AP Language & Composition Syllabus 2018-2019 Rebecka Stucky / Westlake High School
Course description “The AP English Language & Composition course focuses on rhetorical analysis of nonfiction texts and the development and revision of well-reasoned, evidence-centered analytic and argumentative writing” (Course Description AP Lang 2014).
Learning objectives The following objectives are outlined in the official AP Lang Course Description Manual. Upon completing the AP Lang course, students should be able to:
Analyze and interpret samples of purposeful writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use of rhetorical strategies
Analyze images and other multimodal texts for rhetorical features
Use effective rhetorical strategies and techniques when composing
Write for a variety of purposes
Respond to different writing tasks according to their unique rhetorical and composition demands, and translate that rhetorical assessment into a plan for writing
Create and sustain original arguments based on information synthesized from readings, research, and/or personal observation and experience
Evaluate and incorporate sources into researched arguments
Demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources
Gain control over various reading and writing processes, with careful attention to inquiry (research), rhetorical analysis and synthesis of sources, drafting, revising/rereading, editing, and review
Converse and write reflectively about personal processes of composition
Demonstrate understanding and control of Standard Written English as well as stylistic maturity in their own writing
Revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience
Course expectations
Students are expected to approach the class, its content, and its members with maturity.
Cell phones must be stowed away during instruction time. Students with phones in hand or on desk will be asked to put them away. When this becomes a recurring problem, students will be asked to leave phones at the front of the room.
Students are expected to use class time on English related activities
Students should always have their charged Eanes-issued IPad
Because student talk is central to the class, students must be able and willing to listen attentively to peers and the teacher, accept and give critical feedback in a positive, friendly manner, and maintain respect for oneself and others.
By signing up for AP Lang, students understand that they will be regularly required to participate in AP activities such as timed writings in class and AP multiple choice practice
Students are expected to work diligently to improve their writing, including building vocabulary, full participation in process writing assignments, and willingness to analyze and evaluate writings, including timed writings.
AP Lang team policy on late submission of assignments
From time to time, emergencies happen - such as illness, hospitalization, injury, or a death in the family - that will interfere with a student’s ability to submit work in a timely manner. In these cases, the student is expected to contact the teacher in person or by email as soon as the crisis arises to request a reasonable extension. Otherwise, students are expected to turn in assignments by the assigned due date. To discourage tardy assignments and procrastination, the following policy will be implemented this year: For major grades, students will be given a one-week (7 days) grace period after the due date where they may submit the assignment for a maximum grade of a 90. After the one-week period has elapsed, students can still submit the late work, but only for a maximum grade of 70. For minor grades, students will be given a one-week (7 days) grace period after the due date, where they may submit the assignment for a maximum grade of 70. After the one-week period has elapsed, the grade will be a permanent 0. Students will have one week (7 days) to make up a missed quiz. As long as the quiz is completed during this time, no penalty will be given; however, if the 4 week period elapses without the student completing the make-up quiz, the student may re-quiz for a maximum grade of 70.
In addition, major grade process writings can be revised and resubmitted for a maximum grade of 90 if the following conditions have been met:Work was not submitted lateConference with teacher Completed revision plan formOriginal grade was 89 or lowerResubmission is done in a timely manner
Texts for study, analysis, and evaluation
Throughout the year, students will be given a variety of texts to read, annotate, outline, analyze, evaluate, and write essays about. The bulk of these texts will be nonfiction (essays, speeches, letters, treatises, and passages from books) and of a variety of lengths, from a single page to upwards of 20 pages. The subject matter will range from political and social issues to critical writing on virtually any topic. The majority of these texts will be from the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, so the lexile levels will be high and the diction advanced. These texts will be made available to students for free as PDFs.
In addition, as a class we will study the following book-length texts, which students will be expected to obtain (all are available as digital texts):
Thank You for Arguing by Jay Heinrichs (summer reading) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien An additional dramatic work
Materials, devices, and apps required
Students should have the following items with them every day: A charged IPad with a charged Clamcase for typing A bound notebook (writer’s notebook) A folder to keep paper handouts, assignment sheets, and returned work Pens, pencils, highlighters, eraser, etc. An independent reading book
Students might wish to add the following materials: Notecards for memorizing vocabulary A portable IPad charger Sticky notes for annotating books if a student prefers print over digital A box of tissues for classroom use
Students are expected to have the following apps on their IPads for daily use: Eanes email Google Classroom, Docs, Slides and Drive Turnitin Feedback Studio Notability Other apps when needed
Grading categories Major (70%): Process essays, exams, projects, etc. Minor (30%): Daily assignments, quizzes (often x2 weight), homework, notebook checks, etc.
Units of study
Fall : Rhetorical Analysis and Argument Review of writing basics / introduction to rhetoric Remembering an event essay Developing paragraphs Beginnings, closings, and middle paragraphs Rhetorical purpose and audience Thank You for Arguing assessment Rhetorical Situation Appeals to logic, emotion, author’s character/credibility Many short essays, speeches, historical documents, and other primary and secondary texts The rhetorical analysis essay Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Text features: diction, syntax, tone, language Modes of development Schemes and tropes AP Lang multiple choice Argument Concession and refutation Structuring argument Editorial writing of Speech Writing
Spring:Synthesis Sources, MLA, Works Cited, Citations Synthesizing sources The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien The Vietnam research project A dramatic work
Independent reading assignmentWHS is committed to an independent reading program rooted in student choice that will challenge students to become lifelong readers, to develop empathy, to engage in discussion of ideas, to make connections to themselves and the world, and to apply critical thinking skills, as they advance their literacy.
Students will be reading book-length nonfiction texts, mostly outside of class. A yearlong independent reading assignment will be given at the start of the fall semester.
Plagiarism Plagiarism is taking the words, ideas, and even structure of another person’s writing, whether from a website, video, blog, print source, or an essay written by someone else; claiming authorship for it; and submitting it for a grade. Writers must always cite any material (except what is common knowledge) taken from a source and included in their writing, whether it be quoted directly or paraphrased. Students should never submit one essay, even a refashioned version of it, for multiple courses (a.k.a. the “recycling fraud”). All academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, will be penalized according to the Westlake Code of Conduct Policy.
Controversial Texts in AP LangIssues that might, from particular social, historical, or cultural viewpoints, be considered controversial, including references to ethnicities, nationalities, religions, races, dialects, gender, or class, may be addressed in texts that are appropriate to the 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.