Mr. Varvel
2016 - 2017
AP English III – Language and Composition
Course Description
The AP English Language and Composition course covers much of the ground typically addressed in college freshman English courses. The course is primarily a composition class, giving students ample opportunities to write in a variety of forms for different purposes. The first semester will address the basics of rhetoric and composition, while the second semester will focus more on the research paper and written rhetorical analysis. There are also many reading assignments that will typically address various aspects of rhetoric and composition, including narration; description; exposition; process, causal, and literary analysis; argument; tone; style; logical constructs and fallacies; rhetorical devices; audience analysis; diction; grammar; punctuation; mechanics; and more. There is also a good deal of note-taking.
Students will work with expository reading passages that explain various concepts as well as professional and student essays that exemplify those concepts and serve as models for student writing. Students will also examine different kinds of writing, such as essays, editorials, letters, memos, advertisements, etc., and analyze their structure and use of rhetoric. Most reading for this class will be nonfiction. Students will also work with graphics and visual images to understand how they too have a rhetorical function.
Assignment Types
At a minimum, students will write a college admission essay, an editorial of interpretation, at least two arguments, at least two analyses (rhetorical and/or literary), and a research paper and essays in which students synthesize information from multiple sources and argue a position on a topic. During certain kinds of essays, students will learn the features of the MLA style of research documentation. Students also will have timed writing exercises written exclusively in class that will be based on actual AP exam prompts. Furthermore, there will be practice with multiple choice sections of previously administered AP exams and discussion of nonfiction reading strategies.
All essays (except timed essays written exclusively in class) will be subject to intensive peer/teacher editing and revision (global and local) and turned in on the assigned due date with all other required materials, such as working thesis statements, audience analysis drafts, prewriting, rough drafts, and revised drafts. Students will also be given journal assignments, about half of which are designed to give practice with concepts that are to be used in the essay students are working on at the time. These journal entries are to be a minimum of one page long (typed, 12pt font) and will be graded solely on quality of content. No attention will be paid to grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc., unless problems are so severe as to obscure the meaning of the entry. Furthermore, students may have various exercises designed to reinforce the concepts in the readings/notes. Most often, these will be completed in class so help is easily available.
Quizzes, Exams, and Journals
Although the course is a composition class, the assigned reading/note-taking is essential to student success. If students do not complete the required reading, they will not incorporate the various concepts into their essays effectively and will almost certainly not succeed. They will also not be prepared for tests. To encourage regular reading, quizzes will be given to assess student understanding of the concepts in the readings/notes. This class is a college-level course, and students should take it as seriously as they would a college course. The work will be rigorous, and those with poor study habits may find themselves in a deep hole very quickly.
Exam grades will consist of essay assignments and more traditional tests.
Journal assignments provide students an opportunity to write in a circumstance that encourages thoughtfulness without the pressure that comes from constantly being concerned about spelling, punctuation, mechanics, etc. Some of these assignments will be directly related to essays the students are writing, while some will be of a more “casual and fun” nature.
Grading
This class will follow district policy for grading. More specifics about grading for different types of assignments will be given as they arise.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is appropriating someone else’s ideas and/or work and presenting it as one’s own. Because technology has made plagiarism so much easier (and tempting) than it once was, the course has numerous safeguards: packets with multiple drafts, assigned topics, teacher examination of work during the writing process, in-class essays, etc. The instructor is also quite adept at Googling. Furthermore, we have access to Turnitin.com, which checks for plagiarism; you may be asked to submit some or all of your papers for scanning. In short, do not cheat. Students caught plagiarizing will receive a zero and will be subject to discipline according to school policy. All ideas and papers in the course build on one another throughout the year or revisit something already done. If you cheat, it will become increasingly evident that you have not mastered the concepts being studied because you will not be able to do what you are being asked to do on in-class writing assignments. The cliché is true: If you cheat, you only cheat yourself!
First Semester
1st 9 Weeks:
Summer Reading Tests
Introduction to the Recursive Writing Process – Prewriting, Drafting, Revision,
Design
College Admission Essay – Students use narration and/or exposition to address one of the essay prompts at ApplyTexas.
Freewriting
Narrative Line – students construct a narrative line (graphic organizer) for their
narrative essay.
Formal Outlines
Analyzing Audience and Determining Purpose – Students learn how to analyze the
audience for their papers and how to determine their purpose for writing.
Developing a Hypothesis and Thesis
Narration and Description: Sample Essays by Lisa Widenhofer and Andre Dubus –
students learn techniques for narration and description and use student and
professional essays as models.
Discovery Drafts
Journal Topics 1 &/or 2
Sample Essays – Andy Rooney and Sarah Penning
Revising Wordy Sentences; Using Active Verbs and Appropriate Language
Dictionary & Thesaurus Usage
Argument – Planning and Investigating, Arranging the Evidence (Induction,
Deduction, Claims and Warrants, Accommodation)
Sample Argument Essays – Anna Quindlen and Jon Seidel
Monitoring the Appeals (Logical, Emotional, Ethical)
Logical Fallacies – Students learn the fallacies and practice identifying them in various
writing samples.
Diction: Denotation & Connotation, Appropriateness, Specificity, Imagery –
students begin to learn “the power of words” and strategies for using suitable words for different writing situations.
2nd 9 Weeks:
Pro/Con Lists
Argument Essay
Rhetorical Analysis of Texts
Methods of Development: Narration, Description, Compare/Contrast, Causal Analysis,
Process Analysis, Classification, Definition – Students learn to recognize these
MOD’s and how to use them. Various exercises and quizzes are used to assess
understanding.
Identifying and Revising Boundary Errors – Fragments, Comma Splices, Fused
Sentences
Sentences: Expanding and Combining – students learn methods of expanding and
combining sentences to lend variety to their writing.
Sentences – Revision (Sample Essay – Richard Selzer)
Journal Topics 3 &/or 4
Second Semester
3rd 9 Weeks:
Journal Topics 5 &/or 6
Review Argument Concepts
Quotation/Citation Mechanics
Synthesis Essay – Students argue a topic while citing sources as support for their
position.
Tone and Style: Sample Essays by P.J. O’Rourke and Patricia Hampl – students learn
the concepts of tone and style and use the sample essays as models for their own
writing assignments.
Rhetorical Analysis Notes (Writing)
Analyzing Visual Rhetoric
Journal Topics 7 &/or 8
Rhetorical Analysis Essay – Students use reading samples as models and class
discussion of samples, including satire, to learn the elements of writing a rhetorical analysis.
Paragraphs – Structure, Topical Paragraphs, Transitional Paragraphs, Introductions &
Conclusions, Paragraph Revision
Paragraphs – Unity, Completeness, Order, and Coherence
In-class Rhetorical Analysis Essay #2
4th 9 Weeks:
Introduction to the Research Paper – Students receive a brief overview of the research
project, get a list of possible topics from different disciplines, and do an exercise
that helps them narrow their focus to a research question.
Research Concerns: Choosing a Topic, Developing a Research Thesis, Research
Methods, Conducting Research.
Selection of Topics and Conferences – Students select a topic and have their research
question approved in a conference with the teacher.
Critical Reading – Students learn techniques and strategies for reading sources with a
critical eye.
Library Orientation
Description of Personal Research Approach – Students write an expository piece
which requires them to present their strategy for conducting research.
Documentation:Keeping a Record of Sources – Students learn various techniques for
accurately documenting sources and begin working with whatever citation system
is relevant to their research project (MLA, APA, CMS, etc.).
Plagiarism
Quoting, Summarizing, and Paraphrasing Sources
Introduction to Topic Outlines
Review Methods of Development
Topic Outline – Includes all summaries, quotes, and paraphrases to be used in the
research paper (subject to peer/teacher revision).
Developing the Outline into Paragraphs
Facts, Transitions, Commentary – Students get practice integrating facts, transitions,
and commentary into their paragraphs.
Parenthetical Documentation
Introducing Quotations – Students learn techniques for properly using quotations in
their essays.
Sample Multiple Choice Sections of AP Exam – Students work with multiple choice
questions with and without time restrictions.
Sample Essay Topics of AP Exam – students work with AP Exam essay topics
with and without time restrictions.
Drafts and Revision: Global and Local Revision of Research Paper
Research Conferences
Final Research Packets
Introduction to Oral Project
Presentation Techniques and Summaries – Students prepare summaries and
presentations of their research findings.
Drafts and Revisions: Global and Local Revision of Summaries
Oral Presentations – Students construct various visual aids appropriate to their research
topic and integrate them into a presentation.
Review Argument, Synthesis, and Rhetorical Analysis concepts and Rhetorical Terms for the AP Exam.
In-class Essay Strategies – Practice timed writing strategies
AP Exam Practice – Multiple Choice and Essay
*Due to time constraints and exam preparation needs, this syllabus may be altered at any time by the instructor.
Required Texts
None for 2017 – 2018, although it is possible students may be asked to buy a paperback or more. This is not likely though as most reading comes in the form of essays from the class set of textbooks.
Teacher Resources
Cohen, Samuel, ed. 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s,
2004.
Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference. 6th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008.
Hubbuch, Susan M. Writing Research Papers Across the Curriculum. Ft. Worth:
Harcourt Brace, 1996.
Jones, Robert W., et al. The Harcourt Brace Guide to Writing in the Disciplines.
Ft. Worth: Harcourt Brace, 1997.
Kolln, Martha. Understanding English Grammar. New York: MacMillan, 1994.
Lindemann, Erika. A Rhetoric for Writing Teachers. New York: Oxford UP, 2001.
Shea, Renee H., Lawrence Scanlon, and Robin Dissin Aufses. The Language of
Composition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008.
Trimmer, Joseph F. The New Writing with a Purpose. 14th ed. New York: Houghton
Mifflin, 2004.