Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition (Grade 12)

Shawnee High School - Wolf Lake, Illinois

Course Syllabus

Mrs. Beth Marks - Instructor

Course Objectives and Information

Ø  This course is designed to prepare students for the AP English Literature and Composition test to be taken during the spring semester.  The texts implemented in this course may vary from year to year.

Ø  The school year is divided into four nine-week quarters.  Students will be expected to write 2-3 papers per quarter consisting of 3-5 pages, four book reviews, one 10-15 page research paper, and a variety of tests that will consist of  essay and short answer questions

Ø  Specific course instruction will not include grammar, but grammar through improving writing skills such as in the sense of proper sentence, paragraph, and essay structure will be a significant part of the grading in this course.

Ø  Your ability to argue your point and persuade the instructor through your use of examples is the key writing a successful essay.   

Ø  Discussion and participation is worth ten percent of your final quarterly grade, therefore, it is important that you provide thoughtful insight during classroom discussion. 

Ø  The goal is to subject you to as many different pieces of literature as possible from both classic and modern British and American authors. 

Ø  Students will be expected to keep up with the daily reading assignments and the essays.  Assignments that are not turned in on time will result in a loss of ten percent.

Ø  We will be studying a vocabulary word at the beginning of each class period, and after every ten words, there will be a quiz. 

Ø  The course will be broken down into sections by theme and literary genre.  Throughout the course of the year, we will look at novels, drama, short stories, and poetry. 

Ø  Prerequisites for this course include English I, English II, PSAE Writing, and American Literature.

Ø  This course is designed to comply with the curricular requirements as described in the AP English Course Description.

Approximate Course Calendar

Term 1

Week 1 – Introduction of the course

            During this week, we will discuss course requirements, the definition of literature, and how to respond to literature in both voice and written formats.  During the first week of the course, we will also review the steps to writing an essay, as well as, the discussion on how to properly construct a literary analysis/argumentative essay about what we read.   This will be done through the modeling of a literary analysis essay using Our Town  which was studied at the end of American Literature last year.  Finally, we will discuss  the guidelines for drafting and revision which are explained in the essay criteria portion of the syllabus. 

Week 2 – Heroes

            Students will construct a journal entry involved their thoughts on heroes.  First we will focus on the epic hero through the reading and discussion of Beowulf.

            Essay Topic 1 – Explain the universal themes found in Beowulf.

Week 3 – Heroes

            This week will look at the romantic hero through reading an except from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and an excerpt from Le Morte d’Arthur.  Journal topics may include writing about the chivalric code and performing an action even though you know it will   result in your death.

            Essay Topic 2 – Explain how Gawain or King Arthur fit the description of a romantic hero using examples from either story.

Week 4, 5, 6 – Heroes

            These next three weeks will look at the tragic hero as expressed in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.  Journal topics will look at exploration of the paradox in the first act, the motifs in the second act, foreshowing the events of the play, character traits, and the irony in the third act.

            Essay Topics – (1) Explain the characters of the witches in the play and explain their significance. (2) Compare and contrast the characters of Macduff, Lady Macbeth,  and Macbeth.  (3) What are the major themes of the play?  Explain. 

            Essay Assignment 1 - Students will select an essay topic from the first five weeks and construct a 3-5 page essay that will be due by the end of the sixth week.

Week 7, 8, 9 – Heroes

            The last three weeks of the quarter will be spent exploring the tragic hero in Hamlet.  Journal topics will include discussing Hamlet’s relationship with his parents, Hamlet’s mental state, Hamlet’s foil – Laertes, and Hamlet’s inability to act out his revenge.

            Essay Topics – (1) Explain the inner and outer conflicts that are created in the play. (2)  Explain the relationship between a strong leader and a strong country (using examples from the text and modern examples). (3) Explore in-depth one of the major themes of the play.  (4) Explain the possible idea that Shakespeare was the original psychologist (you may use examples from any Shakespearian play you have read). 

            Book Review 1 – Due during week 8

            Essay Assignment 2 – Select an essay topic from Hamlet and construct a 3-5 page paper due by the middle of week 9.

            In Class Essay 1 – Specific assignment will be revealed on day of assignment, but the assignment will focus on the various heroes covered during the first quarter.

Term 2

            During all nine weeks of term two, the focus will be on the study of novels. Novel titles  may include: Heart of Darkness, The Metamorphosis, Pride and Prejudice, The Scarlet Letter, The Awakening, The Red Badge of Courage, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,  The War of the Worlds, or Fahrenheit 451  During the novel studies, we will be looking at how vocabulary is used, character development, themes, conflict, motifs,                       symbols, imagery, and other literary terms.  We will also look at how the   novels were  perceived during the time they were  written as well as how they are viewed today.  There will be at least one journal topic a week.  Essay topics will vary depending on the                     title, and students can expect at least one essay assignment per novel studied. 

            In Class Essay 2 – Specific topic will be given on the day of the assignment

The last week of the term will be spent covering material for the semester exam which will cover the first and second terms.

            During the early part of this term, we will also look at how to write a college entrance   essay, since most students will be making their final decisions as to where they plan to apply to, and attend college.  For an assignment, students will submit to me a final draft of a college entrance essay that they have written. 

            Book Review 2 – Due by the end of week 7

Term 3

            Week 1 – Poetry (The Sonnet)

            During this week, we will focus on the format for the Shakespearian and Patrician sonnets; reading several examples of each.  At the end of the week, students will be asked   to construct one of each of the two types of sonnets.  Journals topics will focus on a reflection of the different poems read in class.

            Week 2 – Poetry (The ballad and The epitaph)

            This week will look at the classic English ballads, such as “Lord Randall” and “Get up and bar the door”.  The second half of the week, we will look at epitaphs, such as those of Edgar Lee Masters.  Journal topics will include reflections of the poems.  At the end of the week, students will be asked to complete one ballad and one epitaph. 

            Week 3 – Modern Poetry (Misc. Poems)

            This week will look at a variety of different poems from the 20^th century to the present from both England and Britain.  One of the focuses for this week will be to look at the differences in poems between countries and between eras covered in the past.  For     example, we would compare a modern love poem with one of Shakespeare’s love poems.  Also, we will look at the differences in the writing styles of men versus the women  writers. Students will also be given a list of poems to select from and read on their own.     During this week, the main focus will be on writing techniques and literary elements.

            Essay topic – From the list of additional poems, students will select two or three poems    which they think can be connected in some way.  Then, create an analysis essay where you show the connections. The essay will be due by the end of week 4.  Some of the    poets to be studied will include Carl Sandburg, Gwendolyn Brooks, Sandra Cisneros, Lucile Clifton, Robert Frost, Allen Ginsberg, Robert Hayden, Anthony Hecht, Sylvia Plath, Ezra Pound, Adrianne Rich, Anne Sexton, W.H. Auden, Dylan Thomas, William    Butler Yeats, Ted Hughes, Dylan Thomas, and Maggie O’Sullivan.

            Week 4 Satire

            We will begin the week by discussing modern and easy to understand forms of satire (such as The Simpson’s, and Family Guy).  The next step will be to read Mark Twain’s   “The Dammed Human Race” and we will finish by reading Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” and portions of Gulliver’s Travels.

            Special Assignment – In a groups of 1-4, students will work together to create their own satire.  It can be in the form of an essay, short story, cartoon, or film.  Students will be required to create a proposal for their project before work can begin.  The assignment will be due at the beginning of week 6.

            Weeks 5, 6 – The Canterbury Tales

            During this two week period, we will be studying the prologue and 2-3 of the various tales.  Individually, students will select another tale to read and analyze.  Journal topic will look at the relationship between the characters and the time period in which The Canterbury Tales is centered. 

            Essay topic – Write an analysis essay about the tale that was read individually.  One point to focus on should be to look at how the tale reflects the character telling the tale. Students also need to look at the quality of the tale – are the tales as well written as the          prologue, or the quality of Chaucer’s work improve/weaken as more tales are written?  This essay will be due at the end of week 7. 

            Essay topic – Using examples from The Wife of Bath’s Tale and information regarding the social beliefs regarding women during Chaucer’s time, construct an essay where you  agree or disagree with the misogynistic ideas of the time.    

            Weeks 7, 8, 9 – Short Fiction and Nonfiction

            The last three weeks of the semester will focus on a variety of short fiction and nonfiction  (as many stories as time allows).  We will look at a variety of authors from a variety of countries and time periods.  During this time we will look at the various literary elements associated with the stories, and compare and contrast the stories with each other. 

            Some of the authors that will be covered includes:  Richard             Wright, James Agee, Margret   Atwood, George Orwell, Adrienne Rich, E.B. White, Virginia Wolfe, Shirley Jackson,      Shelby Steele, Geoffrey Nunberg, Mary Wollstonecraft, Thomas Paine, John Stuart Mill, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and John Locke.

Essay Topic – There will be a possible third essay this quarter, as time allows.  The essay   will focus on the selections from weeks 7-9.  The essay would be due at the middle of week time.  The unpredictability of the weather during the early quarter could affect the  outcome of the schedule.

In Class Essay 3 – Topic will be given on the day of the assignment but will focus on the material covered in week 7,8, and 9.

Book Review 3 - Due at the end of week 8

Term 4

            Term 4 will focus on research papers.  Each year I will alternate between MLA format and APA format so that my students (who will be pursuing a variety of majors) will be exposed to two of the major forms that they may see in college   Students will select a   topic from a given list of topics and construct a 10-15 paper with a bibliography and note cards.  The topics will focus on issues facing the current generations.  While working on  the research paper, students will use their reader response journal as a research journal, with weekly assignments to comment on.  Throughout the quarter, I will be meeting with  each student to check his/her progress and offer suggestions for their work.  (The fourth    term will begin in the middle of March, so I will begin the research process with my    students then.  Spring break falls at the end of March. Upon return from spring break, class time will be spent preparing for the AP test and continuing work on the research paper.

            Research paper due date will be determined at a later date.

            Book Review 4 – Due by the end of week 6

Essay Criteria

Your grade for this course will focus mostly on your ability to construct insightful essays that attempt to prove your point whether the essay topic be on the social customs of the time, a character’s triumphs, or your interpretation of the themes in a given work, among other topics.   You can think of the writing part of this course to be similar to what we covered in the PSAE Writing class last year. As a whole, we want to take what you learned last year about writing persuasive papers and use that to create respectable papers about literature that take your ideas and feelings about a work and argue those ideas in a respectable way.   However, the page requirements are longer.  Below, you will find a suggested guideline on how to construct your essays for this course.  When each paper is assigned, time will be spent discussing various approaches to constructing the essay and possible examples to use in the essay.

1.      Introduction

a.       In the introduction, be sure to include the name of the work and the author. 

b.      Begin the intro with an attention getter (such as a thought provoking question) to get your reader interested in your paper.

c.       Give a short background of the work and/or a very brief summary of the work.

d.      The last thing that should be in your intro is the thesis statement or main idea that you want to point out in the paper.

2.      Body paragraphs (the number of body paragraphs will vary depending on the work and the assignment)

a.       One of the first two sentences (preferably the first sentence) needs to be topic sentence that lets me know what the main idea of your paragraph is going to be about. 

b.      You should have two or three explanatory sentences that will connect your topic sentence with the examples.

c.       Several example sentences (3-5) that fit with your topic sentence and are used to illustrate the point you are making.

d.      A closing sentence that ties everything together without being repetitive. 

3.      Conclusion

a.       Restate thesis.

b.      Give a brief summary of what was covered in the body paragraphs.

c.       Make sure you have left me a clear answer to the following question – What do I need to take away from reading your paper?

d.      Be sure that no new information is introduced.

4.      Other points to keep in mind

a.       Free from errors in agreement

                                                                          i.      Consistent verb tense

                                                                        ii.      Subject-verb agreement

                                                                      iii.      Correct pronoun usage

b.      no run-on sentences

c.       no spelling or punctuation errors

d.      variance in sentence length

e.       use of descriptive words to improve sentence quality

f.       paper is either typed to my specifications or is neatly handwritten (no cover page needed)

                                                                          i.      Double spaced

                                                                        ii.      One inch margins

                                                                      iii.      12 point Times New Roman font

                                                                      iv.      Indented paragraphs

                                                                        v.      Essay should include your name, date, class, and the title of the essay

5.       Drafting and Revision

a.       Prewriting is not required for a grade, but is highly recommended

b.      First drafts are due three days before the paper due date

c.       Drafts will be evaluated in at least one of the following ways:

                                                                          i.      Group editing using a SMART Board or overhead and proofreading checklist

                                                                        ii.      Peer editing in groups of 2-3 using a proofreading checklist

                                                                      iii.      At home peer editing using a checklist

d.       Editing of a student’s paper will not constitute a separate grade, but will be considered in the participation grade

e.       Your side of the argument is proven using a proper voice and tone that does not come across as weak or too harsh and forceful.

f.       The goal in editing (both peer and whole class) is not to embarrass a student, but to work with others to show ways to improve skills such as use of transition, descriptive words, and varying sentence lengths, that one student might have overlooked.

g.      The proper balance between general information and specific examples will be studied and touched on with each essay. 

h.      Student’s who wish to improve the grade they receive on a paper may select one paper per quarter to revise for up to half-back credit.  The revised paper must be turned in by the next to last day of the quarter.

i.        In class writing assignments will be peer edited and a final draft will be written in class the following day.

Grading Scale

Your final grade will be based on the following components:

Suggested Summer Reading List

Below, you will find a link to 101 great reads for those who plan to attend college.  I would suggest reading as many of these as possible over the summer break.  Some selections you may have already encountered and some of the selections will encounter during this class.  These would also make great titles for your book reviews.  Many of the titles can be found in my novel collection, which you may check out to read.  The others can be obtained through our library and the Shawnee Library System.  Happy reading!

http://www.collegeboard.com/parents/plan/hs-steps/21276.html                  

Student and Teacher Resources

AP Central. 1 April 2009 <www.apcentral.collegebound.com>.

Burchers, Sam. Vocabulary Cartoons II, SAT Word Power. Punta Gorda: New Monic Books,      2000.

Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. Holt Elements of Literature: Essentials of British and World            Literature. Illinois. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2010.

Marks, Beth. Shawnee High School English Department. 26 May 2009. 27 May 2009             <http://mysite.verizon.net/resv4dhh/>.