AP English Literature & Composition
Welcome to the AP English literature and Composition web page.
The AP® English Literature & Composition course is a college-level class that engages students in a careful and critical analysis of complex literary texts. Readings in the course provide a chronological survey of British and American literature, as well as an in-depth thematic unit on Romanticism that crosses geographic, temporal and cultural boundaries. As students develop their close reading skills, they will learn to identify the ways in which writers use language to create both meaning and pleasure. Through the use of weekly AP®-style multiple-choice literary analysis questions, students develop mastery of the specialized vocabulary of literary analysis and the conventions of standard
written expression.
An intensive program of writing and general vocabulary development is an integral part of the AP® English Literature & Composition course. Each week, students submit a written response to a literature-based prompt on an online bulletin board, as well as respond to other students’ postings. Students also write timed papers in class to
duplicate the AP® testing experience and craft more polished works outside of class to demonstrate the depth of analysis of their literary criticism and develop their own imaginative talents. Both teacher and peer feedback is used to help students revise formal writing assignments and develop an effective use of rhetorical devices. Student writing instruction is individualized through the use of personalized teacher assessment and conferencing. Through weekly exercises and SAT®-style sentence-completion drills, students develop a wide-ranging vocabulary. Students also work cooperatively on two small-group independent reading projects and produce two experiential events, “Medieval Night” and “Down Home Night.”
Units of Study
- Anglo-Saxon Literature
- Beowulf
- Prologue (Old English and Modern English translation)
- Development of the English Language
- Medieval Literature
- Life in Medieval Britain
- The Canterbury Tales
- Mort d’Arthur
- “Medieval Night”
- Development of the English Language
- Medieval Drama
- Renaissance Literature
- 17th and 18th Century Literature
American Literature
- Colonial American Literature
- The New Nation
- Romantic Period
- Twentieth century American literature
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AP & SAT Links
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