AP Spirit – an intense energy and enthusiasm for learning – is expected from all students. Whining and complaining about assignments is in direct conflict with AP Spirit.

Attendance is important.  As I will be expecting a lot of reading and writing; missing one day could mean missing as much work as you would miss in two or three classes of regular English.

The course Standards and Benchmarks are listed above and tied into the content of the course on the website. Since most of our work is ongoing, your grade for each quarter is, in effect, a description of your progress towards the end of the year. Your grade for each objective will be measured by rubrics given to you in advance of the assignment. If you fail an objective, you will be given a chance to remediate this objective immediately following the publication of grades. However, you will not be given unlimited opportunities and much will depend on exactly how and why the objective was missed in the first place.

NOTE: Consistent problems with one or more objectives tell me that you are having difficulty and may, therefore, require additional work and help. Consistently poor work or failed objectives will be difficult, if not impossible, to make up at the end of the year.

After all, this is AP English. You will be expected to read approximately one book every three weeks or two books per quarter. Essays will be assigned twice a quarter, as well. Finally, you will be asked to complete assignments over the Essential literary terms handbook regularly.  Major exams, often mock AP exams, are given at the end of each semester. Oral group presentations will be assigned once per quarter.

All assignments are due on the due date whether you are in school or not.  You will have ten (10) late days to use as you see fit throughout the year.  I will keep track.  This means that you could use three days for one assignment, four days for another and hand in three one day late, for example.  Once your late days are up, I will not receive late assignment and you will receive a grade of zero.  If this means that you fail an objective, I will give an alternate assignment as recuperation.  All major assignments are due on the date established - you may NOT use late days for major assignments.

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We will be spending close to 30% of our time together working on writing, both AP-type timed essays and formal interpretive/critical writing.   Although both types of essays require different structures and approaches, they both ask you to write an interpretation of a piece of literature that is based on a careful observation of the work's textual details, considering such elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone.  As we work more closely with figurative language, the elements of composition, and other characteristics of style and form, more will be expected in your interpretative works.  In order to become skilled at these essay types, we will be using a workshop approach, wherein each of you will be asked to submit drafts and introductions for teacher and class review.  As well, we will be looking at models from other students and working together in peer groups to establish and improve your writing.  Finally, I will be working one on one with all of you during the year to improve your interpretative writing skills.

You will be asked to write approximately two papers per quarter, one major interpretive essay over the class novel (or another pre-approved AP worthy selection) and one 40 minute AP essay over your outside novel.  Your formal essays each quarter may be written on an extended AP topic from the free response section or your own pre-approved topic; in either case, it should be based on a careful observation of textual details, considering the work's

ALL you essays must use the Style book for citations and bibliography (remember that in the English Department, we use parenthetical references NOT footnotes).

Writing Expectations: All papers are based on the formal essay (longer version here) and must be typed on a computer (DOUBLE SPACED, 12pt Ariel or Times New Roman font, ½ inch margins).

Plagiarism: Students suspected of plagiarism (see the PowerPoint presentation here and the general handout here [or html], if you are unsure) will be required to submit original sources or photo copies for verification. You have all been asked to sign a statement indicating that you will abide by the Honor Code.  I expect you to understand this Code and follow it conscientiously.  By putting your name on a paper or other assignment, you are indicating to me that it is your work and your work alone.  Any additional help (including conferencing with other students, sharing resources, typing, etc.) should be noted. Cheating, plagiarism, chancuko, etc. will result in a report to the office and the college counselor as well as a “not met” for those objectives involved.  Serious cases will be referred to the Dean of Students and College Counselor.  The bottom line here is that if you have any question about whether what you are doing or planning on doing is cheating, you should see another teacher or me.  Once the assignment is finished, I assume it has been finished in accordance with the Honor Code.

ALL your essays will be submitted to an online plagiarism service, Turnitin.

Evaluation: All of your essays will be graded online using the rubric here, except those handwritten as part of mock AP's (rubric here).  I and your peers should be looking for several elements when reviewing your written work.  These include the appropriate use of wide-ranging vocabulary; a variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of subordination and coordination; a logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques to increase coherence, such as repetition, transitions, and emphasis; a balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail; and an effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone, establishing and maintaining voice, and achieving appropriate emphasis through diction and sentence structure.  Grammar and punctuation skills will be graded in the rubric, and these topics will be covered individually through a “Common Errors“ log of your written work and through mini-lessons devoted to more frequent errors common to the class as a whole.

Peer Editing: As part of the writing process, you are required to both edit others' work AND have your own work edited for each major paper per quarter before handing it in.  I should receive copies of this edited work by email ALONG WITH your final copy.  The editing work should be done through email using Microsoft Word's built in editing function.  I expect that each written assignment be edited by AT LEAST two other students in class.

Prewrites and Rewrites:  Although the AP timed write or the formal essays are due on the due date, you are encouraged to email me any part of your work in progress at any time OR set up an appointment with me to review your paper before the deadline.  We will spend a lot of class time reviewing both AP essays (yours and samples from the AP reading) and formal essays once they have been turned in.  Finally, you may rewrite any essay using your peer editor’s and/or my comments and receive a final grade which averages the original essay and the rewrite.

Other Writing: We will work on some college application prompts throughout the fall semester, and you will be asked to write an informal, creative work for your fourth quarter writing. As well, you will be asked to keep a reader’s journal for the fall semester in order to work on your close reading skills. 

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In addition to the novels assigned in class, you are required to read AT LEAST one additional novel outside of class each quarter, although you will have some limited choice here.  Once finished, you need to write one AP essay on that novel AND a one page summary which includes BRIEF information about the characters, setting, conflicts, plot ALONG with a brief critique (to be used for others who might be interested in reading the same novel) and email these to me.  Please keep in mind that one additional novel IS THE MINIMUM.  If you choose to read more, please do so AND your grade for the course will reflect this extra work.  Finally, you MAY NOT read novels which are part of the regular curriculum in other levels.

Reading Groups: Each quarter, you will be assigned one outside novel to read with a group from class (not your regular working group).  You will be asked to meet at least three times for a half an hour or more each to discuss the novel you are reading.  I must be invited to AT LEAST one of these meetings.  The belief here is that reading a book with the input of your peers will not only help you to better understand it but also make the experience more enjoyable overall.

A list of our currently used novels can be found here...

PS There are copies of many of the suggested AP novels in the library, AND I have additional copies of many in storage.  Please ask.

Quizzes are usually not given in AP English. Should they be?

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You will have an assignment each evening, as well as your ongoing outside novels (class and independent), essential literary terms and essays.  You are expected to come to class prepared, having read AND prepared the assigned selection.  Preparing a selection means reading it actively and closely, taking notes when applicable and coming to class with provocative insights, questions, and ideas to share.  As mentioned, I will not quiz you on the work, but each day the work is not done is one more thing you lose towards your own edification and education.

Since we are using a textbook this year, you are also asked to FULLY prepare the opening comments from each chapter and, in rotation, present these notes to the class.

You have been assigned a small group to work with throughout the year.

Your group will be responsible for presenting two topics from the curriculum each semester.

I am available almost every day during and after school for extra help or makeup work. Please schedule an appointment with me the day before.

The AP test is on Thursday May 8, 2008 for English Literature.  It is expensive (approximately $80US), but well worth the money IF you are a dedicated student and have done the assignments during the year without resorting to Cliff Notes or other substitutions for the actual text. If you receive a 3, 4, or 5 on the test, over 90% of colleges and universities will allow you three credits and exempt you from freshman English. If you are not a serious student, you will most likely receive a 1 or 2 on the test which will not count toward any exemption. All AP students are encouraged to take the test, but only the truly dedicated ones will succeed. An AP test preparation unit is taught four weeks prior to taking the test. AP students who do not take the AP test will take the AP equivalency test in class for a grade on the AP test day.

We will be doing a number of Mock AP's throughout the year in preparation for the test; in fact, the first one will be on the first day of class.  Given the time constraints, most of these will be parts of the real AP rather than full tests.  However, as requested, we will also try to do a couple of full tests during the year.

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