Course Description

Advanced Placement® (AP) English Language and Composition A is the first semester in a two-semester series that aligns to an introductory college-level rhetoric and writing curriculum. Students are expected to develop evidence-based analytic and argumentative essays that proceed through several stages or drafts. In AP® English Language and Composition A, students will read and analyze the rhetorical elements and their effects in fiction and non-fiction texts, including graphic images as forms of text, from many disciplines and historical periods. As part of this course, students are expected to craft arguments in periodic journal entries, create essays, both argumentative and reflective, and take a practice assessment geared toward the College Board AP® exam. 

About AP® Courses 

Advanced Placement (AP®) courses are equivalent to college-level courses. We highly recommend that you review the College Board’s AP English Language and Composition Course Information page before beginning this course. Students are required to take the UTHS final exam for each semester course to earn high school credit. Students wanting to earn college credit may take the AP® exam offered by the College Board after completing the semester B course; however, it is not required to receive credit for the course from UT High School.

Semester Topics

• Unit 1: Introduction to the Course
• Unit 2: Purpose, Rhetorical Strategies, and Developing Arguments
• Unit 3: Understanding and Developing Arguments: Justice and Injustice
• Unit 4: Understanding and Developing Arguments: American Identity
• Unit 5: AP Asssessment

Course Objectives

Upon completing this course, you will be able to—

• analyze and interpret samples of purposeful wiring, identifying and explaining an author’s use of rhetorical strategies; 
• analyze images and other multimodal texts for rhetorical features; 
• use effective rhetorical strategies and techniques when composing; 
• write for a variety of purposes; 
• respond to different writing tasks according to their unique rhetorical and composition demands, and translate that rhetorical assessment into a plan for writing; 
• create and sustain original arguments based on information synthesized from readings, research, and/or personal observation and experience; 
• evaluate and incorporate sources into researched arguments; 
• demonstrate understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources; 
• gain control over various reading and writing processes, with careful attention to inquiry (research), rhetorical analysis and synthesis of sources, drafting, revising/rereading, editing, and review; 
• demonstrate understanding and control of Standard Written English as well as stylistic maturity in their own writing; 
• revise a work to make it suitable for a different audience.

Required Course Materials

Please visit the Computer Requirements page to view minimum device, internet, and application requirements for all UT High School courses. Generally, a desktop or laptop device five (5) years or newer with access to an office suite, such as Microsoft Office or Google Workspace, will be adequate to participate in most UTHS courses. 

Unless otherwise noted, students are responsible for purchasing or securing all the following course materials:

• Textbook: Everything’s an Argument with Readings (8th ed.) by Andrea A. Lunsford, John J. Ruszkiewicz, and Keith Walters
  • Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2018
  • ISBN#: 1319056261
• Novel(s):
  • The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Interactive Notebook: A paper or digital composition book is acceptable. For paper composition books, please also have the following items on hand:
  • Pens or Pencils
  • Tape or Glue

Course Organization

Students must complete the course in sequence: You will not be able to access the next unit until all work in the preceding unit is completed. You may take your final exam only after completing all units and submitting all graded assignments.  

• Units: Each unit includes multiple lessons and graded assignments as well as ungraded practice quizzes to help you check your understanding of the material.
  
  
• Summative Assessments: Each course includes two online, virtually proctored summative assessments testing your understanding of the material presented in the preceding 2-3 Units.
  • Format: Online, Multiple-choice
  • Time Allowed: 1 hr 30 min
    
    
• Final Exam: Each course includes an online, virtually proctored final exam testing your knowledge of all material presented in the course.
  • Format: Online, Multiple-choice and free response
  • Time Allowed: 3 hrs 20 min

Course Grade Weighting

Your final course grade is calculated by weighting the three assignment groups displayed in the table below:

Online Proctored Exams

All course exams, including both summative assessments and the final exam, must be completed online. Students must test online with Proctorio and are required to add the Proctorio extension to either their Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome browser—installation instructions are provided in the student's course. Proctorio uses a student's computer, web camera, and microphone to record video of both the student and their desktop during the exam. Then, UTHS instructors review the student's exam video data collected by Proctorio. Only authorized UTHS staff and instructors can view the exam recordings. Student data is not shared with any persons or organizations outside of UTHS and are deleted after one year. We encourage you to visit Proctorio's Data Security and Privacy site pages to learn more about how we protect student date.