Instructor: Anna Elliott
Work Phone: 903-537-3700 Ext. 2
Email: aelliott@mtvernonisd.com

Texts:
Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing by Roberts and Jacobs
The Prose Reader: Essays for Thinking, Reading, and Writing by Kim and Michael Flachman

Supplies:
Blue or black pen
Pencil
Highlighter
Three-subject college-ruled spiral notebook (reading responses, journal writing assignments, and notes)
Folder (heavy duty) with pockets

Course Description:
According to the College Board’s AP English Literature and Language course description, students will read actively in this rigorous college-level course. The reading material, which comes from a wide variety of genres, is challenging and requires careful deliberation, and the approach to analysis and interpretation involves students in learning. The writing is frequent and requires an independent mind. Students learn to make careful observations of textual detail, establish connections among their observations, and draw from those connections a series of inferences leading to an interpretive conclusion about a piece of writing’s meaning and value.

We will function as a community of learners. If you are committed to the work as well as to listening and learning from each other, this class will ultimately become one in which we are all teachers and students. Each member of the class will have a voice. We will learn from each other, read our writing aloud, work collaboratively on revisions, and share our thoughts, ideas, and observations with one another.

Course Objectives:
This course should enable you to:

 use a wide-ranging vocabulary with denotative accuracy and connotative
resourcefulness.

 use a variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of subordinate
and coordinate constructions.

 use a logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques of coherence
such as repetition, transitions, and emphasis.

 use a balance of generalization with specific illustrative detail.

 use effective rhetoric, including controlling tone, maintaining a consistent voice,
and achieving emphasis through parallelism and antithesis.

 explore literature from diverse cultures and times.

 develop independent thought through avid critical inquiry.

 enhance writing skills through frequent, challenging assignments.

 create a highly committed, focused, and collaborative community of learners.



Attendance and Class Participation:
Attendance in this class is extremely important and counts toward your final grade. If you are absent, it will be your responsibility to catch up BEFORE the next class. Your assignments are outlined in this syllabus so that there will be no questions about what you have missed. I will expect you to come to class prepared, so I encourage you to switch phone numbers with at least two people so that you can get any missed assignments. Please do not come to class and ask me what you missed. In addition, you are expected to participate in class discussion, which you will be unable to do if you are not prepared. You should pay attention and take good notes because you will be held responsible for anything that is discussed in this class. This material may be used on exams, quizzes, and writing assignments. If you want to visit, work on assignments from another class, or sleep, please do it somewhere else because this type of behavior wastes your time and my time.

Journal - An important device for learning and documenting your learning in this course is the journal. You will keep all of your rough drafts, reading responses, and notes in your journal. Each writing assignment should be on a separate piece of paper and must be at least one page in length to receive credit for that entry. Each reading response should start on a new sheet and include the title and date. You may use the backs of pages. Some journal entries may take several pages, so it is very important to keep your journal organized. At the top of the page of each entry, write the number of the writing assignment or the number of the reading response, write the title of the entry, the type of writing, or the title of the story, and the date. I will periodically and without warning grade your journal, so you should have it up-to-date and with you at all times.

Format for Papers - Your typed papers should be uniformly double-spaced from beginning to end and typed in a 12 point font of Times or Arial. Type your name, instructor's name, and date in the top left corner. Center your title, but do not underline it or put it quotations. Type your last name and page number in the top right corner starting on page two. Points will be deducted from your paper if you do not follow these instructions.

Late Work:
The grade that you receive for late work will follow the district policy. See your handbook if you have any questions.

Evaluation:
Final grades will be letter grades based on the following scale and weighted in the following manner:
A = 100 – 90
B = 89 – 80
C = 79 – 70








F = 69 and below

Essays, Tests, and Scrapbook ……………………………………………..80%
Reading Responses, Quizzes, and Journal Writing Assignments………20%

Outside Reading Requirements:

Summer: A Separate Peace by John Knowles; Lord of the Flies by William Golding

First Six Weeks: Beowulf ; “Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather pg. 157; “Barn Burning” by William Faulker pg. 170

Second Six Weeks: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte; “The Necklace” by Guy De Maupassant pg. 3; “Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell pg. 182

Third Six Weeks: Selected Poetry of Wordsworth, Dickinson, and Frost

Fourth Six Weeks: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou; “House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros pg. 258; “Shawl” by Cynthia Ozick pg. 274; “The Hammon and the Beans” by Americo Paredes pg. 358

Fifth Six Weeks: Hamlet by William Shakespeare; “Lottery” by Shirley Jackson pg. 233; “Neighbors” by Raymond Carver pg. 527

Sixth Six Weeks: Taming of the Shrew and Macbeth by William Shakespeare