AP English Language A
Grades: 9, 12, 10, 11
Credits: 0.50
Prerequisites:
This course may be a 10th grade student's English course.
Description:
AP English Language and Composition follows the outline set by the College Board. The literary portion
covers fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry. In the first semester, students will analyze style and
rhetoric, examining the author’s argument and structure. Students will learn how tone, diction, and
syntax influence overall meaning. They will also examine the elements of rhetoric, including an author’s
various appeals, credibility, irony, and overall use of logic. Writing assignments will include both
expository and argumentative styles.
Units:
Introduction
Welcome to AP Language and Composition! This is a course that will ask students to both analyze and
create nonfiction in order to demonstrate an understanding of the world in which they live.
This first unit provides some of the conceptual framework for the course, and it also provides an
opportunity to see some of what the AP exam has in store.
There are five stages to the introductory work. The first is a discussion in which students immerse
themselves immediately in sophisticated thought. The topic—the origins of virtue—is one that students
will be exploring again in the next unit on Socrates.
Following the threaded discussion students will engage in the first multiple choice test, whereby reading
and analytical skills will be assessed. This multiple choice format typically comprises 45% of the AP Exam
in Language and Composition, so it will be a good opportunity for students to see how comfortable they
are with this format of assessment.
Next students will participate in a threaded discussion that asks them to explore their origins of literacy.
This will also provide students with an opportunity to more fully introduce themselves to classmates,
particularly as they trace the history of their experiences in English/Language Arts courses.
This unit concludes with a chance to write an original argument—the first timed writing. Since the AP
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exam has a section that explores a student's ability to synthesize information into a coherent format,
this type of response is integral to the course. Sometimes, this response is content-specific. This first
one, however, is more general.
Finally, students will engage in a reflective process at the end of each unit.
Socrates
In this unit, students will discover the classical definition of being educated. The ancient Greeks,
particularly Socrates, believed in the process of inductive reasoning. In this case, his practice was to
work with those youths of Athens who were willing to engage in active conversation, and in the process,
determine key ideas about virtue, education, character, politics, and the nature of the republic. Students
will learn the basics of rhetoric, as well, during this unit. Students should obtain a copy of Meno. Here,
Socrates and Meno question the origin of virtue: is it taught or are we born with it? While students are
reading Meno, they will need to keep a journal of key rhetorical (or argumentative) strategies that
Socrates employs in order to fully determine the scope of his intellectual reasoning skills. Following this
journal response, students will engage in two creative assignments. The first will be to write an original
Socratic dialogue. Students will be employing the same skills that Socrates does with a classmate.
Following this dialogue, students will be writing an original essay of definition.
American Transcendentalism
The American colonies were founded and populated by people who were leaving something behind and
looking for something new. After the revolution, the new country attracted immigrants with similar
histories. Ironically, those same conflicts and persecutions sometimes came with them to the new land.
People who were constantly in conflict in one land could not be expected to live in total harmony in
another. From this conflict grew a new American identity, one that began to leave the Old World
behind.
In this unit students will focus on one critically important—but highly controversial—system of thinking
in history. Although the focus was primarily upon a group of people, almost all of them friends living in
or near Boston, their radically different thoughts have had a powerful and lasting impact upon this
nation. Many people who do not understand what they believed still know their names and see them to
be among the most important thinkers in American History.
Students will be able to explain or demonstrate:
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Historical Perspective: The importance of the conflicts among religious thought in early
American history; the impact of German idealism and English romanticism on the formation of
American transcendentalism
 Thinking Skills: An understanding of the basic concepts in the foundation of rhetoric and logic,
especially focusing on the concepts of fact, opinion, and theory
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Language and Literature Skills: Basic English syntax, and how its understanding can be used to
decode complex sentences
Literature: An understanding and appreciation of American literature; an understanding of how
syntax affects understanding; an understanding of how new thinking helped shape an American
identity
Composition Skills: Close reading and paraphrasing
Metacognitive Ability: A reflection on learning
Exam 1
Throughout the course, students will be devoting full weeks to the experience of working with the AP
exam. These weeks will assess both knowledge of the material studied as well as an ability to
demonstrate one's development as a reader and writer. This unit will feature timed writings and
practice multiple choice tests. These cover a range of analytical and stylistic devices which will be
addressed through the content-based prompts for this course. For the three consecutive timed writings,
students may take only 40 minutes for each to complete a response. The response must FIRST be
handwritten. Given the difficulties of online instruction, it is entirely up to students to monitor their own
schedule. After students have written their response by hand, they will type their response and submit it
to the teacher using the Drop Box. The other half of the test features in-depth multiple choice questions,
which are also presented under timed settings. Following the assessments, students will receive their
first Discussion and Journal grades.
American Dream
In this unit, students will be exploring the American Dream by reading the American classic by F. Scott
Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby. Like the previous work read, students will be spending two weeks on this
unit. For the first week, students will read Chapters 1–6. For the second week, students will read
Chapters 7–9. There will be accompanying writing assignments and other activities.
The objectives of this unit are:
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to understand the impact that point of view has on a story
to successfully analyze the author's use of juxtaposition in the writing
to understand how Fitzgerald uses symbolism
to appreciate the author's analysis of America and examine the relevance to our society today
to write successfully—both analytically and expositorily—in response to the reading
to understand Fitzgerald's complex development of character
Exam 2
This unit features two more timed writings, as well as an additional multiple choice exam. The timed
writings cover a range of stylistic and/or rhetorical strategies. Students will be encouraged to pay
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attention to the prompt and will be asked to explore a more "grassroots" approach to the prompt. This
means they will look for more of the examples relative to tone, diction, syntax, and imagery. If the
prompt asks for a more rhetorical analysis, students will look at the "top down" approach, where they
explore various appeals and organizational strategies. Students will write only for 40 minutes, writing
the response by hand first so that they can better prepare for the AP exam. Then students will type the
responses and submit them using the Drop Box provided.
Nonfiction Essays
In this unit, students will be exploring the genre of nonfiction writing. They will be reading essays from
noted writers, and they will be completing their own nonfiction essay. The discussions in this unit will
help explore their interpretation of the essays. The AP Language and Composition course focuses on
nonfiction. Therefore, students will be exploring how essayists craft their work. They will note that the
traditional essay in school bears little resemblance to the kind of essay they are reading in this course.
Indeed, when looking for a thesis statement, the introductory paragraph might be the last place one
might find such a statement.
The objectives for this unit are:
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Successful analysis of author content.
Successful analysis of author style, incorporating new terminology.
Synthesis of analytical skills via writing an original essay, using the process approach.
Comprehension of nonfiction as a genre that extends beyond the traditional analytical prose.
Exam 3
In this unit, students will be experiencing the timed writings and multiple choice exams as an evaluation
of writing and as preparation for the AP Language exam. The timed writings will ask students to
incorporate their knowledge of language as they explore different aspects of the genre of nonfiction.
Coming to America
What does the modern version of the American Dream look and sound like? Ann Fadiman successfully
addresses this question in her book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. The protagonists of this
text are the Hmong people, who originate from Southeast Asia. In learning more about the United
States, students may need to step into the shoes of those whose lives are vastly different from their
own, especially when they come to America.Students will need to obtain a copy of the nonfiction book
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Ann Fadiman. This book will need to be read within two
weeks. As students read, they will want to think about a number of things, especially the way the author
compares the two cultures. You can find some help by consulting the book's official Web site.For the
unit exam, students will be asked to write paragraph responses to several study questions.The objectives
for this unit are:
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to understand how writers effectively develop a logical argument
to analyze how structural devices enhance meaning
to successfully compare in an analytical format
to appreciate the modern version of the American Dream as a story that is continuing to be told
American Poetry
Students will be reading selected poets in American literature during this unit. Their work here is
twofold. First, they will understand key themes and ideas of American literature. Second, they will
understand the stylistic and rhetorical devices incorporated in these poems. The study of poetry also
gives students an opportunity to microscopically explore aspects of language. While the AP Language
and Composition exam itself does not include poetry, the study of poetry provides immeasurable
benefits in terms of addressing the key components of language. More than any other unit, the study of
language provides insight into the relationship between form and content. Therefore, students will need
to become familiar with some fundamental terms.
The objectives for this unit are
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To successfully analyze poetry, with an awareness of stylistic technique.
To analyze poets' views on universal themes.
To compare eras in American literary history.
To synthesize language analysis skills of the course into the analysis of poetry.
Course Sets
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AP English Language
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Toll-free 877-804-NACA (6222)
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