Welcome, high-flyin’ APES–class of 2020!
All summer HW is due September 6, 2019–regardless if your AP Lit. course begins 1st or 2nd semester. Click 2020 UPDATED June 5 Letter of Introduction and SUMMER READING EXPLANATION rev. June 5, 2019 for the June Info Letter.
AP Lit. Course Syllabus
Summer Reading
This course requires “summer reading.” You are required to “actively read” three novels and do extensive “reading notes” as you read. You will be given an AP exam on these three books the first week of class and write a paper at some time during the course based on some of them.
The 3 novels are
– Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
– Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
– A Prayer for Owen Meany by John
Irving
I. Course texts
· Literature: The British Tradition (published by Prentice Hall)
· English Writing and Skills (Complete Course, Coronado edition)
· Beowulf (either translated by Seamus Heaney)
· Grendel by John Gardner
· Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (translated by R. M. Lumiansky) by Geoffrey Chaucer
· Hamlet (Signet Classic edition) by William Shakespeare
· Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
· Things Fall Apart (Fawcett Crest edition) by Chinua Achebe
· Heart of Darkness (A Case Study in Contemporary Criticism Series edition) by Joseph Conrad
· Arcadia (Samuel French, Inc. edition) by Tom Stoppard
· Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
· Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
You will need to purchase our EPHS ENGLISH DEPARTMENT SURVIVAL MANUAL for $5.00.
II. Course content
AP English
The following is a BANK of material from which the AP English course content will be chosen (approximately in order of presentation in the class).
· Course Introduction and Philosophy, Summer Reading, and Building a Class Foundation and preliminary AP work & exams based on Tale of Two Cities and Pride and Prejudice and A Prayer for Owen Meany
· Familiarization with the AP exam
– Phrases and clauses in composition
– Rhetorical strategies
– Practice exams
· Cultural Literacy Tidbit research paper
· Poetry terminology and poems—including some classics (time permitting) from the 17th century (1625-1660) through the 20th century.
· Literary Analysis paper (comparison of two summer novels)
· Anglo-Saxon and Medieval 450 AD – 1485)
– Historical background
– History of the English Language
– Beowulf
– Gardner’s Grendel
· Literary Theories
Evaluation paper: Literary Theories paper
· English Renaissance (1485 – 1625) Hamlet
· Modern reaction to Hamlet: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
· Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
· Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart
· Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
– Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
· Narrative paper: Twenty-first Century Prologue
· Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia
· Position paper
· Course final: “Meeting of the Minds”
COURSE POLICIES
Grading
A. Daily work, quizzes, tests, and journals are worth 40%.
B. Papers/major projects are worth 60%. Papers are 70 points. Evaluation is based on
content (40 points), style (10 points), and writing conventions (20 points).
C Grades are updated approximately every two weeks.
D. Grading Scales–EPHS scale
E. NOTE: This is a semester course. The final grade for this 2 credit course comes at the very end of the course.
Course Expectations
A. What is AP English?
AP English is a rigorous program designed for the high-achieving, highly-motivated college-bound student. You can expect a course as identical to a college class as possible. You must have mastery of writing essays, confidence in analyzing literature, commitment to hard work, and a strong desire to participate fully in a discussion-based class. These classes will not teach you basics. The basics of English grammar, punctuation, and organization of an essay are prerequisites. In addition, a dedication to stretching yourself creatively is highly desired. Designed like a college course, this class is discussion-oriented; participation is an expectation! NOTE: Do not expect any in-class reading, in-class research, or in-class work on homework time.
Absences
A. Attendance must be consistent. If you miss class, it’s your responsibility to call your “study partner.” Exchange phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Your study partner is expected to fill out a green Study Partner Absence Sheet and staple the day’s handouts to it so you have all your missing work waiting for you when you return.
B. MAKE-UP POLICY
1. Papers, major projects, the JOURNAL collection must be turned in on time even if you are absent from class the day a major assignment is due. If you are in school but miss our class (for example: field trip), you must still turn in your major assignments. You must arrange to have someone else turn the major assignment in for you or it will be counted late. Late major assignments will be deducted 10% of the total point value for each day the paper is late. WEEKENDS count as 2 days late. Each individual day of a school vacation counts as a day late. This major work is due by 3:00 on the due date. You may not e-mail papers to us. A security copy must be turned in with every paper.
2. Daily work is worth 50% if turned in late on the day the assignment is due or on the following day. The day after that, it is worth zero. If you are in school but miss our class (example: field trip) on the day an assignment is due, the assignment must be turned in directly to the teacher that day or else you will be assessed a late grade.
3. If you miss a quiz or exam due to absence, you will arrange a time agreed upon by the teacher for making up this quiz or exam. Late deductions will apply to quizzes and exams which are not made up in the English Resource Center on the date prearranged by the teacher and student.
4. Buybacks (if allowed) are technical corrections on papers. They are due by 3:00 on the due date (located on your paper grading sheet) designated by the teacher. They will only be given 50% of the buyback credit if turned in one day late. They will not be accepted for any credit any longer than one day late.
PERSONAL MATERIALS:
A. Highlighter (for active reading/marking handouts, books, notes) and red pen for editing.
B. File folder for papers and logging of paper progress (a colored one is a great idea to easily distinguish yours in a pile with all the other students’ file folders!)
C. Your own copy of the Signet Classic edition of Hamlet (available at our school store). It is suggested that you purchase as many of our texts as possible for active reading and notetaking during class. Many of these books might be read again in college courses!
D. Three-ring binder with dividers and loose-leaf paper for journals (not a spiral-bound notebook)
15 dividers labeled this way greatly helps you organize your materials for this class:
| A | WHAT’S UP? (misc. stuff) and COURSE INTRO | G | POETRY & GARLINS | M | HAMLET & R&G |
| B | SURVIVAL PAC. & WRITING CONVENTIONS | H | LITERARY THEORY | N | HEART OF DARKNESS |
| C | JOURNALS (and applicable hand-outs) | I | HISTORICAL BACKGROUND | O | THINGS FALL APART |
| D | VOCABULARY | J | BEOWULF & GRENDEL | P | ARCADIA |
| E | PAPERS (hand-outs, drafts, etc.) | K | CHAUCER | Q | FRANKENSTEIN |
| F | AP EXAM PREP | L | GAWAIN & THE GREEN KNIGHT | R | AUSTEN & IRVING |
ABOUT PAPERS
(both research and analytical essays)
These will make up the major portion of your grade. It is required that they are typed. Each paper will be explained in a separate purple (usually) hand-out with a grading sheet.
A. FORMAT You will receive many helpful handouts to follow proper manuscript form (msf). The handouts are based on the 7th edition of the MLA Handbook.
B. FOR ALMOST EVERY PAPER., YOU WILL TURN IN A WORKS CITED PAGE (BIBLIOGRAPHY) AND/OR A CORRECTLY FORMATTED OUTLINE.
C. LATE PAPERS
As stated above in more detail, late papers will lose 10% of the total points the paper is worth for each day late. Weekends count as two days late. Papers must be turned in the day they are due regardless if you have an excused absence. Generally, late papers will receive little, if any, comment.
D. STYLE
Aside from content and mechanics, you will be evaluated on “style” for every paper. Most of the papers will be formal in nature. The use of “I” and “we” and “you” (and their various forms) are not permitted unless specified otherwise. In addition, colloquialisms and clichés will not be permitted. This course will prepare you for the highest level of academic writing expected in college course. It is expected that the essays will have solid introductions which introduce the topic in an interesting manner and include a clear thesis/controlling purpose. A conclusion must bring the essay to closure (providing a summary of your discussion). The language choices and Sophistication of language, elevated use of vocabulary, and diction are expected to be at or near a “college level.” Most of the analytical essays will follow the FIVE-SECTION ESSAY STRUCTURE.
E. PARENTHETICAL DOCUMENTATION
You will always need to support your discussion with concrete examples/quotes from the text or other sources used to write your paper. You will be expected to use parenthetical documentation to do this. You will be loaned a style manual, called the “SURVIVAL PACKET” (based on the 6th edition of the MLA Handbook of manuscript form) for the rules.
F. PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism will be penalized severely; paraphrased material must be cited! You are usually required to print out all copies of the sources you use which are listed on your works cited page. There will be a very specific format for this. In addition, you are required to turn in / email a complete second copy of your paper, called the “SECURITY COPY,” for the teacher’s reference and to be kept on file at EPHS indefinitely.
THE JOURNALS
A. There are three different types of journal entries:
= WA’s and OJ’s–assigned prompt/topic from Wally and Olson (1-2 assigned daily)
= CC’s–topic determined by you–but must be class-connected; assigned either every other week or as determined by teacher
= PR’s–peer response journals
B. LENGTH OF JOURNALS: Each entry must be minimum of one side of a page unless determined otherwise by teacher. This means single-spaced from 1″ left margin to 1″ right margin and every line filled–done in your own handwriting. You may, of course, type your journals. Please double-space them!
C. About JOURNAL DUE DATES:
It is expected that each journal entry is done the day teacher says it’s due. It is STAMPED each day it is due for “on-time” points. We may or may not physically collect it that day. Be prepared to turn it in, however. The purpose of the journal is to have you do some pre-thinking on the literature or topics of the day’s discussion. Often times, we will begin class with partner, trio, small group or large group sharing of journals. The less productive discussion is, the more frequently journals will be collected. It makes no sense to do journals on topic for today’s discussion two weeks from now. Keep up on the daily work!
D. HOW ARE JOURNALS GRADED? If I collect a journal on the day it’s due, it’s worth 5 points per full page. You can receive 1/2 credit the next day. After than, no points are given. It is important, however, to do the journal for the re-collection of the entire journal later in the term
E. SOME FINAL WORDS ON THE JOURNALS
We hope you will value your journals and that you see them as a way of learning something about yourself. Try different kinds of entries. Be sensible sometimes, but sometimes crazy. Invent your own ways of responding to the stories, plays, poems. Do some additional reading about the authors or works if you wish. Respond to class discussions (small or large group) as part of your journal. Allow your intellect and imagination to go to work. Remember: our purpose is to enjoy, to feel, and to think more deeply as a result of our encounters with the literature.
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