Course Title: AP Literature and Composition Goals and Objectives Essential Questions Assignment Description SWBAT: Evaluate literature through close reading with the purpose of formulating insights with support from the text, apply knowledge of annotation to help in analyzing text, make connections beyond the text, and demonstrate knowledge of author s purpose and use of complex literary elements. How does an individual reach self-awareness through their life experiences? How does one s perspective shape or alter the truth? How does the historical, social, cultural context of the Victorian Age connect to the novel and present society? Is it possible to change one s morals and identity? How does close reading and annotation assist in understanding complex text? The following pieces of literature and assignments are designed to prepare you for the first marking period of the AP Literature and Composition course: Assignment #1: A. Read and annotate The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde with a focus on his use of language. Select 10 quotes/passages for a dialectal journal. (Dialectal journal instructions are attached). B. Research: In your notebook write down notes on the following topics related to The Picture of Dorian Gray. Knowledge of each topic will enhance your reading experience and prepare you for class discussions. The story of Narcissus Faust legends Author s background Victorian Age (history and literature of the time period). Allusions: Basic knowledge of the allusions C. Argumentative Essay: Write an argumentative essay on the following topic: Gary Schmidgall provides the following morals for the novel in his introduction to The Picture of Dorian Gray. Based on your analysis of the text, which of these do you believe to be the most significant moral of the book?
"All excess, as well as all renunciation, brings its own punishment." OR "The supreme task of the individual is to realize fully and from within one's own identity." Your essay must demonstrate complexity of thought, show insight into the characters and themes, and include prolific references to characters and actions. Avoid plot summary. Write for an intelligent, knowledgeable audience. Essay must be between 2-3 pages (thorough but concise) and in proper MLA format. Smoothly integrate your textual support, and logically organize your ideas Assignment #2: A. Read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. B. Carefully select 5 passages from various parts of the novel to annotate and write an analysis using the close reading process below as a guide. The passages should be at least 1.5 to 2 pages in length. A copy of the annotated passages must be given to me on the first day of school. Make sure you read the rubric carefully to achieve the best grade possible. Assignment #3: Make a list of all the works of literary value that you have read since the 8 th grade. To refresh your memory on these works, make a list of the characters, plot summary, conflicts, etc. for each one. You will be referring to this list frequently throughout the year. Note: I will not be collecting this but merely checking it during the first few days of school. Timetables & Deadlines; Pacing Guide If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email me at dhernandez@union-city.k12.nj.us. The Argumentative Essay for Dorian Gray and the Passage Analysis for Jane Eyre must be sent to me electronically no later than August 13 th to my Edmodo account as an attachment ONLY. The join code is wfm8a6.
Assessments Rubrics attached for essay and close reading Instructional Materials Grading Weight for MP1 Both The Picture of Dorian Gray and Jane Eyre will be provided to you. Each assignment is worth 10 % for a total of 20% of the final grade for the first marking period.
Close Reading Rubric for Jane Eyre 5 4 3 2 1 Not Evident Requirements: Completed the assignment, handed it on time, and followed directions closely Analysis: Makes an insightful overall statement about the passage demonstrating analysis and interpretation of details that goes beyond basic Analysis of literary devices: Includes analysis of literary elements such as metaphors, allusions, imagery besides the tone of the passage Language and Style: Sophisticated language with a skilled use of different sentence patterns, including effective use of paraphrase, partial quotes and full quotes from the passage Connections: Makes meaningful connections that go beyond the passage Thinking Process: Interpretations of the passages demonstrate a serious thinker that can develop opinions and critique ideas with support
Standard AP Rubric for Essays: 9-8 ( 100-92) These papers clearly demonstrate an understanding of the passage and recognize its complexity. The essays correctly identify two tones or sides of the author's attitude toward the subject in a well-written thesis and deal specifically with narrative techniques such as point of view, syntax, diction, detail, and organization. These papers use appropriate choices for quotation or reference and select an appropriate number of choices from throughout the passage. Although they may be flawed, the papers, nevertheless, display consistent control over the elements of effective writing and reveal the students' ability to read with perception and to express ideas with clarity and skill. 7-6 (91-81) These papers are less thorough, less perceptive or less specific than 9-8 papers. These essays are well-written but with less maturity and control than the top papers. They demonstrate the writer's ability to analyze a literary work, but they reveal a more limited understanding than do the papers in the 9-8 range. Generally, 6 essays present a less sophisticated analysis and less consistent command of the elements of effective writing than essays scored 7. 5 (80-75) Superficiality characterizes these 5 essays. Discussion of meaning may be pedestrian, mechanical, or inadequately related to the chosen details. Typically, these essays reveal simplistic thinking and/or immature writing. They usually demonstrate inconsistent control over the elements of composition and are not as well conceived, organized, or developed as the upper-half papers. On the other hand, the writing is sufficient to convey the writer's ideas. 4 (74-60) Discussion is likely to be unpersuasive, perfunctory, underdeveloped or misguided. The meaning they deduce may be inaccurate or insubstantial and not clearly related to the question. Part of the question may be omitted altogether. The writing may convey the writer's ideas, but it reveals weak control over such elements as diction, organization, syntax or grammar. Typically, these essays contain significant misinterpretations of the question or the work they discuss; they may also contain little, if any, supporting evidence, and practice paraphrase and plot summary at the expense of analysis. 2-1 (59-25) These essays compound the weakness of essays in the 4-3 range and are frequently unacceptably brief. They are poorly written on several counts, including many distracting errors in grammar and mechanics. Although the writer may have made some effort to answer the question, the views presented have little clarity or coherence. 0 ( 24-0) These essays respond with no more than a reference to the task, contain completely off-topic responses, or are blank.
I. Doing a close reading Getting Started: Treat the passage as if it were complete in itself. Read it a few times, at least once aloud. Concentrate on all its details and assume that everything is significant. Determine what the passage is about and try to paraphrase it. Make sure that you begin with a general sense of the passage s meaning. Word meaning: Determine the meanings of words and references. Also, note (and verify) interesting connotations of words. Look up any words you do not know or which are used in unfamiliar ways. (Laziness in this step will inevitably result in diminished comprehension.) Consider the diction of the passage. What is the source of the language, i.e., out of what kind of discourse does the language seem to come? Did the author coin any words? Are there any slang words, innuendoes, puns, ambiguities? Do the words have interesting etymologies? Structure: Examine the structure of the passage. How does it develop its themes and ideas? How is the passage organized? Are there climaxes and turning points? Sound and Rhythm: Acquire a feel for the sound, meter, and rhythm; note any aural clues that may affect the meaning. Even punctuation may be significant. Be alert to devices such as alliteration, assonance, rhyme, consonance, euphony, cacophony, onomatopoeia. See a dictionary of poetics or rhetoric for precise definitions of these and other terms. Examine the meter of the passage in the same way. Is it regular or not? Determine whether the lines breaks compliment or complicate the meanings of the sentences. Syntax: Examine the syntax and the arrangement of words in the sentences. Does the syntax call attention to itself? Are the sentences simple or complex? What is the rhythm of the sentences? How do subordinate clauses work in the passage? Are there interesting suspensions, inversions, parallels, oppositions, repetitions? Does the syntax allow for ambiguity or double meanings? Textual Context: In what specific and general dramatic and/or narrative contexts does the passage appear? How do these contexts modify the meaning of the passage? What role does the passage play in the overall movement/moment of the text? Irony: How does irony operate in the passage, if at all? Tone and Narrative Voice: What is the speaker s (as distinct from the narrator s and author s) attitude towards his or her subject and hearers? How is this reflected in the tone? What does the passage reveal about the speaker? Who is the narrator? What is the relationship between the narrator and the speaker? Is there more than one speaker? Imagery: What sort of imagery is invoked? How do the images relate to those in the rest of the text? How do the images work in the particular passage and throughout the text? What happens to the imagery over the course of the passage? Does the passage noticeably lack imagery? If so, why?
Rhetorical Devices: Note particularly interesting metaphors, similes, images, or symbols especially ones that recur in the passage or that were important for the entire text. How do they work with respect to the themes of the passage and the text as a whole? Are there any other notable rhetorical devices? Are there any classical, biblical or historical allusions? How do they work? Themes: Relate all of these details to possible themes that are both explicitly and implicitly evoked by the passage. Attempt to relate these themes to others appearing outside the immediate passage. These other themes may be from the larger story from which the passage is excerpted; or from other tales; or from knowledge about the narrator; or from the work as a whole. Gender: How does the passage construct gender? What issues of gender identity does it evoke? How does it represent women s issues? Does it reveal something interesting about women s writing? History: How does the passage narrate history? How does it present "facts" versus observations? Construct a Thesis: Based on all of this information and observation, construct a thesis that ties the details together. Determine how the passage illuminates the concerns, themes, and issues of the entire text it is a part of. Ask yourself how the passage provides insight into the text (and the context of the text). Try to determine how the passage provides us a key to understanding the work as whole. Dialectal Journal Instructions:../../Desktop/AP%20Dialectal%20Journal%20Instructions.pdf Edmodo join code is wfm8a6