AP English Language and Composition

2015-2016 Syllabus and Unit Overview

Instructor: Mr. Daniel Johnson and Mrs. Erin North
Stephen F. Austin High School
Course Description: In this introductory college-level composition class, you will learn how to closely and
analytically read a variety of texts, both fiction and non-fiction, both traditional and contemporary. You will also
learn how to respond to, critique, and analyze these works in a variety of written formats, including formal writing
requiring multiple drafts and revisions, as well as informal writing completed in class. As your exposure to ideas and
rhetorical techniques grows, so too should your awareness of yourself as a writer-reader and as a contributing player
in our culture, country, and world. The mantras Meaning dictates form and Everything is an argument are
central.
The AP curriculum is designed to prepare you for the rigorous intellectual demands of college and university study
as well as develop the analytical and communication skills required for the AP exam. The AP Language and
Composition course is designed to provide you numerous opportunities to learn and work with rhetoric. We will
examine authors purposes, subjects, and audiences and the interplay between the three. You will write in a variety
of modes for a variety of audiences on a variety of topics, developing a sense of style and an ability to analyze,
articulate, and practice how language and rhetoric operate in a given context. You will learn to read closely primary
and secondary sources, to synthesize material from these texts in your own compositions, and to cite sources using
conventions recommended by the Modern Language Association (MLA). As co-creators in a media-rich society, we
will also study the rhetoric of visual media, in relation to written text and as stand-alone texts.
Summer Reading
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2012.
ISBN: 978-0-395-97789-7
Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2003.
ISBN: 978-1-59308-118-8
Required Reading
Trimmer, Joseph, ed. The Riverside Reader: Alternate Edition. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 2009.
This book is a collection of essays that will be issued by AHS at the students request. There is a class set available
in my classroom.
Additionally, you are strongly encouraged to buy your own copies of the following texts, though these texts are
available for loan through the AHS English department, the FBISD library system, or the Fort Bend public library
system. Should you choose to purchase the texts, the ISBNs of the edition used by the instructor are provided below
for ease of reference to page numbers in class.
Heller, Joseph. Catch-22. New York: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, 2011.
ISBN: 978-1-45162-117-4
You will also read two full-length nonfiction books, one in literature circles and one independently. An overview of
these assignments will be provided prior to the unit, and a finalized reading list will be provided for all students at
that time as well. Please do not purchase books until we reach the unit.
Supplemental Texts: Additional short readings will come from reader anthologies, current newspapers and
periodicals and online sources, including, but not limited to 100 Great Essays, The New York Times, The Wall Street
Journal, The Washington Post, Atlantic Monthly, The Onion, Slate.com, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker. We will
also examine essays from the following collection, which we have available in the classroom as a class set:

Cohen, Samuel. 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology (2nd edition and 3rd edition). New York: Bedford / St. Martins
Press, 2004, 2010.
ISBN: 978-0-312-44698-7 (2nd edition, 2004)
ISBN: 978-0-31260-965-8 (3rd edition, 2010)
Finally, students will have access to AP practice exam materials via Olson and Baileys Fast Track a 5: Preparing
for the AP English Language and Composition Exam. Depending upon course load, a copy may be issued to each
student or through a by request check-out system.
Writing: Writing well involves more than following a set of rules or formulae. It means understanding and using the
relationship between who a writer is and who his or her reader might be. This class aims to help you understand that
relationship by practicing it. Writing in this class should make you more confident of your ability to write in a
variety of arenas, teach you to tailor your style and voice to context, and help you discover how writing makes a
difference.
You will keep a writing journal for several purposes. Sometimes you will be asked to respond to a quote,
passage, or idea. Sometimes you may be directed to practice the variety of argumentative concepts on which we
focus. You will also practice the rhetorical strategies and concepts that form the heart of the course. This is a way for
you to practice rhetoric and to sort out your own thoughts on complex topics. Finally, you will utilize your journal to
record observations and ideas and meditate on personally important experiences. Often, I will ask you to utilize
these journals prewriting or rough drafts, from which we will proceed through the process. Because there is no
graded evaluation of this material, it offers opportunities for self-expression and self-reflection that may not be
present in the regular assignments. In any case, your journal is not a diarynot a mere record of what I did today
it is a record of experiences, observations, reflections about world and self that you find significant or interesting.
You will also participate in silent arguments, often based on a journal response. The silent argument begins
with your defense, rejection, or qualification. A partner will then respond to your writing, challenging or supporting
your ideas. This activity functions as practice for both general argument and rhetorical analysis simultaneously.
Several times a semester, you will write in class, in a timed setting. These timed writings test both your
analytical and argumentative skills. The prompts will be, or will be similar to, prompts previously appearing on the
AP Language Exam, and will address all three of the free response question types on the AP exam. Sometimes you
will have the opportunity to prepare either in or out of class, and other times you will not. This is meant to assist you
in understanding the expectations and demands of the AP exam.
Because reading is not only about comprehension, but about engaging with a text and wrestling with its
ideas, I will ask you to submit one-page, typed responses and/or evaluations of ideas or techniques that interest you
in the text we are reading.
Once a quarter, you are expected to write a full-length composition, or process piece. These assignments
require that you understand and apply the maxim, meaning dictates form; I generally will not impose length, topic,
or form requirementsthese arise organically from your purpose and intended audience. We will work on all stages
of the writing process, discovering and examining the recursive nature of thought and the written word through
writing workshop. Within these papers, you will learn strategies and techniques to work through each stage, from
prewriting and invention to drafting, revising, and editing. The foundations of this exploration are mini-lessons and
immediate application of the strategies to a current piece of written work. The bulk of our work in grammar and
syntax takes place through this aspect of the writing process. You will participate in peer and teacher conferences,
both formal and informal, throughout the stages of the process. You will learn additional revision and editing skills
and techniques during these conferences, and will become part of a community of communication. Finally, you will
reflect and evaluate each piece with an eye to the success of the piece in achieving your purpose and communicating
effectively with your audience.
Sometimes, you will direct these pieces to a real-world audience to help develop your voice and style as an
author in your own right, and to make concrete the rhetorical concepts we address in classone learns by doing,
after all, and the only way to effectively learn about real-world writing is to write in the real world. To that end, you
will be required to submit at least one piece to a publisher as part of the process.
You will keep a portfolio of your writing that will serve as a basis for reflection and appraisal of your
development. From this portfolio, you will select one piece that you feel is most representative of your writing, and
you will submit this for publication in a class anthology.

Discussion: The exchange of ideas and responsible argument between peers is vital to shaping ones worldview. To
that end, discussion plays a prominent role in this course. In this course, you will engage in guided, whole class
discussions, small group discussions, and Socratic seminars about the texts and ideas we study.
Grading for Whole-Class Discussions
I keep a running tally of your contributions to the discussion, and this form recurring discussion grades. The
discussion grade is not a mere participation grade in which you earn points simply for talking a great deal. Instead,
the discussion grade is meant to hold you accountable for productive and thoughtful contributions to the classthe
score measures quality more than quantity. Each discussion grade will cover a 3-6 week period (depending upon
what we are doing in class), and will constitute an average of your best responses during the time period covered.
Each of your responses will be assigned a points value: for instance, I may say I expect a minimum of 4 responses in
a given week, in which case each response would be worth up to 25 points for an exemplary response, 22 points for
a very good response, 19 points for a passable response, and so on. If your top 4 responses earned 25, 22, 22, and 22
points, your discussion grade for that period would be 91. Additional responses aside from a predetermined number
of best responses (4 in the above example) are generally not considered as part of the grade.
Socratic Seminar/Inner-Outer Circle Discussion
From time to time, you will participate in Socratic Seminar discussions, also known as inner-outer circle
discussions. In this approach, the class works together to come to a common understanding of the text or texts and to
extend this understanding with real-world connections and inter-textual connections. You will be the sole providers
of discussion items in many of these seminars: my role as teacher is one of facilitationI will not be involved much
(if at all) in the discussioninstead, a student table leader guides the conversation with questioning and focus
points. These will sometimes be one-day conversations, and sometimes two-day affairs. In either case, the class will
be composed of an inner and outer circle. The inner circle is responsible for participating in the discussion while the
outer circle responds in writing to the ideas posed. During the second half, we will switch, with the outer circle
becoming the inner and vice-versa. These discussions will sometimes be daily grades (one day typically) and
sometimes major grades (usually the two-day variety). Scoring follows our normal discussion grading system
detailed above.
Vocabulary and Terminology: You will work to gain vocabulary and practice using new terms in context in order
to develop a wide-ranging vocabulary and to use it appropriately. Periodically, I may give vocabulary quizzes over a
selection of chapters in the work we are reading. Any word in those chapters is fair game. I may also include
vocabulary in cold call questions. You will also acquire a great of terminology and the technical vocabulary of
rhetorical analysis. Many of these terms will be the foci of their own lessons, and you will become intimately
familiar with them in this way.
As per AHS English Department policy, you will maintain a Literary Terms Journal in a standard composition
book. All students who attended AHS last year already have this journal, and it is housed in your portfolio inside the
classroom. This journal will be a tremendous resource for you in studying for the AP exam, and for tests and quizzes
in class. The composition book/literary terms journal will be collected and graded periodically, and you will receive
a rubric early in the year detailing the expectations.
Style: Because style is a major component of writing skill and analytical reading, we review grammar concepts like
appositive phrases, participial phrases, and pronoun antecedents. We practice varied diction and syntax. We study a
wide variety of tropes and schemes including parallelism, isocolon, antithesis, zeugma, anastrophe, parenthesis,
ellipsis, asyndeton, polysyndeton, alliteration, anaphora, epistrophe, anadiplosis, antimetabole, chiasmus, metaphor,
simile, synecdoche, metonymy, periphrasis, personification, litotes, irony, oxymoron, and paradox. We
simultaneously learn these within the writing process through application in your own writing and through heuristic
reading strategies such as SOAPSTone, DIDLS, and PELIDS. Your understanding of these elements is assessed in
AP-style multiple choice passage analysis quizzes. Additionally, over the course of the year, you are expected to use
the tropes and schemes in your own writing with intent and control.
Reading: The course is mainly focused on nonfiction, but with will read, analyze, and discuss a broad range of
poems, news and current event articles, editorials, novels, short stories, drama, philosophy, advertisements,

magazine articles, and so on. Along with our exploration of genre, we will examine the social, political, historical,
intellectual, philosophical, and scientific contexts of the times in which the works were written. We will seek to
understand the context of the time and to evaluate the impact of this context on the stylistic and rhetorical choices of
the author.
SOAPSTone, DIDLS, and PELIDS comprise the core strategies through which we learn to effectively
annotate a text in a close, analytical reading. This is also sometimes referred to as explication of text. The point is
to read actively and to provide a written demonstration of that thinking.
For many reading assignments, you will identify the following in either your journal or a brief reading
response assignment. These will also function as the basis of many discussion items.
Thesis or Claim
Tone or Attitude
Purpose
Audience and Occasion
Evidence or Data
Appeals: Logos, Ethos, Pathos
Assumptions or Warrants

Stylediction, syntax, figurative language

Rhetorical devices (tropes and schemes)
Rhetorical modes and organizational patterns
(i.e., main idea/detail, comparison/contrast,
cause/effect, extended definition,
problem/solution, etc.
Use of detail to develop a general idea

Oftentimes, I will allow you to choose the form and content of your reading responsesI want to know
what you notice, what you wonder about, and the like. These sorts of responses will be mixed in with analytical
prompts and argumentative prompts. This provides practice for the sorts of questions that may appear on the AP
exam, and helps you get used to the language and modes of thinking necessary for success on the exam.
You will be asked at times to use good writers and good writing as a model for your own writing: I will ask
you to notice and borrow the tricks of the tradethe tools that good writers use to convey their ideas and make
their arguments. If it works for writers that we like and respect, it can work for us, too! In that sense, you should
practice the habit of reading like a writer. What this means will become clear to you in the early days of the course.
Occasionally, you will be given reading quizzes. These may be multiple choice (often AP style multiple
choice) or short answer, and gauge your ability to identify and respond to elements in a text and determine how they
work together within the given rhetorical context. Sometimes you will be assessed with AP multiple-choice practice
passages from previous years exams or other AP-level preparation materials, such as Applied Practice guides. I may
or may not announce quizzes in advance, so keep up with your reading!
AP English Language and Composition 2014-2015 Unit Overview
This calendar is for informational and preparation purposes only. Do not rely on it as your only means of keeping up
with assignmentsuse your planner as well, since things change and not everything we do this year can possibly be
on this calendar.
UNIT 1
Everythings An Argument: An introduction to rhetoric, argument, and habits of good writing and logical
thought.
Topical Focus: Corporate power in Americado large corporations have too much power in American society? Is
the American worker valued? What about the consumer? Do large corporations act ethically and in the best interests
of the American people?
Writing:
Students will be introduced to the rhetorical analysis and general argument essays from the AP exam.
Students will learn how to analyze AP writing prompts and how to understand the task.
Students will learn several pre-writing strategies for AP timed writing prompts.
Students will work together to write a table essay: a group response to an AP prompt.
Students will also write functional parts as responses to AP prompts (i.e. a well-written introduction or
body paragraph)
Students will read and evaluate sample AP essay responses with the goal of understanding what makes a
successful essay.

Introduction to the writers workshop approach.

Students will participate in writing conferences with peers and with the teacher throughout the writing
process.
Students will participate in numerous mini-lessons, in which they will learn many writing strategies. These
will be determined according to student needs as assessed in conferences with the teacher and during inclass discussion.
Students will write a short compare and contrast essay comparing the imagery in a passage from Fast Food
Nation with one from the Jungle and evaluating the rhetorical effect of the images chosen by each author.
Short reading responses, both analytical and evaluative, of Fast Food Nation, The Jungle and related short
texts.
Practice in the rhetorical modes and rhetorical techniques via short writing exercises
Students will complete a short descriptive essay over their experience during picture day
Students will learn to revise for content, structure, and style through ratiocination
Students will learn to edit their work and the work of others.
The unit will culminate with an AP-style argumentative timed write dealing with the topical focus questions
above.

Reading:
We will focus on establishing the essential rhetorical knowledge that will form the basis for the rest of the
year: students will learn to identify and evaluate claims, reasoning, warrants, and support in various
arguments, as well as the basic rhetorical appeals of logos, ethos, and pathos. Students will also be
introduced to the critical rhetorical moves of concession, refutation, and qualification.
We will also begin our exploration of the relationship between author, text, and audience.
Students will begin to use the SOAPSTone, PELIDS, and DIDLS approaches to reading and analysis, and
will begin to see the interrelated quality of the features of text through the rhetorical analysis fractal.
Students will practice reader-response and deconstructive approaches to text in short reading response
journal entries.
Students will be introduced to fundamental aspects of diction and syntax analysis (style analysis) through
annotation and close reading strategies.
Students will examine and analyze the relationship between stylistic components and a variety of rhetorical
effects.
We will also read and analyze the following;
Close reading, analysis, and discussion of passages from the summer reading Fast Food Nation by Eric
Schlosser and The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.
A variety of short pieces with topical connections to the summer reading and the unit topical focus:
o Photographs from Fast Food Nation
o Fast food advertisements
o Serving in Florida by Barbara Ehrenreich
o John F. Kennedys speech regarding the U.S. steel industry
o Florence Kellys address on child labor
UNIT 2
Topical Focus: The Educational Systemto what extent do our schools serve the goals of a true education? What is
the ideal educational system?
Writing:
Students will frequently respond to ideas and passages from the readings in short reading responses and
journal entries.
Students will practice techniques they come across in the readings through Voice Lessons, in which they
use the readings as mentor texts and try out the techniques in their own writing.

Students will practice rhetorical modes that appear in the pieces that we analyze, using these pieces as
models for good writing.
The unit will culminate with an AP-style argumentative timed write dealing with the topical focus questions
above.
Students will write their own satire in the vein of Twains Advice to Youth
Mini-lessons and revision and editing strategies to be determined according to student needs, as determined
in writing conferences with the teacher and with other students.

Reading:
We begin our study of logic as a subset of rhetoric. We explore concepts in logic such as syllogism,
deductive and inductive reasoning, and apply these to our reading and analysis.
Students will learn and practice several argumentative text structures, such as Nestorian Order, Reasons,
Concession, Strawman, and classical argument.
Students will gain practice with AP multiple-choice questions through short question sets pertaining to the
readings and through cold passages.
World, My Son Starts School Today by Abraham Lincoln
Education and The American Scholar by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Data tables from Reading at Risk
College Education: What is its Purpose? from Current Issues
Testing: What Value do Tests Have? from Current Issues
U.S. Children Read, but Not Well or Often from Reuters
Advice to Youth by Mark Twain
Girl Moved to Tears by Of Mice and Men Cliffs Notes from the Onion.
Learning to Read and Write by Frederick Douglass
I Just Wanna Be Average by Mike Rose
Of Studies by Francis Bacon
The Blank Slate by Stephen Pinker
The end of this unit coincides with the end of the first nine weeks.
UNIT 3
Research
Writing:
The bulk of writing in this unit is geared towards the research paper. Students will
write a substantial argumentative research paper over a topic of choice.
Students will learn to generate topic ideas using strategies such as listing and clustering. They will learn to
narrow these topics, developing a focal angle on the topic that represents an original and meaningful
contribution to the research.
Inquiry and invention techniques form a major component of the unit: students will be introduced to
classical invention and Burkes pentad, and will use these to develop their topics.
Students will learn to approach research as a recursive process, and will learn to develop probing questions
about the topic, and to continually ask further questions as they come across new information.
Students will learn to effectively synthesize research sources in an argument, using the sources for
informational purposes and for support for the argument itself. Students will learn a variety of methods of
supporting an argument, such as exemplification, data, reasoning, argument from analogy, description,
Students will learn to document their sources using MLA style.
Students will try out and use a variety of textual features to augment their arguments, including headings,
footnotes and endnotes, and visuals.
Reading:
Students will learn to locate effective sources for their research topic, using the library and the school
databases.

Students will learn to analyze research sources, assessing them for relevancy, currency, and bias.
During this unit, students will begin reading, in groups, a full-length nonfiction book that they select.

UNIT 4
Topical focus: Bad Arguments: fallacies, foibles, and failures.
Writing:
Students will practice the rhetorical modes through short writing exercises.
Students will regularly respond to the ideas and arguments presented in the texts through reading responses,
both analytical and argumentative.
Students will practice a range of stylistic and rhetorical techniques through voice lessons, using the in-class
texts as mentor texts, learning in the process to use these techniques in their own writing.
Students will participate in writing conferences with their peers and with the teacher.
Students will complete one analytical AP timed write and one argumentative AP timed write, each with a
connection to the topical focus and central questions of the unit.
Students will write a critique over an argument in the media of their choosing, such as a talk radio segment
or televised documentary
Reading:
Students will learn to identify and critique a range of logical fallacies and argumentative shortcomings, and
will learn to avoid these in their own arguments.
Magnasoles from The Onion
Checkers Speech by Richard Nixon
The Argument Clinic and the witch trial scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Clips from Ancient Aliens
The Cat Bill Veto by Adalai Stevenson
Clips from numerous talk radio shows
Selections from the courtroom scenes from Act III of The Crucible
Student-located internet forum arguments
Students will read a self-selected nonfiction book.
The conclusion of the unit coincides with the end of the second nine weeks (end of the first semester).
UNIT 5
Topical focus: Government, Society, and the Individualdoes the individual have a right to civil disobedience?
Does the individual have a responsibility to disobey the government when they feel the actions of that government
are unjust? What is the relationship between the individual and the state?
Writing:
Literature circle books timed writing: students work in groups to create their own synthesis question,
including appropriately cited source material. Students will then respond to the question.
Students will write their own Modest Proposals using Swifts as a mentor text.
Students will practice the rhetorical modes through short writing exercises.
Students will regularly respond to the ideas and arguments presented in the texts through reading responses,
both analytical and argumentative.
Students will practice a range of stylistic and rhetorical techniques through voice lessons, using the in-class
texts as mentor texts, learning in the process to use these techniques in their own writing.

Students will participate in writing conferences with their peers and with the teacher.
Students will complete one analytical AP timed write and one argumentative AP timed write, each with a
connection to the topical focus and central questions of the unit.

Reading:
Close reading and analysis of student-selected nonfiction books and related short readings in literature
circles. Issues and topics will vary according to the readings selected by groups. Teacher will suggest
supplemental short readings based on monitoring of group discussions.
Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One by Benjamin Franklin
The Declaration of Independence
The Morals of the Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
Speech Before the Virginia Convention by Patrick Henry
John F. Kennedys Inaugural Address
The Singer Solution to World Poverty by Peter Singer
A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift
Various protest and social criticism songs (Born in the USA, Keep on Rockin in the Free World, The
Hurricane, etc.)
UNIT 6
Topical Focus: Language and Communicationto what extent does language define us?
We begin more concerted preparation from the AP test, though this is not the overarching focus. Practice will take
place within the context of our work in class as much as possible. AP test tutorials are available for students until the
week prior to the exam. The schedule for these tutorials will be announced as soon as it is available. Students will
take a complete AP multiple choice section in class to gauge their progress as we near the exam.
Reading:
Politics and the English Language by George Orwell
How to Tame a Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzaladou
Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood by
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Mother Tongue by Amy Tan
3 Ways to Speak English TED talk
Bilingualism in America: English Should be the Official Language by S.A. Hayakawa
Articles on the possible re-naming of the Washington Redskins
Writing:
Students will practice the rhetorical modes through short writing exercises.
Students will regularly respond to the ideas and arguments presented in the texts through reading responses,
both analytical and argumentative.
Students will practice a range of stylistic and rhetorical techniques through voice lessons, using the in-class
texts as mentor texts, learning in the process to use these techniques in their own writing.
Students will participate in writing conferences with their peers and with the teacher.
Beginning with this unit and concluding in unit 7, students will complete a total of 6 AP timed writes to
prepare for the exam. They will give and receive peer feedback for each, and will ultimately select one as a
major grade. They will also conference with the teacher for at least one of these essays.
Mini-lessons and writing strategies will be taught according to student needs and interests as assessed in
conferences with the teacher and other students.

UNIT 7
Topical Focus: Naturewhat are our responsibilities to the natural world? How does the natural world shape and
define us?
Writing:
Students will practice the rhetorical modes through short writing exercises.
Students will regularly respond to the ideas and arguments presented in the texts through reading responses,
both analytical and argumentative.
Students will practice a range of stylistic and rhetorical techniques through voice lessons, using the in-class
texts as mentor texts, learning in the process to use these techniques in their own writing.
Students will participate in writing conferences with their peers and with the teacher.
Students will complete one analytical AP timed write and one argumentative AP timed write, each with a
connection to the topical focus and central questions of the unit.
Reading:
Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Where I Lived and What I Lived For and Why I Went Into the Woods by Henry David Thoreau
Selections from The Future of Life by Edward O. Wilson
Selections from Staying Put by Scott Russell Sanders
Clips from An Inconvenient Truth documentary by Al Gore
Scientific data tables regarding global warming and climate change
Several articles regarding global warming and climate change
UNIT 8
Topical Focus: Making meaning in the absurd worlddoes life have any meaning? What values should we hold in
todays society?
Writing:
Students will practice the rhetorical modes through short writing exercises.
Students will regularly respond to the ideas and arguments presented in the texts through reading responses,
both analytical and argumentative.
Students will practice a range of stylistic and rhetorical techniques through voice lessons, using the in-class
texts as mentor texts, learning in the process to use these techniques in their own writing.
Students will participate in writing conferences with their peers and with the teacher.
Students will complete one analytical AP timed write and one argumentative AP timed write, each with a
connection to the topical focus and central questions of the unit.
Students will assemble a writing portfolio of their best work from this year, and will reflect on their
learning and writing in AP English III.
Reading:
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus
The Peter Principle by Peter and Hull
The War Prayer by Mark Twain
The Allegory of the Cave by Plato
How to Tell a True War Story by Tim OBrien

Class Expectations
1) Be respectful.
2) Take responsibility for your actions and your role in the class.
3) Follow all Austin High School and English department rules and procedures, detailed in the student handbook.
Possible corrective consequences for any detrimental behavior may include a warning; change of seating; phone
call home; teacher conference, parent conference, or referral to your administrator. Situations and people differ;
what will be fair treatment depends on the context and the behavior.
Policies and Procedures
Homework usually consists of reading, but may include written responses or work on lengthier papers. Shorter
assignments are generally due the next day, but due dates will be posted on the board in the classroom, as well
as on my Edmodo webpage.
District Grading Policy:

All daily grade assignments, quizzes, and tests are to be graded and posted to Skyward within 5
business days from the day they are collected.
Timed writings are to be graded and posted to Skyward within 10 business days from the day they are
collected.
All major grade process essays are to be graded and posted to Skyward within 15 business days from
the day they are collected.

Family Access

http://www.fortbendisd.com/familyaccess/
Your parents will need to come to the school to register for Family Access!
Turnitin.com Policy(AHS English Department Policy)
Any major grade paper that is given a specific due date will be covered under this policy.
Every major grade paper must be turned in to Turnitin.com by the beginning of the period on the
specified due date.
All codes for Turnitin.com and directions will be included on the class Edmodo page, parent Edmodo
page, and my AHS campus/district web page.
I do not require a hard copy of the Turnitin.com receipt.
If a student fails to upload his or paper to Turnitin.com by the specified due date and time, that student
will receive a zero.
Do not wait until the last minute to uploadstudents sometimes forget their passwords or have other
problems with Turnitin, but these issues are not an excuse for late work, and no late work will be
accepted.
Hard copies of essays uploaded to Turnitin.com will not be collected, unless I specify otherwise.
Students will be responsible for printing graded copies of the final drafts for portfolios once I have
completed the grades and commentary.
Use the information below to sign up for Turnitin.com.

10

CLASS ID

ENROLLMENT PASSWORD

10460448

rhetoric

Reassessment for Failing Major Grades and Revisions for Failing Essay Grades:
Any student who fails a major grade test will have the opportunity to re-test for a grade up to a 75. Reassessment may take a number of forms, as determined by the teacher.
Any student who fails a major grade process essay or in-class timed writing will have the opportunity
to revise his or her paper for the possibility of a grade up to a 75.
Instructions for accessing my teacher web page
Go to www.fortbendisd.com
Click campuses, then click Austin, then click courses.
Scroll down to find my name and AP English III. Click on the course title or my name.
o Here you will find assignments, the syllabus (in case you lose it), calendars, and other pertinent
information. Check the site regularlyI generally update at least once a week.
Edmodo
Signing up for my Edmodo groups:
1. Go to www.edmodo.com.
2. To create a new account, click Im a student and follow the instructions provided.
If you already have an Edmodo account from a previous school year, simply sign in as you
normally would.
3. Type or paste the join URL for your class period into the address bar in your browser. Click go or
hit enter.
4. Enter the group code provided below.

JOIN URL
GROUP CODE
https://edmo.do/j/za56wv ktzy3u

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 Cell Phone and Technology Policy

Cell phones, tablets, e-readers, laptops, and all other forms of technology are potentially great tools in the
classroom. However, they are also potential major distractions that can severely hamper learning and focus. In
order to make the most of available technology while minimizing distractions, these technologies will be
considered a privilege, and the following rules and guidelines will apply:
1. Unless I have given explicit permission, all cell phones, tablets, e-readers, laptops, and any other
electronic devices must remain off and out of sight for the duration of class.
2. If a student wishes to access technology when permission has not been given to the entire class, the
student must ask for permission from me. This is true each and every time he or she wishes to access
technology for class-related purposes while in the classroom. Requests will be granted on a case-bycase basis, according to the need and the context of the lesson. I reserve the right to refuse any
request for access at any time.
3. When given permission to use technology, that permission covers the use of technology only for the
purpose of the lesson and for my class. Any non-approved uses of technology (playing games,
checking grades, surfing the internet, etc.) will be cause for revocation of permission for the class
period, and possibly for an extended duration (see #4 below).
4. The first time an electronic device is used or visible when permission has not been given, or is used in
a manner inconsistent with the teachers instructions, the student will be instructed to turn off the
device and put it away for the remainder of class. The parent may be notified of the infraction, as well.
5. If the device is misused again after the first warning, I will collect the device and hold it until the end
of class. The parent will be notified, and the student will not be allowed to use that device in class for a
period to be determined.
6. A third offense will result in the student permanently losing technology privileges in the class for the
remainder of the year, or a period to be determined. The parent and administrator will be notified, and
the student will be issued a disciplinary write-up.
Cheating: I abhor cheating in any way shape or form. If you are caught cheating (including plagiarism) you
will receive a 0, and I will contact your parents. Additional disciplinary measures such as write-ups are at my
discretion.
Absences: You have one day per day of absence to turn in work. If you were absent Monday, you have until
Tuesday.
If you are absent, it is YOUR responsibility to obtain make-up work. I will not do this for you. Check
make-up work binders, the course website, or ask a classmate before or after class. If need be, you may
ask me for make-up work on your way into the classroom or after class.
This does not apply to any major grade projects or compositions; if you are absent or leave campus
before your class period, it is your responsibility to ensure that I receive the essay prior to the end of
the school day, and that you upload to Turnitin.com on time.
Tutorials:
My scheduled tutorials times are Mondays from 6:45-7:15 and from 2:30-3:00 and Thursdays from
6:45-7:15 and from 2:30-3:00.
I am not available for tutorials on Tuesday mornings due to duty.
I am often available at other times for additional tutorials. Students who need extra help on days other
than Mondays and Thursdays are strongly encouraged to set up an appointment with me at least a day
in advance to ensure that I will be able to meet with them.
Occasional cancellations of tutorials may occur due to family or medical situations, meetings, and
other scheduling conflicts. I will do my best to note these changes on Edmodo.
Contacting Mr. Johnson: If you need help outside of class, please do not hesitate to ask for it. You may contact
me by posting on the Edmodo page for your class period. For truly urgent matters, you may contact me at
Daniel.johnson@fortbend.k12.tx.us. However, I will not accept any work through email.

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 Grading System
9-week grade:
50% - formative daily grades (homework, class work, quizzes, journal, reading
responses, etc.)
50% - summative major grades (timed writes, AP-style tests, projects, presentations,
process pieces, discussions and Socratic seminars, etc.)
Semester grade: The semester grade is averaged using the following formula:
1st 9 weeks grade and 2nd 9 weeks grade = 80 %
Semester exam =20%
Final grade: Each semester grade is separate. The student must earn a grade of 70 or above to receive
credit for each semester.
Rubrics
Rubrics for most assignments are attached to the assignment itself. We discuss and evaluate the rubric in class and,
with AP free response/timed writing rubrics, practice using them to score peer essays and model responses from
previous years students and released AP materials. However, it is difficult and counter-productive to generate
rubrics until the process for the given piece is underwaysince much of the writing instruction depends upon your
needs as a writer and student, the rubric should take these needs into account, and should also account for the skills
and techniques you are expected to learn from the process of the piece of writing. I will generally distribute rubrics
about a week before the due date for the assignment so that you have time to revise and rework accordingly. We will
sometimes develop the rubric for process pieces collaboratively. This affords a chance to review the skills and to
involve you in the process of reflecting upon and assessing your own learning. In these cases, I will distribute the
finalized rubric at least three days prior to the due date. Be aware that this is not meant to imply that the standards
for written work are lowered; in fact, it is quite the oppositeI expect that we will judge our writing critically and
with an eye towards ongoing improvement. While you will have abundant input, I have the final say on all rubric
criteria and point distribution.
Grading for AP Test Selections: The AP English Language and Composition exam is quite challenging. To that
end, our practice for these sections will be graded like the exam itself, which requires about 60 % correct
answers on the multiple-choice section for a passing score. Quizzes and tests using released AP exams or
comparable materials will be curved accordingly. Test corrections will be offered for AP practice selections, and
students will be able to earn back 25 % of the missed points. For instance, if you scored 80 on an AP-style
passage quiz, you are eligible to earn back 25 % of the 20 points you missed, or 5 points, for a maximum of 85.
List of Materials
Required
Spiral notebook or hard-bound journal: a 5-subject is best
Composition book (for Literary Terms Journal)already in your AHS portfolio if you attended Austin
last year
Since the classroom is a cooperative environment, I ask that students bring one box of tissues for
everyones use.
Strongly Recommended
Index cardswhite and/or color-coded
Sticky noteslarge and small. Buy plenty!
Pens (final work will not be accepted in pencil)
Pencils (for preliminary drafts and Scantrons)
Hi-litersvarious colors
Planner (usually AHS distributes one)
USB flash drive or blank CDRWs
Where to Purchase Your Books
Half Price BooksHighway 6 in Sugar Land; Carries all Fort Bend reading list titles; used books,
cheap!

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 Barnes and Noblesvarious locations; First Colony Mall in Sugar Land; Barnes and Nobles editions
usually contain excellent essays and notes.
Useful Resources For Study, Review, and Additional Practice
College Board Online
http://www.collegeboard.org/ap
College Boards AP Central
http://Apcentral.collegeboard.com
Purdue Universitys Online Writing Lab
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
Rhetoric Resources
American Rhetoric: www.americanrhetoric.com
BYUs Sylva Rhetoricae: http://rhetoric.byu.edu/
Rhetnet: http://www.missouri.edu/~rhetnet/
MLA Style Citations of Electronic Sources
http://www.cas.usf.edu/english/walker/mla.html
Strunk and Whites Elements of Style
http://www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/strunk/
Additional Recommended Books: The following are texts that I find especially clear and insightful in their
discussion of the concepts and skills necessary for this course. Any edition of these texts should prove helpful,
though it would be ideal to have the most recent edition.
Thank You For Arguing by Jay Heinrich
The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric by Renee H. Shea, Lawrence Scalon, and
Robin Dissin Aufses
Everythings an Argument by Andrea Lunsford

TO THE STUDENT AND PARENT:

So that I know that you have read your syllabus and have provided the syllabus to
your parents to read, please ask your parents to email me a simple message
indicating that you have read the syllabus in its entirety.
Please make sure that the email has been sent by the first Friday of school
(August 28th).
Additionally, please detach and complete the signature page (the next page in the
packet), and return it by Friday, August 28th. The signature form will function as
an agreement to follow all of the expectations, procedures, and policies.
Parents: please include a phone number and/or email address that you would like
me to use when contacting you. Sometimes, the information provided in Skyward
is either inaccurate or not the best means of communication, and I would like to
ensure that I am able to communicate effectively with you throughout the year.

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Syllabus Agreement
AP English Language and Composition (ELCAP) 2015-2016
I have read the syllabus for AP English Language and Composition in its entirety. I
understand the rules, policies, and procedures outlined in the syllabus and agree to
follow them.
If I have questions about the syllabus or about course requirements, I understand
that it is my responsibility to ask the course instructor for clarification.
Student:
Print name __________________________________________________
Signature____________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian:
Print name____________________________________________________
Signature_____________________________________________________
Preferred phone number_________________________________________
Preferred email address__________________________________________

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