This web-based distance writing AP English Language and Composition course spans seven months, ending in April just before the exam is administered, and consists of fourteen lessons – completed every two weeks, the majority culminating in a formal essay – along with accompanying readings, discussions and writing workshops. The course is also offered in a 12 week intensive summer session. In response to student essays, instructors comment on form, style, and content, generally holding students’ work to college-level standards. Critiques explain successes and delineate problems needing further work. Along with instructor feedback, each student receives at least one workshop critique from his or her peers in the class, and completes one comprehensive revision based upon comments. A process letter for each lesson gives students a chance to reflect upon the effectiveness of their prewriting strategies, to score their essays based upon given rubrics, and to share ideas for revision. At this level, the instructor assumes that students already command Standard English grammar and are ready to delve into more sophisticated issues. While preparing students to take the Advanced Placement Test in English Language and Composition, this course provides training in prose analysis as well as descriptive, analytical and persuasive writing. In addition to practicing essay test-taking techniques, organization and time management, students use a variety of posted readings and discussion questions to explore the interactions among subject, authorial purpose, audience needs, generic conventions, and the resources of the English language. Exposure to classical rhetoric, including a study of schemes and tropes and the use of the Aristotelian appeals, increases understanding of and access to critical reading and writing skills. Most lessons focus on an examination of past AP testing prompts, responses and scoring guides, and composition of persuasive arguments and rhetorical analyses similar to those found on the exam and in college classrooms. Guidance in the evaluation, use and proper citation of both written and visual sources prepares students to write a synthesis essay and a researched argument. Finally, in addition to work on essays, students practice and analyze the multiple-choice portion of the exam. For most lessons students use the CliffsAP English Language and Composition preparation guide (Swovelin, Barbara. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Wiley Publishing, Inc. 2006.). Using this guide, they analyze rubrics and model student essays as well as writing their own essays in response to specific prompts. Online class discussions are often based upon posted readings covering a variety of rhetorical genres, from such writers as Annie Dillard, W.E.B. Du Bois, George Orwell and Thomas Jefferson. Aristotle. Rhetoric.
Adams, John. Letter to Thomas Jefferson. (1813)
Bush, George W. Inaugural Address. (2004)
Corbett, Edward P.J. and Robert J. Connors. Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student.
Dillard, Annie. The Writing Life. Harper & Row. New York. 1989. 3-7.
DuBois, W.E.B. "Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others." The Souls of Black Folk. 1903.
Irving, John. from “The Imaginary Girlfriend.” Trying to Save Piggy Sneed. Arcade Publishing. New York. 1996.
Jefferson, Thomas. Letter to John Adams. (1813)
Kennedy, John F. Inaugural Address. (1961)
Lincoln, Abraham. Inaugural Address. (1865)
Orwell, George. “Shooting an Elephant.”
Swift, Jonathan. “A Modest Proposal.” (1729)
Washington, Booker T. “The Atlanta Exposition Address.” Up From Slavery. 1901. The process letter accompanying each lesson is an informal self-assessment of about a page in length, in which students are invited to explain and evaluate their process, from planning through drafting and proofreading/revision. They discuss what worked best for them in the planning stage, how they budgeted their time, what rhetorical and stylistic elements worked best within their essays, and what they would do differently for a better result. Students often use rubrics to score their own AP practice essays, in addition to comparing their work to the high- and middle-scoring essays included in their CliffsAP book. Process letters help students to plan revisions, as well as to gain comfort and confidence with the process of self-evaluation. Discussions are roughly the equivalent of homework in a school-based AP English class. Students enter the web-based classroom several times over the course of each lesson’s two-week time frame, reading posted thematically linked texts and responding to discussion questions along with each other’s comments. For example, in one discussion students read Booker T. Washington’s “Atlanta Exposition Address” and W.E.B.DuBois’ “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others,” and answer questions about each author’s purpose and audience as well as the influence of his background upon the position he takes. Students are required to post at least three thoughtful, substantive comments of at least half to three quarters of a page for each discussion. At times discussion takes the form of a writing exercise designed to increase skills in a certain area, such as citation, thesis revision, and analysis of visual texts. Discussion is also the place for workshops of student writing, and conversations about process, test-taking strategies, current events, and favorite writers. Lessons are worth 70% of the final grade, with the process letter accounting for about 20% of the lesson grade. Each final essay is given a score of between 1 and 9 based as closely as possible upon a given rubric, so that students may get a sense of how they are likely to do on the exam. Although essays are also awarded letter grades, critiques emphasize encouragement and concrete suggestions for ways to improve. Effort, and improvement over time, are considered in the assignment of a grade, especially as the course progresses. Process letters are graded based upon the amount of time and effort they reflect. Discussions, worth 30% of the final grade, are evaluated based upon the depth, insight and thoughtfulness of each posted comment. Students are expected to respond to one another as well as to the readings, so that the virtual classroom may generate a rich, complex and interesting exchange of ideas. Unless otherwise indicated, all final writing assignments are essays written from past AP prompts found in the 3rd Edition of Barbara Swovelin’s CliffsAP English Language and Composition preparation guide. – Untimed Free Response. This lesson introduces the basics of the course and exam, describing rhetorical analysis, persuasive and synthesis essays. Students read about the importance of memory and observation as sources of evidence for persuasive essays, and are reminded to be specific and support their opinions. The lesson’s written component asks students to defend, based upon opposing philosophical statements by Immanuel Kant and Jean-Paul Sarte, their own definition of what makes a person “good.” In posted readings, Annie Dillard and John Irving describe aspects of their process as writers; students respond to the readings while talking about their own writing process.
– Untimed Rhetorical Analysis. In addition to reviewing with plenty of examples such literary terms as diction, connotation, denotation, syntax, parallelism, metaphor, structure and tone, this lesson explains the process of making inferences and collecting evidence from a text. Students read and evaluate sample essays based upon an AP prompt analyzing Michel-Guillaume-Jean de Crevecoeur’s Letters from an American Farmer (Swovelin 48). Their response to these essays is included in their process letter. After making a brief chart of evidence, students then write rhetorical analysis essays comparing two passages by Virginia Woolf (97). is a writing workshop. With a focus on providing specific, constructive suggestions for revision, each student writes extensive comments for several anonymously posted Lesson 1 essays.
– Planning. In this lesson students practice different forms of planning, including detailed outlines and quick “plans of attack” designed to help organize thoughts quickly for a timed essay. After reading examples of each approach, students first disassemble a previously written essay, using either a formal outline or a blueprint structure to identify main ideas, supporting ideas and details. Then they write “quick plans” in response to three separate prompts in a practice test, focusing on developing a working thesis and identifying main areas of support within a ten-minute timeframe. Finally, they develop detailed outlines for the essays based upon these plans. The process letter encourages them to think about the extent to which both quick plans and more detailed outlines may be used in organizing their thoughts before drafting. introduces Aristotelian Appeals. Students identify ethos, logos and pathos in magazine, web and television advertisements, analyzing their purpose, their effect, and the insight they give into cultural values and assumptions. Knowledge of persuasive appeals will help them evaluate sources for Lesson 4’s synthesis essay, as well as helping them to construct their own arguments.
– Synthesis Essay. A comprehensive lecture on source evaluation precedes this introduction to the synthesis essay (90-96). reviews MLA citation format, directing students to college websites containing plenty of models for parenthetical documentation and Works Cited. Students use their CliffsAP textbook, their student handbook, the introductory letter for the course and other sources to create a synthesis paragraph providing information about the AP exam. The Instructor grades the paragraph, paying special attention to citation format and the fluid incorporation of source material, before students embark upon the synthesis essay.
– Timed Persuasive Essay. The goal of this lesson is to create focused, arguable, complex and elegant thesis statements that answer all parts of a posed question. Students look at the successful use of concessions and qualifications in a strong thesis, along with the analysis and revision of several weak thesis statements. The final writing assignment is a persuasive prompt responding to a passage by Ralph Waldo Emerson (98). asks students to analyze, revise and justify their revision of five thesis statements, each taken from a Lesson 1 or Lesson 2 student essay.
– Three Timed Essays. This lesson replicates the essay portion of the AP exam, giving students the opportunity to reflect upon their time management skills, how well they are able to organize their thoughts into “quick plans of attack” before drafting, and generally giving them a sense of what they need to work on in the coming months. In preparation, they are encouraged to look back at all their instructor critiques to date and make a list of aspects of their writing that most need work. This reflection prepares them for the comprehensive revision they will do in Lesson 8. is a writing workshop for Lesson 5 essays.
– Introduction to Multiple-Choice. Students study literary terms (65-73) from CliffsAP and look at sample types of questions before completing a timed multiple-choice section of a past exam (79-89). The process letter for this lesson is more comprehensive than usual, including not only a self-evaluation of test taking strategies and time management, but also a list of all the questions they got wrong, including a brief analysis of their error and any questions they may still have after reading the CliffsAP explanations. takes a close look at research-based multiple-choice questions, including an overview of footnotes.
– Revision, Part I. This lesson asks students to revise either their Lesson 1 or their Lesson 5 essay – whichever one was workshopped. First they are asked to carefully review all student and instructor suggestions for revision, paraphrasing them and grouping them into categories: issues of organization, of development, of grammar, and so on. Next, they revise their essay based upon the comments. Finally, they write a detailed explanation of how their revision resolves the issue pointed out in the comment. For example, if a classmate found a thesis confusing, the student would explain how and why the revised thesis is clearer. If the student decides not to follow a suggestion, he or she must explain why, and figure out another way to resolve the problem pointed out by the suggestion. By the end of this lengthy process, students have deeply and carefully studied comments that might otherwise have been ignored or only briefly considered. Their revisions must be quite comprehensive, showing evidence of careful thought and planning, to earn a high grade. returns to the question of purpose and audience, asking that students read the writing of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois and explain how each writer’s background, as well as the history of his time, may have influenced his decisions about why and to whom he wrote. Students discuss, as well, which writer they are more inclined to agree with, and why.
– Revision, Part II. This lesson, also known as “Punch up to ‘5’,” focuses on the identification and effective employment of schemes and tropes within writing. Students read a lengthy excerpt from Corbett and Connors’ Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student, studying schemes and tropes including parallelism, antithesis, anastrophe, apposition, chiasmus, and many others. After familiarizing themselves with the uses and effects of these literary devices, students revise the introduction and the conclusion for each essay they wrote for Lesson 6 – a total of six paragraphs. Each revision must not only respond to instructor suggestions, but also make use of at least one scheme and one trope. The trick is to add energy and elegance to the writing without obscuring meaning or resorting to cliché. invites all students to post their revised introductions from Lesson 8, gathering praise as well as constructive criticism. In addition, students are introduced to Lesson 13, the Researched Argument. This assignment will not be due for another two months, but now is the time to take a look at the prompt, and to begin conducting the research that will help them to take a position on the issue presented. The distance nature of this course requires that instructors make sure all students (even those taking the course from France or Belgium, our out of reach of a library) have access to sufficient sources. For this reason, students will be provided with about ten to fifteen excerpted writings, newspaper and magazine articles, and visuals from which to assemble the sources for their essay.
– Timed Rhetorical Analysis/Evaluative Thesis. This essay, a comparison of two letters, offers a great opportunity for studying satire. Thus, students complete the discussion before turning to the essay. reviews the definition of satire, in addition to caricature, parody, hyperbole, litotes and burlesque; examples are given of each. Students then read Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” and view a clip from Jon Stewart’s “Daily Show,” analyzing the rhetorical strategies, elements of satire, and ultimate purpose of each. Finally, students find an example of satire to share and discuss with the group.
– Using and Analyzing Metaphor. Many students appreciate this opportunity for creative expression amidst the rigors of formal analysis. The lesson first explains the purpose and function of metaphor, directing students to a passage by John Updike (229) as an example of what metaphor can accomplish. Next students write a piece in which they use metaphor to convey their attitude toward an idea, event or experience (without resorting to cliché!). Finally, each student writes an essay formally analyzing the rhetorical elements employed in his or her own creative work. Often they are astonished to discover effects they weren’t aware of creating. provides a practical guide for when and how to quote and paraphrase sources, including advice on how to avoid plagiarism. Students post a working thesis statement for their Researched Argument, along with an outline and Works Cited list; instructors quickly return detailed feedback and suggestions for revision. Thesis and outline may go through numerous revisions before the instructor gives a student the green light for beginning to draft her essay.
– Comparison of Inaugurals. Students begin by reading John F. Kennedy’s inauguration speech and discussing within their process letter the moments in which Kennedy most effectively reaches his audience, what he wants people to believe about his leadership, and how he uses schemes and tropes to achieve his goals. Next they read and write a response to Corbett and Connors’ detailed analysis of Kennedy’s speech in Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. The necessity of understanding context is stressed as they prepare their writing assignment – a comparison of Abraham Lincoln’s and George W. Bush’s second inaugural addresses. As part of their comparison students must consider context, purpose and audience as well as rhetorical devices, and end with an evaluative thesis declaring one or the other more successful in presenting his message. presents readings from Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and George Orwell on the subject of colonialism. Students debate the similarities and differences in purpose, background and style amongst the three authors.
– Researched Argument. This is a 4-5 page research paper defending a position on an issue presented back in Discussion 9. At least 5 sources must be employed as evidence to support the student’s position, properly cited using MLA-style parenthetical documentation, and listed in a Works Cited page. is an informal sharing of thesis statements, success stories, breakthroughs, frustrations and other aspects of the research assignment, including thoughts on what worked well and what people wish they had done differently.
– Practice Exam. Students complete an entire practice exam (253-273) from CliffsAP. Instructors return comments quickly, including general advice on how to approach the exam. is a final goodbye and advice swap. The exam is in two weeks!
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