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AP® English Language and Composition

This Advanced Placement English Language and Composition course is equivalent to a first semester, introductory writing and rhetoric college-level course. The rigor of this course is consistent with colleges and universities and will prepare students for the Advanced Placement exam in May. Upon successful completion of the exam, students may receive college credit and will be well-prepared for advanced writing and rhetoric coursework. Additional details on this course from College Board can be found here: AP English Language and Composition.

In this course, students will explore four big ideas:

(1) Rhetorical Situation: Individuals write within a particular situation and make strategic writing choices based on that situation

(2) Claims and Evidence: Writers make claims about subjects, rely on evidence that supports the reasoning that justifies the claim, and often acknowledge or respond to other, possibly opposing, arguments.

(3) Reasoning and Organization: Writers guide understanding of a text’s lines of reasoning and claims through that text’s organization and integration of evidence.

(4) Style: The rhetorical situation informs the strategic stylistic choices that writers make.

Students will investigate topics such as understanding the rhetorical situation, writing strategically, developing an argument, writing with purpose, creating cohesion, acknowledging viewpoints, and adding sophistication and style. Throughout the course, students will spiral through the four big ideas, deepening their understanding of how individuals write within rhetorical situations and make strategic writing choices based on that situation. Specific topics include the rhetorical situation, claims, evidence, qualification, organization, lines of reasoning, methods of development, style, word choice, comparisons, syntax, grammar, and mechanics.

This course incorporates a variety of textbook and multimedia resources including an adaptive platform that provides feedback on student assessments. Students will read and analyze texts and apply modeled concepts and writing strategies to writing tasks for various audiences and purposes. Students will also engage in collaborative activities, such as shared writing and discussions, and connect concepts in rhetoric and writing to real-world issues and current events, in order to develop a deeper understanding of rhetoric in the world.

Students will be expected to enroll in My AP Classroom through their VHS Learning AP course and will be guided to complete review work in My AP Classroom throughout the year. My AP Classroom resources include AP Daily Videos and unit-based Personal Progress Checks, which include AP-style multiple-choice and free-response questions. Students enrolled in VHS Learning Advanced Placement courses with a passing grade are expected to take the AP Exam.

Students enrolled in VHS Learning Advanced Placement courses with a passing grade are expected to take the AP Exam. Students register for AP exams through their local school or testing site as “Exam Only” students. AP exam scores will be reported to VHS Learning through My AP Classroom; exam results will not affect the student’s VHS Learning grade or future enrollment in VHS Learning courses.

This AP course has a required summer assignment. The summer assignment is a review of prerequisite content and critical concepts students must be comfortable with before beginning the course. Students are expected to complete their summer assignment before the course begins and submit their work by the end of Week 1. Students who register on or after September 1 will receive an extension to complete the summer assignment by the end of Week 3.

In this AP-level course, students are expected to invest approximately 10 hours per week on their course work.

Acknowledgements

  • There are no prerequisite courses for AP English Language and Composition. Students should be able to read and comprehend college-level texts and write grammatically correct, complete sentences.
  • Required Texts: This course requires students to obtain copies of certain texts, as outlined in the Additional Requirements field of this course description.
  • In addition to the enrollment fee, this course has an Additional Course Fee of $80.
  • The required summer assignment for AP® English Language and Composition can be found in our AP® Summer Work Directory.

Course Objectives

Course Essential Questions:

  • How do individuals write within a particular situation and make strategic writing choices based on that situation?
  • How do writers make claims about subjects, rely on evidence that supports the reasoning that justifies the claim, and acknowledge or respond to other, possibly opposing, arguments?
  • How do writers guide understanding of a text's lines of reasoning and claims through that text's organization and integration of evidence?
  • How does the rhetorical situation inform the strategic stylistic choices that writers make?

Course Objectives:

  • Explain how writers' choices reflect the components of the rhetorical situation.
  • Make strategic choices in a text to address a rhetorical situation.
  • Identify and describe the claims and evidence of an argument.
  • Analyze and select evidence to develop and refine a claim.
  • Describe the reasoning, organization, and development of an argument.
  • Use organization and commentary to illuminate the line of reasoning in an argument.
  • Explain how writers' stylistic choices contribute to the purpose of an argument.
  • Select words and use elements of composition to advance an argument.

Additional Requirements

Students will need to obtain copies of the following texts:

One of the following texts for the Summer Assignment:

  • All Over But the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg
  • Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
  • The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

And:

  • The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green needed in Week 9.

This AP course has a required summer assignment. The summer assignment is a review of prerequisite content and critical concepts students must be comfortable with before beginning the course. Students are expected to complete their summer assignment before the course begins and submit their work by the end of Week 1. Students who register on or after September 1 will receive an extension to complete the summer assignment by the end of Week 3.