AP English Literature and Composition Course Outline
General Description
Note that this is a college level class. Students are expected to keep pace
with the daily and outside reading, reading responses, class notes, writing
exercises, timed and formal, prepared essays.
Students will be reading and analyzing a wide variety of literary works and,
outside the daily assigned reading, a body of works of fiction both with an
emphasis on the study of literary elements (plot, character, point of view,
etc.) and how language works in prose, poetry and criticism. Through daily
close reading, frequent writing and whole class and small group discussions,
students will develop their ability to work with and gain appreciation of
how and why writers use language as they do. Close readings will form the
basis of personal, analytical, and evaluative journals and essays written
by students using professional writing as source material and stylistic inspiration.
Additionally students will examine drama, poetry, short story, criticism,
in addition to novel. In our textbook and supplementary readings, students
will be exposed to such authors as Diane Ackerman, Thomas P. Adler, Sherman
Alexie, Maya Angelou, Aristotle, John Barth, Samuel Beckett, William Blake,
Gwendolyn Brooks, Coleridge, Billy Collins, e. e. cummings, and dozens of
similar stature including Faulkner, Shakespeare, Elliot, and Tennessee Williams.
Too, the students will read one novel and/or several plays per month (titles
and authors are cited below).
All students must sign up and take the College Board AP English Literature
and Composition Examination in May.
The best way to contact the teacher when not at school is through email at
jollymore_tim@yahoo.com. Please feel free to email your questions, thoughts,
comments, concerns or ideas. The class website, www.tim.jollymore.net has
a weekly schedule of events for this class (1st through 4th marking periods)
as well as assignments, links and other helpful information. Students absent
from class are expected to use this site to stay current with the class content
and homework assignments. Daily work can be sent to a fellow student via email
on the day of the absence; that fellow student is to print the assignment
for submittal on time. No late work can be credited for any reason.
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Course Objectives:
1. To prepare students to take and pass the AP English Literature Examination.
2. To prepare students to write college level essays through intensive practice
in literary analysis, personal and emotional response, assessment of artistic
and human value, organization, and use of secondary critical sources.
3. To develop and practice thought processes and habits that foster clear,
concise writing.
4. To review the elements of writing such as diction, style, tone, rhetorical
purpose, technique and strategy, as well as audience, form, structure, and
syntax.
5. To become familiar with literary elements such as setting, point of view,
symbolism, and theme and literary terms like allusion, ballad, climax, epigram,
flashback, heroic couplet, irony, limerick, naturalism, scansion, tragic flaw,
soliloquy, and sonnet.
6. To study in passing the history of the West from 1550 to the present through
representative works of each century.
7. To increase student academic vocabulary by 1,000 words through the learning
of new words and in depth study of roots, etymology, historical influences,
word relationships, connotation and denotation. Recognition vocabulary forms
the major part of the learning objective; active vocabulary makes up the balance.
8. To formulate and construct thoughtful, logical reasoning as means of analysis
and evaluation.
9. To train students to use literary and academic research and argumentation
as a means to develop and construct their own positions in both written and
oral communication.
10. To develop functional stylistic, literary, rhetorical and academic vocabulary.
11. To become more proficient writers, thinkers and students of English.
How These Objectives Will Be Reached
Through consistent reading, writing and discussion students will increase
their metacognative, analytical, evaluative and communicative skills. The
writing process will include:
· prewriting techniques such as mapping, brainstorming and note-taking;
organizing ideas using such tools as outlines and graphic organizers;
· drafting and revising;
· editing and
· final draft production.
Students will complete such specific writing assignments as effective paragraph writing; analytical essays; compare and contrast essays, and a research paper. There will also be frequent in-class essays to help prepare students for the AP test and college work.
Equally important to the reading and writing component is that this class is student-centered; that is students will be often required to lead discussion both individually and through groups. The best way to learn is through discovery, expression and by making mistakes. Students will gain more from this class and achieve better results by their contributions to class discussion.
Credit Value: 5.0
Complete California Framework of Reading/Language Arts is available at www.cde.ca.gov.
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Primary Texts
The Bedford Introduction to Literature, 7th edition.
Sound and Sense
Supplementary Texts - those novels, plays, poems, essays and short stories
marked with * are found in the main text, The Bedford, those marked + are
available to students from our textbook room, and unmarked texts will be provided
by the student.
Drama : Six titles will be studied in class, others will serve as outside reading.
*Oedipus Rex
*Antigone
Macbeth
Lear
*Hamlet
*A Doll's House
No Exit
Pygmalion
*The Glass Menagerie
A Street Car Named Desire
Long Day's Journey into Night/ The Hairy Ape
+The Crucible
*M. Butterfly
Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
*Fences
Joe Turner's Come and Gone
King Hedley II
The Goat
*Krapp's Last Tape
Long Fiction: Six titles will be studied in class, others will serve as outside reading; some indication of the student focus is given after the titles.
Homer, The Odessy
Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Grey - character, plot, style
Swift, Gulliver's Travels - irony, satire
Bronte, Wuthering Heights - plot, setting, character, tone, point of view
Dickens, Great Expectations - plot, character
Melville, Moby Dick - symbol, theme, point of view, style
Forester, Passage to India - theme, character, point of view
D.H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers - theme, point of view
Conrad, Heart of Darkness - setting, tone, theme
Faulkner, Light in August and As I Lay Dying - theme, character, style / tone, situation, character
Wright, Native Son - tone, style
Ellison, The Invisible Man - point of view,
Heller, Catch 22 - irony, tone
McCullers (Albee), The Ballad of the Sad Café- style, imagery, adaptation
Morrison, Sula, Love and/or Beloved - theme, style
Ishigura, Never Let Me Go - theme, point of view, style
Naipal, A House for Mr. Biswas, style, point of view, theme
Poetry : Poetry study will use Pryne's Sound and Sense and The Bedford to
study representative poems:
The sonnet from Shakespeare to present day
Blank verse
Free verse
Rhyming verse
Poets: Bishop, e. e. cummings, Collins, Farries, Springsteen, Kipling, Prunty,
Ho, Espada, Mora, Atwood, Keats, Brooks, Williams, Roethke, Herbert, Blake,
Kumin, Poe, Dickinson, Whitman, Plath, Donne, Thomas, Wordsworth, Yeats, Hughes,
Adair, Herrick, Sexton, Hirsch, Shakespeare, H.D., Dunbar, Giovanni, Frost,
Eliot, Erdrich, Stevens, Merwin, Neruda, Sabines, Lorca.
Short Fiction: The study of plot, character, setting, point of view, symbolism,
theme and style will be initiated through the study of short fiction which
will be discussed in class and read outside class to augment the examples
presented as follows:
Plot: Burroughs, Oates, King, Faulkner, Dubus
Chracter: Dickens, Melville, Hawthorne
Setting: Hemingway, Andrea Lee, Weldon, Viramontes
Point of View: Gish Jen, Checkhov, Oates, Walker
Symbolism: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Colette, Ellison, Chabon
Theme: Crane, Mansfield, Dagoberto Gilb, Baker
Style, tone and irony: Carver, Boyle, Minot, Z. Z. Packer
Students are responsible, primarily on their own, to read the above list of fiction and poetry. Each month students will be select work from the above list which reading must be finished, along with critical material reading within the month. One day monthly will be devoted to student-led whole class discussion of the novels or dramas. The teacher may facilitate, sometimes guide the discussion and will contribute to it but students are expected to contribute with analysis, speculation, and reference to sources. There can be more formal assessment in the form of quizzes and in-class essays.
Author Reading Requirement
As we are most fortunate to live in the Bay Area, there is a richness of culture
unavailable in many parts of the country. One aspect of this is the availability
of an abundance of wonderful literary events. Almost every night of the week
one can see major novelist or writer (or one lesser known) sharing his/her
work at one of the many local bookstores or lecture venues. Students are required
at least once each semester to attend one of these readings and write a two
page typed analysis of the event which is to be submitted along with hand
written notes. Students should subscribe for announcements vial email lists
to the local bookstores such as Cody's Books (Berkeley), Moe's Books (Berkeley),
Marcus Books (Oakland) Diesel (Oakland), A Great Good Place for Books (Montclair),
Barnes and Noble (Berkeley, Jack London Square, Bay Street, Emeryville). There
are also listings of author readings in the Sunday supplements of The San
Francisco Chronicle and Oakland Tribune. Finally, students can also find information
on www.sfgate.com.
Film Adaptations Requirement
Often during the academic year motion picture releases are based upon works
of literature. This year, for example, Waugh's Brideshead Revisited is showing
this Fall. Others will surely open during the year. Students will be notified
and are encouraged to view these releases. Extra credit, twice during the
year, can be arranged.
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What Will Be Taught and Curricular Requirements
· Writing is the central component of this class and students be routinely
writing in several forms personal, such as journaling or emotional responses
to selected works; analytical, such as analysis of works through the elements
of fiction, poetry or drama; and critical, which includes the evaluation of
merit of works of fiction and poetry usually on the basis of their contribution
regarding the human condition.
· All essays will be written in stages that include brainstorming,
mapping, rough drafts, peer editing, revising.
· Throughout the year students will reflect on or respond to readings
and to issues by writing formal responses, investigations, or analysis.
· The main focus of the course is literature, responding to it, analysis
of it and evaluation and criticism of it. Much of the work will be the acquisition
of the vocabulary, view point and literary skills necessary to respond personally,
analytically and critically.
· Beginning with the summer assignment and throughout the year, students
will learn research skills, evaluate and cite primary and secondary sources
(following the MLA format) for papers of comparison, analysis and evaluation.
Students will use research for formal, in-class presentations that will lead
students to analyze and evaluate works of literature and to present their
findings in clear and concise form.
· The growth and literary, stylistic, argumentative and academic vocabularies
are all stressed through word study from vocabulary lists, from daily on-line
word builders, from student found word lists compiled from class and outside
reading, from etymological study of English words and from the study the analysis
of texts.
· Students are expected to contribute to daily class discussion and
more formal presentations. If students are unwilling to participate, they
will not do well in this class.
· All work must be double-spaced and typed in 12 point Times New Roman
font, neat, legible and free of careless errors such as misspelled words.
· All papers must be headed with student's full name, date, subject,
period and signature in the upper right hand corner. Sloppy or illegible work
will be returned ungraded.
· Homework is posted daily at the class web site, www.tim.jollymore.net
· Unexcused late work is not accepted for any reason whatsoever. Extra-credit
options may be periodically offered to those completing 90 % of regular assignments,
and class participation will be a deciding factor on point totals close to
a higher grade.
· Quizzes cannot be made up if students are absent or tardy. Missed
tests must be made up, and it is the student's responsibility to schedule
a make-up test their first day back to school.
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Major activities :
Analysis and comparison
Students will read three works over the summer, keep in a daily reading journal
their thoughts, predictions, observations, reactions to the works read at
the time of the reading. With special emphasis on setting, characterization
and theme; the students will also compose an essay of comparison based on
the two works assigned for submittal during the fifth or sixth week of class.
The three works are:
McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses
Bronte's Wuthering Heights and
Morrison's Sula
· Students will bring these materials to the third class meeting.
A look at important literary terms - terms used to describe fiction, poetry
and drama - those staple words in the lexicon - need to be understood and
employed in the students' discussions and writing. Examples are hyperbole,
onomatopoeia, alliteration, irony, plot, point of view, 3rd person point of
view, etc.
Socratic Seminars
After reading one of the novels listed in the preceding section, Novels and
Drama, groups of no more than eight students will assemble amidst the class
to discuss the novel's rhetorical and stylistic features such as putative
purpose of the novel or play, rhetorical strategies employed in plot and character
constructions, stylistic hallmarks of the work, historical and period influences
on the creation and purpose of the work. Critical source material must be
brought to the discussion and in the "segun" formula as follows:
"According to Ralph Ellison in his work Jazz is Life, jazz is a metaphor
not only for the creative spirit but for complexities of life."
The Literary Project
Reading: Students will read a large number of plays and novels during the
course of the year. Using knowledge of analysis and evaluation of literature
developed in the study of the course, the student will evaluate three works
of literature on the basis of contribution to society and the community of
thought and understanding.
Research: In conjunction with this longer essay, the student will present the views of others, critical views, concerning the works in question to illustrate the student's views.
Writing: The essay will likely compare works stylistically and will likely investigate the ideas presented by the works in relationship to their influence on then contemporary society. For instance, the influence of psychology in the reading of Sons and Lovers might be evaluated contraposed to the influence of determinism exhibited in Moby Dick in that earlier time. Both could be contrasted with the 20th century view represented by the Absurdist movement.
Vocabulary Portfolio
The students will compile a portfolio of vocabulary words from various sources. The words will come from class lists, student found words and favorite words from Word of the Day (Dictionary.com). Each required word for the portfolio will be presented with an abstract citing the history of the word, both its historical meanings and its etymology, a complete list of cognates and related words and proof from student experiences that the student has incorporated the word into academic use.
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Honor Code
Cheating on any assignment will result in a failing grade on that assignment
and referral to the administration.
Homework
Daily work may not be submitted for credit; however, it may be submitted for
review.
Attendance Policy
Students are expected to be in class, seated, on time, each day. Unexcused
absences are to be cleared within 5 school days after return to class. It
is the student's responsibility to secure missed work from another student
or the website.
Class Format
Objectives based on the California Reading/Language Arts Framework are posted
daily on the website. A typical day will include such activities as review,
whole class or small group discussion of class reading, and lecture on topics
of interest and timed writing.
Student Evaluation
Grading is an accumulative over the semester. All assignments given are noted
and/or evaluated. The grade depends on the evaluation of the student's response
in aggregate for the following areas:
Homework - promptness, completeness, originality
Class participation - eagerness to contribute, willingness to risk ideas,
frequency of response or verbal contribution to the general class, and observed
effectiveness in working within a small group.
Objective tests - correctness, completeness, competence.
Writing - the writing must show evidence of growth in correctness, clarity,
organization, and literary expression.
Reading - students must show evidence of having read long works, both in-class
study and out-of-class study.
A = excellent in ALL categories
B = very good in ALL categories
C = good in ALL categories
D = needs improvement in several categories
F = needs improvement in MOST than some categories, or LACK OF EFFORT.
AP English Language Student-Parent-Teacher Agreement (Homework)
Your signature below confirms students have read this document and agree to follow the course guidelines. Please detach the signature form and return to Mr. Jollymore no later than August 28.
__________________________________________________ ____________
Student Name and Signature Period
__________________________________________________ ____________
Parent Name and Signature Email and Phone
Parent Concerns: ________________________________________________________________________
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