LITERATURE
Advanced Placement English Language and Composition
SYLLABUS
AP English Language and Composition is a college-level course, designed in accordance with
the College Board‟s AP English Course Description, that emphasizes the rigorous analysis,
discussion, and composition of non-fiction prose, including essays, editorials, journals, memoirs,
tracts, speeches, autobiographies, literary criticism, political cartoons and other visual texts, etc.,
primarily from the American tradition. Readings are integrated with extensive and varied
composition activities and are organized in units of study according to two principles: (1) the
development over time of an American tradition, and (2) the use of varied rhetorical modes to
achieve expository, analytical, and persuasive purposes. Students receive intensive instruction in
the vocabulary, concepts, and methods of (primarily Aristotelian) rhetorical analysis and
composition. All course activities directly or indirectly develop the reading, writing, editing and
revision, research, analytical, and argumentative skills necessary for successful performance on
the AP English Language and Composition exam.
Nonfiction Readings from the American Tradition
Era of Exploration:
Christopher Columbus, “A Spectacle of Great Beauty”
John Smith, “The New Land”
visual texts: historic maps and charts
Puritanism:
Cotton Mather, “The Trial of Martha Carrier”
Jonathan Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
Primary and secondary documents, including primers, tracts, and visual texts
The Enlightenment:
Benjamin Franklin, “Moral Perfection” from Autobiography
Patrick Henry, “Speech in the Virginia Convention”
Thomas Paine, The Crisis, Number I
Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence
visual texts: political cartoons of the Revolution
Transcendentalism:
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “A Nonconformist,” “Traveling,” and “Reliance on Property”
from Self-Reliance
Henry David Thoreau: “Why I Went to the Woods” and “Why I Left the Woods” from
Walden
---, “Civil Disobedience”
James W. C. Pennington, “Escape: A Slave Narrative”
Great American Speeches:
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “I Have A Dream”
Chief Seattle, “This Sacred Soil”
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Speech to the First Women‟s Rights Convention”
John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address
Contemporary Voices:
Elliot Aronson: The Social Animal
Leonard Bernstein, The Joy of Music
Dee Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies
Annie Dillard, An American Childhood
Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
Richard Feynman, Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!
Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Judith Kogan, Nothing But the Best: The Struggle for Perfection at the Juilliard School
Azar Nafisi, Reading Lolita in Tehran
Carol Tavris, The Mismeasure of Woman
Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States
Note: Each student reads, analyzes, and composes in response to five of the book-length nonfiction texts
listed under “Contemporary Voices.”
Nonfiction Readings from a Variety of Rhetorical Modes
Narration:
Brent Staples, “Black Men and Public Space”
Langston Hughes, “Salvation”
Unknown author, “The Rattler”
Zora Neale Hurston, excerpt from Dust Tracks on a Road: An Autobiography
Analiese Wilcox, “Jingle Bells, Batman Sells”
Description:
Constance Farrington, excerpt from The Wretched of the Earth
Rachel Fry, “The Forgotten Ones”
Betsy Fritz, “Under the Sea”
Eleanor Gaskin, excerpt from “A Most Comforting Blanket”
Causation:
Leonard Pitts, “What Drives Our Kids to Commit Violent Acts?”
Kathleen Parker, “Blame Parents When „Darlings‟ Run Amok”
Diane Ackerman, “The Face of Beauty”
Stephen King, “Why We Crave Horror Movies”
Daniel Greenberg, “Electronic Gizmos Make Us Stupid”
Steven Johnson, “Don‟t Fear the Digital”
Malcolm Gladwell, “Brain Candy”
Robert Becker, “As Colleges Cut Costs, Class Size Mushrooms”
Rob Stein, “Pediatrician Discovers „Hogwarts Headaches‟”
Jeannie Alford Hagy, “The Cost of Equality”
Leonard Pitts, “Determining Who Is College Material”
Natalie Angier, “Death of Bullies Promotes Baboon Peace”
Jonah Goldberg, “Racism By Another Name is „Diversity‟”
Shankar Vedantam, “School Diversity May Ease Racial Prejudice”
Joe Klein, “There‟s More Than One Way To Diversity”
Donna Goldshteyn, “The Color of Love”
Autumn Notter, “Let the Walls Fall Down”
Comparison:
Shana Alexander, “Fashions in Funerals”
James Gorman, “Man, Bytes, Dog”
Suzanne Britt Jordan, “That Lean and Hungry Look”
Danzy Senna, “The Color of Love”
Mary Pipher, “Academic Selves
Jessica Madden, “Finer Things”
Unknown author, “I‟d Rather Be Green”
Definition:
Ellen Goodman, “The Company Man”
Robert Keith Miller, “Discrimination Is a Virtue”
Perri Klass, “Anatomy and Destiny”
Leonard Pitts, “Logic Jettisoned When We Become Slaves to Rules”
Michael Crowley, “Kick „Em Out of School!”
Mary Schmich, “Life‟s Lines Tell Us Exactly Where We Stand”
Eric Zorn, “Hunters, Writer Trade Shots On Thrill of the Kill”
Tom Robbins, “Kissing Is Our Greatest Invention”
Adam Haslett, “Love Supreme”
Sharon Bertsch McGrayne, “A Woman‟s Place: Outer Space”
William Lutz: “Involuntary Conversions, Preemptive Counterattacks, and Incomplete
Successes: The World of Doublespeak”
H. Allen Orr, “Devolution”
Claudia Roth Pierpont, “The Measure of America”
Beyond Nonfiction
Masterworks from the American Tradition:
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Arthur Miller, Death of A Salesman
Note #1: As David Jolliffe has observed in his article “Blending AP English Language & American
Literature: A Fortuitous Combination,” AP English Language and Composition courses may incorporate
fictional and dramatic texts as well as extensive nonfiction readings, provided that the instructor “see[s] all
pieces of literature as rhetorical transactions, written by real authors who deliberately crafted their texts to
accomplish a specific purpose or achieve a particular effect with readers.” That is the approach—
emphasizing the rhetorical, purposive nature of all texts—taken toward fictional and dramatic works in this
course.
Note #2: In conjunction with each of the “masterworks” listed above, students read, discuss, and write in
response to a variety of literary critical essays. Students synthesize their ideas with those of prominent
critics in composing their own essays, providing documentation in MLA style.
Composition Requirements
Students enrolled in AP English Language and Composition enjoy extensive and varied collegelevel writing opportunities in both semesters. Students compose expository, analytical, and
persuasive essays in a variety of rhetorical modes, including narration, description, causation,
comparison, and definition. Compositions also include pre- and post-reading journals,
impromptu (timed) essays, formal revised essays, and creative responses to texts, including
visual texts such political cartoons. Composition units are integrated with the analysis of nonfiction texts, and they incorporate whole- and small-group discussion, teacher feedback (through
written commentary and one-on-one writing conferences) at multiple stages of the writing
process, peer feedback, and self-analysis. In many cases, students are required to submit
multiple drafts featuring substantive revision of content, structure, and style. Among the facets
of writing examined throughout the year are the following: diction, syntax, tone, structure, and
development—all with clear regard to audience and purpose.
Expository Essays (based upon the study of nonfiction models) include the following:
Narrative Essay
Description of Place Essay
Causal Analysis Essay
Comparison Essay
Definition Essay
Note: Students write on topics of their own choosing, submit multiple drafts involving substantive revision
of content, structure, and style, incorporate ideas from teachers and peers, and compose self-analyses.
Analytical Essays (based upon the study of nonfiction models) include the following:
Analytical Essay based upon Ellen Goodman, “The Company Man”
Analytical Essay based upon passages from N. Scott Momaday, The Way to Rainy
Mountain and Dee Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Analytical Essay based upon a passage from The Autobiography of Frederick Douglass
Analytical Essay based upon a passage from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Why We Can’t
Wait
Others at the discretion of the instructor
Note: Some of the analytical essays based upon nonfiction models are composed under timed conditions in
preparation for the Free Response essays students complete as part of the AP English Language and
Composition exam. Others require students to submit multiple drafts involving substantive revision of
content, structure, and style, incorporate ideas from teachers and peers, and compose self-analyses.
Argumentative Essays (based upon the study of nonfiction models) include the following:
Argumentative Essay based upon a “current issues” controversy
Argumentative Essay based upon passages from Henry David Thoreau, Walden and
“Civil Disobedience”
Argumentative Essay based upon a chosen passage excerpted from the writings of a
contemporary ethicist
Argumentative Essay based upon a chosen passage excerpted from the writings of a
contemporary cultural commentator
Others at the discretion of the instructor
Note: Some of the argumentative essays based upon nonfiction models are composed under timed
conditions in preparation for the Free Response essays students complete as part of the AP English
Language and Composition exam. Others require students to submit multiple drafts involving substantive
revision of content, structure, and style, incorporate ideas from teachers and peers, and compose selfanalyses.
Researched (Synthesis) Essays (based upon the study of nonfiction models and visual texts)
include the following:
No fewer than three full-length researched (synthesis) essays, including proper
documentation using MLA style
Briefer essays incorporating research, including proper documentation using MLA style
Note: Some of the researched (synthesis) essays are composed under timed conditions and incorporate
visual texts in preparation for the synthesis essay students complete as part of the AP English Language and
Composition exam. Others require students to submit multiple drafts involving substantive revision of
content, structure, and style, incorporate ideas from teachers and peers, and compose self-analyses.
Students are instructed in research methods, including the selection and evaluation of sources, whether
written or visual, and provide documentation in MLA style.
Pre-Reading, During-Reading, and Post-Reading Journals (Informal Writing to Learn)
include the following:
Pre-Reading Journals (2) to The Scarlet Letter
During-Reading Journal to The Scarlet Letter
Pre-Reading Journal to Huckleberry Finn
Pre-Reading Journal to The Great Gatsby
Pre-Reading Journal to Death of a Salesman
During-Reading Journals (2) to Death of a Salesman
Others at the discretion of the instructor
Note: Informal writing-to-learn experiences, the Journals listed above allow students to examine prominent
themes, forge links between texts and contemporary society, and examine the relevance of texts to their
own lives.
Formal, Revised Persuasive Speech based upon models from the American Tradition
Creative Written Responses to Texts:
The Scarlet Letter Mini-Projects—including original poetry, mock diary entries, letters to
“Dear Abby,” etc.
The Great Gatsby poetry assignment
Original student poetry based upon models
Homework Assignments incorporating a writing-to-learn focus complement the composition
experiences of students enrolled in AP English Language and Composition.
Rhetorical Analysis and Composition
Students receive intensive instruction in the vocabulary, concepts, and methods of (primarily
Aristotelian) rhetorical analysis and composition. Students master such concepts as (1) the
rhetorical situation (including exigence, audience, and purpose), (2) the rhetorical appeals
(including ethos, pathos, and logos), and (3) the rhetorical devices (including diction, syntax,
tone, imagery, metaphors of all types, etc.) With increasing sophistication as the year
progresses, students analyze how authors manipulate language in order to accomplish their
purposes. Students compose their own texts in response to clearly defined rhetorical situations.
Discussion Expectations
Classroom conversations at their best are stimulating, thoughtful, and pleasantly unpredictable.
The free exchange of ideas clarifies our interpretations and deepens the pleasure we derive from
literature. Consequently, students are encouraged to share their ideas frequently. Participation is
considered when assigning grades.
Leadership Opportunities
Throughout both semesters, students will enjoy opportunities to share their work with the class,
compose analysis questions, serve as discussion leaders, devise original projects, make
presentations, and facilitate group activities.
Collaboration Opportunities
Students are encouraged to work together and learn from one another in both formal and
informal settings.
Primary Texts
Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell, eds. Patterns for College Writing: A Rhetorical
Reader and Guide. New York, NY: Bedford/St. Martin‟s.
Lunsford, Andrea A., John J. Ruszkiewicz, and Keith Walters. Everything’s an Argument: With
Readings. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin‟s, 2004.
Miller, George, ed. The Prentice Hall Reader. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Trimmer, James F., and Maxine C. Hairston, eds. The Riverside Reader. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin.
Supplemental Texts
Baym, Nina, ed. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Shorter 6th ed. New York:
Norton, 2003.
Lunsford, Andrea A. St. Martin’s Handbook. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin‟s.
Roskelly, Hephzibah, and David Jolliffe. Everyday Use: Rhetoric at Work in Reading and
Writing. New York: Longman.
References
College Board. AP English Course Description. New York: The College Board, 2005.
Jolliffe, David. “Blending AP English Language & American Literature”
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/courses/teachers_corner/26146.html