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AP Lang and Comp

Course Name:  English III - AP Language and Composition

Course#:  H1300

Grade: 11     Level: 0    Semester: 5x     Credits: 5

 

Course Description: 

 

The Advanced Placement English III program offers rhetorical analysis and argument found in both nonfiction and fiction texts. The emphasis on essays, biographies, autobiographies, speeches, epistles, and passages from writing in the arts, history, social science, politics, science and other areas of study serve to teach students how to analyze, synthesize, and assess nonfiction texts. Students also learn how to evaluate and construct arguments based on contemporary issues found in newspapers, magazines, and reputable blogs. While the course gives priority to nonfiction, it does not exclude study of fiction, poetry, and drama. Students will develop the skills of rhetoric in their own writing. They will imitate, practice new rhetorical patterns, and address their audience, purpose, and persona in the writing they produce. All students are expected to take the Advanced Placement Language and Composition exam in May 2010. Summer reading is a prerequisite for the course.

 

Students in the Advanced Placement program should be able to:

~ engage in intelligent discussion, involving active listening and constructive speaking.

~ read on a variety of levels, such as literal, interpretive, and symbolic.

~ accept and utilize constructive criticism from their teacher and their peers.

~ understand and accept a variety of answers of unresolved questions as starting points

   for further analysis of ideas in many genres in literature.


 

Course Proficiencies: 

 

The following is a list of proficiencies that describe what students are expected to know and be able to do as a result of successfully completing this course. The proficiencies are the basis of assessment of student achievement.

 

The learner will demonstrate the ability to:

 

  • Demonstrate command of the system and structure of the English language when writing or speaking. (L.SS.11–12.1.). 
  • L.KL.11–12.2. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening. (L.KL.11–12.2. ). 
  • Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 11–12 reading and content, including technical meanings, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. (L.VL.11–12.3.). 
  • Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings, including connotative meanings. (L.VI.11–12.4.). 
  • Accurately cite strong and thorough textual evidence and make relevant connections to strongly support a comprehensive analysis of multiple aspects of what a literary text says explicitly and inferentially, as well as interpretations of the text; this may include determining where the text leaves matters uncertain. (RL.CR.11–12.1.). 
  • Accurately cite a range of thorough textual evidence and make relevant connections to strongly support a comprehensive analysis of multiple aspects of what an informational text says explicitly and inferentially, as well as interpretations of the text. (RI.CR.11–12.1. ). 
  • Determine two or more themes of a literary text and analyze how they are developed and refined over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex account or analysis; provide an objective summary of the text. (RL.CI.11–12.2.). 
  • Analyze the impact of the author’s choices as they develop ideas throughout the text regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed). (RL.IT.11–12.3.). 
  • Analyze the impact of an author's choices as they develop ideas throughout the text regarding a complex set of ideas or sequence of events, and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop. (RI.IT.11–12.3.). 
  • Evaluate the author’s choices concerning the structure and the effectiveness of specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) and how they contribute to its overall structure and meaning, as well as its aesthetic impact. (RL.TS.11–12.4.). 
  • Evaluate the author’s choices concerning structure and the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging. (RI.TS.11–12.4.). 
  • Evaluate perspectives/lenses from two or more texts on related topics and justify the more cogent viewpoint (e.g., different accounts of the same event or issue, use of different media or formats). (RL.PP.11–12.5.).
  • Analyze an author’s purpose in a text distinguishing what is directly stated in a text or through rhetoric, analyzing how style and content convey information and advance a point of view. (RI.PP.11–12.5.). 
  •  Synthesize complex information across multiple sources and formats to develop ideas, resolve conflicting information, or develop an interpretation that goes beyond explicit text information (e.g., express a personal point of view, new interpretation of the author’s message). (L.MF.11–12.6.). 
  • Synthesize complex information across multiple sources and formats to develop ideas, resolve conflicting information, or develop an interpretation that goes beyond explicit text information (e.g., express a personal point of view, new interpretation of the concept). (RI.MF.11–12.6. ).  
  • Describe and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. and global texts, and the premises, purposes, and arguments in these works. (RI.AA.11–12.7.). 
  • Demonstrate knowledge of, analyze, and reflect on (e.g., practical knowledge, historical/cultural context, and background knowledge) documents of historical and literary significance for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics. (RL.CT.11–12.8.). 
  • Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. (W.AW.11–12.1.). 
  • Write informative/explanatory texts (including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes) to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. (W.IW.11–12.2.). 
  • Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, trying a new approach; sustaining effort to complete complex writing tasks; tracking and reflecting on personal writing progress (e.g., using portfolios, journals, conferencing); or consulting a style manual (such as MLA or APA Style), focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. (W.WP.11–12.4.). 
  • Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. (W.WR.11–12.5.). 
  • Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation (MLA or APA Style Manuals). (W.SE.11–12.6.).
  • W.RW.11–12.7. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes. (W.RW.11–12.7.). 
  • Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with peers on grades 11–12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. (SL.PE.11–12.1.). 
  • Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data. (SL.II.11–12.2.). 
  • Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used. (SL.ES.11–12.3.) 
  • Present information, findings and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically. The content, organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (SL.PI.11–12.4). 
  • Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest. (SL.UM.11–12.5.). 
  • Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating a command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. (SL.AS.11–12.6.). 



 

Assessments: 

 

The evaluation of student achievement in this course is based on the following:

  • Writing tasks: narrative (memoir), analytical, argumentative, other expository )
  • Timed Writings from AP Language and Composition Exam
  • Dialectical Journal entries
  • Language Log entries
  • Quizzes
  • Oral presentations
  • In-class participation