Length of course: 1 semester (fall). The AP Language exam will be given in May, and 10 points will be added to the student's final average.

   
•    Prerequisites:  grade of 80 or higher in previous English courses; teacher recommendations; signed AP contract; strong work ethic; regular attendance.

COURSE OVERVIEW
•    Rationale: The AP Language and Composition course trains students to become skilled readers and writers in diverse genres and modes of composition.  As stated in the Advanced Placement Course Description for the English exams, the AP Language and Composition course’s purpose is “to enable students to read complex texts with understanding and to write prose of sufficient richness and complexity to communicate effectively with mature readers.”  As the course progresses, students will become aware of their own composition process through self-assessment and evaluations by peers and the instructor.  These skills will allow the student to read critically and write effectively in different modes in the college classroom and beyond.

•    Objectives: Through the process of reading, writing, and discussing texts, students will become skilled in composing for different audiences and purposes.  Students will learn to understand and appreciate the diverse ways that authors make meaning in both oral and written texts.  Students will identify literary structures and conventions and effectively use them in their own writing.  They will learn to identify and evaluate the choices that they and their peers have made in the composition process and increase their revision skills.  By placing texts on a particular topic into conversation with one another, students will judge the validity and persuasiveness of different works. Art, music, and other humanities will be integrated to support the reading and writing in this course.

•    Readings: During the semester, each unit moves chronologically through American Literature with emphasis on themes, writings, and literary\rhetorical devices.  Supplemental novels will allow further exploration into themes and advanced writing practices. Second semester, the units are genre related, emphasizing the qualities of each type of writing and literature that will be tested on the AP exam in May.  

Must have a teacher recommendation from your 9th and 10th grade Language Arts teachers.