AP
English Literature and Composition is designed to teach
beginning-college writing through the fundamentals of rhetorical theory,
and follows the curricular requirements described in the AP English
Course Description. This course engages students in the careful reading
and critical analysis of works of recognized literary merit. Course work
is accelerated. While study builds upon reading done in previous English
courses that include both American and British writers as well as works
in several genres from the sixteenth century to contemporary times,
intensive study concentrating on several selected NEW works which
require careful, deliberative reading that yields multiple meaning will
occur throughout both semesters.
Summer reading is required. In the AP Literature and Composition course,
the student should consider obtaining a personal copy of the various
novel, plays, epics, poems, and short fiction used in the course. You
may purchase copies from a local new or used bookstore, or from an
online book source. You may check out books from the school library,
English Department, or the individual instructor.
All titles may also be found in the local public library
branches. Some of the works can also be accessed online.
Writing is an integral part of the AP English Literature and Composition
course and exam. Writing assignments focus on the critical analysis of
literature and include expository, analytical, and argumentative essays.
The goal 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 includes attention to developing and organizing
ideas in clear, coherent, and persuasive language. It includes study of
the elements of style and it attends to matters of precision and
correctness as necessary. Throughout the course, emphasis is place on
helping students develop stylistic maturity, which, for AP English, is
characterized by the following:
A 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; and
An effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone, maintaining a
consistent voice, and achieving emphasis through parallelism and
antithesis.
It is important to distinguish among the different kinds of writing
produced in an AP English Literature and Composition course. Any
college-level course in which serious literature is read and studied
includes numerous opportunities for students to write and rewrite. Some
of this writing is informal and exploratory, allowing students to
discover what they think in the process of writing about their reading.
Some of the writing involves research, perhaps negotiating differing
critical perspectives. Much writing involves extended discourse in which
students develop an argument or present an analysis at length. In
addition, some writing assignments encourage students to write
effectively under the time constraints they encounter on essay exams in
college courses in many disciplines, including English.
Literature
World Masterpieces (fourth
edition)
Prentice
Hall
Copyright
1996
