AP Literature and Composition
With an intense focus on reading, writing, and literary analysis, Advanced Placement English develops students’ critical thinking skills and encourages their academic independence. Comparable to an introductory college-level literature course, AP English demands much of each student and covers a complete range of literature, including poetry and prose.
AP English demands students’ continual best effort. Classroom discussion and active participation are vital means of testing ideas, and written assignments allow students to expand and investigate their ideas. Reading requirements will vary, but will average 150pp per week.
While classroom discussions and focused analyses are integral to the AP learning experience, much can be gained from individual instruction. Students are encouraged to make appointments with the instructor to review their writing and discuss their readings. Typically students find that their performance on the AP Exam and their sense of personal accomplishment at the conclusion of the class corresponds directly to their willingness to accept the responsibility demanded by the course.
In preparation for the class, students will complete a summer reading project that will begin with a reading diary and response/prediction journal, and will conclude with a timed writing and a more detailed literary analysis.
Major Works
Old School - Tobias Wolff (Summer)
Beloved - Toni Morrison (Summer)
Novel Choice (Summer)
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Hamlet - William Shakespeare
Atonement - Ian McEwan
A Streetcar Named Desire - Tennessee Williams
The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien
Song of Solomon - Toni Morrison
They Say, I Say : The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing
Short Stories
Bullet in the Brain - Tobias Wolff
Metamorphosis - Franz Kafaka
A & P - John Updike
Cathedral - Raymond Carver
The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Poems
Those Winter Sundays - Hayden
Song in the Back Yard - Brooks
Crossing the Swamp - Oliver
My Last Duchess - Browning
The History Teacher - Collins
A Barred Owl - Wilbur
Five AM - William Stafford
Five Flights Up - Bishop
In the Community Garden - Mark Doty
Daily poetry readings and reflections
Essays
The Dream of the Suffering Horse by Sydney Monas
The Temptations of a Motherless Woman by Adrienne Rich
Hamlet's Dull Revenge by Rene Girard
Unspeakable Things Unspoken by Toni Morrison
Briony's Stand Against Oblivion - Brian Finney
Writing Requirements
Bi-Monthly Timed Writings
Literary Analysis Research Paper
Blog entries
Daily writing reflections
AP English demands students’ continual best effort. Classroom discussion and active participation are vital means of testing ideas, and written assignments allow students to expand and investigate their ideas. Reading requirements will vary, but will average 150pp per week.
While classroom discussions and focused analyses are integral to the AP learning experience, much can be gained from individual instruction. Students are encouraged to make appointments with the instructor to review their writing and discuss their readings. Typically students find that their performance on the AP Exam and their sense of personal accomplishment at the conclusion of the class corresponds directly to their willingness to accept the responsibility demanded by the course.
In preparation for the class, students will complete a summer reading project that will begin with a reading diary and response/prediction journal, and will conclude with a timed writing and a more detailed literary analysis.
Major Works
Old School - Tobias Wolff (Summer)
Beloved - Toni Morrison (Summer)
Novel Choice (Summer)
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Hamlet - William Shakespeare
Atonement - Ian McEwan
A Streetcar Named Desire - Tennessee Williams
The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien
Song of Solomon - Toni Morrison
They Say, I Say : The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing
Short Stories
Bullet in the Brain - Tobias Wolff
Metamorphosis - Franz Kafaka
A & P - John Updike
Cathedral - Raymond Carver
The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Poems
Those Winter Sundays - Hayden
Song in the Back Yard - Brooks
Crossing the Swamp - Oliver
My Last Duchess - Browning
The History Teacher - Collins
A Barred Owl - Wilbur
Five AM - William Stafford
Five Flights Up - Bishop
In the Community Garden - Mark Doty
Daily poetry readings and reflections
Essays
The Dream of the Suffering Horse by Sydney Monas
The Temptations of a Motherless Woman by Adrienne Rich
Hamlet's Dull Revenge by Rene Girard
Unspeakable Things Unspoken by Toni Morrison
Briony's Stand Against Oblivion - Brian Finney
Writing Requirements
Bi-Monthly Timed Writings
Literary Analysis Research Paper
Blog entries
Daily writing reflections