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AP English Language and Composition

The AP course in English Language and Composition engages students in becoming skilled readers of prose (emphasis on non fiction) 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 writer’s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects as well as the way generic conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing.

The course overview and objectives for the course are taken from the AP English Course Description published by the College Board. The choice of text is based on the representative authors list found therein. The AP English Language and Composition course is designed to help students become skilled readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts and to become skilled writers who can compose for a variety of purposes. By their writing and reading in this course, students should become aware of the interactions among a writer's purposes, audience expectations, and subjects, as well as the way generic conventions and the resources of language contribute to effective writing.

As stated the AP English Language and Composition is a college-level course. Together we will study the art of rhetoric. We will analyze the choices that writers make so that the text is purposeful and most importantly, effective. Students will become mature and thoughtful readers and writers. By the end of this course students will be able to:

  • Analyze and interpret what they read and identify and explain an author’s use various rhetorical techniques and strategies 
  • Understand and demonstrate how the text is created to develop meaning and purpose including genre, organization, paragraphing, syntax
  • Grapple with archaic prose
  • Understand the relationship of the text's creation to its accomplishment, the purpose of academic intellectual prose, its meaning and effect
  • Understand how to articulate their analysis of what they read; how the organizational structure, diction, syntax, imagery, figurative language flesh out the meaning of a text
  • Create, develop and support an argument, acknowledging the complexities and nuances of important issues that adults argue about in contemporary intellectual circles
  • Enter into a conversation with sources and develop a thesis and argument or exposition by synthesizing these conversations into their own writing
  • Employ effective research skills and proper MLA citation
  • Enhance their vocabulary as a means to effective writing
  • Effectively apply strategies necessary for success on the AP English Language and Composition exam

PRE-REQUISITES: AP Language is opened to juniors and seniors who have pursued the AP prep courses and filed an AP application with the accompanying recommendations

RECOMMENDED FOR: 11th, 12th

Teacher:  Brooke Heiser / Alaina Green / Karen Fuller

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