Advanced Placement English Language and Composition

Instructor:      Jaimie Crawford
Email:              jcrawford@nova.edu
Extra Help:     Monday and Thursdays:   3:10pm-3:45pm or by appointment

Course Description
Modeled after course descriptions from College Board, this AP English Language and Composition is designed for students willing to accept an intellectual challenge and is intended to engage higher order analytic and synthetic thinking and writing skills.  Students will experience, interpret, and evaluate primarily nonfiction readings of recognized importance and styles from different time periods covering multiple disciplines.  In addition, the critical examination of the contextual relationship among graphics and visual images to text and as stand-alone messages will be mastered.  Readings will be challenging, complex, and rich; collegial discussions among the students will deepen their understanding of the use, structure, and impact of language embodied in a work. In addition to reading primarily nonfiction materials, students may read poetry and fiction to determine the impact of a writer’s linguistic and rhetorical choices.

Students will write in informal and formal contexts to become competent in their personal writing and proficient in expository, analytical, and argumentative assignments. Evaluation and use of primary and secondary sources in addition to learning multiple methods to cite sources will be learned in this course.  Timed responses mirroring the demands of the AP exam will be a frequent form of evaluation.

Students should understand this is a college-level class taught in a high school classroom and is designed to culminate in the AP Language and Composition Exam.  Those who are enrolled in AP Language and Composition may expect a more intense workload. This course is the equivalent of an introductory college level composition class with college level requirements. Writing instruction is taught as a process, and is meant to be both engaging and challenging. 

Philosophy
The class is an interactive learning community in which both student and instructor become deeply engaged in the reading, discussion, production, and analysis of prose from a variety of sources and time periods.  Because this is an introductory college level course, students will read broadly from primarily nonfiction material.  They will also exchange ideas and understandings with their peers, learn the critical skill of synthesizing information from their readings to produce a fresh perspective, and incorporate this skill in their writing. Both their writing and reading should make students aware of the interactions among a writer’s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects as well as the relationship between style and message. Risk taking and questioning are encouraged.
Goals

Students will:

• Actively participate in group discussions and critique prose styles selected from a range of disciplines and rhetorical contexts written during various time periods.
• Apply the writing process to interpret experience, evaluate, and emulate examples of high quality writing leading to the development of “stylistic maturity.”
• Write expository, analytical, synthesis, and argumentative assignments and manipulate compositions to account for varying audiences, contexts, and goals.
• Use language effectively and cogently in both the personal and academic realms.
• Critically examine the contextual relationship among graphics and visual images to text and as stand-alone messages.
• Assess and incorporate primary and secondary sources into research projects and cite all sources appropriately.
• Learn the critical skill of synthesizing information from their readings to produce a fresh perspective.
• Focus on writing as a process, experimenting with ways to improve the prewriting, writing, editing, and rewriting steps
• Write to different audiences while cultivating his/her own voice, recognizing the different writing conventions needed for different audiences
• Study the rhetorical strategies and stylistic devices of professional and student writers and then make connections to his/her own, attempting to implement some of those same into the writing
• Work to develop his/her syntactic maturity
• Use 21st technology as a source of research and communication

Grading/Rewriting of Essays: 
Rewrites are essential to the writing process. In fact, it is in the rewrite process that most learning takes place. Simply going through the motions (correcting a few grammar mistakes pointed out in the graded draft) is not enough—for this perfunctory attitude will not lead to lasting improvement. When rewriting, students should think about why they are making changes. Thus, the rewrite process is designed to help students think about lasting changes they can make to their writing style. (See Directions for Rewrite)

Classroom Rules

Students are expected to know and follow the school guidelines and policies as they have been stated in the Upper School Student Handbook.

Tardiness: A tardy will be considered excused with an appropriate pass; however, the student will still be responsible for the day’s assignment. Make sure to see the teacher for any work you missed.

Class participation is essential to successful learning. Raise your hand and let me know if you do not understand something in class. If you would rather see me after class, that is also acceptable.

Differing opinions, individuality, and creativity are encouraged in this course. However, disrespectful behavior towards the instructor, fellow students or oneself is unacceptable. Students are expected to demonstrate maturity and to respect others at all times.

Electronic Devices (including cellphones) are considered an integral part of the learning process; however, these devices are to be used responsibly and turned on only when instructed by the teacher. Please bring daily a device on which YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WRITING and on which you can access the internet and your nova email.

Netiquette: all rules and procedures for on-line (Blackboard) communication must be followed.  See Netiquette Guidelines.

Cheating/Plagiarism: see student handbook and academic honesty rules attached to blackboard site. ANY plagiarism will result in a “0” on an assignment and reported to administration.

Excuses/Absences/Submission of work: When in doubt use MLA style. ALL WORK should be emailed to me at jcrawford@nova.edu. Printer/laptop failure is not an excuse for late or missed assignments. Similarly, you are responsible for work you missed during an absence. Email me with any questions you may have; follow the syllabus to insure you know what we did in class and what you missed.

Materials

Texts:

• Required textbook: Language of Composition
• Novels: A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Plays of Oscar Wilde, Nickel and Dimed, selected poetry, articles, and fiction

Required Materials:

• Electronic Device with Internet Access and ability to access Blackboard
• Blue or black ink pens, #2 pencils, and a set of highlighters (at least 3 different colors) for correcting in-class work/assessments

*You are required to remember your Blackboard username/password once you receive it!
Grade Determination

Students are continuously assessed throughout each unit. Students will be assessed on their writing, critical reading, and delivery of material.

Grading Policy:

• Diagnostic, formative and summative assessments will be used to measure individual student progress/learning.  
• Diagnostic/Pre-assessments – will not be averaged into semester/year grade and may or may not be posted on My Backpack.
• Checkpoints – if graded, the grade is not averaged into the semester/year grade; may or may not be posted on My Backpack.
• Formative measurements – some will be graded and recorded in the grade book, while others may be graded to track progress, but will not be averaged into the semester/year grade; students will have the option to re-do formative measurements by following the procedure outlined below.
• Summative Measurements - do not qualify for re-assessment

• Students are expected to turn in all work by the assigned deadline.

• Students are expected to complete all required work, including homework, and will be given opportunities and support to do so.
• Missing assignments will be identified in the grade book as NS (Not Submitted) and automatically count as a zero.  The zero will serve as a warning to students that the assignment must be completed.
• Missing work will lead to a mandatory session where the work will be completed outside of the classroom.  The place and time for the session will be determined by the teacher. 
• In extenuating circumstances, a grade of Incomplete (I) will be posted on the end of the quarter report card if the work is not completed. As per the handbook, students will have 7 days to complete the missing work or the quarter grade will be replaced with an F (as per the student handbook).

• Students may receive bonus questions on certain summative assessments; however, students will not be able to complete extra credit assignments to raise their grades. 

• Original work will be posted on My Backpack and then replaced with the reassessed work; a note will be embedded into the assignment box recording the date of the reassessment and the original grade.

The Formative Measurement Re-Evaluation Policy:
Formative measurements are used to monitor students’ progress and adjust instruction accordingly. Students should give their best effort on their first attempt. However, students who do not master the concepts are required to meet with the teacher for re-teaching opportunities. After following the required re-assessment procedure (stated below), the student will be eligible to take a re-assessment. The re-assessment will be scheduled by the teacher and the grade will replace the previous grade. 
Guidelines for Re-assessment:
Students can request an opportunity to reassess a formative task (most likely a critical reading quiz); however, all students are required to follow the same re-assessment procedure. The student must:

1. Meet with the teacher.
2. Correct the original assessment.
3. Attend a mandatory extra-help and/or peer-tutoring session.
4. Complete one or more additional learning activities deemed appropriate by the teacher.
5. Take the re-assessment at the time agreed upon by the teacher (the re-assessment will differ from the original assessment format).

Directions for Rewrite

• All essays are to be emailed to jcrawford@nova.edu
• All rewrites are due NO LATER than 7 days after the graded original is emailed to you—submit via email to jcrawford@nova.edu
•  If I have written something on your paper, you must either make a change to your paper or explain why you do not think you need to make a change.  If you are unsure how to make a change, you can email me or meet with me. 
• Once you have made a change to your paper, you must highlight what has changed in your essay and explain what you have changed.  The reason you will do this is to help keep you from making the same mistake in the future.
• All of my comments must be addressed. If you do not agree with one of my comments (you can certainly disagree!), simply explain why you do not believe making the change is necessary.
• Attach a cover letter to the front of your rewritten essay. In your cover letter, you should comment on the rewriting process: what, if anything have you learned from the rewriting process? What changes were hard to make? What sentences or paragraphs do you think may still need work? What will you do differently next time?  Do not tell me what you think I want to hear; rather, this should be a candid reflection on the process (much like a coach might ask you to reflect on your performance after a game). 

Grading of Rewrites:
You can earn back up to ½ of the points you lost on your original paper.  However, if your paper does not show significant and meaningful change (more than just changing grammar errors, for example) your rewrite grade can be lower than your original grade.  Additionally, if you do not address all of my comments, including explaining your changes, you will not earn back as many points.

Netiquette

Proper manners are as important online as they are offline. Follow these simple Netiquette guidelines for a fun and safe online experience!

• The student is expected to know and to follow the school guidelines and policies as they have been stated in the Upper School Student Handbook.
• Netiquette is a term derived from the words "Internet Etiquette” or “Network Etiquette" which describes the use of proper manners and behavior online. Internet Etiquette should be used in all areas of electronic means including email, chatting, blogging, forums, message boards, and so on. It is important to treat others with dignity and respect both on and offline. Although the rules may vary depending on the specific forum used, the following Top 10 Netiquette guidelines (© Jace Shoemaker-Galloway) will offer some basic Internet tips and suggestions to provide a pleasant and safe online experience:
• Use Computer Courtesy: Whether a person is sending an email, chatting in a chat room or speaking in a forum, it is important to be courteous and respectful of others online. Always remember the Golden Rule!
• Use Emoticons: When communicating online, it can be difficult to gauge a writer's emotion. Unless a web camera or microphone is used, the writer's expression or emotion is difficult to determine. By using emoticons, the writer's proper emotion will be conveyed to the reader.
• Be Brief Online: It is important to keep messages short, especially when writing an email or typing in a chat room. Proper sentence structure and correct grammatical rules are required when conversing via email or in chat rooms or through discussion threads!!!
• DON’T SHOUT: No matter what forum, writing in all capital letters is considered SHOUTING and is considered very rude. A word or two in caps is fine, but shouting is not recommended.
• Pay Attention to Language Issues: Improper, inappropriate or bad language may get a participant kicked out or permanently banned from a forum or group.
• Think Before Posting: It is important to note, what is posted online today, may come back and haunt the writer tomorrow.
• Keep Personal Information Private: Posting private and personal information in the wrong location can have serious consequences.

Read more: http://internet.suite101.com/article.cfm/netiquette_guidelines#ixzz0FnAhOjLJ&B

Academic Honesty Policy
Papers:

1. Do not submit any paper not written wholly and exclusively by you.

2. Do not claim to have read a literary or other written work if, instead, you have merely seen the movie, read summary study notes, or taken some other “short cut.”

3. Do not consult, collude, or collaborate with any other individual unless your teacher has given you written permission to do so for a specific assignment.

4. Be sure to use quotation marks and to cite the source correctly when you use a direct quote.  Be sure to quote exactly, word for word, reproducing even the exact punctuation marks.  With a direct quote, you will need parenthetical reference and a work cited entry, in addition to quotation marks.

5. Even if you paraphrase completely (see #7 below), you must document ideas, opinions, and interpretations not wholly your own.  You will need a parenthetical reference and a work cited entry each time you paraphrase.

6. Generalized or common knowledge does not need to be documented; specialized knowledge does.  When in doubt, it is safer to document. 

7. When you paraphrase, you must express the material in an entirely new way AND you must still cite the source.  You are guilty of plagiarism if you change only a few words and/or if you fail to cite the source.

Homework:

1. Do not submit any homework assignment not written wholly and exclusively by you unless your teacher has given you permission to do so for a specific assignment.

2.   When posting on the blackboard discussion page, make sure that the entire posting is in your own words.

Tests/Quizzes:

• Do not ask students who have recently taken a test or quiz or written an in class AP essay to discuss specific questions or concepts pertaining to that test, quiz, or writing.

• Do not disclose any information about a test or quiz or in class writing to a student who has not yet taken that test or quiz or in class writing.

• Do not copy test/quiz questions in any way for the purpose of redistributing them to students who have not yet taken the test/quiz.

• Using or attempting to use unauthorized assistance, material, or study aids including but not limited to cell phones, personal digital assistants, watches, cheat sheets, calculators and laptops is prohibited.  Looking at and/or using another student’s work is prohibited.  Do not reveal your work to other students; do not display your work in a tempting manner.

Acknowledgement of Policy Form

RETURN THIS FORM TO Mrs. Crawford BY:

___________________

***************************************************************************************

Mrs. Crawford:

I have read, understand and accept the procedures outlined above.

Date:  ____________________

• Printed Student’s Name:                                      ______________________

• Student’s Signature:                                             ______________________

• Student’s Email Address:                                    ______________________

Please contact me at the school with any questions or concerns.