AP English Language and Composition

This course is designed to assist junior and senior students to prepare, develop, and exercise the critical thinking, reading, and writing skills that will be required of them in college composition classes. The class may be considered the equivalent to a yearlong college writing course and so is aligned along the expected outcomes approved by the Council of Writing Program Administrators in 2000. Students’ utmost commitment will be required to succeed in this class. But our goal will be to foster an environment of collaboration within which we will read challenging texts and explore issues of identity, worldview, political speech, media, culture, and more through writing.

IMPORTANT RESOURCES
• Grades
• Turn It In
• State of Arizona English 11 Education Standards
• College Board for Students
• Advanced Placement English Language at the College Board
• WPA Outcomes Statement for First-Year Composition
• United States Charters of Freedom
• Amphitheater Public Schools Student Handbook
• Student Rights Handbook

RECOMMENDED BOOKS
• The Oxford American Desk Dictionary and Thesaurus, Oxford University Press
• A Pocket Style Manual, 5th edition, Diana Hacker
• The Deluxe Transitive Vampire and The New Well-Tempered Sentence, Karen Gordon
• A World of Ideas, Chris Rohmann (You gotta get this book!)

CLASS MATERIALS
• 2 Chunk Analytical Paragraph template (form)
• 3 Chunk Analytical Paragraph template (form)
• APELC Questions for Self-assessment
• AP Open Essay Rubric and Its Connection to Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy
• Basic Questions for Rhetorical Analysis
• Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy
• Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy and Levels of Questioning
• Brag Sheet
• Course Outline
• Cover Sheet
• Data Sheet
• Early and Late Peer Response to Non-fiction Writing
• Examples of Arrangement and Organization
• How to Prepare for a Revision Conference
• How to Take and Review Notes
• MLA template
• Rhetorical Devices: Common Schemes and Tropes
• Rubric Breakdown

ASSIGNMENTS, ET CETERA
• Complete Timed-writing A, 2006 free-response question 2, Hazlitt on “On the Want of Money”, and Timed-writing B, 2007 free-response question 3, Incentives for giving, in class Thursday, August 7, and Friday, August 8.
• Review the Course Outline with your parents or guardians; sign and return the Affirmation and complete and return the Data Sheet Monday, August 13.
• Print, review, and bring “Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy” (under Class Materials) for Tuesday, August 12, and Wednesday, August 13.
• Read chapter 1, “Reading Critically”, Brief Bedford Reader, for Thursday, August 14, and Friday, August 15.
• Process “The Broken Chain”, p. 13, Brief Bedford Reader, in class Thursday, August 14, and Friday, August 15.
• Read “Gatekeeping”, Fought, Do You Speak American?, and “Nine Ideas about Language”, Daniels, Language, and answer qq. 1 and 4 of the latter for Monday, August 18.
• Process St. Crispin’s Day speech, Henry V, in class Tuesday, August 19, and Wednesday, August 15.
• Complete Timed-writing 1, 1992 free-response question 2, Elizabeth I at Tilbury, in class Tuesday, August 19, and Wednesday, August 15.
• Read “What is ‘Correct’ Language?”, Finegan, Do You Speak American?, and “Speech Communities”, Roberts, Language, and answer qq. 1, 6, 8, and 10 of the latter for Thursday, August 21, and Friday, August 22.
• Print, review, and bring “AP Open Essay Rubric and Its Connection to Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy” and “How to Prepare for a Revision Conference” (under Class Materials) for Thursday, August 21, and Friday, August 22.
• Practice highlighting “The Capricious Camera”, Ayad, handout, in class Monday, August 25.
• Print, review, and bring “Rhetorical devices: Common Schemes and Tropes” for Tuesday, August 26, and Wednesday, August 27.
• Read “I Want a Wife”, Brady, p. 272, Brief Bedford Reader, answer “Meaning” qq. 3 and 4, “Strategy” qq. 4 and 5, and “Language” qq. 1 and 3 for Tuesday, August 26, and Wednesday, August 27.
• Read “Introduction to Rhetoric”, “A Brief History of Ancient Greek Rhetoric”, Cline, Rhetoric Primer, for Thursday, August 28, and Friday, August 29.
• Process Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln, in class Thursday, August 28, and Friday, August 29.
• Turn-in discussion notes and review over discourse and grammar, and “I Want a Wife” (from Tuesday, August 26, and Wednesday, August, 27) on Thursday, August 28, and Friday, August, 29.
• Read “The Canons of Rhetoric”, Burton, Silva Rhetoricæ, and “Argument and Persuasion”, pp. 414-431 (esp. The Toulmin Method”, “Deductive and Inductive Reasoning”, and Logical Fallacies”) Brief Bedford Reader, for Tuesday, September 2, and Wednesday, September 3.
• Timed-writing 1 revisions and cover sheets due Tuesday, September 2, no later than 3:00 pm.
• Process “Concerning Cruelty and Clemency”, Chapter XVII, The Prince (excerpt), Niccolo Machiavelli, in class Tuesday, September 2, and Wednesday, September 3.
• Process and identify claim, warrant, and data for “Mr. Darcy Comes Courting”, Dowd, and “McCain’s Baked Alaska”, Collins, New York Times; to be completed in class Thursday, September 4, and Friday, September 5.
• Complete Timed-writing 2, 1981 free-response question 3, Szasz on identity and definition, in class Thursday, September 4, and Friday, September 5.
• Read “The FBI Is Reading over Your Shoulder”, Gelsey, handout, answer “Meaning” qq. 2 and 3, “Strategy” qq. 2 and 3, and “Language” qq. 2 and 3, for Monday, September 8.
• Print, review, and bring “Address by President George W. Bush to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People” Tuesday, September 9, and Wednesday, September 9.
• Read “How the USA Patriot Act Defends Democracy”, Dinh, handout, for Thursday, September 11, and Friday, September 12. (No questions to answer; only take notes for a possible turn-in.)
• Read and note (particularly logos, that is, schemes and tropes and their ethical and pathetic effect) remainder of “Address by President George W. Bush to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People” for Thursday, September 11, and Friday, September 12.
• Read “Self-reliance”, Emerson, p. 363, The Language of Literature (your giant yellow text which you should bring to class), for Monday, September 15. (No questions to answer; only take notes for a possible turn-in.)
• Timed-writing 2 revisions and cover sheets due in class Monday, September 15.
• Process “How the USA Patriot Act Defends Democracy”, handout Dinh, evaluate with Gelsey, in class Monday, September 17.
• Turn-in discussion notes and review over President Bush’s September 20 address, (from Tuesday, September 9, Wednesday, September 10, Thursday, September 11, and Friday, September 12) on Tuesday, September 16, and Wednesday, September 17.
• Read “What’s Wrong with Gay Marriage?”, Pollitt, handout, answer “Meaning” qq. 3 and 4, “Strategy” qq. 1 and 4, and “Language” qq. 2 and 4, for Thursday, September 18, and Friday, September 19.
• Process “Gay ‘Marriage’: Societal Suicide”, handout, Colson, evaluate with Pollitt, in class Thursday, September 18, and Friday, September 19.
• Complete Timed-writing 3, 1996 free-response question 2, Soto from A Summer Life, in class Thursday, September 18, and Friday, September 19.
• Read “Narration”, pp. 72-85, Brief Bedford Reader, for Monday, September 22.
• Process A Summer Life (excerpt), Gary Soto, in class Monday, September 22.
• Read “Champion of the World”, Angelou, p. 86, Brief Bedford Reader, answer “Meaning” qq. 1 and 4, “Strategy” qq. 3 and 4, and “Language” qq. 2 for Tuesday, September 23, and Wednesday, September 24.
• Select a topic for your narration from the list on p. 111 of the Brief Bedford Reader; complete “This is a story about…” (your topic the object of the preposition, fill one side of a sheet of paper without skipping lines) for Tuesday, September 23, and Wednesday, September 24.
• Read “Fish Cheeks”, Tan, p. 92, Brief Bedford Reader, answer “Meaning” qq. 2 and 4, “Strategy” qq. 3 and 4, and “Language” qq. 2 for Thursday, September 25, and Friday, September 26.
• Narration draft 1 due Monday, September 29; print and bring two (2) copies of “Early and Late Peer Response to Non-fiction Writing” (under Class Materials). This typed draft must be of some substance; be judicious. You’ll complete a second draft and a third, final draft for submission at the end of the quarter that will be no less than two and a half and no more than three pages long.
• Timed-writing 3 revisions and cover sheets due Tuesday, September 30, no later than 3:00 pm.
• Read “Indian Education”, Alexie, p. 97, Brief Bedford Reader, for Tuesday, September 30, and Wednesday, October 1. (No questions to answer; only take notes for a possible turn-in.)
• EXTRA-CREDIT OPPORTUNITY: Republican v. Democrat; due Wednesday, October 1.
• Process 2008 Presidential campaign banners in class Tuesday, September 30, and Wednesday, October.
• Read “Crime of Compassion”, Huttmann, pp. 106, Brief Bedford Reader, answer “Meaning” qq. 1 and 3, “Strategy” qq. 3 and 4, and “Language” qq. 2 for Thursday, October 2, and Friday, October 3.
• Narration draft 2 due Monday, October 6; bring the second pages (late peer response sheets) of the two “Early and Late Peer Response to Non-fiction Writing” documents you printed for the first revision. This second draft must be well developed, very near completion.
• Read “The Death of a Moth”, Woolf, p. 503, Brief Bedford Reader, for Tuesday, October 7, and Wednesday, October 8. (No questions to answer; only take notes for a possible turn-in.)
• Narration final draft due Thursday, October 9, no later than 3:00 pm. This final draft should be no less than three and no longer than four pages long.
• Complete Timed-writing 4, 1996 free-response question 3, Lapham from Money and Class in America, in class Thursday, October 9, and Friday, October 10.
• Read “Description”, pp. 112-121, Brief Bedford Reader, for Monday, October 20.
• Process “A vulture watches a starving child in southern Sudan, March 1, 1993″, Kevin Carter, in class Monday, October 20.
• Read “Arm Wrestling with My Father”, Manning, p. 122, Brief Bedford Reader, complete Critical Writing essay (item 3 under Suggestions for Writing), p. 127, no less than two and no more than two and half pages long, for Tuesday, October 21, and Wednesday, October 22.
• Select a place for your description from the possibilities under item 2 on p. 151 of the Brief Bedford Reader; complete “This is a story about…” (your topic the object of the preposition, fill one side of a sheet of paper without skipping lines) for Tuesday, October 21, and Wednesday, October 22.
• Answer “Meaning” qq. 1 and 4, “Strategy” qq. 1 and 3, and “Language” qq. 2 and 3 over Manning, p. 126, Brief Bedford Reader, as part of discussion notes in class Tuesday, October 21, and Wednesday, October 22.
• Read “Shooting Dad”, Vowell, p. 130, Brief Bedford Reader, complete Connections essay, item 4 under Suggestions for Writing, p. 127, no less than two and no more than two and half pages long, for Thursday, October 23, and Friday, October 24.
• Answer “Meaning” qq. 4 and 5, “Strategy” qq. 2 and 3, and “Language” qq. 2 and 3 over Vowell, p. 136, Brief Bedford Reader, as part of discussion notes in class Thursday, October 23, and Friday, October 24.
• Description draft 1 due Monday, October 27; print and bring two (2) copies of “Early and Late Peer Response to Non-fiction Writing” (under Class Materials). As before, this typed draft must be of some substance; be judicious. Again, you’ll complete a second draft and a third, final draft that’ll be no less than two and no more than two and a half pages long.
• Turn-in discussion notes and review over Manning (from Tuesday, October 21, and Wednesday, October 23) on Monday, October 27.
• Read “Indian Takeout”, Lahiri, p. 139, Brief Bedford Reader, complete Critical Writing essay, item 3 under Suggestions for Writing, p. 143, no less than two and no more than two and half pages long, for Tuesday, October 28, and Wednesday, October 29.
• Process “New Va. pharmacy won’t sell any contraceptives” in class Tuesday, October 28, and Wednesday, October 29.
• Answer “Meaning” qq. 2 and 5, “Strategy” qq. 3 and 4, and “Language” q. 2 over Lahiri, p. 142, Brief Bedford Reader, as part of discussion notes in class Tuesday, October 28, and Wednesday, October 29.
• Timed-writing 4 revisions and highly detailed cover sheets due Thursday, October 30, no later than 3:00 pm.
• Read “Marrying Absurd”, Didion, p. 145, Brief Bedford Reader, complete the essay in item 2 under Suggestions for Writing, p. 149, no less than two and a half and no more than three pages long, for Thursday, October 30, and Friday, October 31.
• Description draft 2 due Monday, November 10, and Wednesday, November 12; bring the second pages (late peer response sheets) of the two “Early and Late Peer Response to Non-fiction Writing” documents you printed for the first revision. This second draft must be well developed, very near completion.
• Answer “Meaning” q. 2, “Strategy” qq. 2 and 4, and “Language” qq. 1, 2, and 3 over Didion, p. 148, Brief Bedford Reader, as part of discussion notes in class for Thursday, October 30, and Friday, October 31.
• Process “Rock”, Mike Gravel, in class Tuesday, October 28, and Wednesday, October 29.
• Print, process, and bring “What Is Patriotism? Putting the Country First”, McCain, and “What Is Patriotism? Faith in One Another as Americans”, Obama, for Monday, November 3.
• Turn-in discussion notes and review over Lahiri (from Tuesday, October 28, and Wednesday, October 29) on Monday, November 3.
• Read “The Ways We Lie”, Ericsson, p. 317, Brief Bedford Reader, complete Critical Writing essay (item 3 under Suggestions for Writing), p. 326, no less than two and a half and no more than three pages long, for Tuesday, November 4, and Wednesday, November, 5.
• Answer “Meaning” qq. 1 and 4, “Strategy” q. 3, and “Language” qq. 1 and 2 over Ericsson, p. 325, Brief Bedford Reader, as part of discussion notes in class Tuesday, November 4, and Wednesday, November, 5.
• Read “The World of Doublespeak”, Lutz, p. 327, Brief Bedford Reader, complete Connections essay (item 4 under Suggestions for Writing), p. 326, no less than two and a half and no more than three pages long, for Thursday, November 6, and Friday, November 7 Monday, November 10, and Wednesday, November 12.
• Turn-in discussion notes and review over Bob Roberts (week beginning Monday, November 3 and ending Thursday, November 6, and Friday, November 7) on Monday, November 10, and Wednesday, November 12.
• Complete Timed-writing 5, 1995 free-response question 2, Goodman’s “The Company Man” from Money and Class in America, in class Thursday, November 13, and Friday, November 14.
• Answer “Meaning” qq. 1 and 4, “Strategy” q. 1, and “Language” qq. 1 and 2 over Lutz, p. 334, Brief Bedford Reader, as part of discussion notes in class Monday, November 10, and Wednesday, November 12.
• Description final draft due Monday, November 17. This final draft should be no less than two and a half and no longer than three pages long.
• Read “Example”, pp. 154-162, Brief Bedford Reader, for Monday, November 17,
• Read “On Compassion”, Ascher, p. 163, Brief Bedford Reader, complete Critical Writing essay (item 4 under Suggestions for Writing), p. 166, no less than two and a half and no more than three pages long, for Tuesday, November 18, and Wednesday, November, 19.
• Answer “Meaning” qq. 1, 2, and 3, “Strategy” qq. 2 and 3, and “Language” qq. 1 and 4 over Ascher, p. 165, Brief Bedford Reader, as part of discussion notes in class Tuesday, November 18, and Wednesday, November 19.
• Read “Homeless”, Quindlen, p. 168, Brief Bedford Reader, complete Connections essay (item 5 under Suggestions for Writing), p. 171, no less than two and a half and no more than three pages long, titled “Ascher and Quindlen on Homelessness” (without the quotation marks for turn-in) for Thursday, November 20, and Friday, November 21.
• Answer “Meaning” qq. 1 and 2, “Strategy” qq. 2 and 3, and “Language” qq. 1 and 4 over Ascher, p. 170, Brief Bedford Reader, as part of discussion notes in class Thursday, November 20, and Friday, November 21.
• Example draft 1 due Tuesday, November 25, and Wednesday, November 26; print and bring two (2) copies of “Early and Late Peer Response to Non-fiction Writing” (under Class Materials). As before, this typed draft must be of some substance; be judicious. Again, you’ll complete a second draft and a third, final draft that’ll be no less than two and a half and no more than three pages long.
• Read, print, and bring “On Dumpster Diving”, Eighner, for Tuesday, November 25, and Wednesday, November 26. (No questions to answer; only take notes for a possible turn-in.)
• Read “The Equity of Inequality”, Will, p. 401, Brief Bedford Reader, and answer “Meaning” qq. 1, 3, and 4, “Strategy” qq. 2 and 3, and “Language” qq. 1 and 2, p. 403, as part of discussion notes in class Monday, November 24.
• Process “On Dumpster Diving” and synthesize your understanding of the piece wit yours of Ascher, Quindlen, and Will; develop an arguable thesis about poverty, homelessness, equality, opportunity, et cetera, from your conclusions of the texts, all in class Tuesday, November 25, and Wednesday, November 26.
• Process “Theater director resigns amid gay-rights ire”, in class Monday, December 1.
• Example draft 2 due Tuesday, December 2, and Wednesday, December 3 Thursday, December 4, and Friday, December 5; bring the second pages (late peer response sheets) of the two “Early and Late Peer Response to Non-fiction Writing” documents you printed for the first revision. This second draft must be well developed, very near completion.
• Process Nighthawks, Hopper, with “Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks, 1942″, Oates, handout, in class Tuesday, December 2, and Wednesday, December 3.
• Timed-writing 5 revisions and cover sheets due Thursday, December 4, no later than 3:00 pm.
• Read “Black Men and Public Space”, Staples, p. 179, Brief Bedford Reader, for Thursday, December 4, and Friday, December 5.
• Print, review, and bring “He’s not Black”, Arana, Washington Post, for Thursday, December 4, and Friday, December 5.
• Answer “Meaning” qq. 1 and 2, “Strategy” qq. 1 and 2, and “Language” q. 1 over Staples, p. 182, Brief Bedford Reader, as part of discussion notes in class Thursday, December 4, and Friday, December 5.
• Example final draft due Monday, December 8. This final draft should be no less than two and a half and no longer than three pages long.
• Complete 2001 practice exam free-response question 1, Eliot on becoming a writer, in class Monday, December 8.
• Complete 2001 practice exam free-response questions 2 and 3, Oliver excerpt from “Owls” and Sontag on photography, in class Tuesday, December 9, and Wednesday, December 10.
• Complete 2001 practice exam multiple-choice section, in class Friday, December 11, and Friday, December 12.
• Final: Fall semester self-assessment due Monday, December 15.
• Final: Timed-writing A, 2006 free-response question 2, Hazlitt on “On the Want of Money”, and Timed-writing B, 2007 free-response question 3, Incentives for giving, revisions due Wednesday, December 17, or (preferably) any time before. Each should be no less than two and a half and no more than three pages long. Please abide this length limit.
• Process The Merchants of Cool, FRONTLINE, in class Monday, December 15, and Wednesday, December 17.
• Complete Timed-writing 6, 2008 (form b) free-response question 1, “Teaching the English literary canon”, in class Wednesday, December 17.
• Read “Definition”, pp. 378-387, and “The Meanings of a Word”, Naylor, p. 388, both in the Brief Bedford Reader, answer “Meaning” qq. 1 and 4, “Strategy” qq. 1 and 3, and “Language” qq. 1, for Tuesday, January 6, and Wednesday, January 7.
• Complete Critical Writing essay for Naylor (under Suggestions for Writing), p. 392, Brief Bedford Reader, no less than two and no more than two and a half pages long, titled “The Meanings of a Word”, for Thursday, January 8, and Friday, January 9.
• Read “A New Cultural Identity: The Harlem Renaissance”, p. 916, “Author Study: Langston Hughes”, p. 920, and “When the Negro Was in Vogue”, p. 933, The Language of Literature (your giant yellow text which you needn’t bring to class), for Thursday, January 8, and Friday, January 9. (No questions to answer; only take notes.)
• Definition draft 1 due Monday, January 12; print and bring two (2) copies of “Early and Late Peer Response to Non-fiction Writing” (under Class Materials). As before, this typed draft must be of some substance; be judicious. Again, you’ll complete a second draft and a third, final draft that’ll be no less than two and a half and no more than three pages long.
• Read “Being a Chink”, Leong, p. 394, Brief Bedford Reader, answer “Meaning” qq. 1 and 3, “Strategy” qq. 1 and 3, and “Language” qq. 2, for Tuesday, January 13, and Wednesday, January 14.
• Complete Connections essay for Naylor and Leong (under Suggestions for Writing), p. 398, Brief Bedford Reader, no less than two and no more than two and a half pages long, titled “Naylor and Leong on Racist Language” (without the quotation marks for turn-in), for Thursday, January 15, and Friday, January 16.
• Definition draft 2 due Tuesday, January 20, and Wednesday, January 21; bring the second pages (late peer response sheets) of the two “Early and Late Peer Response to Non-fiction Writing” documents you printed for the first revision. This second draft must be well developed, very near completion.
• STANDING EXTRA-CREDIT OPPORTUNITY: The one-ended stick.