Diane Dean-Epps

Syllabus

 

Diane Dean-Epps

Nevada Union High School

Email:  ddeanepps@nuhsd.k12.ca.us

AP^® English Literature and Composition

 

Course Description

Major concepts/content

AP^® English Literature and Composition is designed to be a college/university-level course, thus the “AP” designation on a transcript rather than “H” (Honors) or “CP” (College Prep). This course will provide you with the intellectual challenges and workload consistent with a typical undergraduate university English literature/Humanities course. As a culmination to the course, you will take the AP English Literature and Composition Exam given in May (required). A grade of 4 or 5 on this exam is considered equivalent to a 3.3–4.0 for comparable courses at the college or university level. A student who earns a grade of 3 or above on the exam will be granted college credit at most colleges and universities throughout the United States.  This class is structured to teach college-level writing through the fundamentals of rhetorical theory, and follows the curricular requirements described in the AP English Course Description.

Students will understand that:

• Literature assists in the understanding of ourselves and others.
• Writing is a form of communication across the ages, both chronologically and historically.
• Literature reflects the human condition as presented by the author.
• Literature covers universal themes such as nature (both the nature of man and the environment as nature), the quest for understanding and identity, and the role gender and race play in society.

 Students will be presented with essential questions that are defined as arguable, recurring, and thought-provoking questions that guide inquiry and point toward the main ideas of a unit.  Some of these recurring essential questions are:

 • How does literature help us understand ourselves and others?

• How has writing become a communication tool across the ages?

• How does literature reflect the human condition?

• How does literature express universal themes?

 Course Goals:

 

1. To carefully read and critically analyze imaginative literature.
2. To understand the way writers use language to provide meaning and pleasure.
3. To understand a work’s structure, style, and themes as well as such smaller scale elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone.
4. To build upon the existing vocabulary bank and grammar competencies of each student.
5. To enhance the student’s knowledge of diction, sentence structure, voice, and controlling tone as effective elements of rhetoric.

 Performance Tasks:

• Timed essays based on past AP prompts

• Essay questions as required of college-level writers

• Reading/responding/analyzing novels, drama, fiction, non-fiction and poetry

• Imaginative writing including, but not limited to: poetry, imitative structures

• Literary analysis papers—expository and persuasive

• Personal essay (college entrance)

• Graphic organizers, double-entry journals, paragraph responses, essential questions

• Involvement in peer edits and workshops

• Participation in discussions

• Maintain a cumulative portfolio of work with accompanying student reflections

• Proficiency with respect to vocabulary and grammar enrichments

 Reading and Writing Assignments

 Reading Assignments

The most important requirement for this course is that students read every assignment thoroughly and be ready to discuss any and all classroom texts on any given day.  This class is planned out well in advance, so it is crucial that the students allot ample time in their schedule for the extensive reading and subsequent reflection that is required.  Poetry, though usually not lengthy, is dense and complicated and should always be read at least three times. The student will appreciate the fact that reading yields multiple meanings.

 Writing Expectations

As this is a literature and a composition course, you will be expected to use every assignment that involves writing to practice your best composition skills.  If you have not already purchased an MLA handbook, now would be a great time to do so.  Composition assignments will include: statements, paragraphs, timed writes (essay tests), and formal essays (personal, expository and argumentative). The course includes frequent opportunities for students to write and rewrite formal, extended analyses and timed, in-class responses.  The course requires:

 ·         Writing to understand:  Informal, exploratory writing activities that enable students to discover what they think in the process of writing about their reading which may include, but not be limited to: annotation, freewriting, maintenance of a reading journal, and response/reaction papers.

·         Writing to explain:  Expository, analytical essays in which students draw upon textual details to develop an extended explanation/interpretation of the meanings of a literary text.

·         Writing to evaluate:  Analytical, argumentative essays in which students draw upon textual details to make and explain judgments about a work’s artistry and quality, and its social and cultural values.

 Writing Assignments

Students will write a number of creative assignments in conjunction with the critical writings completed per unit. We will begin the year by reading John Trimble’s, Writing with Style in order to establish writing criteria, style and expectations early in the year.  Students will write several critical papers, including explications of poems and plays, in addition to at least two research-based essays. (One of these research papers is a component of the senior project.)  Your papers will be examined for effective word choice, complex sentence structure, effective overall organization, clear emphasis and, above all, excellence of argument, including appropriate supportive evidence. This will include quotations and clear, concise, persuasive, high-level connections must be offered in your overall argument. Shorter papers will be written regularly in class to encourage high-level thinking, stimulate discussion, and focus on issues of plot, characterization, and theme.  At times, individual components of these papers will be graded, as opposed to an overall assessment, in order to concentrate on targeted areas for improvement.  We will talk about some aspect of writing every day.  A variety of methods will be utilized in order to present feedback, including workshops, peer editing, teacher-student conferences and written teacher comments.

 Writing Assignments—Critical

Each student will write several short critical papers, explicating poetry and drama, and perform a close reading of novels. More specifics about these critical assignments will be provided at a later date in the form of explanation and/or a rubric.  In general, each paper will use specific and well-chosen evidence to articulate an argument about poems, drama, and fiction. Specifically, these critical essays are based on close textual analysis of structure, style (figurative language, imagery,

symbolism, tone), and social/historical values. These critical papers must be typed, double-spaced, and proofread (especially spell-checked) and will be approximately two-to-three double-spaced pages, with the research-based paper around five-to-six pages. A rough draft will always be required for papers. Writing will often be workshopped during class. At times, as a result of group workshopping, that same group will determine criteria for assessing effective critical writing by creating a rubric with which to identify the bases of evaluation.

 Writing Assignments—Creative

Students will be asked to write creative assignments— poems, drama, and short stories that take on the rhetorical forms and styles of the literature we’re studying.  Generally, these assignments will not be graded on aesthetic criteria; rather, I will be looking for the student’s knowledge and application of appropriate structures and styles as outlined within the assignment’s parameters; that is, the student’s capacity to understand, then apply the techniques of art used in the literature we’re studying. These techniques include structure, theme, and style (diction, syntax, figurative language, symbolism, and tone). Although we may begin these assignments in class, I will expect them to be typed and proofread at home.  The only way we are able to advance at the pace that is imperative for a class such as this is for the students to understand and fulfill their obligation to work outside of class.  All homework is due at the beginning of the class period.

 In-class Writing, Quizzes and Exams

We will have essay examinations that ask you to synthesize your understanding of our work. These exams are to help students respond to literary questions in a way much less restrictive than the AP-based “exams” that form the in-class writings on literature. In-class writings will primarily be AP-based examinations, though there will also be quick-response, in-class writings as a basis for discussion. Quizzes will often be verbal and these will, generally, be given the first five minutes of class.  If you arrive late, you may not take the quiz.

 Grading—The Good News

If you work hard, remain committed to the tasks at hand, and strive for individual achievement you will do quite well.  Having said that, we are a community in this class and we will be working cooperatively with other students and, in that process, we will gain knowledge as we help ourselves and others become better writers, more evaluative thinkers, and stronger speakers.  Grading is an individualized process and the student is in competition with herself/himself and with no other. The grade in the class is entirely predicated upon the choices a student makes to do the best s/he can and by earning what is achieved.  Because of the nature of the ability level of students in this class—advanced and motivated—the class is not on a curve-grading system, nor do I feel it is my duty to fail a certain percentage of students. Given the caliber of the class, discussion, completion of reading and the writing of papers is just as important as the daily building block assignments that will lead us toward greater literary understanding. 

 Grading Scale

Course Work Percent of Final Grade

In-class writings, discussion, and activities                                               30%

Out-of-class writings and other assignments                                            40%

Completion of other class requirements such as the reading                             30%

of assigned materials, attendance, commitment, reflection

Numerical Average Letter Grade

90-100 A

80-89 B

70-79 C

60-69 D

Below 60 F

No work submitted O

 Thoughts About Life and Learning or…AP = As Planned

It is important to ask yourself why you are in this class.  Yes, partially it is about grade point average, but consider that it may be more about the learning itself. Students will be provided with the experience of college-level learning, something most high school students do not have available to them. College-level learning is rigorous, no doubt about it, but it is also about responsibility and acceptance of one’s self as a more mature student.  We will be reading, thinking, and writing about more mature texts.  The difficulty of the texts is a stimulus for students to make their own decisions about published authors, about themselves as writers, about their peers as writers, about the deep and ongoing questions that relate to what it means to be a responding, acting human being, both individually and as part of a society.  The course is intended to be stimulating and demanding, one in which a student will grow in relation to who he or she is, rather than in relation to established “standards” developed by state or federal mandates. The real test of success is about setting your own high standards, about achieving a personal best, about making connections to the learning, to life and to your place in your community.  This year will go fast.  We will learn together, we will laugh quite a bit, we will make more wrinkles in our brains but, overall, we will examine our place in the world.  It is important that we take responsibility and go forward in the direction for which we have plotted our course, making sure to live up to the expectations we have of ourselves.

 Required Texts and Materials

In the AP Literature and Composition course, the student should consider obtaining a personal copy of the various novels, plays, epics, poems, and short fiction used in the course. You may purchase copies from a local new or used bookstore, or from an online book source.

You may check out books from the English Department.  All titles may also be found in the local library branches. Some of the works used can also be accessed online.

 *Preliminary list of novels, plays and anthologized material:

 

·         Frankenstein, Mary Shelley

·         The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark, William Shakespeare

·         Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert

·         The Stranger, Albert Camus

·         Macbeth,William Shakespeare

·         The Awakening, Kate Chopin

·         Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston

·         Emma, Jane Austen

·         Short fiction and essays—as selected

·         Poetry—as selected

 *Please note that this list may vary due to availability of materials and/or time constraints.

 Course Planner

First Semester

 Unit Expectations:

• Students will create a personal portfolio in order to retain academic materials and determine growth.  In this way the student and teacher may monitor the student’s success throughout the fluid process that is writing and a viable history of learning will be created and maintained.
• Begin by talking about reading, responding, and recognizing genres, in addition to elements of composition and language. 
• Read John Trimble’s book, Writing with Style and, in the process, debunk the myths surrounding what makes good writing.
• In-class writings of all varieties, including timed.
• Teacher provides an in-class mechanism for feedback that includes before and after school discussion of individual student work.

 

Unit Expectations:

• Complete a double-entry journal that will serve as a chronicle of the reading and basis for discussions.
• Discuss interpretive writing and address social and historical values.
• Write a literary response essay that will be workshopped in class and revised.

 

 Unit Expectations:

• In-class reading aloud of poetry with discussion of what makes a poem, identification of various forms, including sonnets, villanelles, sestinas and blank form.  In-class reading aloud of poetry with discussion of literary devices such as simile and personification and symbolism. 
• Timed in-class writings, introduction of reader-response theory. 
• Students will complete an analytic, critical (evaluative) essay assignment with an opportunity for revision and resubmission one week after original due date.

 

 Unit Expectations:

·          Discuss thematic import of Macbeth that includes themes about manhood, nature, the paradox, light versus dark, and guilt.

·          In-class timed writing on AP-level questions.

·          Active reading and Cornell Notes on background of Shakespeare, a reading based upon biographical knowledge of Shakespeare and a round-table reading of the play.

·          Analytical essay will be read in-class in a workshop setting with evaluation, discussion, and revision to follow. 

 

Unit Expectations:

• Selected short stories will thematically support the content of the personal essay.
• Students will read a wide range of literature from a myriad of time periods and genres in order to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of the human experience.
• Writers may use the personal reminiscence, personal essay, or essay of experience to state an opinion, explain a viewpoint, clarify the significance of a person or event.
• Partner work will facilitate the writing of a compelling personal essay with criteria provided by the teacher.
• Students will complete at least one personal essay and this will be workshopped through the peer review setting.

 Second Semester

Unit Expectations:

• Research-based essay—separate hand-outs with assignment criteria and rubric.
• Socratic seminar about the theories and themes, including how one achieves self-knowledge, morality, comparison and contrast of modern concepts of justice and “What is the meaning of life?” as a philosophical question.
• Development of a rubric based upon other trait rubrics that include active voice, syntax, appropriate grammar conventions, organization and the like.

 

Unit Expectations:

• This study includes the great chain of being, Shakespeare’s language, form and function of tragedy.
• Students will share insights about their reading and research.
• Essay test/timed write using previous AP prompts.
• Literary analysis paper—compare and contrast the characters of Hamlet and Macbeth.
• Short author research project will determine biographical and historical context within which Shakespeare’s works were written.

 

 Unit Expectations:

• Senior Project components will be discussed which includes the writing of a research paper, the allocation of hours spent working on the project and final presentation in front of community judges.  Seniors will be encouraged to incorporate the element of community service in their project that will act as an enrichment of classroom academic pursuits.
• Students will brainstorm ideas in an open discussion format.
• Students will participate in peer editing of the senior project paper.

 

Unit Expectations:

• Identify figures of speech, including imagery.
• Recognize themes across works and synthesize information from a variety of sources.
• Use clear research questions and coherent research methods to create an author study.  This will serve as a teaching tool for both the novel and senior project.
• Short response to literature writing with accompanying discussion.
• Write a research-based essay utilizing teacher-approved topic.

 

 Unit Expectations:

• General discussion of realism and then application of realism to Madame Bovary.
• Literary devices will be identified and discussed, in addition to themes and concepts such as the class system, racism, and the rite de passage.
• Students will write an analytical paper on the use of irony in the novel.

 

 Unit Expectations:

• AP practice exams and timed writings will be administered throughout every unit.  As we approach the date of the AP exam (to be determined) this will increase in intensity.

 

 Unit Expectations:

• Discuss the roles of landscape, feminism and characterization in Emma.  Determine the importance of conducting a deeper reading of the novel, and of all novels, as opposed to simply a literal reading.
• Write a persuasive essay choosing a theme of great import in the novel and provide strong documentation and support.  This essay will be presented in class and workshopped by utilizing a student-created rubric.
• Create a time line within which Jane Austen wrote her novels.
• Discussion of Romantic and Victorian literature.