AP Success. Saddle Brook,
New Jersey: Peoples Education, Inc. 2009.
Graff, Gerald and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic
Writing. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2014.
Lunsford, Andrea A. and John J. Ruszkiewicz. Everythings an Argument, 6th ed. Boston:
Bedford/St. Martins, 2013.
Peterson, Linda H., John C. Brereton, and Joseph Bizup. The Norton Reader, 13th ed. New
York:
W.W. Norton & Company, 2012.
Shea, Rene H., Lawrence Scanlon, and Robin Dissin Aufses, The Language of Composition.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013.
Trimmer, Joseph F. The River Reader, 11th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2014.