Sunday, September 20, 2015

2015-16 Syllabus

2015-16 AP Literature and Composition Syllabus  (<--click for version in Word)                    

Instructor: Ms. Dame

Course Overview

Every author we will read has tried to explain or depict some aspect of this beautiful, absurd state of being in which we find ourselves.  The books we read in this class each address a big question: What does it mean to become your self?  Is there a difference between our natural and our fully-realized self?  How do our experiences propel us toward or disable us from becoming our selves?  What is the relationship between our selves and the world we are dropped into by the circumstance?  Literature, as I hope you will see, is the perfect prism for looking at these questions.  Great literature is a conversation about the mystery of human existence. 

In this course, you will be expected to join that conversation.   To do so, you need to learn to do two things better than you have ever done them:  read and write. 

Of course, an equally important objective is to prepare you for the AP Literature and Composition Exam.  But, luckily, our objectives are entwined.  By practicing the type of close reading and trenchant analysis required of the exam, you will necessarily also develop college-level reading and writing skills, and immerse yourself in the topics of our great books. 

Assignments

Each marking period, you will be expected to complete short, well-developed summaries on a regular basis in class, write two in-class essays, and take several multiple-choice and vocabulary quizzes.  In addition, you need to keep up with the reading. 

I often post helpful information on the course blog, lincolnaplit.blogspot.com. 

Grading

Classwork       60%
Includes:  Do Nows, in-class reading responses, multiple-choice assignments

Homework      10%
Includes:  well-developed paragraph responses to prompts on the reading, vocabulary assignments, other forms of reading responses

Projects, Essays and Quizzes 30%

Includes:  multiple-choice exams, essays, reading quizzes, multi-day class projects

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