Are you ready for the AP Literature and Composition Test on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Mark it on your calendar. You will be more than ready after this class, if you begin now!!!
Top 5 Rumors about Ap Lit. Click Here
Tips from former students:
Advice for next year’s students: • Be prepared to be sleep deprived. I had to learn to take 1.5-3 hour naps as my sleep during Beloved because I just didn’t have enough time to spare. With a bunch of homework and an ongoing project, it’s just very difficult to sleep for 6-8 hours and then wake up and face the stress of not finishing homework from the night before. • Buy some Emergen-C or take vitamins throughout the year. It’s essential that you stay healthy while so many things are going on. With college applications, AP Lit projects, additional AP classes, things get overwhelming and your body will start releasing cortisol and cause an immune system decline. I usually don’t get sick for the entire school year, but this year I got sick in May. It was unfortunate, but I was able to finish out the cold in about a week and a half because of proper hydration and Emergen-C. • Don’t procrastinate. Even if you do procrastinate, this class will whip you into shape to not even dare think about it. Since assignments are thorough and cost so many points, it’s not even worth the procrastination. I didn’t believe in procrastination and I still don’t – but, the first project we were assigned, Raisin in the Sun, my group and I were suddenly inundated with homework from other classes and we just kept pushing it off day after day. Finally, the day we started was about a week before the project was due. However, the project finished out over the time span of a little over a month and we had to cram it into one week. We even stayed up until 4 the morning it was due. It was terrible. Just don’t try to procrastinate. When you don’t procrastinate, projects feel manageable and a breeze. • Plan out the project right when it’s assigned. When my group and I were assigned Beloved, we immediately wrote down everyone’s schedule and picked dates to meet for every week up until the day it was due. We had a calendar that we posted on Google Docs and people wrote in their schedule, goals that they wanted to finish for that day, and meeting times. It was so helpful and so useful. We got the project done a few days before it was actually due, and when we went to check over it again 2 days before, there was a mistake in the writing. We were able to fix it in time for the project to be due the Monday following that weekend. Because we planned out everything earlier, we were able to have spare time just to correct things. • Take notes during presentations. Although it seems tempting to just knock out once the lights go out and people start talking about a play that you may not have understood while reading, take notes instead. I took notes on my computer (I type faster than I handwrite) throughout all the presentations throughout the year and it helped me to study well for the exams that followed them. For Beloved, I took detailed notes on what every group presented, and then uploaded them to the Facebook group and everyone responded very positively about it because there was actually material to study for the written exam. It’s very helpful and I recommend it! • Give your 100% effort whenever possible. Most assignments in this class require lots of writing and quoting from the text. If you quote all the quotes that apply to the question, there is no doubt that you will get all the points for it. If, for some reason, a crucial quote is missing, then the points would be taken out and then it would be sad. This year, when I did my assignments, I just quoted everything that applied to the question and the characters and although it was a lot of work, I powered through and got it done. Then, when I get my assignments back I see comments from Mr. Varieur and it’s very encouraging! Why not give your best effort when it’s your last year at Cerritos High? I guarantee that this class will make you see the world differently. I watched The Good Dinosaur recently and with my combined knowledge of both film studies and AP Lit, I started analyzing right when the movie opened. It was very strange because the film was not as good to me anymore after I knew the ending after realizing that it was an archetypal journey plot. Throughout the film I just kept mentally shouting That’s an archetype! That means that this and this will happen. It’s symbolism! The music is swelling, there’s going to be a build up of emotion. It was fun to analyze, but it removed the enjoyment of just watching a film with ignorance and watching it for watching it. • You’ll be 110% prepared for the AP exam. Mr. Varieur goes into lots of detail about how each piece of work may function because form always equals content! You’re never “left hanging” to fend for yourself and doing self-studying. If you didn’t catch something during class, you can always ask Mr. Varieur himself. We take about 2 practice AP exams in the whole year and it’s usually the more difficult ones that we take. Written exams are always taken after a unit, and it’s super helpful in practicing for the essays that will be taken in the AP exam. • Take as many the offered opportunities as possible for extra credit, having Mr. Varieur check over your project before you turn it in (he will give you feedback to help you improve it!), or asking questions during class. --Rachel Pai Class of 2016
1. "DON'T Procrastinate! The class is like college. You know about the assignments in advance and you always have plenty of time to complete them. Make your own calendar, if you can't discipline yourself. The assignment take more time than you think."
2. "Take advantage of the extra credit. You'll never know when you'll need it. It can increase your grade by 2.5% and it's fun!"
3. "Pick your group members wisely. This can be the most rewarding experience or the most trying. Create an AP Lit. family and don't be afraid to meet new people. Group projects are a fun and creative way to help you understand the literature and prepare for the essay tests. Don't split up the work because your teacher will know and your group's grade will suffer because of it."
4. "Keep practicing the Multiple-choice tests and studying your literary terms. This alone can raise you AP score 1 full point. Buy an AP Prep. Book."
5. "Don't cheat or copy each other! Don't use Sparks Notes instead of reading. It's an easy way out, but they always have a way of finding out. You'll lose your grade and your reputation (zeugma?)."
6. "Trust your teachers. There is a 'method to [their] madness.' Take notes and ask questions during the lectures-they will prepare you for the in-class essays. Don't worry about extra prep session, what you do in class will prepare you for the test and for college so PAY ATTENTION."
7. "Read actively and with a purpose. Use the 'recursive process.' Analyzing literature is like peeling an onion, there are many layers of meaning. Some of the quizzes are a surprise and really hard if you didn't read closely. Follow the reading schedule or else you'll be reading on weekends and on your vacation."
8. "Do your part in the group and make sure your group does its part for the class. By working together, you can learn alot."
9. "Review your literary terms throughout the year. You'll need to know them for the AP test."
10. "Pay attention to everything. The answers are out there. Your teacher will give you the tools to unlock the truth."
Advice:
As my first advice to you, and although it’s inevitable, DON’T PROCRASTINATE. Procrastinating on projects or questions will turn seniors into monsters. It’ll drive you to perform drastic measures, either ending in cheating, “sharing”, or turning in late work; all the risks you shouldn’t be willing to take – EVER. Mr. Varieur and Mr. Jepson are like detectives when it comes to reading our work so don’t even risk it. It’s not worth the 0 because assignments are worth a lot of your grade.
Second, READ, READ, READ! If a play, short story, or poem is assigned in class for homework, READ it that night. You never know when there’s going to be a pop multiple choice test or an essay test on that story. The max reading for homework is maybe an hour. But that’s a worst case scenario sort of thing. Most of the stories assigned aren’t too bad and a lot of them are interesting so the reading goes by fast. So don’t be too intimidated by the many pages assigned to you.
Third, DON’T “BS” ESSAYS. Doing so will definitely not help you on the AP exam. Our teachers are excellent when it comes to teaching us how to write essays so pay attention and don’t fall asleep on these days. Keep the worksheets they hand out about essays in a safe place because you’re going to need them right before the AP exam. There are almost always essays on tests so make sure to take notes.
Fourth, CHOOSE A RELIABLE GROUP FOR PROJECTS. Trust me, I’ve been in plenty of groups and if you’re in a lazy group, you’re going to end up pulling all the slack. Now that I’m at the end of the year, I’ve grown heartless when people come asking to join my group because they know the people in my group actually do work. My answer to them? “No way. Do the work yourself.” It’s really a dog-eat-dog group business when it comes to the end of the year. A bunch of seniors diagnosed with Seniorities are NOT willing to do more work than they should for other people. Remember, project grades are competitive! Our teachers base them on a curve and if some other group in any class gets 100% on their project, expect lower than that.
Fifth, DON’T GIVE UP. There are big opportunities for extra credit so if you’re on the borderline and you think you can’t get that A or B, you can! Doing all the homework assignments will truly benefit you during the AP exam and boost your grade.
I’ve learned more in this class these past 9 months than in all three years of my other English classes! By the end of this class, you’ll see literature isn’t an easy thing to analyze and you’ll learn to appreciate it a lot more so have fun with it, Seniors. All the late nights will be worth it!
P.L. (Mr. Varieur – Period 5)
c/o ’10
The AP exam for this class was not as hard as I expected. There are two teachers for this class, and both of them will prepare you for it. I did not have Mr. Jepsen, but my friends who had him had no major trouble on the exam either. They prepare you very well for the essay portion of the test, which is the most important part because the test is unequally weighted. Multiple choice (MC) is 45% of the test, and essays are the remaining 55%. Do not even focus on MC. It is so difficult and nearly impossible to have a drastic improvement, but if you must, buy a prep book for it if you think you will have the focus to finish it. Focus on the essays. Listen to your teacher, he knows what he’s doing, and his information is vital. Practice the essays when you get a chance, and know that your writing skills will get better with practice.
My favorite assignment is still the college essay writing unit. It is so helpful and can really get your thought processes going. It encourages strong creativity and helps tease it out of even the most distracted mind. When Mr. Varieur says he knows what he’s doing and that he beats out all those other companies that charge you to write your damn essay for you, believe him.
What is my least favorite assignment? That is something that is almost too difficult to answer. I am not someone who enjoys English, so each assignment is extremely excruciating for me. However, in picking one, I would say that the Beloved group project was absolutely pure hell. It ages you within 3 weeks. It makes you bald prematurely and it makes your skin wrinklier than before. It shaves years off your life. And that’s just trying to read that disgusting book written by that horrible author Toni Morrison. What the heck did she write? And then you’ve got to write the actual report. That is the thing that makes you curse more than a sailor. It makes everything on Wikipedia look like scholarly research, but too bad it isn’t. I speak for myself and for the class when I say that Beloved is not our Beloved, and it surely cannot be Toni Morrison’s Beloved because that must have been hell to write too.
You’ve heard the phrase “Do not procrastinate” and I will not even try to warn you. We are all advised to not procrastinate; I won’t say anything. I procrastinated and fell into the trap of “senioritis” and it is not fun. It is real. It is something that you should DREAD. It destroys grades. It destroys social lives. It is HORRIBLE. I heard these same words before, and I was afraid I’d get senioritis, so I did my best to keep my work ethic intact. I failed. And I know you will too, regardless of whether you read this or not. No one escapes from senioritis. Just accept it. The only thing you can hope for is that you don’t procrastinate TOO much. It’s like drifting closer and closer to a black hole. If you think you can do the Beloved project in a week, you can’t. If you think you can do Hamlet/Othello in a week, you can’t. It’s as simple as that.
Enjoy AP Literature.
Cheers
Adam Lee
Tips from former students:
Advice for next year’s students: • Be prepared to be sleep deprived. I had to learn to take 1.5-3 hour naps as my sleep during Beloved because I just didn’t have enough time to spare. With a bunch of homework and an ongoing project, it’s just very difficult to sleep for 6-8 hours and then wake up and face the stress of not finishing homework from the night before. • Buy some Emergen-C or take vitamins throughout the year. It’s essential that you stay healthy while so many things are going on. With college applications, AP Lit projects, additional AP classes, things get overwhelming and your body will start releasing cortisol and cause an immune system decline. I usually don’t get sick for the entire school year, but this year I got sick in May. It was unfortunate, but I was able to finish out the cold in about a week and a half because of proper hydration and Emergen-C. • Don’t procrastinate. Even if you do procrastinate, this class will whip you into shape to not even dare think about it. Since assignments are thorough and cost so many points, it’s not even worth the procrastination. I didn’t believe in procrastination and I still don’t – but, the first project we were assigned, Raisin in the Sun, my group and I were suddenly inundated with homework from other classes and we just kept pushing it off day after day. Finally, the day we started was about a week before the project was due. However, the project finished out over the time span of a little over a month and we had to cram it into one week. We even stayed up until 4 the morning it was due. It was terrible. Just don’t try to procrastinate. When you don’t procrastinate, projects feel manageable and a breeze. • Plan out the project right when it’s assigned. When my group and I were assigned Beloved, we immediately wrote down everyone’s schedule and picked dates to meet for every week up until the day it was due. We had a calendar that we posted on Google Docs and people wrote in their schedule, goals that they wanted to finish for that day, and meeting times. It was so helpful and so useful. We got the project done a few days before it was actually due, and when we went to check over it again 2 days before, there was a mistake in the writing. We were able to fix it in time for the project to be due the Monday following that weekend. Because we planned out everything earlier, we were able to have spare time just to correct things. • Take notes during presentations. Although it seems tempting to just knock out once the lights go out and people start talking about a play that you may not have understood while reading, take notes instead. I took notes on my computer (I type faster than I handwrite) throughout all the presentations throughout the year and it helped me to study well for the exams that followed them. For Beloved, I took detailed notes on what every group presented, and then uploaded them to the Facebook group and everyone responded very positively about it because there was actually material to study for the written exam. It’s very helpful and I recommend it! • Give your 100% effort whenever possible. Most assignments in this class require lots of writing and quoting from the text. If you quote all the quotes that apply to the question, there is no doubt that you will get all the points for it. If, for some reason, a crucial quote is missing, then the points would be taken out and then it would be sad. This year, when I did my assignments, I just quoted everything that applied to the question and the characters and although it was a lot of work, I powered through and got it done. Then, when I get my assignments back I see comments from Mr. Varieur and it’s very encouraging! Why not give your best effort when it’s your last year at Cerritos High? I guarantee that this class will make you see the world differently. I watched The Good Dinosaur recently and with my combined knowledge of both film studies and AP Lit, I started analyzing right when the movie opened. It was very strange because the film was not as good to me anymore after I knew the ending after realizing that it was an archetypal journey plot. Throughout the film I just kept mentally shouting That’s an archetype! That means that this and this will happen. It’s symbolism! The music is swelling, there’s going to be a build up of emotion. It was fun to analyze, but it removed the enjoyment of just watching a film with ignorance and watching it for watching it. • You’ll be 110% prepared for the AP exam. Mr. Varieur goes into lots of detail about how each piece of work may function because form always equals content! You’re never “left hanging” to fend for yourself and doing self-studying. If you didn’t catch something during class, you can always ask Mr. Varieur himself. We take about 2 practice AP exams in the whole year and it’s usually the more difficult ones that we take. Written exams are always taken after a unit, and it’s super helpful in practicing for the essays that will be taken in the AP exam. • Take as many the offered opportunities as possible for extra credit, having Mr. Varieur check over your project before you turn it in (he will give you feedback to help you improve it!), or asking questions during class. --Rachel Pai Class of 2016
1. "DON'T Procrastinate! The class is like college. You know about the assignments in advance and you always have plenty of time to complete them. Make your own calendar, if you can't discipline yourself. The assignment take more time than you think."
2. "Take advantage of the extra credit. You'll never know when you'll need it. It can increase your grade by 2.5% and it's fun!"
3. "Pick your group members wisely. This can be the most rewarding experience or the most trying. Create an AP Lit. family and don't be afraid to meet new people. Group projects are a fun and creative way to help you understand the literature and prepare for the essay tests. Don't split up the work because your teacher will know and your group's grade will suffer because of it."
4. "Keep practicing the Multiple-choice tests and studying your literary terms. This alone can raise you AP score 1 full point. Buy an AP Prep. Book."
5. "Don't cheat or copy each other! Don't use Sparks Notes instead of reading. It's an easy way out, but they always have a way of finding out. You'll lose your grade and your reputation (zeugma?)."
6. "Trust your teachers. There is a 'method to [their] madness.' Take notes and ask questions during the lectures-they will prepare you for the in-class essays. Don't worry about extra prep session, what you do in class will prepare you for the test and for college so PAY ATTENTION."
7. "Read actively and with a purpose. Use the 'recursive process.' Analyzing literature is like peeling an onion, there are many layers of meaning. Some of the quizzes are a surprise and really hard if you didn't read closely. Follow the reading schedule or else you'll be reading on weekends and on your vacation."
8. "Do your part in the group and make sure your group does its part for the class. By working together, you can learn alot."
9. "Review your literary terms throughout the year. You'll need to know them for the AP test."
10. "Pay attention to everything. The answers are out there. Your teacher will give you the tools to unlock the truth."
Advice:
As my first advice to you, and although it’s inevitable, DON’T PROCRASTINATE. Procrastinating on projects or questions will turn seniors into monsters. It’ll drive you to perform drastic measures, either ending in cheating, “sharing”, or turning in late work; all the risks you shouldn’t be willing to take – EVER. Mr. Varieur and Mr. Jepson are like detectives when it comes to reading our work so don’t even risk it. It’s not worth the 0 because assignments are worth a lot of your grade.
Second, READ, READ, READ! If a play, short story, or poem is assigned in class for homework, READ it that night. You never know when there’s going to be a pop multiple choice test or an essay test on that story. The max reading for homework is maybe an hour. But that’s a worst case scenario sort of thing. Most of the stories assigned aren’t too bad and a lot of them are interesting so the reading goes by fast. So don’t be too intimidated by the many pages assigned to you.
Third, DON’T “BS” ESSAYS. Doing so will definitely not help you on the AP exam. Our teachers are excellent when it comes to teaching us how to write essays so pay attention and don’t fall asleep on these days. Keep the worksheets they hand out about essays in a safe place because you’re going to need them right before the AP exam. There are almost always essays on tests so make sure to take notes.
Fourth, CHOOSE A RELIABLE GROUP FOR PROJECTS. Trust me, I’ve been in plenty of groups and if you’re in a lazy group, you’re going to end up pulling all the slack. Now that I’m at the end of the year, I’ve grown heartless when people come asking to join my group because they know the people in my group actually do work. My answer to them? “No way. Do the work yourself.” It’s really a dog-eat-dog group business when it comes to the end of the year. A bunch of seniors diagnosed with Seniorities are NOT willing to do more work than they should for other people. Remember, project grades are competitive! Our teachers base them on a curve and if some other group in any class gets 100% on their project, expect lower than that.
Fifth, DON’T GIVE UP. There are big opportunities for extra credit so if you’re on the borderline and you think you can’t get that A or B, you can! Doing all the homework assignments will truly benefit you during the AP exam and boost your grade.
I’ve learned more in this class these past 9 months than in all three years of my other English classes! By the end of this class, you’ll see literature isn’t an easy thing to analyze and you’ll learn to appreciate it a lot more so have fun with it, Seniors. All the late nights will be worth it!
P.L. (Mr. Varieur – Period 5)
c/o ’10
The AP exam for this class was not as hard as I expected. There are two teachers for this class, and both of them will prepare you for it. I did not have Mr. Jepsen, but my friends who had him had no major trouble on the exam either. They prepare you very well for the essay portion of the test, which is the most important part because the test is unequally weighted. Multiple choice (MC) is 45% of the test, and essays are the remaining 55%. Do not even focus on MC. It is so difficult and nearly impossible to have a drastic improvement, but if you must, buy a prep book for it if you think you will have the focus to finish it. Focus on the essays. Listen to your teacher, he knows what he’s doing, and his information is vital. Practice the essays when you get a chance, and know that your writing skills will get better with practice.
My favorite assignment is still the college essay writing unit. It is so helpful and can really get your thought processes going. It encourages strong creativity and helps tease it out of even the most distracted mind. When Mr. Varieur says he knows what he’s doing and that he beats out all those other companies that charge you to write your damn essay for you, believe him.
What is my least favorite assignment? That is something that is almost too difficult to answer. I am not someone who enjoys English, so each assignment is extremely excruciating for me. However, in picking one, I would say that the Beloved group project was absolutely pure hell. It ages you within 3 weeks. It makes you bald prematurely and it makes your skin wrinklier than before. It shaves years off your life. And that’s just trying to read that disgusting book written by that horrible author Toni Morrison. What the heck did she write? And then you’ve got to write the actual report. That is the thing that makes you curse more than a sailor. It makes everything on Wikipedia look like scholarly research, but too bad it isn’t. I speak for myself and for the class when I say that Beloved is not our Beloved, and it surely cannot be Toni Morrison’s Beloved because that must have been hell to write too.
You’ve heard the phrase “Do not procrastinate” and I will not even try to warn you. We are all advised to not procrastinate; I won’t say anything. I procrastinated and fell into the trap of “senioritis” and it is not fun. It is real. It is something that you should DREAD. It destroys grades. It destroys social lives. It is HORRIBLE. I heard these same words before, and I was afraid I’d get senioritis, so I did my best to keep my work ethic intact. I failed. And I know you will too, regardless of whether you read this or not. No one escapes from senioritis. Just accept it. The only thing you can hope for is that you don’t procrastinate TOO much. It’s like drifting closer and closer to a black hole. If you think you can do the Beloved project in a week, you can’t. If you think you can do Hamlet/Othello in a week, you can’t. It’s as simple as that.
Enjoy AP Literature.
Cheers
Adam Lee
The Course
Introduction
An AP English Literature and Composition course engages students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Through the close reading of
selected texts, students deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. As they read, students consider a work’s structure, style and themes, as well as such smaller-scale elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism and tone.
Introduction
An AP English Literature and Composition course engages students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Through the close reading of
selected texts, students deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. As they read, students consider a work’s structure, style and themes, as well as such smaller-scale elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism and tone.
College Board's Description
The course should include intensive study of representative works from various genres and periods, concentrating on works of recognized literary merit. The works chosen should invite and gratify rereading.
Reading in an AP course should be both wide and deep. This reading necessarily builds upon the reading done in previous English courses. These courses should include the in-depth reading of texts drawn from multiple genres, periods, and cultures. In their AP course, students should also read works from several genres and periods -- from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century -- but, more importantly, they should get to know a few works well. They should read deliberately and thoroughly, taking time to understand a work's complexity, to absorb its richness of meaning, and to analyze how that meaning is embodied in literary form. In addition to considering a work's literary artistry, students should consider the social and historical values it reflects and embodies. Careful attention to both textual detail and historical context should provide a foundation for interpretation, whatever critical perspectives are brought to bear on the literary works studied.
Such close reading involves the experience of literature, the interpretation of literature, and the evaluation of literature. All these aspects of reading are important for an AP course in English Literature and Composition, and each corresponds to an approach to writing about literary works. Writing to understand a literary work may involve writing response and reaction papers along with annotation, freewriting, and keeping some form of a reading journal. Writing to explain a literary work involves analysis and interpretation, and may include writing brief focused analyses on aspects of language and structure. Writing to evaluate a literary work involves making and explaining judgments about its artistry and exploring its underlying social and cultural values through analysis, interpretation, and argument.
Writing should be an integral part of the AP English Literature and Composition course, for the AP Examination is weighted toward student writing about literature. Writing assignments should focus on the critical analysis of literature and should include expository, analytical, and argumentative essays. Although critical analysis should make up the bulk of student writing for the course, well-constructed creative writing assignments may help students see from the inside how literature is written. The goal of both types of writing assignments is to increase students' ability to explain clearly, cogently, even elegantly, what they understand about literary works and why they interpret them as they do.
Writing instruction should include attention to developing and organizing ideas in clear, coherent, and persuasive language; a study of the elements of style; and attention to precision and correctness as necessary. Throughout the course, emphasis should be placed on helping students develop stylistic maturity, which, for AP English, is characterized by the following:
Goals
The course includes intensive study of representative works from various genres and periods, concentrating on works of recognized literary merit. The pieces chosen invite and reward rereading and do not, like ephemeral works in such popular genres as detective or romance fiction, yield all (or nearly all) of their pleasures of thought and feeling the first time through. The AP English Literature and Composition Development Committee agrees with Henry David Thoreau that it is wisest to read the best books first; the committee also believes that such reading should be accompanied by thoughtful discussion and writing about those books in the company of one’s fellow students.
Reading in an AP course should be both wide and deep. This reading necessarily builds upon the reading done in previous English courses. These courses should include the in-depth reading of texts drawn from multiple genres, periods, and cultures. In their AP course, students should also read works from several genres and periods -- from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century -- but, more importantly, they should get to know a few works well. They should read deliberately and thoroughly, taking time to understand a work's complexity, to absorb its richness of meaning, and to analyze how that meaning is embodied in literary form. In addition to considering a work's literary artistry, students should consider the social and historical values it reflects and embodies. Careful attention to both textual detail and historical context should provide a foundation for interpretation, whatever critical perspectives are brought to bear on the literary works studied.
Such close reading involves the experience of literature, the interpretation of literature, and the evaluation of literature. All these aspects of reading are important for an AP course in English Literature and Composition, and each corresponds to an approach to writing about literary works. Writing to understand a literary work may involve writing response and reaction papers along with annotation, freewriting, and keeping some form of a reading journal. Writing to explain a literary work involves analysis and interpretation, and may include writing brief focused analyses on aspects of language and structure. Writing to evaluate a literary work involves making and explaining judgments about its artistry and exploring its underlying social and cultural values through analysis, interpretation, and argument.
Writing should be an integral part of the AP English Literature and Composition course, for the AP Examination is weighted toward student writing about literature. Writing assignments should focus on the critical analysis of literature and should include expository, analytical, and argumentative essays. Although critical analysis should make up the bulk of student writing for the course, well-constructed creative writing assignments may help students see from the inside how literature is written. The goal of both types of writing assignments is to increase students' ability to explain clearly, cogently, even elegantly, what they understand about literary works and why they interpret them as they do.
Writing instruction should include attention to developing and organizing ideas in clear, coherent, and persuasive language; a study of the elements of style; and attention to precision and correctness as necessary. Throughout the course, emphasis should be placed on helping students develop stylistic maturity, which, for AP English, is characterized by the following:
- Wide-ranging vocabulary used with denotative accuracy and connotative resourcefulness
- A variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of subordinate and coordinate constructions
- A logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques of coherence such as repetition, transitions, and emphasis
- A balance of generalization with specific illustrative detail
- An effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone, maintaining a consistent voice, and achieving emphasis through parallelism and antithesis
Goals
The course includes intensive study of representative works from various genres and periods, concentrating on works of recognized literary merit. The pieces chosen invite and reward rereading and do not, like ephemeral works in such popular genres as detective or romance fiction, yield all (or nearly all) of their pleasures of thought and feeling the first time through. The AP English Literature and Composition Development Committee agrees with Henry David Thoreau that it is wisest to read the best books first; the committee also believes that such reading should be accompanied by thoughtful discussion and writing about those books in the company of one’s fellow students.
Click HERE to get a better idea of what to expect this year.
Study Skills: Reading
Study Skills: Writing
Study Skills: Reading
Study Skills: Writing
Group Projects
There are a few group projects each semester. In order to make every group member accountable, you will complete an anonymous group evaluation sheet after each project. We will use this information to adjust grades accordingly. We want each member to get the grade he/she deserves.
There are a few group projects each semester. In order to make every group member accountable, you will complete an anonymous group evaluation sheet after each project. We will use this information to adjust grades accordingly. We want each member to get the grade he/she deserves.
Group Evaluation Sheet | |
File Size: | 31 kb |
File Type: | doc |
Attendance
Attendance is a part of your grade. Your grade may be reduced if you have more than 10 absences or unexcused absences. Tardies can reduce your grade and negatively impact your conduct grade. Follow all Student Handbook rules and School Policies for more details.
Attendance is a part of your grade. Your grade may be reduced if you have more than 10 absences or unexcused absences. Tardies can reduce your grade and negatively impact your conduct grade. Follow all Student Handbook rules and School Policies for more details.
Attendance/Tardy Policies | |
File Size: | 26 kb |
File Type: | doc |
Varieur Discipline | |
File Size: | 53 kb |
File Type: | doc |
Electronic Devices | |
File Size: | 23 kb |
File Type: | doc |
Extra Credit
There will be many EXTRA CREDIT opportunities for you to see a play of literary merit (this is a play that you may write about on the AP Exam) and write a review. Plays are meant to be seen and heard, not just read. You will need to purchase tickets and attend the theater dressed in appropriate attire. We expect you to adhere to the etiquette of the theatre (we will discuss in class). Many theaters offer "discount rush tickets" to students with ID the night of the performance. Check with the theater before you arrive. Below is the play review handout you'll need to complete within a week of seeing the play. You can complete a brief review for 5pts or an analysis for 15pts.
There will be many EXTRA CREDIT opportunities for you to see a play of literary merit (this is a play that you may write about on the AP Exam) and write a review. Plays are meant to be seen and heard, not just read. You will need to purchase tickets and attend the theater dressed in appropriate attire. We expect you to adhere to the etiquette of the theatre (we will discuss in class). Many theaters offer "discount rush tickets" to students with ID the night of the performance. Check with the theater before you arrive. Below is the play review handout you'll need to complete within a week of seeing the play. You can complete a brief review for 5pts or an analysis for 15pts.
Writing a Play Review | |
File Size: | 24 kb |
File Type: | doc |
Portfolio: Writing/Reading/Listening/Speaking
You will complete a portfolio for each semester. This portfolio will include samples of your writing, reading, speaking, and listening from your senior year only. Each piece will include an introduction explaining your process, struggles, risks, failures, successes, and how you've overcome any obstacles to complete the assignment. Feel free to highlight sections of each piece to point out areas of growth and/or which content standards you've completed for that assignment. You will also be required to explain which standards you've mastered for each assignment.
MISC
Summarize: What does this part seem to be about? It describes a man named Utterson -- what he is like, his job, and his personality.
Clarify: What parts confuse and obstruct meaning? What does "countenance" mean? What does it mean to be "lighted by a smile"? What is "scanty"? We try to guess what the words might mean in context and look up the ones we really can't proceed without.
Question: Then, I model deeper thinking questions. Why does the story begin with Utterson instead of Dr. Jekyll? Why is he embarrassed when he speaks?
Comment: Here, I show students how to make observations about what they have read. I observe the predominance of negative diction, but note how the author still claims Utterson is "somehow loveable." I find this contrast curious.
Predict: Maybe Utterson had something bad that happened to him in his past. Maybe Utterson is going to work with Dr. Jekyll as his attorney and somehow both hurt and help him.
As we work through the first paragraph, section by section, students begin to comment on how long it takes to read this way. We talk about the difference between reading for pleasure, which one can curl up on the couch to do, and reading to learn, which one must be alert to do. Reading a challenging text is a lot like solving a difficult math problem; it takes focus and time. As next steps, students work in small groups on other paragraphs from the opening chapters, and as we get farther along in the story they begin to employ these strategies for themselves. Facing challenging texts and learning the strategies to navigate them serve as important Pre-AP habits of thought for students.
Summarize: What does this part seem to be about? It describes a man named Utterson -- what he is like, his job, and his personality.
Clarify: What parts confuse and obstruct meaning? What does "countenance" mean? What does it mean to be "lighted by a smile"? What is "scanty"? We try to guess what the words might mean in context and look up the ones we really can't proceed without.
Question: Then, I model deeper thinking questions. Why does the story begin with Utterson instead of Dr. Jekyll? Why is he embarrassed when he speaks?
Comment: Here, I show students how to make observations about what they have read. I observe the predominance of negative diction, but note how the author still claims Utterson is "somehow loveable." I find this contrast curious.
Predict: Maybe Utterson had something bad that happened to him in his past. Maybe Utterson is going to work with Dr. Jekyll as his attorney and somehow both hurt and help him.
As we work through the first paragraph, section by section, students begin to comment on how long it takes to read this way. We talk about the difference between reading for pleasure, which one can curl up on the couch to do, and reading to learn, which one must be alert to do. Reading a challenging text is a lot like solving a difficult math problem; it takes focus and time. As next steps, students work in small groups on other paragraphs from the opening chapters, and as we get farther along in the story they begin to employ these strategies for themselves. Facing challenging texts and learning the strategies to navigate them serve as important Pre-AP habits of thought for students.