AP English Language & Composition

My job is to teach you the art of rhetoric, which is just a starchy word for the effective use of language. We will study the works of a number of celebrated writers of prose (most of them American) in a variety of genres—the novel, the short story, autobiography, biography, satire, the essay—in order to examine how language works to persuade, enrage, move, and delight us.

Summer readings are Fast Food Nation and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Both works neatly introduce a theme that is central to American literature: America’s image of itself as a demi-paradise, or New Eden. You can find more information about the required readings at Readings.

We shall conclude the year with extensive preparation for the standardized AP English Language exam, which you are required to take. The exam, which will last you 3½ hours one morning in May, comprises a multiple-choice section, followed by three (3) essay questions. But there’s good news: a score of four or above (out of five) usually guarantees exemption from one or more college English courses. (It also looks great on your college application.)

This course will equip you, not merely to earn a good score on the AP Language test, but (more importantly) to be more alert to the ways in which we are manipulated by language all the time. (The disturbing play, Oleanna, will vividly illustrate this truth.) You will become savvy to the way advertisers, politicians, journalists, and (oh, yes) parents and teachers, employ pathos, humor, diction, and other elements of style in order to seduce us into adopting specific points-of-view.

Assigned Reading

This course is fast-paced by design, as well as reading-intensive: you may be expected to read up to one hundred pages or more per week. You are to complete all assigned readings on time, and you are expected to take copious notes in the margins of each text. (I will be checking.) Works assigned for summer reading are due to be read by the first day of school.

Remember that you have been selected from among over seventy candidates as the most talented writers and readers in your class. Many fine students have had to be turned away because of limited space. Therefore, I am holding you to a rigorous standard of academic integrity and excellence. While the use of Cliff’s Notes, Monarch’s Notes, SparkNotes, and the like, is always discouraged, their use in this course would indicate arrogant disregard for your school, for your fellow students, and for the teacher who recommended you. If you are caught (by any teacher) employing these so-called “study guides,” you will automatically receive a zero (0) on all tests and papers associated with the study of the work in question. Furthermore, any Cliff’s Notes (etc.) that I find become my property.

Writing Assignments

The writing assignments in this course will be frequent and varied. Early in the year, the study of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” as well as of several hilarious articles from The Onion (http://www.theonion.com/), will prepare you to pen your own satire. You may also be required to write critical essays, argumentative essays, fiction, personal narratives, and parodies of the styles of many authors we study. In order to properly prepare you for the AP examination (which will require you to write three essays in two hours), much of this writing will be done in class. The grading scale is as follows:

A+	100
A	96	An essay of rare merit, marked by a creative thesis, ample evidence, rigorous organization, graceful writing, a wide-ranging and appropriately used vocabulary, and freedom from errors of grammar, spelling, or style.
A-	93
B+	90
B	88	A very fine essay, thoughtful, organized, and well-argued, evincing a useful, if not outstanding, vocabulary, and largely free from errors of grammar, spelling, or style.
B-	85
C+	82
C	80	An essay that is on-topic and thoughtful but employs a limited vocabulary, is weakly organized, is occasionally unclear, and/or lacks compelling evidence, and contains infrequent errors of grammar, spelling, or style.
C-	77

I will award no D grades for writing assignments; a paper that falls below the standard for a C grade will receive an F (40). A paper that fails to meet even the basic requirements for the assignment will receive no credit (0). Papers submitted by the end of the class period the day after they are due are subject to a full letter-grade deduction. I will not accept a paper that is more than one day late.

It goes without saying that all submitted work must be your own, except for carefully and properly documented citations from other writers. I will adhere to the school’s academic integrity policy, which advises me to report examples of cheating to the Vice-Principal for Academic Affairs, and which authorizes me to give a student a failing grade for any quarter in which cheating occurs (under specific circumstances; please consult your handbook).

Miscellany

A class trip is likely in the third quarter; last year, the class attended a performance of Pinter’s The Birthday Party, and afterward, was permitted to ask questions of the actors and director. I shall offer extra credit opportunities throughout the year, usually involving your attendance at an outstanding local theatrical performance. Extra credit is a privilege, however, and if you cheat, cut my class, or compel me to expel you from the classroom, you forfeit that privilege. In addition, you will suffer a ½ letter grade reduction for the quarter every time you cut my class or I am compelled to expel you. Excessive tardies yield the same penalty. I reward participation.

A Note about Your GPA

When calculating your GPA, the main office regards an A in this course as 5.0, a B as 4.0, a C as 3.0, and a D as 2.0. An F is worth 0.0.