Mr. Young's AP Lang
Mr. Young awkwardly smiling with his 2018 RHS Teacher of the Year trophy. To the right is Grace Sykes (RHS 2018) who received the Shondrell Green Outstanding Senior Award that year.
Detailed Introduction to the Course
Introduction to ap English languageLink to join AP Lang Remind messages: https://www.remind.com/join/7kh722d
AP English Lang Remind Code 2021-2022.pdfClass overview
Advanced Placement English Language focuses on reading, writing, argumentation, research, and rhetoric. The class requires quite a bit of reading and a whole lot of writing. Students will write three different types of essays: rhetorical analysis, argumentative synthesis, and persuasive argument. Students should expect to write at least one of these types of essays every three weeks.
The official College Board course description is available here.
Sign up for messages using Remind to get text messages regarding important due dates, exam prep, and other important announcements.
You can also email me at matt.young@rsdk12.net and can request to be added to the Google Classroom page where you will get weekly summaries of student assignments and materials.
Of couse, you may also contact me if you have any questions or issues. Reach out to me via email, Remind, or the feedback form at the bottom of this page.
What to expect...
Students will receive as many assignments as there are school days in a week. A typical week will have 5 assignments, shorter weeks will have fewer. Each assignment must be completed to receive credit for attendance!
The assignments will be posted on Google Classroom in the intended completion order. The assignments will typically build on each other, so students should complete the assignment on the top and move to the next one down until they complete each week's assigments. Responses in early assignments will often be used to complete assignments later in the week.
I will always post assignments by Monday morning. They are always due Friday evening.
Late work policy
If students cannot get work finished on time, they need to contact me via Remind or email. I will decide on a case-by-case basis to allow late work. If there is no contact, then each assignment gets a zero, and the student is marked absent.
Plagiarism & cheating
Unfortunately, working online provides students with relatively easy ways to cheat. This course focuses on building skills, so cheating is essentially the same as skipping practice for a sport or music. No one gets better by having someone else shoot their practice shots or play their instrument. As with any skill, it is better to attempt and fail than to just quit (or cheat).
I have several means of detecting plagiarized content, including Google Analytics which searches the internet for copied text. When I first catch a student submitting work that is not their own, I will send it back ungraded. The student may attempt to complete the assignment as long as they can meet the deadline.
The second attempt to cheat will result in a zero with no chance to resubmit.
A sample of a plagiarized essay with sections highlighted by Google Analytics
Reading Level of Course Texts and Volume of Reading
The College Board does not prescribe specific texts for an AP English Language and Composition course. That said, several guidelines are useful in determining the appropriateness of texts used in this course. These guidelines include the following:
Texts that represent a clear rhetorical situation (e.g., topical nonfiction)
Texts that speak to one another through a variety of genres
Texts that could be read in an introductory composition class in college
Texts that require teacher direction for students to discern meaning
Texts that rate as upper high school level on a Lexile chart
Neither does the College Board prescribe an amount of reading for an AP English Language and Composition course. Several questions, however, are useful in assessing the volume of reading students should be assigned in this course:
Are students reading challenging texts every day?
Do students employ rereading as an interpretive strategy?
Do students gain sufficient practice to develop skills in reading purposefully and rhetorically?
Do students write on a regular basis about what others have written?
Do the selected readings provoke responses from multiple perspectives and thus generate public discussion?
Are students given the opportunity to immerse themselves in substantive texts—ones that require several days or weeks to read—as well as texts that can be read and reread within a single class period?
Are students spending at least eight hours per week (both inside and outside of class) engaged in their reading and writing? Is there a clear connection between their reading and writing?
Are students reading texts that require teacher involvement or scaffolding, or can the texts be read independently?
Taken from the AP English Language Course and Exam Description, 2019
Books Used in This Class
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel helps students retain their familiarity with literary techniques and how they create meaning. The text's themes, symbolism, and characters provide ample opportunity to discuss topical issues including social class and economics.
Fast Food Nation
Eric Schlosser's in depth investigation of the economics of the fast food model provides innumerable opportunities to discuss nutrition, health, environmental, occupational, and economic topics.
In Cold Blood
Truman Capote's investigation of the Clutter family's murder, the ensuing manhunt, and the eventual trial provides opportunities for discussions about law & order, nature vs. nurture, and the limits of trusting nonfiction.
Student Reading Choice
Students will also be encouraged to read books of their own choosing. A list of texts available in the RHS Library and Mr. Young's classroom library is below.
Controversial Textual Content
Issues that might, from particular social, historical, or cultural viewpoints, be considered controversial, including references to ethnicities, nationalities, religions, races, dialects, gender, or class, may be addressed in texts that are appropriate for the AP English Language and Composition course. Fair representation of issues and peoples may occasionally include controversial material. Since AP students have chosen a program that directly involves them in college-level work, participation in this course depends on a level of maturity consistent with the age of high school students who have engaged in thoughtful analyses of a variety of texts. The best response to controversial language or ideas in a text might well be a question about the larger meaning, purpose, or overall effect of the language or idea in context. AP students should have the maturity, skill, and will to seek the larger meaning of a text or issue through thoughtful research.
Taken from the AP English Language Course and Exam Description, 2019
