AP Language & Composition
Mrs. Migut, M. Ed., NBCT
Creekside High School, Room 565
Open Office Hours 8:40 – 9:00 AM Thursday & Friday. All others by appointment.
Course Objectives
The purpose of this course is to “engage students in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts, and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes” (The College Board AP English Language Course Description, p.7, http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/englang).
The course is organized according to the requirements and guidelines of the 2014-2015 AP English Language Course Description; therefore, students are expected to read critically and analytically, think analytically, and communicate effectively, clearly and concisely, both in writing and in speech.
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to do the following:
ü Determine and utilize writing format (expository, narrative, analytical, and argumentative essays) depending on their purpose and audience. Writings will encompass varied subjects (including, but not limited to, public policies, cultural topics, and personal experiences).
ü Master the entire writing process, including drafting and revision, with revision aided by teachers and/or peers.
ü Understand instruction and feedback on writing assignments, both before and after revision to develop the following skills:
1) A wide range of vocabulary used appropriately and effectively
2) A variety of sentence structures, including the appropriate use of subordination and coordination
3) Logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques to increase coherence, such as repetition, transitions, and emphasis
4) A balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail
5) An effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone, establishing and maintaining voice, and achieving appropriate emphasis through diction and sentence structure.
ü Write in informal contexts designed to help them become increasingly aware of themselves as writers and of the techniques employed by writers they read.
ü Draft expository, analytical, and argumentative writing assignments based on readings representing a wide variety of prose styles and genres (such as letters to the editor, critiques and argumentative essays regarding government policies, philosophical stances, and analytical essays based on the rhetoric used in the readings of the course).
ü Critically analyze and respond to high-lexile nonfiction readings. These passages are selected to give students opportunities to identify, explain, and respond to an author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques.
ü Critically examine and respond to fictional readings and poetry. These passages are selected with attention to the author’s craft and application of literary devices to achieve various effects.
ü Decipher a writer’s true purpose by examining his or her linguistic and rhetorical choices and the degree to which they are effective.
ü Make improvements and/or conclude passages of varying form as well as compare and contrast their own examination versus the author’s.
ü Analyze how graphics and visual images both relate to written texts and serve as alternative forms of the text themselves.
ü Complete a thesis-based college-level research paper project on a self-selected topic. This will develop reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. In particular, students will develop the ability to evaluate, use, and cite primary and secondary sources. Special attention will be paid to the presentation of an original argument of their own that includes the analysis and synthesis of ideas from an array of sources.
ü Cite sources using a recognized editorial style, primarily, the use of the Modern Language Association style of citing sources.
ü Utilize footnoting as appropriate to audience’s background.
Textbooks
Shea, Renee and Scanlon and Aufuses. The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing,
Rhetoric, First Ed. Boston: Beford/St. Martin’s,
Shostak, Jerome. Vocabulary Workshop: Level G. New York, NY: Sadlier-Oxford, 2005. Print.
With Selections From
DiYanni, Robert. One Hundred Great Essays. New York: Pearson Longman, 2011. Print.
Kolln, Martha, and Loretta Gray. Rhetorical Grammar: Grammatical Choices, Rhetorical Effects. Sixth ed.
Boston: Longman-Pearson, 2010. Print.
Miller, George, Darlene Stock. Stotler, and Heather Winterbottom. The Prentice Hall Reader AP / Ninth
Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.
Longer Works / Books
Students are expected to have the following texts at the start of the related quarter unless there is a “time permitting” note on the chart below. Please utilize both CHS and public libraries. However, there are a limited number of copies available for check out, and it is recommended that students purchase their own books, use sticky notes to mark the text, and then donate them back to the CHS library if at all possible.
*All Year: Test prep book, AP English Language & Composition Crash Course (REA) by Dawn Hogue
Quarter 1:The Individual’s Quest / Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
The Things They Carried by Thomas O’Brien (We have enough copies to issue one to each student.)
Portions of “Self Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emmerson (available online for free)
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (We have enough copies to issue one to each student.)
Quarter 2
Gender & Society
Sports
Race & Society / The Awakening by Kate Chopin
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Sports’ study uses primarily textbook selections
Time permitting – Do NOT purchase until I give the go-ahead! From “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” by Frederick Douglass (Copy available online for free at
http://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/Douglass/Narrative/Douglass_Narrative.pdf.)
Quarter 3
Economics
Crime / Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Selections from Walden: Or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau (Jigsawed) (We have enough copies to issue one to every student.)
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Quarter 4
The Human Condition: Medicine
The American Dream / Time permitting – Do NOT purchase until I give the go-ahead! The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath OR The Mind’s Eye by Oliver Sachs, M.D.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (We have enough copies to issue one to every student.)
Required Materials
v To be successful in this course, you are required to maintain a tidy, three-ring, D-style, 1 ½” binder.
v Eight dividers labeled: Do Now’s, MCQ Notes, MCQ’s, Writing Notes, Writings, Vocabulary, Book Study, Research
v Plenty of sharpened #2 pencils with cap erasers
v Black ink pens
v College-ruled paper which is kept in your notebook
v Jump/flash/thumb drive for our numerous paper revisions.
v Outside of school, you will need regular access to a computer and printer, the Internet, a collegiate-level dictionary and thesaurus (online access to dictionary.com, or thesaurus.com are appropriate as well). Remember that our library is open before, during and after school for academic use.
v Post-it notes if you intend to check your books out from the library. If you own the text, we will be making notations in it. ADVICE: Check out your book at the start of the relevant quarter and plan to renew. If you plan to purchase your book, provide yourself with enough time for the book to come to the store or through the mail. We will start a unit whether or not you have the text. “The early bird…” You must have a media use for on file with the media center in order to access the computers.
v Note, if you are going to use a Nook or other digital text instead of the old-fashioned “paper” version, you must be self-sufficient regarding its use. If you plan to bring technology on campus, YOU are responsible for its safety and security. Please see your planer. Again, an acceptable media use form is required.
v Headphones/earbuds kept in your bookbag
Classroom Needs/Donations
Book donations are appreciated and acknowledged with a homework pass/exemption. Additionally, requested book donations merit two community service hours apiece. Please know that you may donate as many copies of a particular title as you like, but only two service hours can be awarded to each student per book. Students can even turn in unmarked (Use sticky notes instead!) books AFTER reading them. Extra watches are welcome as well!
Grading System
Reading MCQ’s 40%:
Most tests will constitute of multiple choice questions from previously administered AP exams. These tests will be used as guiding practice to help students better understand the types of questions and format used on the AP Exam. Should a student not do well the first time on the test, students are able to increase their original test score by analyzing their mistakes and explain why the correct answer is the “best” answer. Frequently, corrections are required.
This grade also involves participation in Socratic seminars focused on the readings of the class. The Socratic seminars include having notes (annotations and/or dialectical journals) prepared to support a position to be debated in class.
Writing 40%
While students are required to develop skills in editing and revising, the final draft is largest portion of the grade. All students’ final essays should be kept in their binders to show the student’s progression in writing and to provide evidence of their mastery of writing for the course. We will review these prior to the AP Exam; do NOT lose your work!
Vocabulary 20%
Vocabulary activities are a staple of the continued learning of our language. We follow a two-week vocabulary cycle. The vocabulary book we are using, Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary correlates with high-frequency SAT words.
Vocab. Cycle: Monday – Vocabulary unit assigned
Wednesday – Workbook activities due
Following Monday – Vocabulary-In-Context writing activity due (must be
typed and saved digitally as well)
Wednesday – At least one digital practices made available online for practice
Friday – In-Context vocabulary test; winners from in-context writing do not
have to take test. Digital practice selections merit a bonus of ten
points on the vocabulary test, not to exceed 100%.
Vocabulary enhancement exercises in Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workbook Level G, include:
traditional activities, morphology studies, and additional work each unit creating a vocabulary-in-context story, real-world document, movie or food review, informational, nonfiction, memoir/diary entry, or song variation document. These included embedded context clues for a reader to “solve” from the evolving vocabulary word list. Word endings, subject-verb agreement, tense and number shifts are usually part of the product. Every vocabulary test is a teacher-edited but student-created VIC creation. Students consider these tests far more difficult than any standard test they would encounter. Students are also afforded “digital practice” on teacher website where excellent student VIC pieces are available as perfect practice (Their answer keys follow). Students are held responsible for ongoing and cumulative vocabulary development to enrich their mature academic voice that is essential to the course. Mastery of new content and language is assessed, cumulative and ongoing.
Grade Entry
Parents and students can log on to their Home Access Center account to view grades. I try to update grades at least once a week. If there are any questions about a grade, the student is welcome to communicate with me via email or come in during open office hours. If you have trouble obtaining a Home Access Center account, please contact our Guidance Office.
Missed Work
It is your responsibility to obtain worked missed during an office-excused absence within a reasonable time frame of no longer than one week from the date of absence. When emergency circumstances dictate (death in the immediate family, hospitalization of the student, etc.), the amount of time for make-up work is flexible but is at the discretion of the teacher. If missing work is not made up within that week (or if approved, an extended time frame), the student will receive a zero for that work.
Any missed assessments that are NOT multiple choice may be made up during Open Office Hours and may be reformatted for the student.
If a student misses a short (10 question), routine multiple-choice assignment, the student will be exempted from that assignment; thus making their grade depend all the more on previous and future grades in that category. If the student has missed a longer MCQ, they will need to make up the assignment during office hours and will most likely be given an alternate MCQ.
Academic Integrity – “No legacy is so rich as honesty” – William Shakespeare
It is a non-negotiable that students will exhibit academic integrity at all times and in all classes at
Creekside High School. All work submitted should be your own, with credit given to any expert used. Cheating, plagiarism, falsification or attempts to cheat, plagiarize or falsify will not be tolerated. Aiding others in their desire or attempts to cheat is also not permitted. Academic dishonesty will result in a zero on the assignment, a referral to the dean, and a phone call home. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Extra Help
The course is designed for students to experience college-level course work, and students are expected to work at that level. The AP curricular requirements include revision and the opportunity for one-on-one interaction with the instructor. In addition, students are encouraged to foster a study-buddy relationship or create a small group which meets both during and outside of class time in order to ensure their success. Quizlet and the class website should be utilized as well. Students needing additional assistance should come to my open office hours Thursday or Friday morning from 8:40 – 9:00. If this time is not amenable to you, please request and appointment with the instructor via note or email.
Late Work
Because of the way our course is structured, allowing late work would often jeopardize our next-day learning activities. For example, a paper is turned in at the beginning of class, and we spend the day evaluating it. So, LATE WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED! DON’T ASK IF YOU CAN TURN IT IN LATE FOR A LOWER GRADE! THE ANSWER IS NO!
Web Information
- Mrs.Migut’s Email address
http://teachers.stjohns.k12.fl.us/migut-s/ - Mrs. Migut’s website
http://quizlet.com/mrsmigut - Mrs. Migut’s terminology/vocabulary flashcard website
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PERMISSION FORM
MOVIE PERMISSION SECTION
Parents, I would like your permission to show selected films from this list. Many of the movies have a motion picture rating of PG or PG-13. These movies will only be used for instructional purposes to enhance the study of the novels and different literary time periods studied in class.