What is this course about?

The AP English Language and Composition course aligns to an introductory college-level rhetoric and writing curriculum, which requires students to develop evidence-based analytic and argumentative essays that proceed through several stages or drafts. Students evaluate, synthesize, and cite research to support their arguments. Throughout the course, students develop a personal style by making appropriate grammatical choices. Additionally, students read and analyze the rhetorical elements and their effects in non-fiction texts, including graphic images as forms of text, from many disciplines and historical periods.

The AP English Language and Composition Exam (May) employs multiple-choice questions to test students’ skills in rhetorical analysis of prose passages. Students are also required to write three essays that demonstrate their skill in rhetorical analysis, argumentation, and synthesis of information from multiple sources to support the student’s own argument. Although the skills tested on the exam remain essentially the same from year to year, there may be some variation in format of the free-response (essay) questions.

As per The College Board, upon completing the AP English Language and Composition course, students should be able to:

analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques
Use effective rhetorical strategies and techniques when composing
Evaluate & incorporate sources into researched arguments
apply effective strategies and techniques in their own writing
create and sustain arguments based on readings, research and/or personal experience
write for a variety of purposes--produce expository, analytical and argumentative compositions that introduce a complex central idea and develop it with appropriate evidence drawn from primary and/or secondary sources with correct citations, cogent explanations and clear transitions
demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English as well as stylistic maturity in their own writings
Gain control over various reading & move effectively through the stages of the writing process, with careful attention to inquiry and research, drafting, revising, editing and review
write thoughtfully about their own process of composition
revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience
analyze image as text and multimodal texts for rhetorical features
converse and write reflectively about personal process of composition
respond to different writing tasks according to their unique rhetorical and composition demands, and translate that rhetorical assessment into a plan for writing

Hi everyone! My name is Meghan Kavalauskas, and I have been a Bobcat since 2016. I have been teaching since 2006 and still love every minute of my job! Even in remote learning during a pandemic! I truly think I am so lucky to do what I love everyday -- teach high school English! I attended the University of Iowa and then the University of Illinois at Chicago for my Bachelor's and Master's degrees. Before college, I grew up in Evergreen Park -- a community just south and a little west of Back of the Yards. Since then, I have lived in a few different neighborhoods around Chicago but always on the southside. I currently live in the Beverly area not far from school.

In the last few years my life has changed so much! In 2018, I got married. In 2019, we bought a house. And this year, I had a beautiful baby boy, Patrick, in the middle of the pandemic (quite the experience...). I consider myself so blessed because of the amazing family and friends I have. Life is so much more fun when you experience it with people you love! Before the marriage and baby, I traveled a ton and plan on continuing that past time! From spending the summer studying abroad in Amsterdam to traveling southeast Asia, I am always up for a new experience and learning about other cultures. My husband and I can't wait to take my son around the world!

Here at BOYCP, I teach AP Language & Composition and Young Adult Literature. Two very different but awesome courses that aim to make students better readers, writers, and communicators. Click on my classes to see the syllabus and more details.

Email: mesenjanin@cps.edu

Google Voice: 708-872-5023

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