APEnglishLiteratureandCompositionSyllabus

NorthMuskegonHighSchoolEnglishDepartment Instructor:MichaelSchanhals

Welcome
WelcometothechallengeofAPEnglish.Youhavechosentoenrollina classthatisdesignedtoprepareyoutoexcelontheAPLiteratureExamination. Studentswhodowellontheexaminationwillreceivecollegecredit. ThisisarigorouscoursethatisdesignedbytheCollegeBoardtohelp advancedhighschoolEnglishstudentsgainaccesstocollegelevelliterature instruction.Youwillberequiredtoreadvoraciously,contemplatedeeply,and writeandrevisepersistently. Itisexpectedthatcollegelevelstudentstakecontrolovertheirlearning process,andthatcollegelevelstudentswillbewellpreparedforeachclass.You needtobereadytoaskintelligentquestionsthatwillfurtheryourunderstanding aboutlifeandliterature. Iamlookingforwardtoworkingwithyou.Thankyouforacceptingthe challengeofAPEnglish.

CourseOverview
TheAdvancedPlacementEnglishLiteratureandCompositioncourseisa fullyearrigorousstudyofpoetryandprose.Studentswilldeveloptheabilityto writeaccurately,insightfully,andefficientlyundertimeconstraints.Close readingofabreadthanddepthofworksofliterarymeritisaregularpartofthe coursework.StudentswillhavetheoptionoftakingtheAPtestinMaynearthe endoftheyear.

Preparation Studentsareexpectedtocometoclasspreparedeveryday.
Takegoodnotesduringlecturesandclosereadingexercises.Takingaccuratenotesis thefirststepoftheworkthatyouwillneedtodotobeprepared.Gathering informationinamanageableformatisakeycomponenttoeffectivestudyhabits.I recommendhavinganewgatheringsectioninyournoteseachday.Leavewhite spacesothatyoucangobackandannotateduringtheprocessingandreflection

phases. Itisnotenoughjusttowritethenotesdownandthenletthemlanguishaloneinyour notebookwithoutyouvisitingthem.Infact,youshouldbeafrequentvisitorto thenotesthatyouhavegathered.Processingtheinformationinyourstudygroups, askingintelligentquestionsaboutthematerial,makingadjustmentstofixerrors madeinthegatheringprocess,andreviewingyournotesbeforesucceedinglectures areallwaysforyoutoengagewiththematerialofthecourse. Reflectionandrepetitionarethekeystomastery.Bygoingoverandgoingbackover yournotesyougainthenecessaryamountofexperiencewiththematerialtoreally learnit.Studiesshowthatittakesover28accuraterepetitionsoffactualmaterial, andatleastthreeweeksworthoftimewiththematerial,toputitinyourpermanent storage.Crammingonlyhelpsintheshortrun,andcancompromiseyour effectivenessinreallylearningthematerialinthelongrun. Graspingtheconceptsofadisciplinecanhelpyoumasterthefacts,andgraspingthe factsofadisciplinecanhelpyoumastertheconcepts.Itisimportanttoseethebig pictureandthelittlepicture;because,bothcontributetoyourwholeunderstanding ofadiscipline.Youwillbenefitbygrapplingwiththebigconceptsofthecourse, andbyamanagedstudyofthefacts.Wewillhavewordstudyopportunitiesdaily. Emphasiswillbeplacedondevelopingyourdiction.Youwillalsobelecturedon conceptsmultipletimesduringtheweek.Workhardtoappreciatebothavenues towardyourlearning. Dothereading.Therewillbetimeswhenacasualreadwillbeenough,butnotmany. Mostclassicliteraturesucceedsatmultiplelevelstherebyallowingittoassumea positioninthecanon.Itisimpossibletostudyliteraturewithoutmultipleclose readingsofthematerial.Dotheassignedreadingbeforewestudyitsothatyouare familiarwiththecharacters,plot,andbasicstyleofthepiece.Gobacktothereading asnecessaryandconsiderthestructure,style,themes,literarytechnique,andthe socialandhistoricalvaluestheworkreflectsandembodies.Doyourclosereading withyournotebookathandsothatyoucanrecordyourreflections.Engagewiththe materialinyourstudygroupsandyouwillhaveabetterunderstandingofwhat makesitworkasapieceofliterature.Yourcomfortlevelwiththeworkingsoffine literaturewilldeterminetheeaseatwhichyouanswerthemultifacetedquestionson theAPexaminations.

Writeearlyandoften.Yoursuccessasawriterwillbegaugedbyyoureffortsand successatimprovingyourwritingskillsinacademicwriting,creativewriting,and timedwriting.Learningtowriteatacollegelevelisdemandingworkthatliterally cannotbeaccomplishedovernight. Emphasiswillbeplacedonorganizingacoherentandarguablethesisstatement

andangleanddevelopingachainofevidencealongwithsmoothandrelevant transitionsinouracademicwriting.Wewillalsopracticetimedwritingassignments inresponsetoliterature.Creativewritingassignmentswillgiveyouinsightsinto themethodologyofanartistfromawriterspointofview. Youwillhavemultipletimedexerciseseachterm.Youwillhaveonelonger410 pageacademicpapereachterm,andyouwillhavetheopportunitytocritically reviseyourpaperfromlastterm(oryourbaselineessaywhichisyourticketinthe dooronyourfirstdayinclassseeappendix*).Wewillalsohavemultiplecreative writingpromptseachterm.Inaddition,eachstudentwillberequiredtowrite

apersuasiveletterattheendofeachterm.Theletterisanargumentative petitionthatenumeratesandelaboratesonevidencetowardaparticular gradeatitsconclusion.

StudentsinAPEnglishLiteratureandCompositionmusthavepassedthe prerequisitecourse:ArgumentandResearch.

 Assessment MakingthegradeinAPEnglish. Alevelstudentsmusttakeresponsibilityfortheirlearning.

Alevelstudentswilltakeadvantageofallrequiredpracticework, assignments,papers,andreadinginpreparationforcollegeandtheAP examinations. Alevelstudentscometoclasspreparedeveryday.Seethepreparation guidelinesaboveforadetaileddefinitionofappropriatepreparation. Alevelstudentswillalsopassallextensionassignmentsatanacceptable levelforacollegecourseasdeemedbytheinstructor.Submittingworkearly andoftenduringworkshopsandofficehourswillgiveyoufeedbackand adequatetimeforrevisionandimprovement.Studentsmustcompleteall extensionreadingsandaccompanyingacademicpapersatahighlevelof qualityinordertobeeligibleforanA. Alevelstudentsmustdemonstratecontinuedprogresstowarddepthand masteryoftheirchosenareaofexpertiseonanauthorsworks. Alevelstudentswillwriteapersuasivelettereachmarkingperiod petitioningforthegradeofAforthemarkingperiod.Thepetitionmust enumerateanddocumentthepreparationsthatthestudenthasmadeduring thecourseoftheunit.Thelettershouldindicateanawarenessofstrengths, needs,andgoalstowardtakingresponsibilityforpreparednessforcollegeand theAPexaminations.

Blevelstudentsmustperformthetasksoftheclasswithquality.
Blevelstudentswillperformallrequiredpracticework,assignments, papers,andreadinginpreparationforcollegeandtheAPexaminations. Blevelstudentscometoclasspreparedeveryday.Seethepreparation guidelinesaboveforadetaileddefinitionofappropriatepreparation. Blevelstudentsmaytakepartinsomeextensionassignmentsatan acceptablelevelforahighschoolcourseasdeemedbytheinstructor. Studentsmaycompleteextensionreadingsandaccompanyingacademic papersatalevelofqualityinordertobeeligibleforaB. Blevelstudentsmustdemonstratecontinuedprogresstowarddepthand masteryoftheirchosenareaofexpertiseonanauthorsworks. Blevelstudentswillwriteapersuasivelettereachmarkingperiod petitioningforthegradeofBforthemarkingperiod.Thepetitionmust enumerateanddocumentthepreparationsthatthestudenthasmadeduring thecourseoftheunit.Thelettershouldindicateanawarenessofstrengths,

needs,andgoalstowardtakingresponsibilityforpreparednessforcollegeand theAPexaminations.

Studentsworkingatalevelbelowthequalitylinemustseekhelp immediately.
Assistancewillbeofferedtostudentswhohavetroublewiththeexpectations ofthecourse.SeeMr.Schanhalsduringofficehoursoronaworkshopdayfor assistance. Itisthedesireoftheinstructortogiveeverystudentachancetosucceedata highlevelofquality.Aninabilityorunwillingnesstoseekhelpwillleadtoa lackofpreparationforcollegeandtheAPexaminations. Studentswhocannotmaintainanappropriatequalityofworkorpreparedness mayexittoadifferentEnglishclass.

CourseTexts
LiteratureTextbook: Schakel,Peter&Ridl,Jack.ApproachingLiteratureinthe21stCentury:Fiction, Poetry,Drama.Boston:BedfordSt.Martins,2005. PossibleRequiredReadingNovelsandPlays: BalzacandtheLittleChineseSeamstressbyDaiSijie baselineessay TheSunAlsoRisesbyErnestHemingway CanneryRowbyJohnSteinbeck SlaughterhouseFivebyKurtVonnegutJr. HamletbyWilliamShakespeare HeartofDarknessbyJosephConrad ThingsFallApartbyChinuaAchebe ThePoisonwoodBiblebyBarbaraKingsolver OntheRoadbyJackKerouac

ShesComeUndonebyWallyLamb CatcherintheRyebyJ.D.Salinger TheIliadbyHomer SulabyToniMorrison TheSoundandtheFurybyWilliamFaulkner InOurTimebyErnestHemingway KingLearbyWilliamShakespeare TheStrangerbyAlbertCamus TheGrapesofWrathbyJohnSteinbeck FrankensteinbyMaryShelley MythologybyEdithHamilton TheAutobiographyofMalcolmXastoldtoAlexHaley RecommendedTextsReferenceMaterials: OnWritingWellbyWilliamZinsser ISBN0062735233 TheElementsofStylebyStrunk&White ISBN020530902x APocketStyleManualbyDianaHacker ISBN0312406843 WoeIsIbyPatriciaT.OConner ISBN1573226254 BirdbyBirdbyAnneLamott ISBN0385480016 TheBedfordGlossaryofCriticalandLiteraryTerms byRossMurfin&SupryiaM.Ray ISBN0312259107 Thisisareadingintensivecourse.Youmayhavearequirednovelgoingatthe sametimeasachoiceread,anextensionread,andapoetryselectionfromthe text.Embracethechallengeofbecomingacriticalreader!

SampleTermObjectivesandProducts
TheCollegeBoardrequiresthattherebeadepthandbreadthofliterature fromBritishandAmericanauthorsfromthesixteenthcenturytocontemporary times.Eachtermwewillapproachthereadingandwritingobjectivesinthe followingmanner: PracticeEssays Eachtermwewillstudyoneormorerepresentativesamplesofshort poetryandstoriesfromeachsignificanttimeperiodinliterature.Studentswill performcriticalanalysisofsuchworksaroundtheangleofcriticaltechnique towardtheme.Emphasiswillbeplacedonrecognizingdifferenttonesandhow theyareachievedthroughdiction,syntaxandotherliteraryconventions.This writingwillbeaboutbalancingexpositoryandanalyticalapproaches.Students willlearnhowtousetextualdetailsasevidencefortheiranalyses. Therewillbeweeklyfeedbackonthepracticeexercises.Studentsmay alsoconferencewiththeinstructorduringregularofficehours.Onaveragethere willbe14timedpracticeessaysperterm.Practiceessayswillbeevaluated throughtablingexercisesusingtheNonPromptSpecificNinePointRubric. PracticeExams Eachweektherewillbepracticeexercisesthatmimictheformatandstyle ofAPexaminationquestions.Emphasiswillbeplacedoncriticallyreading passages,andunderstandingourprotocolforansweringmultiplechoice questionsinthiscontext.Therewillbefrequentopportunitiestowriteand reviseevaluativepiecesofwriting.Studentsmustconsiderthetextualdetailsof thepassageandhowthesedetailsaffecttheworksartistryandquality,andits socialandculturalvalues.Analyzinganauthorstechniquetowardthemeis essentialtointerpretingapassage.Writingaclearargumentinsupportofa literaryanalysisisemphasizedthroughourprotocol.Muchofourliterary vocabularypracticeandapplicationswillhappenduringtheseexercises. SamplePracticePrompt:InawellwrittenessaydescribehowKeatsuses aspectsofekphrasis,apostrophe,andpersonificationtorevealthethemeofOde onaGrecianUrn.Inanalyzingthethemeconsiderthesocialandcultural valuesexpressedbythepoetsuseofdictionandsyntax. AcademicEssays Eachtermwewillreadasamplingofextendedlengthworksoffictionor drama.(Seethesyllabusforatableofrequired,extension,andrecommendedbooks.)The instructorwilllectureaboutsignificantcriticalaspectsoftheworkatleasttwo

timesperweek.Theselectureswillhelpthestudentsgainbackground knowledgethatwillhelpthemwriteanextendedlength(410pages)workof formalacademicwriting. Eachtermstudentswillwriteaninterpretativeexaminationofapieceof literaturebasedonacarefulobservationoftheworkstextualdetailsand consideringthesocialandhistoricalvaluestheworkreflectsandembodies. SampleAcademicPrompt: Purpose: To show progress in your academic writing. Audience: Classmates & Teacher. Subject: Technique toward existential theme in The Stranger by Albert Camus. Considering how the authors technique reveals the works social and historical values and existentialisms place in modern society. Structure: Academic essay, 6 pages double spaced, 12 pt. Garamond font, 1 margins, sources cited with MLA parenthetical citation and works cited page. Please read chapter 8 Writing about Fiction in A.L.i.t.21stC. Pay particular attention to the Looking Inside the Story section, and also to the student model. Your thesis should speak to the way that Camuss technique helps to reveal an existential theme. Your angle should show the effectiveness of the technique. You should use the one primary source to provide examples of technique from the text, one tertiary source to define existential terms, and at least two secondary sources. Your secondary sources may come from some of the material referenced in the lectures. You may also wish to refer to page 35 in your text for help with Framing an Argumentative Thesis. Eachtermstudentswillwriteandreviseformal,extendedanalysesand timed,inclassresponsesthatevaluateandanalyze,inanargumentativeessayin whichthestudentsdrawuponthedictionandsyntaxofaworktomake,and elaborateon,judgmentsaboutaworksartistry,quality,andsocialandcultural values. Thestudentswillturninabaselineessayuponenteringthecourse,and theywillworktorevisetheirbaselineessayduringthefirstterm.Eachterma studentwillberesponsibleforrevisingtheformalacademicessayfromthe previousterm,andforwritinganewformalessayfromthecurrentterm. Writingconferenceswillbescheduledwitheachwriterduringthefirsttermof eachyear.Wewillsetformalgoalsforimprovementduringourinitial

conference.Thesegoalsandeachstudentsprogresstowardachievingthemwill bemeasuredeachterm. Eachweektheteacherwillhaveinclassofficehoursduringwriting workshoptime.Studentsmayhaveawritingconferenceduringofficehoursor byappointment.Studentsmayalsosolicitemailresponsestoportionsoftheir writing.EssayswillbeevaluatedwiththeAcademicWritingRubricwhichwas adaptedfromtheevaluationstandardsfromGrandValleyStateUniversityand includesdescriptorsfromthe6+1Traitsstandards. CreativeWriting Studentswillberequiredandencouragedeachtermtocompleteoriginal worksofcreativewriting.Therewillbeanaverageofthreeshortcreative writingexercisesperterm,andthefocusofeachwillbeonexploringdifferent literarytechniquesandmodesfromawritersperspective.Studentswillhave anopportunitytosharetheirworkduringouropenpodiumtimesonFridays. BookClub Studentswhoopttoreadindependentlyofthesyllabusmaytakepartin ourBookClubselectionforeachterm.Wewillhaveonesessionatermwherewe BookClubselectionforeachterm.Extensioncreditwillbeofferedfor participationandleadershipinBookClub. ThePetition Attheculminationofeachtermstudentswillneedtosubmitadetailed andextensiveargumentativepetitionthatenumeratesandelaboratesonthe effortsatimprovementandparticipationthestudenthasmadeoverthecourseof theterm.

Appendix

Purpose: To show progress in your academic writing. Audience: Classmates & Teacher. Subject: Technique toward existential theme in The Stranger by Albert Camus. Considering the authors technique reveals the works social and historical values and existentialisms pl in modern society. Structure: Academic essay, 6 pages double spaced, 12 pt. Garamond font, 1 margins, sources cite with MLA parenthetical citation and works cited page.

You should have a regular discussion group with whom you can meet to clarify your thinking and help you revise your writing. Clear thinking leads to clear writing. Discussion and deliberation can lead you to a better understanding of your response to the material. Conference early and often You should find examples in the text or your notes (yes! you will want to take notes while rea critically) that will add structure to your reactions and help you develop your paragraphs. You may also use secondary source material. Please follow correct MLA documentation procedures. Plagiarism is not acceptable and may result in removal from the course. Feel free to ask your discussion group for editing and revision advice. All papers submitted should represent your best work. The paper will be due ____________. Please work hard to make it representative of your best writing to date. We will work hard to improve your academic writing over the course of the year and this essay will show your progress after your first two essays. This will also gi you good evidence for your petition.

Please read chapter 8 Writing about Fiction in A.L.i.t.21stC. Pay particular attention to t Looking Inside the Story section, and also to the student model. Your thesis should speak the way that Camuss technique helps to reveal an existential theme. Your angle should show t effectiveness of the technique. You should use the one primary source to provide examples of technique from the text, one tertiary source to define existential terms, and at least two secondary sources. Your secondary sources may come from some of the material referenced in th lectures. You may also wish to refer to page 35 in your text for help with Framing an Argumentative Thesis. When you have questions I will be available for revision help and conferencing. and office hours on Tuesdays. My school telephone number is 719-4161, and my email address is schanhmi@nmps.k12.mi.us

We have works

Feel free to contact me to set up a conference. Of course you may set up a time d a workshop day for a quick conference. Please have a specific question that you would lik answered.

*appendix

Purpose: To provide a baseline sample of academic writing. Audience: Classmates & Teacher. Subject: Exploration of the importance of literacy with regard to the novel Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Structure: Academic essay, 4-5 pages double spaced, 12 pt. Courier font, 1 margins, sources cited with MLA parenthetical citation and works cited page.
You should begin to form a regular discussion group with whom you can meet to help you clarify your thinking, and help you revise your writing. Clear thinking leads to clear writing. Discussion and deliberation can help lead you to a better understanding of your response to the material. You should find examples in the text or your notes (yes! you may want to take notes while reading critically) that will add structure to your reactions and help you develop your paragraphs. You may also use secondary source material. Please follow correct MLA documentation procedures. Plagiarism is not acceptable and may result in removal from the course. Feel free to ask your discussion group for editing and revision advice. All papers submitted should represent your best work. The paper will be your ticket in the door on the first day of class. Please work hard to make it representative of your best writing to date. We will work hard to improve your academic writing over the course of the year and this will give us a starting point.

Your thesis should refer to literacy, and your impressions of the importance of literacy in todays world as evidenced by your reactions to the novel. Please consider the social and historical values that the novel reflects and embodies. Write a critical interpretation that is based on the works textual details. If you have questions I will be available for conferencing during the summer on a limited basis. My home telephone number is 744-1776, and my email addresses are schanhmi@nmps.k12.mi.us or schanhals@msn.com. Feel free to contact me.