AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION AP ENGLISH III MRS. RIBOVICH BLOG: h/

AP LANGUAGE COURSE OBJECTIVES To provide students with a college-level composition course experience. To teach students AP “close reading” strategies to enhance their understanding of text. To talk, write, and think deeply about language and language use. To engage students in the “habits of mind” and “intellectual practices” necessary for success in college. To pass the AP exam in May 2014.

COURSEWORK/RIGOR Rhetorical Modes Students will write expository, analytical, and argumentative essays throughout the year-long course. These are thematically assigned. Students will write AP style “Timed Writings” throughout the year. Students will read and annotate selections from the course texts. Students will create, develop and support an argument, acknowledging the complexities and nuances of important issues that adults argue about in contemporary intellectual circles. Students will have nightly reading and/or writing homework (expect 40 minutes/night).

Students will read novels, but emphasis will be placed on essays, letters, diaries, histories, biographies, sermons, speeches, satire, social criticism, and journalism. Students will engage in thoughtful, meaningful discussions about the texts, language, and rhetoric. Students will enhance their vocabulary as a means to effective writing.

Writing Conferences It is mandatory for students to sign up for a writing conference with me at certain points in our writing assignments. Additionally, students are encouraged to sign up and meet with me for additional conferencing and discussion.

AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE & COMPOSITION TEST

SECTION I: MULTIPLE CHOICE 60 minutes; 8 – 12 minutes PER PASSAGE (includes reading & answering) questions total ; 4 to 5 passages 5 to 12 questions per passage questions total At least one passage written before 1800 Little or no context or introduction given with the passages 45% of total score

SECTION II: THREE ESSAYS 2 hours Suggested time for each essay is 40 minutes 55% of total score

THREE ESSAYS 1) Synthesis Essay In a synthesis essay the student synthesizes at least three sources. Some come from magazines and others from newspapers. Some are cartoons or graphs or visuals. A synthesis essay is really a miniature informational research paper. The student must take the different ideas from the sources and put the ideas together into a new, cohesive essay that informs the reader about a central subject. This essay will test a student’s organizational skills, his/her understanding of other material, and ability to balance more than one source in an essay--all skills that are necessary to writing a successful research paper.

THREE ESSAYS 2) Rhetorical Analysis Students will have to read analyze how the structure of the passage and use of language help convey the writer’s view. Generally, students are presented with a prose passage that can be drawn from various genres and time periods. Although the specific tasks asked of the students vary from year to year, they almost always involve analysis of language, primarily rhetorical strategies and devices. Rhetorical strategies are the strategies a writer uses to persuade his audience. Devices are the linguistic choices a writer makes for various specific effects.

THREE ESSAYS 3) Argumentative While the first essay asks students to assess the argument of another, the second requires students to write their own. A student has to make a claim and then provide evidence to prove it. Also the student is required to address and counter the other side.

REQUIRED TEXTS Shea, Renee H., Lawrence Scanlon, and Robin Dissin Autses. The Language of Composition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, Supplemental Readings: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton The Crucible by Arthur Miller

POSSIBLE WRITING ASSIGNMENTS Personal Narrative: Students compose a personal narrative focusing on the significance of a single event in their lives. Analytical Essay: Students compose a rhetorical analysis focusing on one or more readings [Unit 2: Patrick Henry/Jonathon Edwards] Synthesis Essay: Students synthesize materials from a number of sources (including visual), develop an argument and compose an argumentative essay.

Research Paper: Students experience the research process from discovering a topic and developing a research questions to submitting the final product. Discern relevant sources Gather information from diverse sources Synthesize the information Format the paper Incorporate MLA citation techniques

SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENTS The Language of Composition Dialectical Journal Three pages (1 page/chapter) The Great Gatsby Annotate text Dialectical Journal (18 entries) Into the Wild/The Glass Castle Annotate text Dialectical Journal Essay

PROGRESS BOOK Grades will be posted on a regular/weekly basis.