Course Syllabus

AP English Literature and Composition

Mrs. Powell

abigail.powell@ucps.k12.nc.us

Google Classroom: https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/MjA3OTY5MzQ2MDda

Google Site: https://sites.google.com/a/ucps.k12.nc.us/powell-s-english-class/

Supplies:

  1. 2 composition notebooks (not spirals)

      Label each notebook with the following:

  1. Poetry in 3D
  2. Dialectical Journal
  3. 2” Binder labeled “AP Lit”
  4. Five divider tabs

      Label each tab and keep in the following order:

  1. Lit Terms
  2. Major Works
  3. AP Essays
  4. AP MC (multiple choice)
  5. Close Analysis

*You will be required to purchase several books throughout the year.  Titles will be provided in class at least one week in advance.  Books will be held at the register at Barnes and Noble at the Arboretum shopping mall, or you may purchase books online.  It is best to have a paper copy of the book.

  1. Academic honesty is required in this class. I take the honor code very seriously.  Do      your own work, work hard, and ask for extra help if needed. Plagiarism or cheating will result in failure on an assignment.

 

  1. Late work (work is considered late for any reason other than absence) is accepted for no more than 50% (or half credit). Major writing assignments (formal essays) must be turned in on time regardless of absence to avoid a point deduction.

 

  1. Do not use cell phones unless directed to do so. Do not use your computer in class unless it is directly related to English class and permissible.

 

  1. Class Grading:

Tests/Essays: 45%

Quizzes/Major Projects: 35%

Daily Assignments/Homework: 20%

Turnitin.com AP Lit 2019                   Shakespeare

22042673

Course Overview

AP English Literature and Composition is a college level reading and writing course designed to introduce students to the study of literature.   Throughout the course, you will learn and apply literary terminology to gain insight into the works we read.   We will read, annotate, discuss, and write.   You will frequently be asked to share your ideas with your peers through class and online discussions as well as peer writing critiques. This course will prepare you for both timed in-class essays and outside academic papers.  Your progress will be assessed through a variety of measures including AP formatted multiple choice tests and informal and formal writing. 

Writing

Throughout this course you will be asked to write in both formal and informal formats.   All writing is equally beneficial in developing critical/analytical reading and writing skills.  Informal writing, primarily journaling, annotating, and response questions, allow you to interact with a text during the reading process to develop literary analysis skills and to make connections among works of literature.   By recording your reading process, you will learn and practice literary analysis skills, which are crucial to the study of literature for the purposes of performing well on the AP exam, in college English courses, and in developing a lifelong penchant for reading great works of literature. 

Informal Writing:

Dialectical Journal

With each novel or play we study, you are expected to analyze significant passages in a journal format.  In your journal, you will comment on a variety of literary elements including plot development, characterization, theme, point of view, and figurative language.  I will introduce the author’s writing style and historical literary period prior to reading each major literary work.  Then, you will be instructed to look for certain literary devices specific to that author’s work.  You will use the journal to develop ideas for formal writing like AP portfolio essays and literary analysis essays.

 

Discussion Questions for Socratic Seminars

Socratic seminars require intensive preparation for student-centered class discussions.  You will locate key passages, prepare thoughtful, open-ended questions to ask of their peers, and participate in an energetic dialogue of ideas with close attention to the text. Socratic seminars help you to clarify your ideas, to learn to support your points, and require you to be an active participant in the class.  You will be instructed on the format and requirements of each seminar prior to each discussion. 

Literature Response Questions

You will respond to teacher-prepared questions which will be shared in class and in online discussion groups.  Questions ask you to consider literary devices and to make thematic and stylistic connections among the works we read.

Poetry in 3D Journal

You will annotate and respond to poetry with close attention to poetic devices including: denotation and connotation, imagery, figurative language, allusion, tone, and meter.   Students will consider multiple interpretations and ambiguity inherent in poetry.  You will use your response journal to gather evidence from the poem that supports a specific reading.  You will then write a formal poetry explication that supports that claim using specific quotations and interpretation and analysis of poetic elements. 

AP Data Analysis Chart

You will prepare a detailed summary sheet of each major work we study.  The chart requires students to consider the author’s biography, historical context, theme, plot, characterization, figurative language, tone, and key quotations.  The summary is instrumental in preparation for the free response essay question.  These data sheets are kept in your AP notebook and will assist you with reviewing for the AP Exam.  In the spring, you will be asked to select five major works (“The Power of Five”) to review for the exam.  All of the major works we read are frequently cited on the AP Exam. 

Formal Writing:

AP Portfolio Essays

You will write several timed essays.  These are actual AP essay prompts.  Often, the prompts are chosen in connection to works we are currently studying.  This allows you to demonstrate both your knowledge of the work and to practice their essay writing skills.  Passage and poetry analysis essays are practiced throughout the year to enhance your close reading skills.  

During the portfolio process, we are constantly reviewing examples of effective essay writing, discussing topics related to essay prompts, and annotating texts to consider selection of detail.    

After you write 6 in-class essays, you will choose your best four for me to grade on the AP scale.  You choose one essay to be reviewed by a peer and receive feedback.  You choose an additional essay to do a self-critique and rewrite.  Particular attention is given to thesis development, structure, and selection of detail.  

Literary Analysis Essays

You will write formal, typed literary analysis essays on novels, plays, short stories, and/or poetry.  Formal essays include, for example, an essay about a key moment in a novel, an analysis of a character in a short story, a discussion of tone in a poem, a close analysis of a soliloquy in a play, and an argument based literary research essay.   In sum, you will write formal, literary analysis essays on each genre of literature and write one analytical research-based essay.  Formal literary analysis essays allow you to write an original and complete evaluation of a work’s artistry, quality, and social and cultural values (9).  In doing this, you will learn how to analyze a literary work, to formulate and support a literary argument, and to address style and structure issues within your own writing. 

You will learn how to effectively incorporate quotations into your writing using MLA format.  You will be introduced to literary criticism and do a critical reading of a work using a particular approach, such as Formalism/New Critical, Sociological (Marxist and Feminist), Biographical, Historical, and Psychoanalytical.  You will focus on fundamental issues with literary scholarship including having a well-supported argument.

Reading

Reading assignments are designed thematically to enhance your connection with our reading and to cover a wide spectrum of literary periods.  Each major work will be given historical context to enhance your understanding of literary periods. 

You will be asked to write about your reading assignments daily.  You will be given AP formatted multiple choice tests and/or write formal essays on all major works.  Literary devices are discussed with each story and poem.  You will be given a reference list of essential literary devices.  You will be instructed in terms specific to novels, drama, poetry, and short stories.  Students learn how to connect literary devices with meaning by studying works thematically rather than in isolation.  This allows comparison between novels, plays, stories and poems, a conversation that might not happen in a strict genre or historical approach.   In approaching poetry, for example, each poem will be discussed in terms of how certain devices reinforce meaning.  This allows us to study meter, tone, rhyme, figurative language, imagery, and structure in a way that always ties us back to the meaning/central idea of a poem.

Course Summary:

Date Details Due