This course prepares students to take the AP English Language and Composition Exam with confidence. From the start of the school year, students will be guided and instructed in AP practice questions and essay-prompts provided by the College Board, and throughout the year students will receive instructor feedback on improving their performance for the exam. Students will read and discuss a range of non-fiction compositions which will serve as the basis for analyzing effective, powerful writing. Readings are drawn from a wide variety of genres and periods, from the Confessions of Augustine to editorials from the New York Times, from important historical texts – such as Winston Churchill’s Their Finest Hour speech and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail – to discussion of such topics as hip hop music, the social justice movement, and the purpose of education. Whether it be a twenty-first-century text debating the merits of environmentalism or articles proposing solutions to the high cost of college, all of the readings will occasion in-depth analysis of rhetorical methods, styles, and ways of presenting and organizing arguments. Students will receive ample opportunity to put what they learn from these great writers into practice in their own writing, all within the parameters of the AP requirements. Throughout the course we will also take deep dives into the anatomy of sentences and paragraphs, the stylistic implications of punctuation, the integration of evidence and sources, the use of sound logic in developing lines of reasoning – and much more – so that students are prepared to excel on the exam.
Flexible Scheduling: This course may be taken with live class attendance reduced or waived (recording only) if the student has a time zone or schedule conflict. Select this option when you enroll or notify TPS for approval.
AP Exam Scores: For more information on TPS AP-certified courses and exam results, see [urlnew=https://at-tps.org/subjects/ap-courses/]this information[/urlnew].
Note: AP® is a trademark owned by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, this course. This course syllabus has received College Board AP® review and approval.