English 11 AP Syllabus Please note: This is a reading and writing-intensive class. You will be expected to read a variety of books, both inside and outside class, and you will be expected to write at least one analysis essay per week along with more formalized research papers. 1 st Quarter: September 6 November 4 17 th and 18 th century; Reading Comprehension Introduction to Rhetoric Ethos, Logos, Pathos Close Reading; Analyzing Style Identifying types of Diction Identifying types of Syntax Literary Criticism; feminist, Marxist, psychological, reader response Tropes and Schemes AP Literary Terms Reading Selections (in addition to text selections): The Scarlet Letter Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, sermon by Jonathon Edwards: parallel structure, figurative language, imagery, diction, emotional appeal Poems by Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley: thematic and stylistic differences Declaration of Independence Jefferson s first draft and the final copy, compared for rhetorical differences, emotional impact Harrison Bergeron short story by Kurt Vonnegut: thematic tie-in with Declaration of Independence The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving: characteristics of Romanticism Crossing the Great Divide journal of Meriwether Lewis Various works from the Fireside Poets: theme, traditional structures, poetic devices Self-Reliance essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson: reflection of Transcendental beliefs, themes within the essay Walden by Henry David Thoreau: thematic links to Emerson s writing, American Dream Resistance to Civil Government essay by Henry David Thoreau Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr.: Thoreau s influence on philosophy of passive resistance
Comparison/contrast of style and themes in the poetry of Phillis Wheatley and Anne Bradstreet Imitate Edwards persuasive style in letter form using fear as a motivator to discourage some behavior in classmates (parallelism, figurative language, imagery, diction) First AP prompt: Essay discussing Bradstreet s use of an extended metaphor in Author to Her Book to reveal her attitude toward her poetry (1996 exam) Additional AP prompt: Queen Elizabeth s speech to her troops at Tilbury (1992 exam) to analyze how she uses the resources of language such as diction, imagery, and sentence structure to achieve her purpose Various journals/reading responses/annotations Grammar Mini-lessons Student writing workshop 2 nd Quarter: November 5 January 27 The Dark Romantics Literary Analysis SOAP Visual Text Literary Terms and use of Tropes and Schemes as they contribute to author s purpose Fallacies of Argument Reading Selections (in addition to text selections: Short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne: repetition of theme, characteristics of Dark Romanticism Young Goodman Brown Dr. Heidegger s Experiment Rappaccini s Daughter Roger Malvin s Burial The Birthmark Selected essays concerning bioethics to tie-in with Hawthorne s concerns about burgeoning 19th century medicine: The Ethics of Euthanasia by Lawrence J. Schneiderman A Case of Assisted Suicide by Jack Kevorkian Rush to Lethal Judgment by Stephen L. Carter Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe: allegory, theme, elements of short story The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe: poetic elements, rhythm, rhyme, onomatopoeia, alliteration, etc. Poetry of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman: themes, contrasting styles, poetic devices used to achieve purpose and support theme. Short stories by H.P. Lovecraft to contrast with Poe s style Okefenokee prompt (from Sample Free-Response Questions, 2006 ): analyzing
how the distinctive style of each writer reveals the purpose of its writer Marriage Proposal prompt (1993 exam): comparing rhetorical strategies of two speakers in two passages to predict effect Comparing major themes within the works of Hawthorne using examples from three or more works Contrasting the themes and stylistic devices of Whitman and Dickinson Ongoing grammar mini-lessons Student writing workshop Third Quarter: January 28 April 6 Realism..Modernism The synthesis essay Sample Multiple Choice questions/timed Essays Literary Terms Reading Selections: The Awakening by Kate Chopin: writing style, Regionalism, symbolism, characterization, theme Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton: setting as an objective correlative for main character, symbols, writing style Ethan Frome video: visual images used to convey atmosphere and characterization, color symbolism Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass: slave narrative, rhetorical strategies for purpose and effect; themes of education Various essays from the text concerning issues of education: A Homemade Education Malcolm X The Human Cost of An Illiterate Society Jonathan Kozol When Learning Hurts Aaron Shatzman On the Uses of a Liberal Education: Lite Entertainment for Bored College Students Mark Edmondson Various regional short stories reflecting the varied voices of America s 19 th century To Build a Fire by Jack London The Outcasts of Poker Flat by Bret Harte Under the Lion s Paw by Hamlin Garland The White Heron Sarah Orne Jewett A Pair of Silk Stockings, Desiree s Baby, and Ripe Figs by Kate Chopin The Open Boat by Stephen Crane: Naturalism, stylistic voice, choice of detail, figurative language Various works of Modern poetry, examined for experimentation in form and theme The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber: stream of consciousness, Modernist disillusion A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner: Southern Gothic literature, social setting in support of theme
The Jilting of Granny Weatherall by Katherine Anne Porter: stream of consciousness, issues of aging As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner: stylistic variances for different character voices, Southern Gothicism, stream of consciousness Faulkner s Nobel Prize acceptance speech Synthesis Essays: Television s influence on presidential elections (sample synthesis essay #1 for instruction and practice) and Introduction of non-indigenous species (sample synthesis essay #2) Synthesis of theme and Modernist philosophy in Ars Poetica by Archibald MacLeish, Poetry by Marianne Moore, and Since Feeling is First by E.E. Cummings Fourth Quarter: April 9 June 15 As the date for the AP Exam nears, timed writings are more frequent (weekly) and journals are used to practice prewriting for additional topics. Literature study from the Modernist era continues with a focus on The Grapes of Wrath, and two works of American drama: The Glass Menagerie and A Raisin in the Sun. Contemporary artists are studied for their power to affect change in American society. This leads to a formal research opportunity for students to identify and find information about a contemporary societal ill and to respond by writing a researched argument paper. Students research the topic through different sources (newspapers, magazines, news stories, online resources, visuals, etc.) and develop an argument about their chosen topic. The paper will integrate a variety of resources, using both direct and indirect citations, in MLA format. Reading Selections: A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Short Stories by Flannery O Connor: Southern Gothicism, theme, characterization, plot, symbols A Good Man is Hard to Find The River The Life you Save May Be Your Own The Displaced Person Good Country People The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck: proletarian novel, social protest, symbolism, intercalary chapters The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams: flashback, play as a memory; the disillusion of the American Dream; reading is supplemented by viewing of the MCA Home Video of The Glass Menagerie (1994) A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry: the changing American Dream, conventions of drama; reading is supplemented by viewing of Columbia Pictures A Raisin in the Sun (1961) Harlem by Langston Hughes: inspiration for title of Hansberry s play, theme Essays about the American Dream
How it Feels to Be Colored Me by Zora Neale Hurston American Dreamer Bharati Mukherjee Just Walk On By Brent Staples Inglés, Sí! Jorge Amselle Daily prewriting during weeks preceding test using released free-response topics Research paper on social issue of student s choice In-class timed essays In-class timed multiple choice questions