Ms. Renneisen
AP English 12
2005-2006

Course Syllabus

We will engage in a literature-based study of writing styles, grammar skills, and vocabulary usage throughout the school year.  In addition to the major novels and plays that are listed on the syllabus, we will also study companion pieces – short stories, poems, and essays – that fit into each thematic unit.   Students will complete reading and writing outside of class.  Check the monthly calendar for specific assignments related to the curriculum (including vocabulary).

First Semester                                                          Second Semester

 
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First Semester Syllabus

        Dates        

 Literature / Units of Study 

   Writing / Thinking / Literary Skills   

Fantastic Voyage 

8/15-8/19

Satire & "Modest Proposal"

appeals; advertising tricks; advertising analysis

8/19-9/1

Satire & Gulliver's Travels

personal narrative; thematic transitions; creative writing (pastiche);
satire; narrative structure; author's purpose; bias; stereotype; propaganda

9/2-9/19

The Odyssey

allusion; writing process revisited; epic poetry; stylistic devices;
plot devices; character analysis; short stories; poetry; research;
historical analysis of literature; critical theory; creative writing

9/20-9/27

Beowulf

epic revisited;  point of view; critical theory; imagery

9/28-10/5

The Canterbury Tales

satire revisited;  creative writing; poetic devices; frame story

The Outsider

10/7-10/14

Fences

Dramatic techniques (Aristotle’s Poetics); stagecraft;
symbolism; historical criticism

10/14-10/26

Black Boy

autobiography; narrative devices; historical & biographical
criticism; race theory

10/27-11/4

The Metamorphosis

stylistic techniques and devices; tone; imagery; characterization; allegory;
narrative technique; author's purpose; biographical criticism

11/5-11/11

Grendel

point of view; tone; characterization; style analysis; imagery; manipulation
of reader; existentialism; poetry

Heaven and Hell 

11/14-11/22

The Inferno

allegory revisited; symbolism; imagery; historical perspective;
creative writing (pastiche); irony; allusion revisited

11/22-12/2

No Exit

allegory revisited; dialogue; irony; existentialism revisited;
point of view; historical perspective

 12/5-12/10

Paradise Lost & Faust 

poetic techniques; author's purpose

12/13-12/16

Archetypes, Final Exams, and Projects

Winter Break:  Read Their Eyes Were Watching God
 
 
 
 
 

Second Semester Syllabus

    Week    

              Literature              

              Writing / Literary Skills              

 Willful Women

1

Their Eyes Were Watching God

literary and stylistic techniques; dialect

2

The Awakening

historical reference; author's purpose

3

The Awakening / Kate Chopin

literary criticism

4

A Doll House

author's purpose revisited

5

Jane Eyre

gothic elements; historical perspective; characterization

6

Jane Eyre

symbolism and imagery; romanticism vs. realism

7

Jane Eyre

feminist theory; plot devices; manipulation of reader

8

Sula

figurative language; historical perspective; stylistic techniques

9

Sula

diction and style; characterization

10

Woman Warrior

historical perspective; narrative techniques

11

Woman Warrior

cultural comparisons

A Strange Twist of Fate

12

Oedipus Rex

dramatic techniques; irony; allusion

13

Macbeth

dramatic techniques; symbolism; diction; characterization

14

Macbeth

argumentation; historical perspective; poetic techniques

15

AP Exam Prep

AP Writing Prompt practice

16

AP Exam Prep

AP Writing Prompt practice

17

AP Exam