AP Language and Composition

Nate Stearns
Room 607
HYPERLINK "mailto:nathan.stearns@shorelineschools.org"
nathan.stearns@shorelineschools.org
website: http://nstearns.edublogs.org
Course Overview

This is a course about writing. And, as Ernest Hemingway said, ìThere is nothing to
writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.î Hemingway is a bit optimistic--
writing actually involves hard work, frustrating distractions, societal contempt, and the
constant feeling that everything you create isnít worth very much. And then you bleed.
But, you do get a laptop!

On the other hand, writing is one of the best known ways to send forth your thoughts into
the universe, into the future. Writing is a kind of immortality. Your well-rendered ideas
and metaphors could outlive you a thousand-fold andóthough it might not be
comfortingógive you your best shot at bugging other people for all of eternity.

In the College Boardís description of the AP English Language and Composition class,
they describe the purpose of the course:

An AP course in English Language and Composition engages students in becoming

skilled readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical
contexts, and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Both
their writing and their reading should make students aware of the interactions among a
writerís purposes, audience expectations, and subjects as well as the way generic
conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing.

Similarly, in this class we will engage a number of varied texts in order to understand and
analyze them, but we will also use those texts as models of our own writing. We will
work to become powerful readersóable not only to understand what a writer is
communicating, but also how the writer manipulates the English language to achieve
those effects. Furthermore, we will take this knowledge and apply it to our own writing.
As writers, we will grow. As people?ówellómaybe. We will have opportunities to write
for a number of purposesóto teach, to persuade, to tell a storyóand in a number of
stylesómemoir, editorial, journalistic, satirical. In the end, we will explore all that words
have the power to do.

Textbook

Core Textbooks : 50 Essays by Samuel Cohen and Everythingís an Argument by Andrea

A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz

A subscription to The New Yorker.

An-online selection of writings will be available at the following address (
HYPERLINK "http://shorewiki.wikispaces.com/AP+Language+Comp"
http://shorewiki.wikispaces.com/AP+Language+Comp
)

Grading System:

Essays: 40% Essays we write in class involve a multi-step process that goes from pre-
writing, research, drafting, editing, and publishing. Some essays will have grades at
different parts of the process to assess how well you navigate the demands of writing.
Some essays will be edited by peers or outside editors (web editors or guest editors).
Most major writing will be graded one-on-one with the teacher and to some extent
expectations and grading standards will be negotiated individually according to the needs
and abilities of each student.

Quizzes and tests: 20% Periodically, weíll be learning terminology and concepts
necessary for writing and will therefore need assessments to make sure you understand
them before we begin integrating them into your writing.

Blog and Daily Work: 40% One of the major methods of providing you with the space
and opportunity to display your analysis of readings is the blog. Regularly, you and your
fellow students will engage with readings and explore the issues, techniques, and purpose
behind the writing. The blogs give us the added ability to share these insights with
students within the class and outside of the school community. Using global collaboration
resources such as Global Schoolroom and ePals, we will expand the conversation. We
will also be able to use commentary, hyperlinks, accompanying visuals (charts, photos,
illustrations), and RSS readers to broaden the intellectual experience and anticipate the
methods the modern marketplace of ideas employs and will employ in the future.

Happy Mondays: Mondays are reserved for reading and discussion of articles from The
New Yorker. Each Monday a different student will be charged with selecting and leading
a discussion on an article from the magazine.

AP Practice: Periodically, weíll practice AP test-specific skills including multiple choice

paragraph analysis, synthetic essays, and in-class, timed essay writing geared towards the
types of items youíll see on the AP exam. At times we will work backwards, taking essay
questions or multiple choice questions and diving what is being assessed. Still, that is not
all we do.

Homework and tardy/absence Policy:

First off, I donít take late homework unless the situation is particularly special (i.e. your
family moved to Borneo yesterday and ìforgotî to bring you along). For larger papers
and projects, I subtract 10% off for every day youíre late. When you are
absentóexcusedóitís your responsibility to find out what the homework was (itís on my
website) and get it to me the next school day. If your absence is unexcused, you get an
automatic 0 for the assignment. Students who are tardy more than 15 minutes are
considered absent for that class period and if you are absent more than 10 times you may
not receive credit for my class.

Technology Expectations

Every student will be expected to have their laptops (charged) in class every class period.
Also, you will be asked to maintain an academic blog where much of your in-class work
will be entered as well as your longer assignments. During class, youíre expected to
work only on class work; any time you spend on other sitesóDolphin Olympics, Meebo,
whathaveyouóI reserve the right to confiscate your computer for the duration of class.
Similarly, I restrict all uses of cell phones and MP3 players to out of class time. Please
keep these devices in your pockets or backpacks. If I see you using one in class, I also
reserve the right to confiscate it and make several long distance calls to Fiji.

Other Behavior Expectations

I am not OK with students disrespecting or belittling other students. The first time this
happens, expect to be asked out of class and sent to the front office. I take it very
seriously. Besides that, I hope for a classroom of mutual respect where I treat you with
the dignity and honor you deserve and you do likewise. Education has such a potential to
be a force fro good in the world and I expect all of us to treat it that way.

Fall Schedule

Note: Any of the major writing we do in class can be used as elements in your Clas
Portfolio.

Unit 1: Beginnings

Unit Goals

To re-familiarize ourselves with practice public speaking and group discussion skills
To familiarize yourself with the skills being assessed by the AP Language and
Composition test
To establish a set of terms and concepts needed to analyze your writing and othersí.
To analyze the rhetorical strategies and stylistic devices of personal essays
To understand the elements of the writing process
To learn the basics of sentence variety and the writing of anecdotes

Weíll start with a roundtable discussion/dissection of the test along with anchor paper and
create a class document that will attempt to quantify the skills, knowledge base, and
conceptual understandings necessary to be successful on the AP test.
Also, weíll review and evaluate our knowledge of the parts of speech and of sentence
mechanics (clauses, phrases, antecedents, sentence types) in order to establish a common
set of analytical labels for our writing. Weíll then apply those tools to short writing
selections (from the memoirs we read for summer reading) in order to practice methods
of evaluation, connection, synthesis, and application.

Finally, weíll present short passages from our summer memoir readings to showcase our
newly learned analytical tools. This will also give us an opportunity to figure out how our
class discussions (both small group and large) can contribute to our learning.

Personal Essay: Using NPRís This I believe and the Newsweekís My Turn essays as a
guide, weíll write personal essays that combine the use of narrative with expository
writing in order to explain and personalize your view of the world.

Models: ìDefending our Skies against the Elderlyî by Diane Dimond Newsweek
ìJust Walk on By: Black Men and the Public Spaceî by Brent Staples 50 Essays
ìMe Talk Pretty One Dayî by David Sedaris 50 Essays
ìShooting an Elephantî by George Orwell 50 Essays
ìLearning to Read and Writeî by Frederick Douglass 50 Essays
ìAn ideal of service to our fellow manî by Albert Einstein This I Believe
ìBe Coolî by Christian McBride This I Believe
ìHow to Become a Writer Or, Have You Earned This Cliche? By Lorrie Moore

Unit 2: Welcome to (or Fear) the Singularity: Expository Writing in Science and Nature

Unit Goals:

Learn and apply methods of research collection and outlining

Learn and apply the How to Make Things Stick rubric for communicating ideas
Learn MLA citation rules
Evaluate the bias of information sources on and offline
Practice the synthesis of information from disparate sources into an essay that both
informs and speculates
Learn, practice, and master the strategies necessary to write an AP synthesis essay

In this unit, weíll be exploring issues of nature, technology, and science as discussed by
contemporary and historical writers. Along the way, weíll also learn the process of
research in which we search for relevant and credible information, select the information
we need, speculate on the implications, outline our arguments, and shape our writing for
specific audiences and purposes. Weíll learn how to use the MLA citation format to
indicate where our sources come from and weíll discuss issues of plagiarism and bias in
the modern era.

Weíll also work backwards on sample synthetic essays from previous AP exams and
create our own reading sets with sample questions that revolve around scientific issues.

Synthetic Science Essay: Write a research-based essay that uses a recent scientific
advance (culled from Kurzweillís AInews service) along with other research to put forth
an original argument about the technological advanceís implications on society and
culture.

Models:
Annie Dillard ìDeath of a Mothî 50 Essays
Henry Waldo Thoreau ìWhere I lived, and What I lived forî 50 Essays
Oliver Sacks ìThe Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hatî
ìWomenís Brainsî by Stephen Jay Gould 50 Essays
ìDigital Maoismî by Jared Lanier The Edge
ìKnow it All: Can Wikipedia conquer Knowledgeî by Stacy Schiff The New Yorker
ìReinventing Humanity: The Future of Human-Machine Intelligenceî by Ray Kurzweil
The Futurist
selection from Bill McKibbenís from Enough
ìThe Bird and the Machineî by Loren Eisley

Unit 3: Ad-hominem this! Rhetoric in the classical and modern time

Learn and analyze classical models of rhetoric: Logos, pathos, ethos

Learn Toulminís argumentation model and apply it to sample texts
Learn and apply rhetorical figures in writing
Read and apply Everythingís an Argument chapters 1-4
Read and apply selection from Thank you for Arguing
Explore sentence structure and parallel constructions in good writing
Learn common rhetorical fallacies used to convince and manipulate
Analyze how visuals are used to persuade and convince

In this unit, weíll engage in the messy process of convincing and persuading people to
agree with you, to pursue a particular policy, or to trust/mistrust someone. Part of this will
be learning classical rhetorical concepts and reading historical persuasive attempts and
part of this will be applying those ideas in our own writing. We will also take a look at
persuasion works today in both online and offline media. How does the explosion of
blogs and anonymous commenting mirror classical ideas and how do they change the
nature of opinion-making? Also, weíll see how visuals have in the past and now in the
present communicate and persuade.

Persuasive Speech: Give a 3 minute speech on a persuasive topic that uses classical
rhetorical methods, research, powerful visuals and an understanding of your audience to
convince of a
Models:

ìThe Declaration of Independenceî by Thomas Jefferson

ìLetter from Birmingham Jailî by Martin Luther King
ìCritoî by Plato
ìI Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Readî by Francine Prose
ìBilingualism in America: English Should be the Official Languageî by S.I. Hayakawa
ìOn the Duty of Civil Disobedienceî by Henry David Thoreau
ìMercy for Leopold and Loebî by Clarence Darrow
ìThe Ballot or the Bulletî by Malcolm X
ìAinít I a Womanî by Sojurner Truth
ìEvery Man a Kingî by Huey Long
ìBrandenburg Gate Addressî by Ronald Reagan
A selection of blog posts from across the political spectrum (Daily Kos, Talking Points
Memo, Instapundit, Captainís Quarters)

Unit 4: I was there! Descriptive Journalism

Unit Goals:
Learn how to effectively use specific detail
Learn how to use fictional techniques to infuse expository writing with energy
Learn how to balance narrative and commentary
Analyze the authorís purpose versus the actual effect
Learn how to use imagery and figurative language to capture experience
Learn the strategies necessary for the AP rhetorical analysis essay

In this unit weíll see how various authors capture experiences and then comment on its
meaning. Weíll analyze the writing techniques the authors employ and the strategies they
exploit to capture experience but also to shape perceptions of the audience. Also, we will
explore groups such as the New Journalists and other who combined modes of rhetoric
for powerful and unexpected effect.

Expository/Journalism: Go somewhere youíve never been that has the potential for
something strange to happen and write about what you see and notice there. Your focus
will be on capturing the experience and portraying it for the reader.
Model:

ìHow it feels to be colored meî by Zora Neale Hurston

ìThe Death of a Mothî by Virginia Woolf
"The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby" by Tom Wolfe
ìOnce more to the Lakeî by E.B. White
ìServing in Floridaî by Barbara Ehrenreich
ìArms and the man: Saturday Night in West Virginiaî by Kathy Dobie
ìThe Silent Season of a Heroî by Gay Talese
ìKill ëEm, Crush ëem, Eat ëem Raw!î by John McMurty

2nd Semester

Unit 5: Look at this! Visual grammar

Study the elements of visual grammar (rule of thirds, foreground/background, color

theory) and analyze how they create effects
Learn the terminology of visual description
Adapt the rhetorical techniques of persuasive argumentation and expository description to
visuals
Create a video with the purpose of persuasion and analysis

Our culture is moving more and more to a visual culture where images entertain,
persuade, inform, and inspire us more often than the use of words alone. In this unit, weíll
learn how visuals follow some rules and principles similar to words but also how visuals
differ in quality and effect from words.

Compare/Contrast Visual Essay/video: Create a short 2-3 minute video which uses
images, words, and sound to put forth a particular proposition and convince us to
consider it.

Models: Family Peale vs. Degas, Ch. 2 Frames of Mind

The KissóRodin/Brancusi: Ch.2 Frames of Mind
Slate Magazine and Magnum Photographs: Photos that Changed the World
ìShow and Tellî by Scott McCloud excerpt in The Language of Composition
ìVisual Argumentsî Chapter 14 Everything is an Argument
ìAn Introduction to Visual Understandingî Chapter 2 Frames of Mind
excerpt from When Images Dream

Videos: ìThe Machine is Us/ing usî by KSU Digtial

ìIndependence Dayî by Savetheinternet.com
ìThe Google Masterplanî by Ozan Halici and Jurgen M‰yer
"What Barry Says" by Simon Robson

Unit 6: Donít make me laughósatire and parody.

Unit Goals:
Learn the techniques and strategies of satire and parody.
Learn how to use and analyze the effect of humor on argument
Analyze word choice in terms of audience and purpose
Sober and serious is not the only way to get a point across. The use of satire, parody and
humor are not only breaks from the crushing pressure of modern life, but valid methods
of argument as well. Weíll analyze these techniques and practice them in a modern
satirical essay.

Satire and Parody: Write your own satirical essay that uses irony, exaggeration, the
mixing of genres, and ridiculousness to comment on an aspect of society or culture.

Models:
An Immodest Proposal, Jonathan Swift
ìMass Transit Hysteriaî P.J. OíRourke
ìLost in the Kitchenî by Dave Barry
ìImmigration Bill is a Fraudî by Mark Steyn
ìThe Unknown Citizenî by W.H. Auden

selections from The Onion, Satire Newspaper

selections from ìThe Daily Showî Jon Stewart
ìTwo Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish.î The Simpsons: Episode
#7F01.
selections from adbusters.org
video selection: ìThe Yes Menî

Unit 7: Define Your Terms: Historical and Philosophical Definition in the hypertext era

Unit Goals:

Learn and apply different types of essay organization

Read philosophical essays and understand the purposes and techniques used
Connect personal and historical examples to philosophical ideas
Explore the difference between traditional and hypertext argumentation

We will continue our work on the synthetic essay, focusing on how writers attempt to
define crucial concepts (love, fear, patriotism, happiness) by placing them in historical
context, engaging in philosophical discussion, marshalling popular and personal
examples, and categorizing ideas. In writing, we will focus on organization strategies to
shape your writing: cause/effect, process, and classification.

Philosophical Definition: Define a common word and explore its meaning in current
culture in a hypertext argument which mixes words, images, links, sounds, and embedded
video. Include a mix of philosophical history with recent history and pop culture.

Models:
ìThe Insufficiency of Honestyî by Stephen L. Carter 50 Essays
ìOn Being a Crippleî by Nancy Mairs 50 Essays
ìClashing Civilizationsî by Edward Said 50 Essays
ìOn Compassionî Barbara Lazear Ascher 50 Essays
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
ìThe Four Idolsî by Francis Bacon
selection from ìI and Thouî by Martin Buber
ìApollonianism and Dionysianismî by Friedrich Nietzsche
ìEducationî by Ralph Waldo Emerson
selection from ìLaborî by Thomas Carlyle

Unit 8: Sausages and LegislatureóProcess Analysis

Unit Goals:
Learn how to break down a process into discrete steps
Learn how to use voice and attitude to infuse energy into expository writing
Learn how to think critically to categorize and order thinking

In this unit we learn how to explain not only how things work but to narrate the process.
Weíll study how master writers find ways to explain clearly and with style without
sacrificing authority, credibility, or accuracy.

How to do it: Write an essay that explains how to do something in a clear but dynamic
way.

Model:

selection from The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud

ìThe Qualities of a Princeî by NiccolÛ Machiavelli
ìHow You Became Youî by Bill Bryson 50 Essays
ìOn Keeping a Notebookî by Joan Didion 50 Essays
ìLearning to Readî by Malcolm X 50 Essays
ìWhy we Travelî by Pico Iyer
from How I learned to Ride the Bicycle by Frances Willard
Slate Magazineís Explainer column
ìWhy Woman Have to Workî Amelia Warren Tyagi
selections from Make Magazine and Instructables

Final Project

Finally, I will have a final exam which will ask you to apply everything you learned in
conducting a 20-minute lesson on the reading of your choice. I will evaluate you on your
ability to combine visuals, guide discussion, and suggest interpretive methods.
mailto:nathan.stearns@shorelineschools.org
mailto:nathan.stearns@shorelineschools.org
http://shorewiki.wikispaces.com/AP+Language+Comp
http://shorewiki.wikispaces.com/AP+Language+Comp
UUUUU™UU
U
***@@@jjjÄÄÄ
%IDATx
Default
Default
Heading 1
Heading 1
Heading 2
Heading 2
Heading 3
Heading 3
Heading 4
Heading 4
Heading 5
Heading 5
Heading 6
Heading 6
Absatz-Standardschriftart
Absatz-Standardschriftart
Table Normal
Table Normal
No List
No List
Footnote Characters
Footnote Characters
Bullets
Bullets
Internet Link
Internet Link
Endnote Characters
Endnote Characters
Text body
Text body
Heading
Heading
Header
Header
Footer
Footer
Table Contents
Table Contents
Caption
Caption
Sender
Sender
Quotations
Quotations
Horizontal Line
Horizontal Line
ü
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:

:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:

Unknownÿ！
Times New Roman
Times New Roman
Symbol
Symbol
Lucida Grande
Lucida Grande
StarSymbol
StarSymbol
Times New Roman
Times New Roman
Albany
Albany
HG Mincho Light J
HG Mincho Light J
Times New Roman
Times New Roman
Arial Unicode MS
Arial Unicode MS
Normal
Microsoft Word 11.3
Z÷Z÷NskZVµVµkZ
V∫V∫g<RöV∫V∫Z€RöV∫k]V∫F9^˚Z€RöZ€k]RöNz^˚Z€c
kZNsZ÷RîVµNsZ÷^˜Z÷^˜RîkZZ÷c
o{g9o{
JRg9Z÷g9Z÷
Rîo{JRNs
g9JRJR{fiRîZ÷
VµJRNsJRRîRîo{RîZ÷
JRg9JRRî
1åo{^˜Nsg9JRRî{fi˚
g9g9F1Rî
JRRîg9Z÷Z÷g9c
JRRîRîo{JR
Z÷JRVµRîo{JRc
Vµ^˜RîJRJRNsg9VµVµJR{fi
g9JR1åo{RîZ÷
g9JRNsZ÷Ns^˜wΩJRo{^˜Nsg9JRRî˜
JRRîg9g9Z÷g9JR9Œg9
JRRî^˜JRRîo{Rî^˜Ns{fic
^˜Rî^˜NsRîJRZ÷{fiZ÷Rî^˜g9Vµc
VµVµg9g9JRRî5≠Rîc
JRg9JRRî
Rîo{RîF1JR
g9JRJRg9Rî^˜Ns
JRRîJRJR{fiRîo{JRc
g9JRRîg9Z÷RîJRVµ
NsJRRîRîo{JR
JRJRg9^˜Vµ^˜Z÷Vµ{fig95≠Rî
JR5≠^˜Vµ{fi˛^˜4g9NsJRRî
RîNsg9JRJR
RîJR^˜Rîo{Vµg9F1VµJRJRVµ^˜VµJR
Rî^˜Z÷^˜RîJRg9JRRîJRc
JRRîJRZ÷RîJRJRwΩc
Rîg9JRRîJRJR
JRRîJRg9c
Rî^˜NsJRRîwΩwΩRîg9^˜Vµ
NsJRRîRîg9JRRî
JRVµ^˜JRVµRîJRg9Vµc
JRVµZ÷^˜JRJRc
Rîg9F1JR^˜{fiRîJRRîJRRîRîVµ
JRRîZ÷g9NsRîJR
JRVµJRJR^˜JRRîZ÷Vµ
VµJRZ÷kZkZ^˜Rî^˜NsNsZ÷RîNsZ÷^˜
VµNsg9RîVµ^˜kZg9kZVµ9ŒNsZ÷NsZ÷^˜^˜
^˜g9RîNs^˜Nsg9^˜kZNsVµ^˜c
VµNsg9kZNsZ÷¯
VµZ÷kZg9g9^˜=ÔNsNs
kZVµNs^˜{fiNskZ^˜c
kZRîkZkZNsZ÷^˜˛Ns c
VµNsg9^˜^˜g9^˜{fi
VµNsg9kZNsZ÷
^˜VµkZF1JRNs=Ô^˜F1
VµNsg9RîVµ^˜^˜g9Vµc
NsNsg9Rî
Kg9Rî^˜kZB
kZg9kZNs5≠NsNs
^˜NsNskZNsZ÷
^˜RîVµRîkZNsNsg9NsVµ^˜^˜g9RîNs^˜Nsg9^˜NsVµwΩNsc
kZNsg9^˜c
g9kZVµNs9ŒNsg9VµNsZ÷˙
{fiNsRîNskZ^˜Nsc
g9Nsg9kZVµNsZ÷˛Ns
VµVµkZkZNs^˜
VµNs^˜^˜Nsg9kZVµNs^˜
F1^˜VµRîNsNsZ÷RîNsZ÷^˜
kZVµRîg9^˜g9Vµ^˜g9g9^˜c
g9kZ^˜^˜Ns^˜^˜NsNsVµwΩc
kZg9kZNsZ÷{fi˜
g9g99Œg9Vµg9JR
5≠g9Z÷^˜g9RîZ÷Z÷Rîo{VµRîo{˛g9
1åRî
Rîo{VµRîo{˛g9:B
RîJR^˜RîRîo{JR
Rîo{JRNsJRRî{fi^˜^˜Vµ
&NsVµ^˜RîJRc
JRg9^˜VµRîJRVµ^˜RîwΩ
RîJRJRRîo{JRRîc
JR5≠JRg9^˜Rîc
QRîg9Z÷RîJRR
R
o{
Vµ^˜JR=ÔJRg9JRJRg9Rîc
Rîg9g9Z÷JRB
JRg9Z÷NsJRRîRîo{g9VµJRRîVµRîJR
JRRîJRJRg9Z÷
RîJR^˜RîRîo{JR
g9JRNsc
g9Z÷Rîo{^˜NsVµ^˜Z÷Nso{Vµ
RîVµg9g9Rî^˜RîRîo{^˜g9Z÷¯
:JRVµRîJRg9VµsúwΩwΩRîo{Vµg9^˜wΩJRc
RîVµg9g9JRRî^˜Vµ
RîJRJRRî^˜5≠JR
JRJR^˜JRRîZ÷VµZ÷wΩwΩc
RîJRVµ^˜Z÷JRRîJRVµ{fic
g9JRRîJR
Rîg9^˜{fiVµJRNsRî^˜B
g9{fig9RîJR^˜JRRîg9F1Ns^˜{fi˚
Z÷RîNs^˜JRRîg9{fic
VµJRJR{fiRîo{VµRîo{˛g9&5≠JRg9Rî^˜VµRîg9
g9RîkZNsZ÷
Z÷^˜Z÷RîNsg9^˜Nsg95≠
g9JRJR^˜VµRîc
AP Language and Composition
Course Overview
Textbook
Grading System:
Homework and tardy/absence Policy:
Technology Expectations
Other Behavior Expectations
Headings
_PID_HLINKS
http://shorewiki.wikispaces.com/AP+Language+Comp
http://shorewiki.wikispaces.com/AP+Language+Comp
mailto:nathan.stearns@shorelineschools.org
mailto:nathan.stearns@shorelineschools.org
Root Entry
1Table
1Table
WordDocument
WordDocument
SummaryInformation
SummaryInformation
DocumentSummaryInformation
DocumentSummaryInformation
CompObj
CompObj
Microsoft Word Document
Word.Document.8