AP English IV Literature and Composition Mrs. Oualline AP Literature and Composition is all about exploring the vast world of literature. Through literature, we can experience much more than our one life we can have as many lives as we want. Because this course is an introduction to literature, our goal is to enjoy a sampler platter of the major literary periods from 1600 to present day. This year will be a veritable feast of great literature that is garnished with rich discussion. With that in mind You Are Cordially Invited to The Feast of Literature and The Banquet of Conversation Bookmark My Website: http://ouallinator.com and My Digital Classroom: http://ouallinator.com/blog Join our class on turnitin.com Class ID: 8433513 Password: APLit14 Sign Up for Reminders: Text @14aplit to (817) 381-4551 1 P a g e
Course Overview: The AP English Literature and Composition course is designed to engage students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Through the close reading of selected texts, students can deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. As they read, students should consider a work's structure, style, and themes, as well as such smaller-scale elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone. -College Board, 2008 AP English Literature and Composition is a college-level course with college-level expectations. This course will provide you with the intellectual challenges and workload consistent with a typical University course in Literature. The course will emphasize critical reading of a wide range of literature and require numerous essays demonstrating students skills in analyzing various literary modes. Reading in this class is an active process where we engage the texts in conversation. We will constantly work on our close reading and annotation skills, and as a class, we will discuss our responses to the literature daily. You will also engage in many different writing assignments. Students entering AP English are already skilled in basic composition and are proficient in their use of Standard English grammar and mechanics. Expected here is refinement of these skills to develop sophistication and stylistic maturity in writing. Your essays will be examined for effective diction, inventive syntax, efficient overall organization, clear emphasis, and above all, excellence of argument, including exhaustive supportive evidence (i.e., quotations) and clear, persuasive, elegant connection of this evidence to your overall argument. Both timed and journal essays will be written regularly in class to spur thinking, stimulate discussion, and focus on issues of plot, characterization, and theme. Thoughtful reading will be reflected in AP test practices (both objective and open-ended questions), journals, daily assignments, class discussions, oral presentations based on independent reading, and one major research project. The AP Literature Exam is administered in May. Grading System: Academic Achievement (80%) Multi-Draft Essays: Essays are workshopped in class (including peer reviews and teacher conference), revised, and published as a final draft. Major Projects: Including Spring Thesis, Poetry Camp, and Shakespearean Comedy project. Timed Writing: In the first semester, Prose and Poetry analyses will be counted as an Academic Achievement grade only when revised. In the second semester, each Prose or Poetry analysis will count as 25 points of an Academic Achievement grade. Free Response essays at the end of a novel unit will always count as an Academic Achievement grade. Academic Practice (20%) Quizzes: Includes Reading and Vocabulary Quizzes Writing Workshop: Participation grades for various activities within the workshop Peer Review: Includes both in-class reviews and online peer reviews Class Discussion: Participation grades for contributing to class discussions. Minor Projects: Includes one-pagers, mandala projects, and independent reading projects Practice AP Multiple Choice: Includes both group and individual multiple choice practice Textbooks: Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature, 6 th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin s, 2007. Wilhelm, Jeffery D., et. al. Glencoe Literature Texas Treasures: British Literature. Glencoe/McGraw Hill. 2011. 2 P a g e
*Please Note That Units Do Not Align With Six Weeks Periods* *Due to Time Constraints, Units Often Overlap a Six Weeks Period* Semester 1 Unit 1: Archetypes How to Read Literature Like a Professor (Summer) Preparing College Application Essays and Résumé Selected Short Stories Artful Writing (Short Story) The Things They Carried by Tim O Brien Introduction to Prose Analysis College Application Essay: Students choose an essay (or essays) based on the college of choice or scholarship of choice. Timed Writing (Revised): Prose Analysis based on a passage from our first Readers/Writers Workshop. The essay will be drafted in a timed setting, peer reviewed, revised, and submitted as a final draft. Free Response Essay: AP Prompt based on The Things They Carried The Artful Essay: Students will write a two-page, multi-draft short story utilizing a variety of literary tools. Unit 2: Irony : Hamlet by William Shakespeare Prose Process Writing Othello by William Shakespeare Free Response Essay Selected Prose and Poetry Passages Prose Process Essay: Multi-draft thematic analysis of Hamlet Free Response Essay: AP Prompt based on Othello Unit 3: Setting and Symbolism Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Introduction to Poetry Analysis Selected Poetry, Romantics Free Response Essay Free Response Essay: AP Prompt based on Wuthering Heights One-Pager: Setting and Symbols graphic analysis for Wuthering Heights Poetry Process Essay: Multi-draft analysis from AP prompt 3 P a g e
Semester 2 Unit 4: Poetry Camp Selected Poetry (Paired Poets) Poetry Analysis AP Multiple Choice Practice Research and Synthesis Poetry Process Essay: Multi-draft Poetry Synthesis Essay Unit 5: Conflict and Characterization A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Literary Analysis Selected Poetry, Metaphysical Timed Writing Literary Analysis: Multi-draft Thematic Analysis based on A Tale of Two Cities Timed Writing: Four AP prompts, 25 points each Unit 6: Comedy and Satire The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Literary Analysis Rosencrantz and Guildenstern by Tom Stoppard Timed Writing Shakespearean Comedy (student choice) Literary Analysis: Multi-draft Thematic Analysis based on The Importance of Being Earnest Free Response: AP Prompt based on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Shakespearean Comedy Project: Group presentation with individual writing component Timed Writing: Four AP prompts, 25 points each Unit 7: Spring Thesis Students will select a literary focus to study Literary Analysis (author, literary region, literary movement, or Synthesis common theme). Literary Analysis: Multi-draft Thematic Analysis based selections for the Spring Thesis Timed Writing: Four AP prompts, 25 points each Unit 8: AP Exam Preparation The Reading/Writing Connection Tying it All Together students will apply everything they have learned throughout the year in order to increase their effectiveness in literary analysis. The Feast of Literature and the Banquet of Conversation 4 P a g e
Scoring Rubric for Formal Essays 9 Essays earning a score of 9 meet the criteria for 8 papers and, in addition, are especially full or apt in their analysis or demonstrate particularly impressive control of language. The 9 essay is virtually error free. 8 Essays earning a score of 8 effectively respond to the prompt. They refer to the passage explicitly or implicitly and explain the function of specific strategies. Their prose demonstrates an ability to control a wide range of the elements of effective writing but is not flawless. The thesis is fully explored and proved through the 8 essay. 7 Essays earning a score of 7 fit the description of 6 essays but provide a more complete analysis or demonstrate a more mature prose style. 6 Essays earning a score of 6 adequately respond to the prompt. They refer to the passage, explicitly or implicitly, but their discussion is more limited. The writing may contain lapses in diction or syntax, but generally the prose is clear and the thesis is supported. 5 Essays earning a score of 5 analyze the strategies, but they may provide uneven or inconsistent analysis. They may treat the prompt in a superficial way or demonstrate a limited understanding of the prompt. While the writing may contain lapses in diction or syntax, it usually conveys ideas adequately. 4 Essays earning a score of 4 respond to the prompt inadequately. They may misrepresent the author's position, analyze the strategies inaccurately, or offer little discussion of specific strategies. The prose generally conveys the writer's ideas but may suggest immature control of writing. 3 Essays earning a score of 3 meet the criteria of the score of 4 but are less perceptive about the prompt or less consistent in controlling the elements of writing. 2 Essays earning a score of 2 demonstrate little success in responding to the prompt. These essays may offer vague generalizations, substitute simpler tasks such as summarizing the passage, or simply list techniques. The prose often demonstrates consistent weaknesses in writing. 1 Essays earning a score of 1 meet the criteria for the score of 2 but are undeveloped, especially simplistic in discussion, or weak in their control of language. 0 Indicates an on-topic response that receives no credit such as one that merely repeats the prompt or one that is completely off topic or missed the point entirely. For 100-Point Grading Scale 9 = 100 4 = 75 8 = 95 3 = 70 7 = 90 2 = 60 6 = 85 1 = 50 5 = 80 0 = Below 50 5 P a g e
Additional Resources: Dean, Nancy. Voice Lessons: Classroom Activities to Teach Diction, Detail, Imagery, Syntax, and Tone. Gainesville, FL: Maupin House, 2000. Print. McKinney, Mary Jane, ed. The Grammardog Guide to A Tale of Two Cities. Dallas, TX: Janco, 2005. Print. McKinney, Mary Jane, ed. The Grammardog Guide to Hamlet. Dallas, TX: Janco, 2005. Print. Rosa, Alfred F., and Paul A. Eschholz. Models for Writers. 9 th ed. New York, NY: Bedford/St. Martins, 2007. Print. AP Released Tests from The College Board Audio/Visual Resources: Movie Clips: Various versions of Hamlet. Movie Clips: 2002 version of The Importance of Being Earnest. Music Clips and YouTube Clips for warm ups and quick writes. Websites: The Owl at Purdue https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ AP Central http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/ Turn It In http://www.turnitin.com/ Prerequisite Courses: American Literature is primarily covered in Junior English/AP Language. Authors studied include Nathaniel Hawthorne, Arthur Miller, Ralph Ellison, Ernest Hemmingway, Flannery O Connor, William Faulkner, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, and Tennessee Williams. World Literature is covered in Freshman and Sophomore English. Authors include Homer, Sophocles, George Orwell, William Shakespeare, Erich Maria Remarque, Ayn Rand, Edith Wharton, Amy Tan, Tomas Rivera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Sandra Cisneros, Edmond Rostand, Robert Penn Warren, Harper Lee, Charles Dickens, and Edgar Allan Poe. 6 P a g e