Course Syllabus
Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition
Mr. Mooney—Clear Brook High School, 2015-2016
Welcome to AP English IV, or Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition. This
course will serve as an in-depth study of literature—literature spanning genres, centuries, and
continents. Too, you will be writing often and in varied formats. My goal is twofold: 1) to help
you understand, appreciate, and analyze the literary works that have so influenced and impacted
the world; and 2) to help you do as well as possible on the Literature and Composition AP Exam.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you ever have questions or concerns about the course:
[email protected]; 281 284 8620.
College Board Course Description
“An AP English Literature and Composition course engages students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Through the close reading of selected texts, students
deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and
pleasure for their readers. As they read, students consider a work’s structure, style and themes, as well as such smaller-scale elements as they use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and
tone.”
The Reading
You will do most of the required reading outside of class. Our required selections range from the
very oldest of works to more recent works. But you should approach all reading assignments
similarly—with an uninterrupted hour, an open mind, and a sharpened pencil. That is, you must
always be an active reader. We will study varied writers who bear varied life experiences and in
turn wrote in varied genres. Take notes as you read. More importantly: ask questions as you read.
If you can’t find the answer, ask me in class. If I can’t find the answer, we’ll figure it out together.
To be successful in this class—and to ensure that the class is a worthwhile learning experience
for all involved—you must keep up with the required reading. I will conduct class with the
understanding that everyone is prepared. Because this course reflects the content and rigor of a
college class, we will cover a great deal of material in a relatively short span of time. If you
begin to fall behind, see me. I will do my best to help you manage your time better. But in the
end, there are no shortcuts. Decide now that you are all in. I can very nearly guarantee that it’ll be worth it.
How much reading? It depends. You should think in terms of a time commitment rather than a
page commitment. For fiction, you may have anywhere from twenty to fifty pages per night. For
poetry, maybe one page. But your understanding of that one page of poetry will require you to
spend the same amount of time as the fifty pages of fiction. As a general rule, expect to spend
about one hour preparing for each class meeting.
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The Writing
You will be writing chiefly to convey what you understand about the literature and to explain
why you have developed this particular understanding. In short, the focus is literary analysis. The
timed writing is a key component of the AP Exam, so we’ll spend much time working on your skills in an AP-free-response sort of framework. But you’ll also write to explore—creative
writing—and to discover—research.
You will spend much time on developing your style as a writer. That is, you will be expected to
exhibit skillful use of language. Your organization, sentence variation, diction, format, and
transitions are all important. You will take what you’ve learned about rhetoric and refine your
skills as a literary critic. The writing you do in this course does not serve merely to supplement
the reading. It serves to reinforce the reading.
We read so we have something to write about;; we write because we’ve just read something that compels us to do so.
The Writing, Part II
For the most part, our in-class writing assignments will be timed writings—fashioned in the
mold of AP free-response questions. Your prompts will be fairly specific and focused, and
they’ll often be accompanied by a short passage from whatever literary work you’re analyzing. To that end: these questions will be open-ended, in a sense, but you will be somewhat limited in
terms of what you might discuss. In other words, there will be a specific question, and you must
fundamentally answer it. I’ll score timed writings on the AP scale (9 to 0). The conversion of AP-scale scores to grade book scores:
9 …
100
8 …
95
7 …
90
6 …
85
5 …
80
4 …
75
3 …
70
2 …
65
1 …
60
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Students who earn lower than a 5 on any timed writing will have the opportunity to re-write for
up to a 75. In these cases, students must: 1) schedule a conference with me; 2) do the re-write in
tutorials; and 3) complete both the conference and the re-write within seven class days of
receiving the original score.
Holistic Timed Writing Rubric
9-8
These essays offer insightful analysis regarding the use of literary devices. The essays
offer a range of interpretations; they provide convincing commentary on both complex
relationships and the author’s use of these devices. They demonstrate consistent and effective control over the elements of composition in language appropriate to the analysis
of prose or poetry. Textual references are apt and specific. Though they may not be errorfree, these essays are perceptive in their analysis and demonstrate writing that is clear and
sophisticated, and in the case of a score of 9, especially persuasive.
7-6
These essays offer a reasonable analysis regarding the use of literary devices. The essays
are less thorough or less precise in their discussion of complex relationships and the
author’s use of these literary devices. These essays demonstrate the student’s ability to express ideas clearly, making references to the text, although they do not exhibit the same
level of effective writing as the 9–8 responses. Essays scored a 7 present better developed
analysis and more consistent command of the elements of effective composition than do
essays scored a 6.
5
These essays respond to the assigned task with a plausible analysis of the author’s use of literary devices but tend to be superficial in their analysis of relationships and
complexities. They often rely on paraphrase, which may contain some analysis, implicit
or explicit. Their analysis may be vague, formulaic, or minimally supported by references
to the text. There may be minor misinterpretations of the prose or poetry. These essays
demonstrate some control of language, but the writing may be marred by surface errors.
These essays are not as well conceived, organized, or developed as 7–6 essays.
4-3
These lower-half essays fail to offer an adequate analysis of the literary work. The analysis
may be partial, unconvincing, or irrelevant, or it may ignore complex relationships or the
author’s use of literary devices. Evidence from the work may be slight or misconstrued, or the essays may rely on paraphrase only. The writing often demonstrates a lack of control over the
conventions of composition: inadequate development of ideas, accumulation of errors, or a
focus that is unclear, inconsistent, or repetitive. Essays scored a 3 may contain significant
misreading and/or demonstrate inept writing.
2-1
These essays compound the weaknesses of those in the 4–3 range. Although some
attempt has been made to respond to the prompt, the student’s assertions are presented with little clarity, organization, or support from the poem. These essays may contain
serious errors in grammar and mechanics. They may offer a complete misreading or be
unacceptably brief. Essays scored a 1 contain little coherent discussion of the poem.
0
These essays do no more than make a reference to the task.
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College Prep
Letters of Recommendation – Please give me at least two weeks (preferably four) to complete
and submit your letter. I’ll need all relevant paperwork, instructions, and an academic resume.
College Application Essays – What I will not do: edit your essay; help you draft your essay; tell
you what to write about. What I will do: give you my overall impression; point out areas of
stylistic, grammatical, and mechanical weakness; suggest general ideas for meaningful revision.
Course Grades
Major Grades (exams and essays)
Daily Grades (independent reading
questions*; critical reading
quizzes**; in-class assignments)
Reading/Writing (participation,
study outlines, etc.)
60%
35%
* count twice
** count three times
5%
Academic Honesty
From the CCISD Student Code of Conduct:
Behaviors defined as cheating
A. Giving or receiving information, looking on someone else’s paper, or allowing someone else to see one’s paper during an exam, test or quiz. B. Unauthorized receipt or distribution of exam, test or quiz contents, materials, or answer
key.
C. Use of unauthorized resources such as notes during an exam.
D. Taking an exam, producing a project, paper or assignment for another student or asking
someone to take an exam or produce a project, paper or assignment for you.
E. Copying work assigned to be done independently or letting others copy one’s work. Behaviors defined as plagiarism: Any misrepresentation of another’s work as one’s own including copying of sentences, phrases, images, entire essays, passages from an undocumented
source, musical scores, and other similar works.
Academic Dishonesty will result in academic and/or behavioral consequences.
A. A grade of zero will be given on the work involved, and the grade of zero will be
averaged with the other grades.
B. The building principal will be notified of all incidents of academic dishonesty.
C. Other actions as determined by building principal such as assignment to In School
Suspension (ISS).
I will deal with academic dishonesty in accordance with CCISD policy.
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Course Outline
______________________________________________________________________________
This outline is somewhat tentative. I believe it’s a fair representation of our course of studies, but I
do reserve the right to make modifications when necessary. I will notify you of any changes.
I.
Introductory Unit – 3 weeks
A. Review of (or introduction to) literary devices and terms
B. Essay organization, style, and format
1. Word choice
2. Sentence length and fluency
3. Paragraphs and their stand-alone role
4. Three-tiered approach to literary analysis
a. Organizing essays to reflect careful consideration
b. Importance of clear analysis of and commentary on not only the
literature and its effect on the reader—but also its more far-reaching
implications
5. Poetry analysis
a. TPCASTT
b. Personal reflection
6. Review of rhetoric and its role in literary analysis
C. Anatomy of an AP Literature free response question
D. Effective test-taking: multiple choice items
E. Summer Reading—All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy
1. In-class discussion
2. Critical reading quizzes
3. Re-reading of key passages (typical of McCarthy’s prose)
a. Dialectical analyses
b. What typifies McCarthy’s style?
4. Exam: All the Pretty Horses
a. Multiple choice
b. In-class essay
i. Timed writing
ii. Dealing with interpretation re: consideration of structure,
style, and theme
II.
William Shakespeare and the Renaissance – 4 weeks
A. Introduction to the period
1. Discussion of art, literature, architecture
2. Shakespeare’s life and times
3. The Shakespeare authorship question
B. The Tragic element
1. Aristotle and the Greek dramatists
2. The evolution of Shakespeare’s tragedy
a. Brief review of works already studied
i. Romeo and Juliet
ii. Othello
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iii. Julius Caesar
b. Tying it together: the tragedies and…
i. England’s politics and monarchs
ii. Shakespeare’s personal life
3. The Tragedy of King Lear
a. Independent reading with in-depth discussions
b. Close reading practice
c. Critical reading quiz
d. Timed writing
C. Selected Sonnets, William Shakespeare
1. Subject matter
2. Form
3. Cultural implications
D. Exam—multiple choice: Shakespeare, Lear, poetry
E. Writing Assignment (possibly out of class)
1. Analysis
2. Interpretation of Shakespeare’s use of figurative language
III.
The Romantic Era – 6 weeks
A. Poetry
1. Selected works from the following poets:
a. Shelley
b. Byron
c. Coleridge
d. Blake
e. Scott
f. Keats
g. Wordsworth
2. Class discussions, close reading, quizzes
3. The Byronic Hero
a. Antiheroism
b. Elements and traits
c. The Byronic Hero and popular culture
4. Timed writing
B. Fiction
1. Review of gothic literature
2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
a. Elements of the frame narrative
b. Historical implications re:
i. The Enlightenment
ii. The Industrial Revolution
c. Class discussions, reading quizzes, close reading practice
d. A study of Frankenstein’s legacy
e. Exam—Multiple choice
f. Term paper (extended analysis)
i. Out-of-class essay with focus on writing process and
meaningful revision
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ii. Analysis, exploration, and evaluation of Frankenstein’s effect on or treatment of social, historical, and/or cultural values
iii. More details forthcoming
3. Selected short stories by Edgar Allan Poe
a. The United States and the Romantic Era
b. Poe’s impact on American Literature
c. Critical reading quiz
IV.
Late Victorian Era – 4 weeks
A. Dracula by Bram Stoker
1. Review of the frame narrative with emphasis on epistolary storytelling
2. Bram Stoker—life and times
3. Vampires and related revenants
a. History and cultural implications
b. Literary canon’s treatment of revenants
4. Continuation of gothic thematic
5. Reading quizzes & possible critical reading assessment/s
6. Timed writing
7. Multiple choice exam
V.
British Imperialism – 3 weeks
A. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
1. Review: effects of British Empire in social/historical context
2. British Empire’s effect on world literature
3. Conrad’s style, purpose, and form (including frame narrative)
4. Critical study of key characters
5. Multiple choice exam
VI.
Modern Poetry – 2-3 weeks
A. T.S. Eliot
1. The Waste Land
2. “Hollow Men”
B. Selected works by:
1. Ezra Pound
2. Wallace Stevens
3. Elizabeth Bishop
4. William Carlos Williams
5. William Butler Yeats
6. James Joyce
7. Samuel Beckett
8. Others as warranted
C. Critical reading quiz
D. Timed writing
1. TPCASTT (or modified TPCASTT)
2. Evaluation of poet’s craft;; critical judgment of poet’s/poem’s effectiveness re: unique use of language
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VII. The Social Satire – 4 weeks
A. Review of satire
1. History
2. Purpose
3. Notable satirists
B. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
1. Impetus and context of the novel
2. Brave New World as a satire
3. Utopian concept
a. Negative utopia
b. Technotopia
4. Class discussion
a. Vocabulary
b. Organization
c. Social mores
d. Style
5. “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
6. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
7. Selected works from James Garner’s Politically Correct Bedtime Stories
8. Exam—multiple choice: social satire
9. Research paper
a. Extended analysis
b. Multiple process grades
c. Focus on
i. Developing evocative researchable questions
ii. Meaningful revision
iii. Consideration of (and adjustment to) feedback during the
writing process
VIII. AP Exam Prep – 3 weeks
A. Thorough review of released exams
B. At least two practice free-response essays
C. Practice multiple choice questions
D. Review of works studied in high school
IX.
The Great Depression and the Novella – 3 weeks
A. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
1. Character development and archetypes
2. Language, the vernacular, and colloquialisms
3. The Great Depression and its influence on the novella
4. Multiple choice exam (final exam)
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