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AP® English Literature and Composition

This Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition is equivalent to an introductory English literature 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 the advanced coursework. Additional details about this course from College Board can be found here: AP English Literature and Composition.

In this course, students will explore nine spiraling units focusing on short fiction, poetry, and longer fiction and drama. Students will explore the following Big Ideas: Character, Setting, Structure, Narration, Figurative Language, and Literary Argumentation.

In this course, we use the themes of identity, power, and "the other" to frame our inquiry into what authors can make us feel, think, and understand, how they create those emotions in us, and why. We will wonder together about texts from a wide variety of time periods and genres including short fiction, poetry, novels, and drama.

The first three units focus on short fiction, poetry, and longer works of fiction that relate to the theme of identity. In addition to reading many short stories and poems, as well as materials from the eBook Literature and Composition: Reading, Writing, Thinking, students read Miller's play Death of a Salesman, either Adichie's Americanah, or Makai's The Great Believers, and Chopin's The Awakening. In these units, the focus is on understanding and developing the tools of literary analysis, such as character, setting, plot and conflict, speaker and point of view, and use of figurative language.

In units 4-6, students consider how power impacts individuals and societies, again through the study of short fiction, poetry, and longer works. The study of poetry delves into sonnets and other poetic forms, and students will read Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Shakespeare's Macbeth. In exploring the idea of power, students think about who has power, how they get it, how they wield it, and how society assigns power. During this section of the course, the focus is on the author's craft and how authors create a meaning, message, and mood.

In units 7-9, students investigate the concept of "the other" through the various genres and forms of fiction. Students read Never Let Me Go by Ishiguro and compare excerpts from the epic poem Beowulf with a modern re-imagining of that story in Gardner's Grendel. Students consider how societies and power may impact and create "the other" and why groups might seek to make another group "other."

Throughout the course students will write, discuss, and work collaboratively, focusing on developing thesis statements and supporting them with textual evidence. In addition to informal responses and formal literary essays, students will practice AP-style free-response questions and multiple-choice questions throughout the class.

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 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 coursework.

Acknowledgements

  • In addition to the enrollment fee, this course has an Additional Course Fee of $80.
  • Mature Themes: Some texts contain mature content such as adult language, violence, sex, and/or suicide.
  • Required Texts: This course requires students to obtain copies of certain texts. Details provided in the Additional Requirements field of this course description.
  • The required summer assignment for AP® English Literature and Composition can be found in our AP® Summer Work Directory.

Course Objectives

Course Essential Questions:

  • What is the nature of identity and how is it developed and maintained?
  • What does it mean to have, hold, and wield power?
  • Why and how do we create "others" in society and what is the impact of "othering"?
  • How can we use analytical reading skills and precise writing skills to evaluate and communicate?

Course Learning Objectives:

  • Explain the function of character and setting (College Board Skill Categories 1 & 2).
  • Explain the function of plot and structure (College Board Skill Category 3).
  • Explain the function of narrator or speaker (College Board Skill Category 4).
  • Explain the function of figurative language such as word choice, imagery, symbols, and comparison (College Board Skill Categories 5 & 6).
  • Develop textually substantiated arguments about interpretations of part or all of a text (College Board Skill Category 7).
  • Develop analytical reading skills through close study of texts representing various literary genres and time periods.
  • Develop a fluent and precise writing style through frequent writing over extended and shorter time frames for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Additional Requirements

Students will need to obtain copies of the following texts which are available at many schools or local libraries or for purchase online for a small fee.

  • Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller needed for the Summer Assignment
  • Choice of Americanah by Chimamanda Adichie or The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai needed in Week 2
  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey needed in Week 10
  • Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro needed in Week 20
  • Grendel by John Gardner needed in Week 26

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.