Overview
Advanced Placement English Language and Composition is a rigorous college-level class focusing on the study of rhetoric. Students will learn that “everything is an argument” and that those rhetorical messages affect us as citizens and consumers. Students will focus on writing as a craft, something more than function and formula. Students will apply rhetoric in their writing and speaking effectively. The overarching goals are to:
- Create strong writers who will have the necessary skills to write effectively in their college courses and in their personal and professional lives
- Foster reading “between the lines”—extracting the connotative meanings of words and the cultural, political, or historical contexts of various texts
- Encourage students to be informed citizens and consumers who understand the manipulation of a variety of media by advertisers, politicians, and institutions to impact them in their daily lives
Course Objectives:
To evaluate, practice, increase proficiency, and progress toward mastery of your abilities to be a creator and informed receiver of language and all forms of communication
To demonstrate sound logical thinking and critical judgment drawing on research, knowledge of the world, and personal experience. To develop to proficiency effectiveness of persuasive writing and independent thought
To practice to proficiency rhetorical analysis of both fiction and non-fiction across time and culture, evaluate argument, and create an argument with sophistication and nuance
To master all elements of composition including content, focus, conventions, and style
To experience regularly and practice to proficiency a timed environment for both multiple choice and writing assessments