Heilman AP Language and Composition Karns City Junior/Senior High School
AP Language and Composition Syllabus
Mrs. Joy Heilman, Room 308
Course Overview
This course is designed to give students frequent opportunities to learn about the ways
rhetoric and argument shape and influence our lives, our community, and our world by
examining rhetorical situations, author's purpose, as well as the audiences and the subjects
in various themed and challenging texts. Students write in a variety of modes for a variety of
audiences, developing a sense of personal style and fluency, and cultivate an ability to
analyze and articulate how the use of language operates in any given text. While the primary
focus of this course is reading and analyzing nonfiction, we also read and study selections of
fiction from the American Literature canon, analyzing for issues and themes within these
texts. We also study the rhetoric of visual media such as photographs, films, advertisements,
and comic strips, as recommended by the College Board. And In concert with the College
Heilman AP Language and Composition Board’s AP English Course Description, this course teaches “students to read primary and
secondary sources carefully, to synthesize material from these texts in their own
compositions, and to cite sources using conventions recommended by professional
organizations such as the Modern Language Association (MLA).”
Course Planner
The course is organized by unit themes, in which students read independently an anchor text
that illustrates each theme. Classwork then focuses on the introduction and analysis of
various supplemental nonfiction texts and media extensions that demonstrate delineations
and arguments related to the theme. Which each themed unit, students will also move
through learning and practicing various rhetorical analysis and composition skills
(SOAPSTONE, Annotation, Cornell Notes, and Dialectical Journals), deconstruct arguments,
and demonstrate their progress and mastery of these skills through various modes of writing
and revision and class discussions. Each unit also includes weekly timed writing on AP
Prompts, some of which will be taught before written to help students learn the skills for
tackling the prompts, others that will just be written, with an opportunity to revise after
being scored. Each term also culminates in a formal, revised writing assignment.
Other recurring course teaching strategies used to help students grow into better readers and
writers include:
1. Weekly Current Events Article assignment, in which students must find and analyze an
article (SOAPSTONE, ​Cornell Notes, and Annotation) and present it in MLA format.
2. Daily grammar and
​
syntax practice (​Voice Lessons: Classroom Activities to Teach Diction,
Detail, Imagery, Syntax, and Tone by Nancy Dean)
3. Multiple-Choice Skills Instruction and Practice with each Unit
Fall Semester
Term 1 (Course Orientation, Introduction to Close Reading, and Rhetorical
Awareness and Argument)
Term 1 is dedicated to introducing close reading and critical thinking. We work on the skills
of identifying meaning and purpose in text and how to construct meaningful annotations .
We also work on understanding authorial style and voice, understanding the purpose of
rhetoric , identifying and understanding argument, and constructing original arguments.
Heilman AP Language and Composition Unit Title: ”The Individual’s Role in Society”
Time Frame: 3 Weeks
Objective:​ Within the anchor and supplemental texts, students explore and analyze the
theme of the individual's role in society. Students will examine a variety of excerpts from
both fiction and nonfiction pieces from pre-twentieth century texts to modern-day texts.
Students will be introduced to rhetorical analysis.
Anchor Text:​ Nathaniel Hawthorne, ​The Scarlet Letter
Chapters 1-3 of​ The Language of Composition
Supplemental Texts​: Stephanie Eriksson, “The Ways We Lie”
Staples, Brent, “Just Walk On By: Black Men and Public Space”
Edwards, Jonathan, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
Goodman, Ellen, “Putting in a Good Word for Guilt”
Davidson, James West, and Mark Hamilton Lytle,
Henry David Thoreau, “Where I lived and What I lived for”
Anne Bradstreet, “Here Upon the Burning of Our House”
Gelsey, Zara, “The FBI is Reading Over Your Shoulder”
Ted Talk, “Mob Mentality”
Readings on Current Events:​ Theme-related articles, articles that reflect claims or
central ideas made by the authors studied in this unit, submissions from students with
teacher’s approval
AP Prompts​: The rhetorical analysis prompt on Abigail Adams’s letter to her son
(2014) is taught and written and the second prompt done independently with an
opportunity to revise after being scored scored is the 2011 argument prompt:
“American essayist and social critic H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) wrote, “The average
man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.” Examine the extent to
which Mencken’s observation applies to contemporary society, supporting your
position with appropriate evidence.”
Heilman AP Language and Composition Unit Title: Memoir, Autobiography, and Personal Essay
Time Frame: 5 Weeks
Objective:​ Within the anchor and supplemental texts, students will explore the literary
genre of memoir to gain a better understanding of how personal experience shapes writing
style. STudents will choose a memoir from the anchor text list to complete an in-depth study
of this genre. Classwork will focus on how to understand the role of memoir in culture by
examining the way in which the genre makes use of writing style and argument to engage an
audience in such intimate and personal details. Students Will examine a wide range of text,
print and non-print, to supplement their understanding of how memoirs make diverse
arguments about family, culture, society, etc.
Anchor Text:​ Jeanette Walls, ​The Glass Castle
Ishmael Beah, ​A Long Way Gone
Wes Moore, ​The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates
Chapters 1-3 of​ The Language of Composition
Supplemental Texts​: Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Between the World and Me”
Frank McCourt, ​Angela’s Ashes
Temple Grandin, “Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism”
Eudora Welty, “One Writer’s Beginnings”
William Zissner, ​The American Scholar, “How to Write a Memoir”
Augusten Burroughs, “Running with Scissors”
Stephen King, “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft”
Ishmael Beah “Unusual Normality”, The Moth Radio Hour
“A Family’s Hard Journey, With Disney as a Guide”, Judith Warner,
The
New York Times.
Readings on Current Events:​ Theme-related articles, articles that reflect claims or
central ideas made by the authors studied in this unit, submissions from students with
teacher’s approval
Heilman AP Language and Composition AP Prompts​: The rhetorical analysis prompt is on Eudora Welty autobiography O
​ ne
Writer’s Beginnings (2000) is taught and written and the second prompt done
independently with an opportunity to revise after being scored scored is the 2013
Free-Response prompt: “Think about the differing views of ownership. Then write an
essay in which you explain your position on the relationship between ownership and
sense of self. Use appropriate evidence from your reading, experience, or observations
to support your argument.”
Term 1 Formal Writing:​ S
​ tudents write a definition essay in which they must pick a word
and define it (related to issues in T
​ he Scarlet Letter) . The essay is 2-4 pages typed in MLA
format and pushed through the revision process.
Term 2 (Refining Rhetorical Analysis and Argument)
Term 2 is dedicated to the following skills:
● Refining Close Reading and Critical Thinking
● Using Annotation to Build Argument and Commentary
● Researching and Understanding Current Events
● Building Personal Knowledge and Observations
● Synthesizing Information
● Writing Persuasively
● Marshaling Evidence
● Constructing Original Argumentation
● Creating Meaningful Commentary
Unit Title: Athletes and Sports in Popular Culture
Time Frame: 3 Weeks
Objective:​ Students will explore the role of sports and athletes in relationship to the
following categories: sports in high schools, pay for college athletes, technology, science, and
sports, sports injuries, advertising and endorsements, morality, character, role models.
Anchor Text:​ ​Everything's an Argument, 4th Edition
Supplemental Texts​: These texts will be excerpted for classroom use and are subject
to change.
● “The United Sports of America,” Josh Levin, ​Slate
● “Let’s Start Paying College Athletes,” Joe Nocera, ​The New York Times
Heilman AP Language and Composition ● My Losing Season, Pat Conroy
● Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger
● “There are no Winners without Losers,” Frank Deford, ​NPR
● “What pay means to U.S. women’s soccer players: R-E-S-P-E-C-T,”
Sally Jenkins, ​The Washington Post
● “Now I Can Die in Peace,” Bill Simmons, ​ESPN
● “Give Me a Sporting Chance,” Mitch Albom, ​The Detroit Free Press
● The Sports Gene, David Epstein
● This is Your Brain on Sports, L. John Wertheim and Sam Sommers
● Against Football: One Fan’s Reluctant Manifesto, Steve Almond
● “Why Do We Make Athletes Role Models,” Leigh Steinberg, ​Forbes
● Room for Debate, T
​ he New York Times , “Taking Sports out of Schools”
and “Should Character Matter in Pro Sports?”
Movie Coach Super Coach
● MasterCard Commercials, Peyton Manning and MasterCard
● “The Conductor,” Kobe Bryant and Nike
● “I Will Want What I Want” Misty Copeland and Under Armor
● “Are athletes really getting better, faster, stronger?” David Epstein,
TED Talk
AP Prompts​: Students will be introduced to synthesis with a College Athletes and
Pay Synthesis Exercise. The argument prompt on College Board Contemporary Life is
Marked by Controversy (2004 Form A) is taught and written, and the second prompt
done independently with an opportunity to revise after being scored scored is the
College Board Adversity Argument Prompt (2009 Form A).
Unit Title: Medical Ethics
Time Frame: 5 Weeks
Objective:​ Students use this text to discuss writing style, organization, current events, and
modern nonfiction related to medical ethics.
Anchor Text:​ ​The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot
Supplemental Texts​: These texts will be excerpted for classroom use and are subject
to change.
● “Henrietta Everlasting: 1950s Cells Still Alive, Helping Science” Erin
Biba, W
​ ired
Heilman AP Language and Composition ● “The Immortal, Shattered Cells of Henrietta Lacks,” Rebecca J. Rosen,
The Atlantic
● “How Simple Ideas Lead to Scientific Discoveries” Adam Savage, TED
Talk
Readings on Current Events:​ medical ethics articles,that reflect claims or central
ideas made by the author studied in this unit, submissions from students with
teacher’s approval
AP Prompts​: The rhetorical analysis prompt on Frederick Douglas (1997) is taught
and written, and the second prompt done independently with an opportunity to
revise after being scored scored is the College Board Great Influenza Prompt (2008).
Term 2 Formal Writing:​ S
​ tudents write a documented argument in MLA format on a topic
of their choice. This piece is pushed through the writing process.
Spring Semester
Term 3 (Honing Writing and Close Reading Skills)
Term 3 is dedicated to refining original argument based upon research/reading/experience,
understanding concession and counterargument, researching and understanding current
events, building personal knowledge and observations, and evaluating and reflecting on
writing.
Unit Title: ​A Deadly Wandering
Time Frame: 5 Weeks
Objective:​ Within the anchor and supplemental texts, students will explore brain science
and development, modern day distraction with a focus on distracted driving, and the role of
technology in daily life. Students will analyze Matt Richtel’s style and argumentation to
understand how authors make engaging and relevant arguments about modern day issues,
specifically about science. Students will examine a wide range of text, print and non-print, to
supplement their understanding of ​A Deadly Wandering’s diverse arguments about science
and technology
Anchor Text:​ ​A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the
Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age, Matt Richtel
Supplemental Test: ​These texts will be excerpted for classroom use and are subject
to change.
Heilman AP Language and Composition ● “​How Gender Affects the Behavior of Teen Drivers,” Olga Kazan, ​The Atlantic
●
“Compulsive Texting Takes Toll on Teenagers,” Roni Caryn Rabin, T​he New
York Times
● “How Your Cell Phone Distracts You, Even When You Aren’t Using It,” T​ime
● “Why People Text and Drive Even When They Know It’s Dangerous,” ​Time
● “Confident Multitaskers are the Most Dangerous Behind the Wheel,” ​Scientific
American
● “Is Internet Addiction A Health Threat for Teenagers?” R
​ oom for Debate
●
“An Open Letter to Texting-Crazed Teens”Andrea Bartz and Brenna
Ehrlich,​CNN
● “Small Distractions Can Have Big Consequences,” S
​ cientific American
● “Information overload? Heavy multimedia users are more easily distracted by
irrelevant information,” ​National Geographic Images, Infographics, Graphs and
Statistics
● “The Great Multitasking Lie,” ​National Safety Council
● “Americans’ Views on Mobile Etiquette 2015,” ​Pew Research
Video, Audio
● “From One Second to the Next,” ​It Can Wait-Werner Herzog Documentary
● “Gauging your Distraction,” ​The New York Times
● Toyota TeenDrive 365 Documentaries
● “Misunderstood,” Apple iPhone Commercial
● “Baby Driver,” Subaru Commercial
AP Prompts​: An argument prompt on “Technology’s Impact on the Individual” is
taught and written and the second prompt done independently with an opportunity
to revise after being scored scored is the 2013 argument prompt: “Passage from ​Last
Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. Write an essay in which you analyze the rhetorical
strategies Louv uses to develop his argument about the separation between people
and nature.”
Unit Title: ​The Role of Food
Time Frame: 3 Weeks
Objective:​ Students will explore society and the individual’s relationship to food, fast food,
school sponsorship, organic movement and locavores, food production and farming, and
food issues: moral/ethical. Within the context of this unit, students will examine how food is
a cultural commodity, a source of personal struggle, a source of national concern, and a
staple in everyday life. Students will explore within the excerpted pieces the role of food in
Heilman AP Language and Composition families. Students will construct their own arguments about how food culturally defines the
United States and examine the role of visual texts, specifically commercials, infographics,
and images.
Supplemental Test: ​These texts will be excerpted for classroom use and are subject
to change.
● Stuffed Excerpt, Patricia Volk
● Animal, Vegetable, Miracle Excerpt, Barbara Kingsolver
●
​The Omnivore’s Dilemma Excerpt, Michael Pollan
● Salt, Fat, Sugar Excerpt, Michael Moss
●
●
​Tomatoland, Barry Estabrook
“Indian Takeout,” Jhumpa Lahiri
● Room for Debate, ​The New York Times
○ “Can Fast Food Redeem Itself?“
○ “Is Organic Food Worth the Expense?”
TED Talks and Commercials
● “If You’re Happy,” Weight Watchers Commercial
● “The Brady Bunch, Eat a Snickers,” Snickers Commercial
● “Signs,” McDonald’s Commercials
● “Back to the Start,” Chipotle Commercial
● “Ron Finley: A Guerilla Gardener in South Central LA,” TED Talk
AP Prompts​: College Board Corporate Sponsorship in Schools Argument Prompt
(2008 Form A) and the College Board Locavores Synthesis Prompt ( 2011 Synthesis
Prompt Form A)
Term 3 Formal Writing: ​A Cause and Effect Documented Argument on one of the two
themes discussed in this term.
Term 4 (A Final Look at Argumentation)
Term 4 is dedicated to further practice with writing and reading under pressure, refining time
management, and evaluating and reflecting on writing.
Heilman AP Language and Composition Unit Title: ​Work, Socioeconomics, and Class
Time Frame: 5 Weeks
Objective:​ Within the anchor and supplemental texts, students will explore brain science
and development, modern day distraction with a focus on distracted driving, and the role of
technology in daily life. Students will analyze Matt Richtel’s style and argumentation to
understand how authors make engaging and relevant arguments about modern day issues,
specifically about science. Students will examine a wide range of text, print and non-print, to
supplement their understanding of ​A Deadly Wandering’s diverse arguments about science
and technology
Anchor Text:​ The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Supplemental Test: ​These texts will be excerpted for classroom use and are subject
to change.
● “On Compassion,” Barbara Lazear Ascher
● “Serving in Florida,” Barbara Ehrenreich
● “On Morality” Joan Didion
● “Regarding the Pain of Others,” Susan Sontag
● “The Island of Plenty,” Johnson C. Montgomery
Video, Audio
● “How Economic Inequality Harms Societies” Richard Wilkinson, Ted TAlk
AP Prompts​: All 3 prompt styles are practiced in this unit as it is before the exam.
Rhetorical Analysis 2009 Question 2 “The Future Life,” Edward O. Wilson, Argument
2010 Question 3, Form B “Buy Nothing Day”, Synthesis 2012 Question 1
“Restructuring the USPS”/
Unit Title: ​Pop Culture
Time Frame: 2 Weeks
Objective:​ Students will explore the role of popular culture within modern society. This
exploration will lead to a close examination of: Advertising, Popular Music, Television,
and Video Gaming. Within the context of this unit, students will define the role of popular
culture and its purpose. Students will explore within the excerpted pieces the themes of
entertainment, advertising and marketing, and ethics. Students will construct their own
arguments about different facets of popular culture and examine the role of non-visual texts,
specifically commercials and images.
Supplemental Texts​:
Heilman AP Language and Composition ● The Plug-In Drug: Television, Computers, and Family Life, Marie Winn Reality is
Broken, Jane McGonigal
● “Hip Hop Planet,” James McBride
● “Why Good Advertising Works (Even When You Think It Doesn’t),” Nigel
Hollis
● The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg
● Room for Debate, ​The New York Times
○ “Are Reality Shows Worse Than Other TV?”
○ “Why We Like to Watch Rich People”
Commercials​:
● Nike “Tag”
● Jaguar “British Villains”
● Goldie Blox “Princess Machine”
● Dove “Camera Shy”
Readings on Current Events:​ Theme-related articles, articles that reflect claims or
central ideas made by the authors studied in this unit, submissions from students with
teacher’s approval
AP Prompts​: The College Board, ​The Worst Years of Our Lives by Barbara Ehrenreich
(2009 Argument Prompt Form A) and The College Board Released Advertising
Synthesis Prompt (2007 Synthesis Form A).
Term 4 Formal Writing: ​College Application Essay: Time after the exam is spent
introducing students to the types of application essays they will see as they prepare to apply
to college. Students will write and revise their own.
Make-Up Work:
Students are expected to learn how to plan ahead, manage their time wisely, and respect
deadlines as they would in college and in the professional world. If you must miss a class, it
is your responsibility to check the Class Binder (up front) for all missed work. If you need
further instruction, it is your responsibility to see me for help. According to school policy,
you have 1 day for every day you miss to make up your work. All late assignments will be
Heilman AP Language and Composition penalized. For every day an assignment is late, it will drop one letter grade. After 1 week of
being late, no credit will be given.
Rules:
● All school rules (found in the handbook) apply in our classrooms.
● Respect the ideas and opinions expressed in class, even if you don’t agree with them.
● Respect yourself, your teacher, and your classmates.
● Failure to keep up with reading assignments may result in an inability to participate or
complete in-class work and negatively affect your grade in this class.
● Technology issues or problems are not acceptable excuses for late work. Also,
all papers/assignments must be printed prior to class. Otherwise, the
assignment will be considered late.
● Cheating, copying, and plagiarizing are not tolerated and will result in a zero
grade, parent contact, academic referral, and notification of Guidance and
honor societies/clubs.
Student Evaluation:
Students’ grades are based on an accumulated point system. Each graded assignment or
activity is assigned a certain number of points based on its complexity and overall
importance to the objectives of the course. Typically each assessment within each quarter
equates to about one-eighth of the total average for that marking period. At the end of each
quarter, the student’s quarter grade is determined by dividing the number of points earned by
the number of points possible. The percentages that are figured using the accumulated point
system translate into the following letter grades:
100–97 percent = A+
96–93 percent = A
92–90 percent = A–
89–87 percent = B+
86–83 percent = B
82–80 percent = B–
Heilman AP Language and Composition 79–77 percent = C+
76–73 percent = C
72–70 percent = C–
69–67 percent = D+
66–63 percent = D
62–60 percent = D–
59–50 percent = F
Remember, you will need an 84% overall to continue on to AP Literature and Composition
Course Philosophy
This class is less about grades and more about learning and thinking. I want students in this
course to have the experience of college-level English. College-level learning is not primarily
about rigor—though that’s part of college—but about responsibly and acceptance of one’s self
as a more mature student. It is also about reading, thinking about, and writing about more
mature texts. The difficulty of the texts is a stimulus for students to make their own
decisions about published authors, about themselves as writers, about their colleagues as
writers, and about the deep and ongoing questions that relate to what it means to be a
responding, acting human being both individually and as a part of a society.
I intend the course to be stimulating and demanding, a course in which students will grow in
relation to who they are. True learning, I believe, comes from self-demand rather than
society’s expectations. Learning is an organic process. It is interactive, not predicated on my
filling students with information as though they were empty vessels. You and I will learn and
create the parameters of this course together. What I expect is hard work on the part of the
individual writer and careful reading and discussion on the part of the class. Ultimately, my
expectations are straightforward: each student should make his or her best effort to grow in
the class as both a writer and thinker.
Google Classroom Code:
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