AP English Language and Composition Syllabus

2010-2011
Mr. Walker
Course Content
Rhetorical Analysis of Non-Fiction Prose
Research and Synthesis
Argumentation and Persuasion
Narration
Description
Example
Process Analysis
Comparison and Contrast
Cause and Effect
Mixing the Rhetorical Methods
Essential Terms and Skills
Speaker
Occasion
Audience
Purpose
Voice
Style
Assertion
Evidence
Commentary
Thesis
Imagery
Image patterns
Imagery as emotional appeal
Metaphor
Extended metaphor
Universal idea within an argument
Simile
Tone/Attitude
Tone/Attitude vocabulary (words that describe anger, humor/sarcasm, sadness/fear,
tranquility, romance, happiness, arrogance, and others)
Tonal shift
Irony
Point of view
Paradox
Analogy
Inference
Rhetorical Question
Allusion
Understatement
Hyperbole
Bias (gender, cultural, spiritual, economic, philosophical, multiple)

Rhetorical Appeals - reason/logic, character/identity/morality, and emotion (logos,

ethos, pathos)
Assumptions (implicit and explicit)
Classical argument
Rogerian argument
Deductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning
General and specific language
Concrete and abstract language
Logical fallacies
Form and content
Diction
Syntax (inverted word order, periodic sentence, cumulative sentence, use of
parentheticals)
Connotation
Formal language
Colloquial language
Dialogue
Anecdote
Well-turned phrase
Books
Cooley, Thomas. The Norton Sampler: Short Essays for Composition. New York:
W.W. Norton
& Company Inc., 2003.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th Edition. New
York:
MLA, 2003.
Glaser, Joe. Understanding Style: Practical Ways to Improve Your Writing. New
York:
Oxford University Press, 1999.
Kennedy, XJ, Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Jane E. Aaron. The Bedford Reader. 9th
Edition.
New York: Bedford/St. Martins Press, 2006.
Safire, William. Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History. New York: W.W.
Norton
& Company Inc., 1997.
Yagelski, Robert P., and Robert K. Miller. The Informed Argument. 6th Edition.
Massachusetts:
Thomson Wadsworth.
Unit 1: Introduction to Rhetorical Analysis and Argument
Readings:
"Structuring an Argument," p. 125 - 136, The Informed Argument.
"Too Much Pressure" by Colleen Wenke, p. 532 - 535, The Bedford Reader

"Why I Stopped Being a Vegetarian" by Laura Fraser, p. 546 - 549, The Bedford
Reader
"A Vegetarian Philosophy" by Peter Singer, p. 552 - 557, The Bedford Reader
"Close Encounters with US Immigration" by Adnan R. Khan, p. 570 - 572, The
Bedford Reader
"Everything Isn't Racial Profiling" by Linda Chavez, p. 575 - 577, The Bedford
Reader
Teacher's choice of Op/Ed page editorials from major American newspapers
Assignments:
-Dual-entry journals for each reading assignment
-Response writing for three of the five essays listed above.
-One timed (40 minutes) in-class rhetorical analysis essay per week from past AP
Language prompts. Each essay is a major grade.
Terms and Skills:
Speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, writing introductions, thesis, assertion,
evidence, commentary, rhetorical appeals, imagery, diction, connotation, syntax,
tone, metaphor, structure of argument, universal ideas, and bias.
Unit Two: Narrative and Descriptive Writing
Readings:
"Fish Cheeks" by Amy Tan, p. 94 -95, The Bedford Reader
"Champion of the World" by Maya Angelou, p. 88 - 90, The Bedford Reader
"Indian Education" by Sherman Alexie, p. 105 - 110, The Bedford Reader
"The Back of the Bus" by Mary Mebane, p. 72 - 78, The Norton Sampler
"None of This is Fair" by Richard Rodriguez, p. 81 - 85, The Norton Sampler
"Grade A: The Market for a Yale Woman's Eggs" by Jessica Cohen, p. 114 - 119, The
Bedford Reader
"A Crime of Compassion", by Barbara Huttman, p. 83 - 85, The Bedford Reader
"No Rainbows, No Roses" by Beverly Dipo, p. 42 - 45, The Norton Sampler
"Arm Wrestling With My Father" by Brad Manning, p. 144 -148, The Bedford Reader
"Shooting Dad" by Sarah Vowell, p. 152 - 158, The Bedford Reader
"No Wonder They Call Me a Bitch" by Ann Hodgman, p. 47 - 51, The Norton
Sampler
Assignments:
-Dual-entry journals for reading assignments
-Journal writing
-House of Memory paper, a major grade
-College admissions essay, a major grade
-Submissions for each stage of the writing process
-Critique/peer reviews in class, major grades. Bring copies of drafts for all group
members.
-One timed (40 minutes) in-class rhetorical analysis essay per week from past AP
Language prompts. Each essay is a major grade.
-Go to http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4538138 and listen to
"This I Believe" audio files. Write your own "This I Believe" statement. This
assignment is a major grade.

New Terms and Skills:

Speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, anecdote, startling/interesting facts,
dialogue, imagery, character, essential details, evidence, rhetorical appeals,
metaphor, universal ideas, implicit and explicit statements of meaning, varied
sentence structure, diction, syntax, general and specific language, concrete and
abstract language, connotation, formal language, colloquial language, voice, style,
understatement, hyperbole, tone, and irony.
Unit Three: Argument and Rhetorical Analysis of Speeches
Note: Readings listed in this unit come from a variety of sources, none of which
does the school district provide for teachers and students. I will provide students
with copies of text, or direct them to a source of the text, such as the Internet.
Readings:
"The Gettysburg Address" by Abraham Lincoln, p. 50 - 51, from Lend Me Your Ears:
Great Speeches in History
"On Women's Right to Vote" by Susan B. Anthony, p. 636 - 637, from Lend Me Your
Ears: Great Speeches in History
"Ain't I a Woman?" by Sojourner Truth, p. 626 - 627, from Lend Me Your Ears:
Great Speeches in History
"The Sinews of Peace" by Winston Churchill, p. 864 - 876, from Lend Me Your Ears:
Great Speeches in History
"The Greatest Single Thing a Man Can Have" by Branch Rickey, p. 521 - 523, from
Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History
"I Have a Dream" by Martin Luther King, Jr., text and audio file found at
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/Ihaveadream.htm
"Who Then Will Speak for the Common Good?" by Barbara Jordan, text and audio
file found at http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/Ihaveadream.htm
"The Space Shuttle Challenger Tragedy Address" by Ronald Reagan, text and audio
file found at http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/Ihaveadream.htm
"The Perils of Indifference" by Elie Wiesel, text and audio file found at
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/Ihaveadream.htm
"The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama, text and audio file found at
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/Ihaveadream.htm
Assignments:
-Dual-entry journal entries for each speech
-Conduct research to discover the multiple contexts in which the speeches were
delivered
-Multi-paragraph rhetorical analysis of two of the speeches read in class. Major
grades for each piece of analysis
-One, weekly, timed, 40-minute, in-class essays from past AP Language and
Composition test prompts. Each essay is a major grade.
-Socratic Seminar about a speech of my choice. This activity is a major grade.
-Write an argumentative speech. Students choose subject, occasion, and purpose.
Students deliver speech to audience of their choice. This assignment is a major
grade
New Terms and Skills:

Subject, occasion, audience, purpose, rhetorical appeals, diction, imagery, image

patterns, tone, connotation, metaphor, universal ideas, analogy, allusion, hyperbole,
understatement, paradox, irony, syntax, structure, formal and colloquial language,
rhetorical question, anecdote, form and content.
Unit Four: Example Essays
Readings:
"On Compassion" by Barbara Lazear Ascher, p. 195 - 197, from The Bedford Reader
"Homeless" by Anna Quindlen, p. 200 - 202, from The Bedford Reader
"Black Men and Public Space" by Brent Staples, p. 205 - 209, from The Bedford
Reader
"All Seven Deadly Sins Committed at Church Bake Sale" from The Onion, in The
Norton Sampler
"On Dumpster Diving" by Lars Eighner, p. 25 -33, from The Norton Reader
"On Going Home" by Joan Didion, p. 50 - 52, from The Norton Reader
"Waiting" by Edna O'Brien, p. 62 -66, from The Norton Reader
"On Being a Cripple" by Nancy Mairs, p. 34 - 43, from The Norton Reader
Assignments:
-Dual-entry journals for each essay
-Write your own example or "On" essay, a major grade
-Submissions for each stage of the writing process
-Critique/peer reviews in class, major grades. Bring copies of drafts for all group
members.
-One timed (40 minutes) in-class rhetorical analysis essay per week from past AP
Language prompts. Each essay is a major grade.
Terms and Skills:
Subject, occasion, audience, purpose, generalization, assertion, evidence, data,
anecdote, allusion, assumptions, bias, cause and effect, tone, imagery, definition,
coherence, diction, connotation, image, rhetorical effect, rhetorical appeals, satire
Unit Five: The Synthesis Question
Readings:
Cluster readings from The Informed Argument.
Assignments:
-Dual-entry journals for each essay
-Read and annotate key passages from each reading.
-Identify and write the thesis, assertions, and evidence in each essay.
-Discuss argumentative strategy: defend, challenge or qualify.
-Practice writing direct and indirect source citations and attributing ideas and
words to sources.
-Write synthesis essays for each cluster. Essays are major grades.
-Peer critique, a major grade
-Collaborative writing, imitation exercises, in-class responses
-Research Paper: Students find from a variety of sources five articles, and one
editorial cartoon, graph, chart or table that is related to the current issue. Students

read, highlight, and annotate the articles. Students then write a synthesis essay in
which they defend, challenge, or qualify an assertion within the articles. Students
must use research to support their argument, not the argument of the other writers.
Terms and Skills:
Preview, annotation, synthesis, citation, attribution, evidence, commentary, defense,
challenge, qualification, bias, rhetorical appeal, satire, tone, critical reading,
summary, paraphrase, avoiding plagiarism, source documentation, research paper
organization, source material integration, source citation, footnotes, endnotes,
parenthetical documentation, outlining, listing, mapping, statistical analysis,
analysis of visual imagery, e.g. editorial cartoon, art, and photography
Unit Seven: The Multiple Choice Section of the AP Language Exam
Assignments:
-Complete three full-length AP Language multiple-choice sections from past tests.
These are major grades.
-Prior to sample tests, discuss multiple-choice test taking strategy and skills for the
AP Language exam.
Multiple-Choice Test Taking Strategy and Skills:
-Stems and context
-Types of MC Questions: purpose, analogy, extended analogy, rhetorical vocabulary,
syntax, grammar (e.g. pronoun/antecedent), tone and vocabulary, point of view,
irony, inference, attitude/tone, style, meaning of words and phrases in context
-Reading for rhetorical techniques in MC passages
-Guessing, and leaving answers blank
-Point system
-Speed-bump questions
Unit Eight: Full-On Test Preparation
Assignments:
-Write three rhetorical analysis essays, three open prompt arguments, and three
synthesis essays, all major grades. All essays written by hand on lined paper in
class with time limits: 40 minutes each for the rhetorical analysis and open prompts
essays, 55 minutes for reading sources and writing the synthesis essay.
-Read, critique and grade sample AP Language Essays as issued by College Board
and workshop leaders.
-Read, critique and grade practice three of the nine essays listed above. Work will
be completed solo and in groups. These in-class work sessions are major grades.
Teacher is responsible for making copies.
-In-class planning and pre-writing sessions with from past AP Language prompts.