AP English Language and Composition

1. AP English Language and Composition Periods 1, 2, 3 Mrs. Ratchford Email: julie.ratchford@sweetwaterschools.org Web: http://jratchford.edublogs.org Voicemail: 476-4210

2. Primary Texts • The Informed Argument (6th edition). Yagelski and Miller. • The Norton Reader (10th edition). If you can purchase either (or both) texts online for your student to use and annotate this would be invaluable! Try http://www.half.ebay.com/ Both texts are available for $3.00 (separately).

3. Work Habits • Don’t procrastinate. • Stay organized-binder, desk, backpack, locker. • Be on task and alert. • Finish your homefun. • Bring your supplies and assignments. • Communicate your ideas in class discussion. • Try on new ideas.

4. Academic Routine at Home • All students should complete homework in a quiet environment with few distractions. • Students should not listen to music, use the computer, TV or other media while reading or writing. • Quiet ambient music or instrumental music can be helpful to mask distracting noises. • Students should sit up and have a quiet and well-lit environment. Laying on a couch, bed or floor reinforces a poor work habit. • Yes…they will argue about this-but they are wrong!

5. Know a procrastinator? Causes and ideas for help. • Complicated-task anxiety: Break big, complicated tasks into smaller pieces. Complete a starter task, no matter how small. • Fear of imperfection: Accept that perfection is rarely attainable and seldom necessary. You’re a person, not a robot. Use the 80/20 rule whenever appropriate. • Indecision: Determine your decision-making criteria, then set a deadline for your decision. Ask a friend to hold you accountable. • Priority confusion: Distinguish obligations from options. What are you really responsible for? List and prioritize tasks. • Boredom from minutiae: Automate simple repetitive tasks whenever possible. • Lack of focus: Minimize distractions. Check e-mail and voicemail only twice per day instead of every 5 minutes. Find a quiet room where you can concentrate. Resist the urge to keep taking breaks. • Poor organizational skills: Clean your work area. Put tools and utensils in their proper place so you can find them when you need them. • Laziness: Remind yourself of the consequences of procrastination. Resist the urge to be a couch potato. Try to complete several small tasks to provide a feeling of accomplishment. Reward yourself. • Lack of energy: Maintain a regular sleep routine. Eat healthy. Exercise regularly. Do not skip breakfast. • Early morning lag: Before you stop working each day, make a list of the tasks you want to begin first thing the following morning so you can hit the ground running the next day. • Post-lunch fatigue: Before leaving for lunch, make a list of the things you plan to do when you get back so you can pick up where you left off. Avoid eating a heavy lunch but do eat lunch!!!

6. The Exam • Test Date: Wednesday May 11, 2011 • Comprised of two sections-multiple choice and free response. • One hour. Multiple choice=45% of overall score. • Two hours to write three essays. Free response=55% of overall score. This is the section that will help students passthe exam.

7. New to the exam • In the past there was a quarter point deduction for incorrect multiple choice responses. Now there is no penalty for incorrect responses. • So…Students should answer every question whether or not the know the answer or have time to answer.

8. The three essays • Argument • Rhetorical analysis of an argument • Synthesis • 40 minutes. Students must read a lengthy text and write their own argument about the issue raised in the text. • 40 minutes. Students must read a lengthy text, identify the claim and analyze the techniques the author used to enhance his/her argument. • 15 minutes + 40 minutes. Weird, I know. Students must read seven texts and plan a response (in 15 minutes). Then they are given 40 minutes to write the essay. The essay should examine the claim addressed in several of the texts (synthesis) and how that claim reinforces or counters their own idea about the topic.

9. What is rhetoric anyway? • Rhetoric-The art of persuasion. • Students must examine the techniques that good authors use to enhance their argument. Students will use these learned techniques to improve their own arguments. • What techniques? • Diction • Syntax (sentence structure & punctuation) • Structure/Arrangement • Evidence • Tone

10. Benefits of AP English Language • If students take and pass the AP English Language Exam they are automatically exempted from the EPT or English Placement Test for CSU. • This means that students who go to a CSU will go straight into freshman comp with no mandatory remediation for failing the EPT.