AP English Language and Composition

Course Description

This college-level course is designed to empower students with the critical reading, writing, and rhetorical analysis skills necessary to become effective communicators and discerning consumers of language. AP English Language and Composition focuses on analyzing nonfiction texts from a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts, while also guiding students to craft their own persuasive and analytical writing with clarity, purpose, and sophistication.
Throughout the course, students will explore a diverse array of essays, speeches, articles, and visual texts, examining how authors use rhetorical strategies to inform, persuade, and motivate audiences. Emphasis is placed on argumentation, synthesis of multiple sources, and the development of a clear and coherent writing style. Students will engage in frequent writing workshops, peer review sessions, timed writing exercises, and revisions that mimic the rigor of college composition.

By the end of the course, students will be prepared to take the AP English Language and Composition Exam, demonstrating their ability to analyze rhetorical choices and craft nuanced arguments with strong lines of reasoning, sophisticated use of evidence, and developed commentary.

Course Big Ideas

Rhetorical Situation (RHS)
- Key Concept: Writers make rhetorical choices based on their purpose, audience, and context.
- Students learn to analyze and consider the relationships between speaker, audience, purpose, exigence, and context in both their own writing and the texts they read.
Claims and Evidence (CLE)
- Key Concept: Effective arguments require a clear claim supported by relevant and specific evidence.
- Students evaluate how writers use evidence to support claims and how to construct their own well-supported arguments.
Reasoning and Organization (REO)
- Key Concept: Writing must be organized logically and use reasoning that connects evidence to claims.
- This includes understanding structure, transitions, and the flow of ideas in both reading and writing.
Style (STL)
- Key Concept: Writers use stylistic choices—such as diction, tone, syntax, and figurative language—to enhance meaning and engage the audience.
- Students analyze how stylistic elements influence meaning and practice using them purposefully in their writing.
Argumentation (ARG)
- Key Concept: Effective arguments involve understanding and responding to opposing viewpoints.
- Students learn to develop nuanced arguments, address counterarguments, and refine their argumentative strategies.
Synthesis (SYN)
- Key Concept: Writers integrate information from multiple sources to inform and support their arguments.
- Students practice combining source material into coherent arguments, with appropriate attribution and citation.

Course Essential Questions

What is rhetoric, and how do authors tailor their messages based on audience, purpose, exigencies, and context?
How do the elements of the rhetorical situation influence meaning in a text?
In what ways can understanding the rhetorical situation improve our own communication?
What makes a claim effective and persuasive?
How do writers use evidence to develop and support their arguments?
How can we evaluate the credibility and relevance of evidence?
How do writers organize their arguments to enhance clarity and impact?
What role does reasoning play in the effectiveness of an argument?
How do transitions and structure influence a reader’s understanding?
How do writers use style to convey meaning and engage their audience?
What is the relationship between diction, syntax, and tone?
How can developing a personal style improve our writing?
What strategies do writers use to craft effective arguments?
How do writers respond to opposing viewpoints in a respectful and convincing way?
What responsibilities do writers have when persuading an audience?
How do we bring together multiple sources to form a cohesive argument?
What challenges arise when integrating other voices into our writing?
How can synthesis strengthen the persuasiveness and depth of an argument?

Course Competencies

Critically Read and Respond to Nonfiction Texts
- Comprehend and interpret complex nonfiction texts from a range of time periods and genres.
- Annotate texts to track claims, evidence, rhetorical strategies, and style.
- Respond to readings with informed, analytical writing and discussion.
Analyze the Rhetorical Situation
- Identify the speaker, audience, purpose, exigencies, and context of a given text.
- Explain how the rhetorical situation shapes the choices an author makes.
- Analyze how writers adapt their message to specific audiences and situations.
Recognize and Evaluate Rhetorical Strategies
- Identify rhetorical appeals (ethos, pathos, logos) and techniques (e.g., repetition, allusion, analogy).
- Evaluate how rhetorical strategies contribute to a writer’s argument or message.
- Analyze how structure, tone, and diction affect the meaning and effectiveness of a text.
Develop and Support Arguments
- Craft clear, defensible thesis statements and central claims.
- Support claims with relevant, specific evidence from texts and personal knowledge.
- Explain how evidence supports reasoning and contributes to the overall argument.
Organize and Structure Writing Effectively
- Write well-organized essays that follow a logical progression of ideas.
- Use effective transitions to enhance cohesion and clarity.
- Employ various organizational patterns (e.g., cause-effect, compare-contrast, narration, definition, etc.) for rhetorical effect.
Demonstrate Command of Style
- Use diction, syntax, tone, and figurative language purposefully to strengthen writing.
- Apply sentence variety and punctuation for clarity, emphasis, and style.
- Adapt tone and voice for different audiences and contexts.
Engage in Synthesis
- Accurately summarize and paraphrase source material.
- Integrate multiple sources into a cohesive argument with proper attribution.
- Use evidence from diverse texts to support original claims while maintaining a clear voice.
Write in Multiple Modes
- Compose rhetorical analysis, argument, and synthesis essays under timed and untimed conditions.
- Demonstrate proficiency in revision and editing processes.
- Practice reflective writing to evaluate personal growth in reading and writing skills.

Course Assessments

Timed Writings (AP Exam Prompts) – Rhetorical Analysis, Argument, & Synthesis
Peer Review/Workshops
AP Multiple-Choice Practice & Assessments
Discussions
Double-Entry Notebooks
Annotations
Independent Book Project
Various Creative Assessments
Vocabulary Assessments
College Essay
AP Exam OR Final Exam

Course Units

Unit 1: Understanding the Rhetorical Situation - Voices in Times of Crisis

Standards

AP English Language & Composition College Board Standards

1.A Reading – Identify and describe the components of the rhetorical situation: the exigence, audience, purpose, context, and message.
3.A Reading – Identify and explain claims and evidence within an argument.
4.A Writing – Develop a paragraph that includes a claim and evidence supporting the claim.

Know

The rhetorical situation of a text collectively refers to the exigence, purpose, audience, writer, context, and message.
The exigence is the part of the rhetorical situation that inspires, stimulates, provokes, or prompts writers to create a text.
The purpose of a text is what the writer hopes to accomplish with it.
Writers may have more than one purpose in a text.
An audience of a text has shared as well as individuals beliefs, values, needs, and backgrounds.
Writers create texts within a particular context that includes the time, place, and occasion.
Writers convey their positions through one or more claims that require a defense.
Types of evidence may include facts, anecdotes, analogies, statistics, examples, details, illustrations, expert opinions, personal observations, personal experiences, testimonies, or experiments.
Effective claims provoke interest and require a defense, rather than simply stating an obvious, known fact that requires no defense or justification.
Writers relate source materials to their own argument by syntactically embedding particular quotes, paraphrased, or summarized information from one or more sources into their own ideas.

Understanding/Key Learning

Do

Recognize that individuals write within a particular situation and make strategic writing choices based on that situation.
Evaluate the effect of the rhetorical situation on the writer’s choices.
Defend a writer’s choices given the rhetorical situation.
Identify and describe the components of the rhetorical situation in a given piece: the exigence, audience, purpose, context, and message.
Identify and explain claims and evidence within an argument.

Unit Essential Questions

Lesson Essential Questions

Who or what is the writer, audience, message, purpose, and context that comprise this rhetorical situation?
What provoked or inspired the writer to develop this text?
What is the writer’s purpose for developing this text?
How does the writer consider the rhetorical situation when crafting their message?
What perspectives on the subject might the audience have due to their shared and/or individual beliefs, values, needs, and backgrounds?
How do the writer’s choices in the text reflect both the constraints and the available means of persuasion within the context?
How do the writer’s rhetorical choices in the introduction and/or conclusion not only reflect their purpose and context but also address the intended audience’s needs and perspective on the subject?
How does the writer anticipate and address the audience’s values, beliefs, needs, and background, particularly as they relate to the subject of the argument?
How do the writer’s rhetorical choices achieve their purpose and relate to the audience’s emotions and values?
In their argument, how does the writer seek to persuade or motivate action though appeals—the modes of persuasion?
How does the writer make comparisons (e.g., similes, metaphors, analogies, or anecdotes) in order to relate to the audience and advance the writer’s purposes?
How does the writer’s choices in diction and syntax influence how the audience perceives the writer and the degree to which an audience may accept the writer’s argument?
How does the writer’s word choice reflect their biases and possibly affect their credibility with a particular audience?
How does the writer tailor the evidence, organization, and language of their argument in consideration of both the context of the rhetorical situation and the intended audience’s perspectives on the subject and the audience’s needs?

Materials/Resources

Anchor Text: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (Part I)

Books

Ideas in Argument: Building Skills and Understanding
50 Essays: A Portable Anthology
The Language of Composition

Short Texts

Greta Thunberg’s Address the UN Climate Action Summit (September 2019)
Philonise Floyd’s Statement to US Congress (June 2020)
Mary Fisher’s “A Whisper of AIDS” (1992)
Robert F. Kennedy’s Statement on the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968)
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Address Following the Bombing of Pearl Harbor (1941)
“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan
“Four Freedoms” Speech by Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1941)
“Why We Crave Horror” by Stephen King
“The World Doesn’t Love You” (excerpt from Born a Crime) by Trevor Noah
“This I Believe” Essays
“We Go to the Moon” - John F. Kennedy’s Address to Rice University (1962)
“In the Event of a Moon Disaster” speech by William Safire (for Richard Nixon)
“The Perils of Indifference” by Elie Wiesel

Visual Texts

A variety of editorial cartoons, commercials, advertisements, film excerpts, etc.
“Four Freedoms” by Norman Rockwell
September 11th Visual Texts (New Yorker Covers)

Digital Texts

Various current OpEds & news articles from a variety of sources
Allsides.com
Theflipside.io

Website Resources

Coach Hall Writes (YouTube)
Garden of English (YouTube)
College Board Review Lessons (YouTube)
Released AP Prompts
AP Classroom Selections

1.B Reading – Explain how an argument demonstrates understanding of an audience’s beliefs, values, or needs.
2.B Writing – Demonstrate an understanding of an audience’s beliefs, values, or needs.
3.A Reading – Identify and explain claims and evidence within an argument.
4.A Writing – Develop a paragraph that includes a claim and evidence supporting the claim.
3.B Reading – Identify and describe the overarching thesis of an argument, and any indication it provides of the argument’s structure.
4.B Writing – Write a thesis statement that requires proof or defense and that may preview the structure of the argument.

Know

The audience has distinct values, beliefs, backgrounds, and needs.
Writers adapt their message to an intended audience’s emotions and values in order to achieve their purpose for writing or speaking.
Rhetorical choices include content, tone, and word choice.
Arguments seek to persuade or motivate action through appeals—the modes of persuasion.
Writers use evidence strategically and purposefully to illustrate, clarify, set a mood, exemplify, associate, or amplify a point.
Strategically selected evidence strengthens the validity and reasoning of the argument, relates to an audience’s emotions and values, and increases a writer’s credibility.
An effective argument contains sufficient evidence; evidence is sufficient when its quantity and quality provide apt support for the argument.
A thesis is the main, overarching claim a writer is seeking to defend or prove by using reasoning supported by evidence.
A writer’s thesis is not necessarily a single sentence or an explicit statement and may require a thorough reading of the text to identify, but when a thesis is directly expressed, it is called a thesis statement.
Effective writers develop commentary to establish a logical relationship between the evidence and the claim it supports.

Understanding/Key Learning

Do

Identify the overarching thesis of an argument and describe any indication it provides of the argument’s structure.
Identify and explain claims and evidence within an argument.
Explain how a writer exhibits understanding of an audience’s beliefs, values, or needs.
Articulate the writer’s purpose.
Determine the rhetorical choices a writer makes to achieve his/her purpose.
Select specific evidence to support your claim regarding a writer’s choice.
Explain how that evidence supports your claim about the writer’s choice.
Evaluate how that choice achieves the writer’s purpose.
Write a thesis statement that requires proof or defense and that may preview the structure of the argument.
Develop a paragraph that includes a claim and evidence supporting the claim.
Make rhetorical choices that demonstrate an understanding of an audience’s beliefs, values, or needs.

Unit Essential Questions

How does an audience influence the writer’s choices?
How does strategically selected and sufficient evidence support and strengthen an argument?
How do a writer’s choices advance their overarching purpose or message?
How can you describe an argument’s overarching thesis and what it suggests about the argument’s structure?
How can you craft a defensible thesis?
What is the best evidence to support a claim?

Lesson Essential Questions

How does the writer anticipate and address the audience’s values, beliefs, needs, and background, particularly as they relate to the subject of the argument?
How do the writer’s rhetorical choices achieve their purpose and relate to the audience’s emotions and values?
In their argument, how does the writer seek to persuade or motivate action though appeals–the modes of persuasion?
How does the writer make comparisons (similes, metaphors, analogies, or anecdotes) in order to relate to the audience and advance the writer’s purpose?
How does the writer’s choices in diction and syntax influence how the audience perceives the writer and the degree to which an audience may accept the writer’s argument?
How does the writer tailor the evidence, organization, and language of their argument in consideration of both the context of the rhetorical situation and the intended audience’s perspectives on the subject and the audience’s needs?
What claim does the writer attempt to defend?
What kind of evidence does the writer use to defend their claim?
How does the writer’s choice of evidence reflect the rhetorical situation and advance their purposes?
How can you develop a thesis of appropriate scope for the rhetorical situation and avoid oversimplifying complex subjects?
What syntactical and word choices might you make to develop your thesis statement?
How might you preview your argument’s line of reasoning in your thesis statement?
How might you revise your thesis in light of new evidence?
Who is the intended audience of your argument?
What do you know or assume about your audience’s values, beliefs, needs, and background, particularly as they relate to the subject of your argument?
What rhetorical choices might you make to achieve your purpose and relate to your audience’s emotions and values?
How might you seek to persuade or motivate your audience through use of the appeals?
How might you make comparisons that your audience will understand?

Materials/Resources

Anchor Text: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (Part II)

Books

Ideas in Argument: Building Skills and Understanding
50 Essays: A Portable Anthology
The Language of Composition

Short Texts

Abigail Adams Letter to Her Son, John Quincy Adams (1780)
Sojourner Truth Address to Women’s Rights Convention (1851)
Hillary Rodham Clinton’s remarks to the Fourth United Nations Conference in Beijing, China (1995)
Patrick Henry’s Address to the Virginia Convention (1775)
“On Patriotism” by Donald Kagan
Barack Obama Election Victory Speech (2008)
“The ‘F’ Word” from Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas
“Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples
“You’ve Got to Have Hope” by Harvey Milk

Visual Texts

Bluey: “Sleepytime” and “Rain”
Modern Adaptation of “Four Freedoms”

Digital Texts

Various current OpEds & news articles from a variety of sources
Allsides.com
Theflipside.io

Website Resources

Coach Hall Writes (YouTube)
Garden of English (YouTube)
College Board Review Lessons (YouTube)
Released AP Prompts
AP Classroom Selections

3.A Reading – Identify and explain claims and evidence within an argument.
4.A Writing – Develop a paragraph that includes a claim and evidence supporting the claim.
5.A Reading – Describe the line of reasoning and explain whether it supports an argument’s overarching thesis.
6.A Writing – Develop a line of reasoning and commentary that explains it throughout an argument.
5.C Reading – Recognize and explain the use of methods of development to accomplish a purpose.
6.C Writing – Use appropriate methods of development to advance an argument.

Know

Writers use commentary to establish a logical relationship between the evidence and the claim it supports.
Writers introduce source material by using commentary to properly integrate it into their line of reasoning.
Synthesis requires consideration, explanation, and integration of others’ arguments into one’s own argument.
Writers must acknowledge words, ideas, images, texts, and other intellectual property of others through attribution, citation, or reference.
Writers may lead readers through a line of reasoning and then arrive at a thesis.
Writers may express a claim and then develop a line of reasoning to justify the claim.
Commentary explains the significance and relevance of evidence in relation to the line of reasoning.
The sequence of paragraphs in a text reveals the argument’s line of reasoning.
Flaws in a line of reasoning may render an argument illogical.
Methods of development are common approaches writers frequently use to develop and organize the reasoning of their arguments.
A method of development provides an audience with the means to trace a writer’s reasoning in an argument.
Some typical methods of development are narration, cause-effect, comparison-contrast, definition, and description.
When developing ideas through narration, writers offer details about real-life experiences and offer reflections and insights on the significance of those experiences.

Understanding/Key Learning

Do

Identify and explain claims and evidence within an argument.
Describe the line of reasoning and explain whether it supports an argument’s overarching thesis.
Recognize and explain the use of methods of development to accomplish a purpose.
Craft a thesis that previews a line of reasoning.
Develop a paragraph that includes a claim and evidence supporting the claim.
Develop a line of reasoning and commentary that explains it throughout an argument.
Use appropriate methods of development to advance an argument.

Unit Essential Questions

As a reader, how can you determine if an argument's line of reasoning supports the thesis and is logical.
As a writer, how can you organize a text to help communicate your line of reasoning?
As a reader, how do you understand the thinking behind writers’ arguments–the relationships between their evidence and their claim?
As a writer, how can you integrate source material to strengthen your argument?
How are methods of development used to accomplish a writer’s purpose?
How can I use methods of development to advance my argumentative writing?

Lesson Essential Questions

Where in the text does the writer establish a claim or present his/her thesis, and why might they have chosen this particular placement?
How does the writer use particular sentences and words to establish a claim?
What is the function (to illustrate, to clarify, to associate, to amplify, to qualify a point) of a particular evidence in the writer’s argument, and how do they convey that function?
How does the writer’s commentary establish a logical relationship between evidence and the claim it supports?
How does the writer’ thesis preview their argument’s line of reasoning?
How does the writer’s reasoning through commentary logically connect chosen evidence to claim?
Does the writer demonstrate any flaws in their reasoning, and if so, how does this flawed reasoning affect the argument?
Which method(s) of development does the writer select to develop their ideas?
How does the writer organize ideas when using a particular method of development?
What claim are you attempting to defend, and how does that claim convey your position on the subject?
How might you use particular sentences and words to establish a claim?
What kinds of evidence might you use to defend your claim?
How does your commentary establish a logical relationship between evidence and the claim it supports?
Considering your line of reasoning, which method of development might you use to develop your ideas and advance your purposes?
How do you organize your ideas when using particular methods of development?

Materials/Resources

Anchor Text: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (Parts III & IV)

Books

Ideas in Argument: Building Skills and Understanding
50 Essays: A Portable Anthology
The Language of Composition

Short Texts

William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech (1950)
Excerpt from Fast Food Nation
Madeleine Albright’s Commencement Address to Mount Holyoke College
“Prancer” Rhetorical Analysis Prompt
from C Word in the Hallway Anna Quindlen
“Not by Math Alone” Sandra Day O’Connor
“Citizenship in a Republic” by Theodore Roosevelt
Girls Who Code Excerpt by Reshma Saujani from American Like Me (2024 AP Lang Released Prompt)

Visual Texts

Nancy Duarte’s “The Secret Structure of Great Talks” TED Talk
Monty Python’s Skit: Argument Clinic

Digital Texts

Various current OpEds & news articles from a variety of sources
Allsides.com
Theflipside.io

Website Resources

Coach Hall Writes (YouTube)
Garden of English (YouTube)
College Board Review Lessons (YouTube)
Released AP Prompts
AP Classroom Selections

Vocabulary

Thesis
Evidence
Commentary
Classical Argument
Inductive Reasoning
Deductive Reasoning
Counterargument
Refutation
Concession
Methods of Development
Cause-Effect
Problem-Solution
Narration
Definition
Description
Process Analysis
Analogies
Anecdotes
Claims
Evidence
Examples
Experiments
Expert Opinion
Facts
Illustrations
Paraphrase
Personal Observation
PositionQuote
Reasoning
Statistics
Summarize
Testimony

1.A Reading – Identify and describe the components of the rhetorical situation: the exigence, audience, purpose, context, and message.
2.A Writing – Write introductions and conclusions appropriate to the purpose and context of the rhetorical situation.
3.B Reading – Identify and describe the overarching thesis of an argument, and any indication it provides of the argument’s structure.
4.B Writing – Write a thesis statement that requires proof or defense and that may preview the structure of the argument.
5.C Reading – Recognize and explain the use of methods of development to accomplish a purpose.
6.C Writing – Use appropriate methods of development to advance an argument.

Know

The introduction of an argument introduces the subject and/or writer of the argument to the audience. An introduction may present the argument’s thesis. An introduction may orient, engage, and/or focus the audience by presenting quotations, intriguing statements, anecdotes, questions, statistics, data, contextualized information, or a scenario.
The conclusion of an argument brings the argument to a unified end. A conclusion may present the argument’s thesis. It may engage and/or focus the audience by explaining the significance of the argument within a broader context, making connections, calling the audience to act, suggesting a change in behavior or attitude, proposing a solution, leaving the audience with a compelling image, explaining implications, summarizing the argument, or connecting to the introduction.
A thesis statement may preview the line of reasoning of an argument. This is not to say that a thesis statement must list the points of an argument, aspects to be analyzed, or specific evidence to be used in an argument.
Methods of development are common approaches writers frequently use to develop and organize the reasoning of their arguments.
A method of development provides an audience with the means to trace a writer’s reasoning in an argument.
When developing ideas through comparison-contrast, writers present a category of comparison and then examine the similarities and/or differences between the objects of the comparison.
When developing ideas through a definition or description, writers relate the characteristics, features, or sensory details of an object or idea, sometimes using examples or illustrations.

Understanding/Key Learning

Individuals write within a particular situation and make strategic writing choices based on that situation.
Writers make claims about subjects, rely on evidence that supports the reasoning that justifies the claim, and often acknowledge or respond to other, possibly opposing arguments.
Writers guide understanding of a text’s lines of reasoning and claims through that text’s organization and integration of evidence.

Do

Assess the critical role the rhetorical situation plays in determining a writer’s choices.
Identify and describe the overarching thesis of an argument, and any indication it provides of the argument’s structure.
Describe the line of reasoning and explain how it creates unity and coherence.
Recognize and explain the use of methods of development to accomplish a purpose.
Explain how word choice, comparisons, and syntax contribute to the specific tone or style of a text.
Write introductions that situate the argument in the broader context.
Craft conclusions that relate back to elements presented in the introduction.
Write a thesis statement that requires proof or defense and that may preview the structure of the argument.
Devise nuanced thesis statements.
Develop a line of reasoning and commentary that explains it throughout an argument.

Unit Essential Questions

How does a writer address the purpose and context of the rhetorical situation in an introduction and conclusion of an essay?
How might a thesis statement preview the line of reasoning?
As a reader, how do I recognize and explain the methods of development a writer uses to achieve a purpose?
As a writer, how can I advance my argument with appropriate methods of development?

Lesson Essential Questions

How and why does the writer organize ideas when using a particular method of development?
What is the relationship between the method of development a writer uses and their line of reasoning?
How does the writer’s sequencing of paragraphs reveal the argument’s line of reasoning?
How does the writer organize and arrange their ideas to develop a coherent argument?
How does the writer use repetition, synonyms, pronouns, or parallel structure to indicate or develop a relationship between the elements of a text?
How does the writer use transitional elements to show relationships among ideas and create coherence among sentences, paragraphs, or sections of their argument?
How does the writer choose descriptive words and words with particular connotations to create a tone?
What are the components of your rhetorical situation?
What are the particular circumstances of the context in which you write, and how do these circumstances inform your writing choices?
What are your audience’s knowledge, beliefs, values, and perspective regarding the subject?
What is your relationship to the audience?

Materials/Resources

Books

Ideas in Argument: Building Skills and Understanding
50 Essays: A Portable Anthology
The Language of Composition

Short Texts

Okefenokee Swamp Passage (1999 AP Lang Released Prompt)
“Birds” excerpt from Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (2004 AP Lang Released Prompt)
“The Obligation to Endure” excerpt from Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
“Owl” by Mary Oliver
“Living Like Weasels” by Annie Dillard
“Santa Ana Winds” from Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
Cesar Chavez speech to Pacific Lutheran University (March 1989)

Visual Texts

A Life on Our Planet David Attenborough Documentary (2020)
Rachel Carson's Silent Spring clip from PBS

Digital Texts

Various current OpEds & news articles from a variety of sources
Allsides.com
Theflipside.io

Website Resources

Coach Hall Writes (YouTube)
Garden of English (YouTube)
College Board Review Lessons (YouTube)
Released AP Prompts
AP Classroom Selections

5.A Reading – Describe the line of reasoning and explain whether it supports an argument’s overarching thesis.
5.B Reading – Explain how the organization of a text creates unity and coherence and reflects a line of reasoning.
5.C Reading – Recognize and explain the use of methods of development to accomplish a purpose.
6.A Writing – Develop a line of reasoning and commentary that explains it throughout an argument.
6.B Writing – Use transitional elements to guide the reader through the line of reasoning of an argument.
6.C Writing – Use appropriate methods of development to advance an argument.
7.A Reading – Explain how word choice, comparisons, and syntax contribute to the specific tone or style of a text.
8.A Writing – Strategically use words, comparisons, and syntax to convey a specific tone or style in an argument.

Know

The body paragraphs of a written argument make claims, support them with evidence, and provide commentary that explains how the paragraph contributes to the reasoning of the argument.
Coherence occurs at different levels in a piece of writing.
Repetition, synonyms, pronoun references, and parallel structure may indicate or develop a relationship between elements of a text.
Transitional elements are words or other elements (phrases, clauses, sentences, or paragraphs) that assist in creating coherence among sentences, paragraphs, or sections in a text by showing relationships among ideas.
Transitional elements can be used to introduce evidence or to indicate its relationship to other ideas or evidence in that paragraph or in the text as a whole.
Words have both connotative and denotative meanings.
Descriptive words, such as adjectives and adverbs, not only qualify or modify the things they describe but also convey a perspective toward those things.
Precise word choice reduces confusion and may help the audience perceive the writer’s perspective.

Understanding/Key Learning

Do

Describe the line of reasoning and explain how it creates unity and coherence.
Recognize and explain the use of methods of development to accomplish a purpose.
Explain how word choice, comparisons, and syntax contribute to the specific tone or style of a text.
Write introductions that situate the argument in the broader context.
Craft conclusions that relate back to elements presented in the introduction.
Write a thesis statement that requires proof or defense and that may preview the structure of the argument.
Devise nuanced thesis statements.
Develop a line of reasoning and commentary that explains it throughout an argument.
Select specific evidence to support all claims in a line of reasoning.
Explain how that evidence supports individual claims and the text’s overall thesis.
Determine appropriate methods of development to advance an argument.
Integrate transitional elements to guide the reader through the line of reasoning of an argument.
Strategically use words, comparisons, and syntax to convey a specific tone or style in an argument.

Unit Essential Questions

How does a writer address the purpose and context of the rhetorical situation in an introduction and conclusion of an essay?
How might a thesis statement preview the line of reasoning?
As a reader, how do I recognize and explain the methods of development a writer uses to achieve a purpose?
As a writer, how can I advance my argument with appropriate methods of development?
What role do body paragraphs play in laying out your line of reasoning?
How does a text create unity and coherence that use transitions to guide readers through a line of reasoning?
How do word choice, comparisons, and the arrangement of words convey a writer’s attitude toward readers and the chosen subject?

Lesson Essential Questions

How and why does the writer organize ideas when using a particular method of development?
What is the relationship between the method of development a writer uses and their line of reasoning?
How does the writer’s sequencing of paragraphs reveal the argument’s line of reasoning?
How does the writer organize and arrange their ideas to develop a coherent argument?
How does the writer use repetition, synonyms, pronouns, or parallel structure to indicate or develop a relationship between the elements of a text?
How does the writer use transitional elements to show relationships among ideas and create coherence among sentences, paragraphs, or sections of their argument?
How does the writer choose descriptive words and words with particular connotations to create a tone?
What are the components of your rhetorical situation?
What are the particular circumstances of the context in which you write, and how do these circumstances inform your writing choices?
What are your audience’s knowledge, beliefs, values, and perspective regarding the subject?
What is your relationship to the audience?
How do you want the audience to perceive you?
Where in your argument should your thesis be placed in order to best serve your purpose and your awareness of the audience?
What rhetorical choices can you make in your introduction and conclusion in order to engage your audience?
What should your introduction and conclusion accomplish?
Considering your line of reasoning, which methods of development might you use to develop your ideas and advance your purposes?
How do you organize your ideas when using particular methods of development?
How do you address the subject’s complexities in your reasoning and avoid oversimplifications and generalizations?
How does the reasoning in your commentary logically connect chosen evidence to a claim?
How might you sequence the paragraphs of your argument to enhance your line of reasoning?
How might you select and use transitional elements to achieve coherence at different levels in your argument?
Which words might you choose in your argument after considering not only the words’ denotations and connotations but also their potential effect in the rhetorical situation?

Materials/Resources

Anchor Text: “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Books

Ideas in Argument: Building Skills and Understanding
50 Essays: A Portable Anthology
The Language of Composition

Short Texts

Cesar Chavez
From The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
“Why Poverty Is Like a Disease” by Christian H. Cooper
“Black Superheroes Matter” by Tre Johnson
“What Artists Can Do” by Lin-Manuel Miranda
“He Was Telling a Different Type of Truth” by Kendrick Lamar
Cesar Chavez 2015 Released AP Prompt
Cesar Chavez speech to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1990)
“Indian Education” by Sherman Alexie
Mohandas Gandhi 2019 Released AP Prompt

Visual Texts

“We need to talk about injustice” Bryan Stevenson (TED Talk)

Digital Texts

Various current OpEds & news articles from a variety of sources
Allsides.com
Theflipside.io

Website Resources

Coach Hall Writes (YouTube)
Garden of English (YouTube)
College Board Review Lessons (YouTube)
Released AP Prompts
AP Classroom Selections

1.A Reading – Identify and describe components of the rhetorical situation: the exigence, audience, writer, purpose, context, and message
2.A Writing – Write introductions and conclusions appropriate to the purpose and context of the rhetorical situation.
3.A Reading – Identify and explain claims and evidence within an argument.
4.A Writing – Develop a paragraph that includes a claim and evidence supporting the claim.
3.B Reading – Identify and describe the overarching thesis of an argument, and any indication it provides of the argument’s structure.
3.C Reading – Explain ways claims are qualified through modifiers, counterarguments, and alternative perspectives.
4.B Writing – Write a thesis statement that requires proof or defense and that may preview the structure of the argument.
4.C Writing – Qualify a claim using modifiers, counterarguments, or alternative perspectives.
7.A Reading – Explain how word choice, comparisons, and syntax contribute to the specific tone or style of a text.
7.B Reading – Explain how writers create, combine, and place independent and dependent clauses to show relationships between and among ideas.
8.A Writing – Strategically use words, comparisons, and syntax to convey a specific tone or style in an argument.
8.B Writing – Write sentences that clearly convey ideas and arguments.

Know

When synthesizing, writers draw upon arguments from multiple sources, strategically select the most relevant information, and combine apt and specific source material as part of their own argument.
A source provides information for an argument, and some sources are more reliable or credible than others.
A position and a perspective are different. Sources may have the same position on a subject, yet each comes from a different perspective based on their background, interests, and expertise.
When incorporating evidence or sources into an argument, the strongest arguments recognize and acknowledge the biases and limitations of the material and account for those limitations in their reasoning.
The degree to which a source does or does not consider other positions reflects the degree to which that source is biased. Consideration and use of new evidence may require revision of the thesis statement and/or changes to the line of reasoning.
A writer’s tone is the writer’s attitude or feeling about a subject, conveyed through word choice and writing style.
Readers infer a writer’s tone from the writer’s word choice, and especially the positive, negative, or other connotations of those words.
A writer’s shifts in tone from one part of a text to another may suggest the writer’s qualification, refinement, or reconsideration of their perspective on a subject.
The introduction of an argument introduces the subject and/or writer of the argument to the audience. An introduction may present the argument’s thesis. An introduction may orient, engage, and/or focus the audience by presenting quotations, intriguing statements, anecdotes, questions, statistics, data, contextualized information, or a scenario.
The conclusion of an argument brings the argument to a unified end. A conclusion may present the argument’s thesis. It may engage and/or focus the audience by explaining the significance of the argument within a broader context, making connections, calling the audience to act, suggesting a change in behavior or attitude, proposing a solution, leaving the audience with a compelling image, explaining implications, summarizing the argument, or connecting to the introduction.
A lack of understanding of the complexities of a subject or an issue can lead to oversimplification or generalizations. Because arguments are usually part of ongoing discourse, effective arguments often avoid expressing claims, reasoning, and evidence in absolute terms.
Writers may strategically use words, phrases, and clauses as modifiers to qualify or limit the scope of an argument.
Writers express ideas in sentences. Sentences are made up of clauses, at least one of which must be independent.
The arrangement of sentences in a text can emphasize particular ideas.
Subordination and coordination are used to express the intended relationship between ideas in a sentence.
Writers frequently use coordination to illustrate a balance or equality between ideas.
Writers frequently use subordination to illustrate an imbalance or inequality between ideas.
The arrangement of clauses, phrases, and words in a sentence can emphasize ideas.
Grammar and mechanics that follow established conventions of language enable clear communication.
Writers use punctuation strategically to demonstrate the relationships among ideas in a sentence.
Punctuation (commas, colons, semicolons, dashes, hyphens, parentheses, quotation marks, or end marks) advances a writer’s purpose by clarifying, organizing, emphasizing, indicating purpose, supplementing information, or contributing to tone.
Some design features, such as italics or boldface, create emphasis.

Understanding/Key Learning

Writers make claims about subjects, rely on evidence that supports the reasoning that justifies the claim, and often acknowledge or respond to other, possibly opposing, arguments.
The rhetorical situation informs the strategic stylistic choices that writers make.
Individuals write within a particular situation and make strategic writing choices based on that situation.

Do

Identify and describe components of the rhetorical situation: the exigence, audience, writer, purpose, context, and message
Write introductions and conclusions appropriate to the purpose and context of the rhetorical situation.
Identify and explain claims and evidence within an argument.
Develop a paragraph that includes a claim and evidence supporting the claim.
Identify and describe the overarching thesis of an argument, and any indication it provides of the argument’s structure.
Explain ways claims are qualified through modifiers, counterarguments, and alternative perspectives.
Write a thesis statement that requires proof or defense and that may preview the structure of the argument.
Qualify a claim using modifiers, counterarguments, or alternative perspectives.
Explain how word choice, comparisons, and syntax contribute to the specific tone or style of a text.
Assess how writers create, combine, and place independent and dependent clauses to show relationships between and among ideas.
Strategically use words, comparisons, and syntax to convey a specific tone or style in an argument.
Write sentences that clearly convey ideas and arguments.

Unit Essential Questions

How can you identify and develop a sound argument that synthesizes multiple sources?
How does the consideration of new evidence influence an already established thesis or line of reasoning?
How does a writer’s strategic word choice convey his or her tone, and what does a shift in tone suggest about the writer’s line of reasoning?
How do I select the most important, relevant evidence to support my argument?
How can putting sources in conversation with each other assist in developing a nuanced argument?
How do I properly attribute credit to sources?

Lesson Essential Questions

How do the writer’s choices in the text reflect both the constraints and the available means of persuasion within the context?
How do the writer’s choices in the introduction and/or conclusion not only reflect their purpose and context but also address the intended audience’s needs and perspective on the subject?
What are the boundaries placed on the writing choices you can make in your context?
What is the relationship between your introduction and conclusion and your thesis?
How and why does the writer consider, explain, and integrate others’ arguments into their own argument?
How does the writer acknowledge others’ intellectual property in their argument?
How does a writer’s consideration of a source’s credibility or reliability and the use of that source in the writer’s argument affect both the writer’s credibility and their argument’s effectiveness?
How does the writer contextualize the claim by establishing boundaries or limitations?
How does the writer select modifiers—specific words, phrases, or clauses—to qualify claims?
To what degree does the writer’s claim support, complement, or contrast with others’ claims on this subject?
How does the writer respond to an ongoing conversation about a subject?
How and why does the writer concede, rebut, and/or refute another’s claim?
How might conceding, rebutting, and/or refuting alternative perspectives on a subject affect the writer’s credibility?
How might you revise your thesis statement in light of new evidence?
How might you contextualize your claim by establishing boundaries or limitations?
How might you select modifiers—specific words, phrases, or clauses—to qualify your claim?
To what degree does your claim support, complement, or contrast with others’ claims on this subject?
How do you respond to an ongoing conversation about a subject?
How and why might you concede, rebut, and/or refute another’s claim?
How might conceding, rebutting, and/or refuting alternative perspectives on a subject affect your credibility?

Materials/Resources

Anchor Text: Student Independent Book of Choice (from list provided in syllabus)

Books

Ideas in Argument: Building Skills and Understanding
50 Essays: A Portable Anthology
The Language of Composition

Short Texts

“One Word: Striking” Myriam Gurba
“The Linguistics of Mass Persuasion: How Politicians Make ‘Fetch’ Happen” Chi Luu
“Give the Kids a Break” by Steve Rushin
“The Truth About American History” by Patrick Wang (student editorial)
“Why I, a High School Football Player, Want to See Tackle Football Taken Away” by Keegan Lindell (student editorial)
“Quiet Confidence: Introverts and the Power of Silence” by Nati Duron (student newspaper article)
“Are We So Connected That We’re Disconnected?” by Paul Jankowski

Visual Texts

“Language of Politics” Noam Chomsky (YouTube)
“The Power of Introverts” Susan Cain (TED Talk)

Digital Texts

Various current OpEds & news articles from a variety of sources
Allsides.com
Theflipside.io

Website Resources

Coach Hall Writes (YouTube)
Garden of English (YouTube)
College Board Review Lessons (YouTube)
Released AP Prompts
AP Classroom Selections

1.B Reading – Explain how an argument demonstrates understanding of an audience’s beliefs, values, or needs.
2.B Writing – Demonstrate an understanding of an audience’s beliefs, values, or needs.
3.C Reading – Explain ways claims are qualified through modifiers, counterarguments, and alternative perspectives.
4.C Writing – Qualify a claim using modifiers, counterarguments, or alternative perspectives.
7.A Reading – Explain how word choice, comparisons, and syntax contribute to the specific tone or style of a text.
7.B Reading – Explain how writers create, combine, and place independent and dependent clauses to show relationships between and among ideas.
8.A Writing – Strategically use words, comparisons, and syntax to convey a specific tone or style in an argument.
8.B Writing – Write sentences that clearly convey ideas and arguments.

Know

Writers may make comparisons (e.g., similes, metaphors, analogies, or anecdotes) in an attempt to relate to an audience. Effective comparisons must be shared and understood by the audience to advance the writer’s purpose.
Writers’ choices regarding syntax and diction influence how the writer is perceived by an audience and may influence the degree to which an audience accepts an argument.
Word choice may reflect writers’ biases and may affect their credibility with a particular audience.
Because audiences are unique and dynamic, writers must consider the perspectives, contexts, and needs of the intended audience when making choices of evidence, organization, and language in an argument.
A writer’s style is made up of the mix of word choice, syntax, and conventions employed by that writer.
Writers may signal a complex or ironic perspective through stylistic choices. Irony may emerge from the differences between an argument and the readers’ expectations or values.
Modifiers—including words, phrases, or clauses—qualify, clarify, or specify information about the thing with which they are associated. To reduce ambiguity, modifiers should be placed closest to the word, phrase, or clause that they are meant to modify.
Parenthetical elements—though not essential to understanding what they are describing—interrupt sentences to provide additional information that may address an audience’s needs and/or advance a writer’s purpose.
Effectively entering into an ongoing conversation about a subject means engaging the positions that have already been considered and argued about.
Evidence and sources will either support, complement, or contradict a writer’s thesis.
Writers enhance their credibility when they refute, rebut, or concede opposing arguments and contradictory evidence.
When writers concede, they accept all or a portion of a competing position or claim as correct, agree that the competing position or claim is correct under a different set of circumstances, or acknowledge the limitations of their own argument.
When writers rebut, they offer a contrasting perspective on an argument and its evidence or provide alternative evidence to propose that all or a portion of a competing position or claim is invalid.
When writers refute, they demonstrate, using evidence, that all or a portion of a competing position or claim is invalid.
Transitions may be used to introduce counterarguments.
Not all arguments explicitly address a counterargument.

Understanding/Key Learning

Writers make claims about subjects, rely on evidence that supports the reasoning that justifies the claim, and often acknowledge or respond to other, possibly opposing, arguments.
The rhetorical situation informs the strategic stylistic choices that writers make.
Individuals write within a particular situation and make strategic writing choices based on that situation.

Do

Explain how an argument demonstrates understanding of an audience’s beliefs, values, or needs.
Demonstrate an understanding of an audience’s beliefs, values, or needs.
Explain ways claims are qualified through modifiers, counterarguments, and alternative perspectives.
Qualify a claim using modifiers, counterarguments, or alternative perspectives.
Explain how word choice, comparisons, and syntax contribute to the specific tone or style of a text.
Assess how writers create, combine, and place independent and dependent clauses to show relationships between and among ideas.
Strategically use words, comparisons, and syntax to convey a specific tone or style in an argument.
Write sentences that clearly convey ideas and arguments.
Craft a personal narrative for college applications.

Unit Essential Questions

Lesson Essential Questions

How does the writer strategically choose words based on not only their denotations and connotations but also their potential effect in the rhetorical situation?
How does the writer choose descriptive words and words with particular connotations to create a tone?
How does the writer’s precise word choice reduce potential confusion and affect how the audience perceives the writer’s perspective?
How do the word choice, syntax, and conventions employed by the writer contribute to their writing style?
How does the writer’s style and tone contribute to a complex, ironic, and/or changing perspective on the subject?
How does the writer convey main ideas through independent clauses?
How does the writer convey clear relationships between ideas within and across sentences?
How does the writer arrange clauses, phrases, and words to emphasize ideas?
How does the writer arrange sentences in a text to emphasize ideas?
How does the writer use punctuation and text features to achieve a purpose and/or create an effect (e.g., clarify, organize, emphasize, indicate purpose, supplement information, contribute to a tone)?
Which words might you choose in your argument after considering not only the words’ denotations and connotations but also their potential effect in the rhetorical situation?
How might you choose descriptive words and words with particular connotations to create a tone?
How might more precise word choices reduce potential confusion and affect how the audience perceives your perspective?
How do the word choices, syntax, and conventions that you employ contribute to your writing style?
How do your style and tone contribute to your complex, ironic, and/or changing perspective on the subject?
How do you write sentences that convey a main idea?
How do you convey clear relationships between ideas within and across sentences?
How might you arrange clauses, phrases, and words to emphasize ideas?
How might you arrange sentences in a text to emphasize ideas?

Materials/Resources

Books

Ideas in Argument: Building Skills and Understanding
50 Essays: A Portable Anthology
The Language of Composition

Short Texts

“On Self-Respect” by Joan Didion
“I Wanted Everything” excerpt from Becoming by Michelle Obama
“Tracy” Excerpt from The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl
The Happiness Lab Podcast Episodes: “You Can Change” & “Silving Linings”
“Be Your Own Story” by Toni Morrison (Commencement Speech)

Visual Texts

Happy (2011) Documentary

Digital Texts

Various current OpEds & news articles from a variety of sources
Allsides.com
Theflipside.io

Website Resources

Coach Hall Writes (YouTube)
Garden of English (YouTube)
College Board Review Lessons (YouTube)
Released AP Prompts
AP Classroom Selections

CC.1.3.11–12.F: Evaluate how words and phrases shape meaning and tone in texts.
CC.1.3.11–12.I: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade-level reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies and tools.
CC.1.3.11–12.J: Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college- and career-readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

Determine the meanings of new words based on the prefixes, suffixes, and roots.
Change the word form of a vocabulary word to use it in different ways in a sentence.
Identify the most precise synonyms and antonyms for a word.
Use different types of context clues (example, comparison, contrast) and their signal words and phrases to create sentences.
Identify word parts, recognizing common prefixes and roots.
Draw connections between words based on their parts.

Unit Essential Questions

Lesson Essential Questions

How can we use context clues to effectively infer a word’s meaning?
What are the most common word parts?
How do those word parts work together to create meaning?
How can we alter word parts to change the meanings of words or change their parts of speech?
How can we look for patterns in words to aid in our ability to infer an unfamiliar word’s meaning?
How can we categorize or group words by relationship in an attempt to retain new words and add nuance to our own writing?

Materials/Resources

Teacher-created vocabulary cards
Teacher-created vocabulary quizzes
Words from Multiple Choice Questions in AP Classroom
Teacher-created practice assignments/quizzes, context clues worksheet, prefix/root/suffix list handouts
Teacher-created vocabulary prompts
Teacher-created practice assignments
Prefix/root/suffix lists
Etymonline.com
Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com