AP® English Language and Composition (NCAA Approved)

About the Course

AP® English Language and Composition (NCAA Approved)

Grade 9+
CTY-Level
Session-Based
Language Arts

Learn to write college-level essays, expand your vocabulary, and prepare to take the Advanced Placement Exam in English Language and Composition during this 30-week course. We’ll study a variety of nonfiction texts to understand the interplay between author’s purpose, message, and audience expectations. Develop your skills at analyzing diction, syntax, persuasive appeals, methods of development, and more while writing your own persuasive, research-based and rhetorical analysis essays. After each essay, you’ll write a reflection explaining and evaluating your writing process. Your instructor and peers will provide feedback, and you’ll revise your work along the way. Exposure to multiple-choice questions similar to those on past AP exams will help you develop strong essay test-taking skills like annotation and time management. Through written collaboration with classmates from around the world, you’ll explore new perspectives and develop your own ideas. This writing course has been approved by the College Board® to use the AP designation.

Time Commitment: 3-5 hours of independent work per week.

Course Overview

What we'll do

Over 10 course units, we will develop key reading and writing skills and apply them in activities, workshops, writing assignments, and revisions. We’ll hone our text comprehension and analysis skills with multiple-choice questions based on nonfiction passages. In addition, we’ll write 13 full essays, including three for a final practice exam that mimics a full AP exam. Through our reading and writing, we’ll explore how people communicate their ideas and feelings through language, how readers understand those ideas and feelings, and what types of communication are most effective for each situation. You will continually improve by applying instructor and classmate feedback on your own writing.

What we’ll learn

To analyze an author’s use of diction, tone, syntax, comparisons, methods of development, figurative language, audience appeals, and formatting
To write persuasively on a variety of topics based on given evidence and your own knowledge and experiences
To effectively use strategies such as introducing and concluding an essay, writing strong thesis statements, seamlessly embedding quotations, qualifying arguments, rebutting counterarguments, and creating cohesion in an essay

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Explain how writers’ choices reflect the components of the rhetorical situation
Make strategic choices in a text to address a rhetorical situation
Identify and describe the claims and evidence of an argument
Analyze and select evidence to develop and refine a claim
Describe the reasoning, organization, and development of an argument
Illuminate the line of reasoning in an argument with organization and commentary
Explain how writers’ stylistic choices contribute to the purpose of an argument
Select words and use elements of composition to advance an argument
Annotate texts, narrow multiple-choice options, and outline essays to prepare for timed tests
Communicate effectively and empathetically about topics that affect all people

How we'll measure learning

The objectives for this course align exactly with those released by the College Board for this exam, and course lessons cover all of these objectives. You will demonstrate mastery of course skills with multiple-choice quizzes in every unit and three different types of essays. All multiple-choice questions and essay prompts either appeared on a previous AP exam, or closely mimic AP style and format. In this graded course, each assignment will be assessed using a rubric aligned to AP grading standards.

Classes

Register for an Online course by selecting an open class below. If no open classes are listed, then course enrollment is currently closed. Fill out this form if you wish to be notified when the next class is available. Note: You will need to have an active CTY Account to complete registration through MyCTY

This course is not open for enrollment at this time. Please check back later.

Testing and Prerequisites

	Math	Verbal
Required Level	Not required	CTY-Level

Check your eligibility using existing test scores If you do not have existing test scores:

Students must achieve qualifying scores on an advanced assessment to be eligible for CTY programs. If you don’t have qualifying scores, you have several different testing options. We’ll help you find the right option for your situation.

Cost and Financial Aid

Tuition
- Varies
Application fee
- Nonrefundable Application Fee - $15 (Waived for financial aid applicants)
- Nonrefundable International Fee - $20 (outside US only)

Financial Aid

We have concluded our financial aid application review process for Academic Year 2023-2024 Online Programs (Courses with start dates July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024). Our application for Academic Year 2024-2025 Online Programs is expected to open in January. We encourage those who may need assistance in the future to apply for aid as early as possible.

Learn More

Course Materials

Please acquire all course materials by the course start date, unless noted as perishable. Items marked as “perishable” should not be acquired until the student needs them in the course. If you have questions about these materials or difficulty locating them, please contact [email protected].

No textbooks are required for this course.

Earning School Credit

AP - NCAA Approved

(Note: CTY does not administer AP exams. Please see the College Board site for information on AP exams.)

Recommended school credit: One academic year

Learn More

Technical Requirements

This course requires a computer with high-speed Internet access and an up-to-date web browser such as Chrome or Firefox. You must be able to communicate with the instructor via email. Visit the Technical Requirements and Support page for more details.

This course uses a virtual classroom for instructor-student communication. The classroom works on standard computers with the Zoom desktop client, and on tablets or handhelds that support the Zoom Mobile app. Recorded meetings can only be viewed on a computer with the Zoom desktop client installed. The Zoom desktop client and Zoom Mobile App are both free to download.

Terms & Conditions

Students may interact in online classrooms and meetings that include peers, instructors, and occasional special guests.

After a you complete a course, your projects may be used to illustrate work for future students. 

You will need to create an account on a third-party site to access course resources.

Enhance your skills in creative writing and critical reading, learn to craft effective sentences, and develop an analytical approach to reading and writing through our Language Arts courses. Guided by our expert instructors, you can further develop your communication skills in our interdisciplinary visual fluency courses, and explore topics in communication theory, design theory, and cognitive psychology. Through coursework and online discussions with classmates from around the world, you’ll elevate your writing structure and style, hone your craft, and become an adept wordsmith fluent in the language of literary arts.

Write, Edit, Publish

Walk in the shoes of a writer, editor, and publisher this fall in Master Class I: Writing, Editing, and Publishing, and then collaborate with peers to create the next issue of our CTY Online student-developed literary journal, Lexophilia, in Master Class II: Writing, Editing, and Publishing, offered in the winter.

Explore Greek Myths

Newly revised for fall 2021, you'll read, discuss, and write about Greek myths in Young Readers’ Series: Greek Myths Revisited, studying exciting, heroic characters and ancient narratives that continue to teach us all valuable lessons about life, love, and family.

Meet our Language Arts Instructors

I realize that I love teaching on an almost daily basis. It comes to me in the form of a student's 'ah-ha' moment, when everything clicks and the student understands a challenging concept. I get goose bumps just thinking about it!

Yvonne Borresen

Language Arts Instructor

Online Programs