Course Syllabus 2007-2008
kacunnin@queenanne.org;
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Course Description: The primary goal of the AP Literature class
is to develop your abilities as an independent reader and writer by
giving you a college-level course during your senior year. If you successfully complete the examination
in May, you can qualify for up to one year’s credit in English at the college
you attend next year.
Advanced
Placement Literature is both demanding and intellectually stimulating. It requires your best effort consistently and
puts emphasis upon your developing independence of thought and mature
habits of critical thinking.
Classroom discussion and active participation are vital and serve as a
means of testing your ideas. Written
assignments will be an important and frequent feature of the course. We will be working with a wide variety of
fiction, poetry, and drama – both classic and modern. You will be asked to read regularly and
carefully. You will be asked to write
often and with personal insight.
Class Rules:
·
ALL assignments
MUST be typed. This includes essays,
projects, and homework assignments. (“crashed”
computers, broken printers, lack of printer ink, or lost or damaged disks are
NOT acceptable excuses)
·
ALL typed
assignments MUST be PRINTED OUT.
Disks or flash drives are not acceptable methods for turning in work. Do not show up for class expecting to print
out your assignment on my computer – if you have no access to a working
printer at home, you’ll need to make arrangements IN ADVANCE to use your
advisor’s printer or to have work printed at the Proud Lion (remember, this is a 1st period
class – you’ll need to get to school BEFORE 8:00 in order to get your work
printed out on campus).
·
Late work
accepted only for a grade of “F/50” – assignments are due at the start of
class on the assigned due date; work turned in UP TO 24 HOURS LATE earns an
“F/50”; work turned in beyond the 24-hour limit, or not at all, earns a
“0”. Please note: An “F/50” earns you 50 points, a “0” earns
you 0 points – do the math; this can make a big difference in averaging your
quarter grade.
·
If you
miss class the day an assignment is due, but ARE IN
SCHOOL THAT DAY, you are still responsible to get the work to me by the end of
the day. Work turned in the next day
will be considered LATE. If you
know you will be missing class the day an assignment is due, see me in advance
to turn in your work.
·
Rewriting
– in general, essays in AP Lit CANNOT be rewritten for credit (this is due
mainly to the large number of essays assigned and the short time span between
assignments). Students who would like
the opportunity to rewrite a particular essay should see me individually. Please note:
rewritten essay grades are averaged with the original essay grade.
·
Freedom
of thought and expression REQUIRED
·
Rudeness
and disrespect WILL NOT BE TOLERATED
· You are REQUIRED to take the AP English Lit exam on Thursday, May 8, 2008.
Course Outline (subject to change!):
·
The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, and Madame
Bovary, by Gustav Flaubert – Summer Reading discussion and essays
(discussion, editing, and introduction to the “Timed Writing”)
·
Constructing College Application Essays
·
The Story and its Writer – “AP Boot Camp”
(three intensive weeks of learning to write quickly and accurately about
literature) – we will be examining short stories from a wide variety of
sources; and we will be writing, writing, writing!
We will read the following:
·
Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad
·
Notes From Underground, by Fyodor
Dostoevsky
·
Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
o
You will do a class presentation on one aspect
of Ellison’s novel
·
We will be reading the following:
·
A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine
Hansberry [short
unit will take place before and after Christmas break]
·
Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
We will focus on a variety of classical and modern poetry,
with special emphasis on individual interpretation, in-class “timed writing,”
and poetic theory and terminology.
·
“Live Poet’s Society” – you will do a class
presentation on a living poet of your own choosing
Everything you need to know to take the AP Exam, scheduled
for Thursday morning, May 8.
We’ll do practice tests, talk about the scoring, work on planning and
writing essays, think about the books/plays/stories/poems we’ve read and loved,
and get ready for success!
You will take the exam.
You will pass the exam. End of
story!
Grading Policies:
Preparation for and participation in class are essential and
expected daily, however you will not be GRADED for participation. You are required to keep up with the daily
reading assignments (which can be substantial) and turn in written assignments
and projects ON TIME. Keep the following
in mind:
·
Late work (up to 1-day only) earns an
“F/50”; missing work earns a “0” (see info under “Class Rules” for more detail about this)
·
Grading guidelines:
Essays, in-class “timed writings” & major assignments 80%
Homework (assigned mainly during the poetry unit) 20%