AP English Language and Composition Syllabus

Course Overview
Effective writing forms the backbone of excellence in communication, and must be developed in the company of great literature. In this class, you will learn to understand, analyze and express complex ideas in preparation for the AP English Language & Composition exam by studying important works of fiction and non-fiction and honing writing skills.

This is a college-level course, meaning it will require diligence and a significant amount of hard work on your part. You should allocate 1-2 hours per day to complete assignments. If your works takes significantly more or less than this amount of time, please let me know.

Class Expectations
Your success in this class, and consequently on the AP exam in May depends on how much time and effort you put into your work. Many of your projects will be subject to a system of peer review, which demands the utmost respect from you towards your peers. In the first class, we will further discuss what this system will entail.

Reading Diaries
Throughout the entire year, you will keep an online journal of your readings, where you will cite two passages each week and offer your own interpretation of the thematic content of each passage. As your knowledge of writing improves, you will find an increasing number of tools to use in composing your diaries. I will review these each week and occasionally offer my feedback in addition to my comments on your official written work. Each entry should focus on a short passage from our primary readings, and should be at least one paragraph, and no more than three. In addition to writing your own journal, you will be required to respond to at least 2 of your peers’ posts. Your response can be in the form of a well-thought out question, further analysis or an opposing view. Above all your posts must be cordial and in the spirit of education.

Grading
Your essays will be graded based on the following criteria: Critical thinking, quality and accuracy of argument, apparent understanding of the prompt, organization, and effective use of diction, syntax, detail, evidence (when relevant), evenness of the voice and improvement from first draft (when relevant).

Each student will receive a grade from the instructor at the end of the year based on the following formula: Quizzes (10%), Class Participation/Attendance (10%), Forum posts (10%), AP Exam score (20%), Essays and other written work (50%).

100-91: A
90 - 81: B
80 - 71: C
70 - 61: D

Books:


NOTE: The below list is subject to change in the next day or two. For the purposes of the class, if you're buying books in the very, very near future, please only purchase Sophocles, Homer, and Dostoevsky. Those will take us through till Thanksgiving break more or less.

If you haven’t already purchased the following books and a good set of highlighters, please do:

Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment. First Edition. Trans. Richard Pevear & Larissa Volokhonsky. USA: Vintage, 1993. Print.
ISBN-13: 978-0679734505

Homer. The Odyssey of Homer. Reissue. Trans. Richmond Lattimore. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2007. Print.
ISBN-13: 978-0061244186

Ibsen, Henrik. An Enemy of the People. New edition. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1999. Print.
ISBN-13: 9780486406572

McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. USA: Vintage Books, 2007. Print.
ISBN-13: 978-0307387899

Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1995. Print.
ISBN-13: 978-0486284927

Solzhenitsyn, Alexander. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich: (50th Anniversary Edition). BANTAM EDITION. New York: Signet Classics, 2008. Print.
ISBN-13: 978-0451531049

Sophocles. The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus. New York: Penguin Edition. ISBN-10:0140444254

Brontë, Emily. Wuthering Heights. First Edition. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1996. Print.
ISBN-13: 978-0486292564

Wharton, Edith. The Age of Innocence. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1997. Print.
ISBN-13: 978-0486298030