STANDARD COURSE OF STUDY

An Advanced Placement course in English Language Arts is intended to provide the equivalent in content and difficulty of a college-level introductory English course. The College Board offers programs in both AP English Language and Composition and in AP English Literature and Composition. Students who choose to enroll in either course may opt to take an AP examination to validate their academic experience and to receive college credit as determined by individual institutions of higher education. However, students who take the course are not required to take the examination unless a local system chooses to require AP testing. Participation in an AP course often ensures more thorough preparation for the AP examination, but students are not required to take the course before taking the examination. Colleges and universities reserve the right to determine if students will be awarded college credit for their performance on the examination.

Educators, students, and parents should refer to College Board resources to facilitate preparation for or participation in Advanced Placement Language or Literature courses. While no official AP teacher certification is issued by the College Board or by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the College Board recommends that instructors complete an AP Institute or workshop to prepare for teaching an AP course. Individual school systems may also have developed their own requirements and expectations regarding teacher preparation and continued professional development. Educators seeking additional information on courses, materials, and/or professional development should refer to the College Board web site: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com. Students and parents may visit www.collegeboard.com/apstudents for additional information.

With permission of the College Board, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has created course standards that reflect both the expectations of the College Board and the philosophy and format of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study (SCS). However, these course outlines are not intended to replace the extensive guidelines provided by the College Board in AP course description books (often referred to as the acorn books) for each subject. Since the College Board frequently revises recommended topics and required skills, AP teachers should obtain and follow the current course descriptions for their courses.

Currently, schools and systems throughout North Carolina approach AP English Language Arts courses in different ways. According to the College Board,

Because the AP course depends on the development of interpretive skills as students learn to write and read with increasing complexity and sophistication, the AP course is intended to be a full-year course. Teachers at schools that offer only a single semester block for AP are encouraged to advise their students to take an additional semester of advanced English in which they continue to practice the kind of writing and reading emphasized in the AP class. (AP course description books for AP English Language and Composition and AP English Literature and Composition, available from http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/courses/descriptions/ )

In light of this recommendation and the numbers of systems who currently use the 4X4 block schedule, these courses have been designed to stand alone as electives that would be taken in addition to the graduation requirements of English I, II, III, and IV. However, local systems may choose to combine a required course (English III or English IV) with an AP course, as long as the standards for both courses are met. AP English courses may not be taken in lieu of any required English course. Allowing such a choice preserves the prerogatives of local systems to offer courses designed to meet the needs of their particular students and situations. The chart below offers a summary and some additional information about the differences between the courses:

Additional resources for both the separate and combined courses will be developed to support teachers.

Determining which approach (separate AP electives or combined English / AP courses) best fits a particular school or system will require consideration of the specific needs, goals, and resources of the local district and population. The following questions may help guide discussions:

• Will offering separate courses encourage more students, and perhaps a greater diversity of students, to challenge themselves at a higher level because they feel prepared by taking the honors level course first?
• Will students be less likely to take the separate AP course because they have other courses to take for graduation requirements or different interests?
• Will teachers of the separate courses have time to work together, before courses are implemented and/or during the school year, to avoid duplication of assignments and materials?
• How will the different approaches impact student literacy and achievement on local, state, and national assessments?
• How will the different approaches impact class size and teacher position allocation in the English department? in other departments?
• What scheduling challenges and options are presented by the different approaches?

• demonstrating an understanding of the differences between personal and objective responses to text.
• investigating connections between life and literature.

• defending, qualifying, or refuting the author's position to create a variety of formal and informal responses (e.g. journals, in-class writings, letters, memoirs, parodies).
• projecting his/her voice in reflective writing.

• investigating a variety of media sources.
• evaluating validity and significance of information.
• analyzing rhetorical functions of textual annotation and documentation.
• organizing information for clarity and effectiveness.
• demonstrating awareness of purpose, audience, and context.
• documenting sources accurately.

• assessing the language, culture, structure, and historical perspective of the text to explain insights into language.
• explaining significant connections among the speaker's/author's purpose, tone, biases, and the message for the intended audience.

• identifying the strengths of argumentative strategies and techniques.
• recognizing common argumentative weaknesses such as logical fallacies, the misuse of classical appeals, and inadequate support.

• evaluating print and electronic research materials to determine effectiveness and validity.
• producing expository and argumentative compositions that introduce, defend, qualify or refute a complex central idea.
• developing compositions with appropriate, specific evidence and cogent explanations.

• identifying an author's use of rhetorical strategies and devices and the extent to which they impact the development of the theme (e.g., selection of detail, tone, mood, style, attitude, point-of-view, syntax, organization, diction, voice).
• explaining the effectiveness of the author's use of language for the intended audience.

• evaluating the author's rhetorical purpose.
• synthesizing connections between text and historical and cultural context.
• critiquing the use of literary devices (e.g., figurative language, irony, imagery).

• making connections between text and personal experience.
• making connections and extending comparisons between features of different pieces of print and non-print text (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, film).

• understanding the author's intent.
• recognizing the author's rhetorical style.
• identifying the author's audience.
• evaluating the effectiveness of such choices.

• employing appropriate grammar and mechanics.
• revising writing to enhance voice and style, sentence variety, subtlety of meaning, and tone in consideration of questions being addressed, purpose, audience, and genres.

• using an effective writing process.
• utilizing a variety of sentence structures.
• incorporating clear transitions.
• developing and appropriately using a wide-ranging vocabulary.
• controlling rhetorical devices effectively, including tone, voice, and diction.

• express an understanding of complex thoughts and feelings.
• convey a sense of social, historical, political, philosophical, and/or stylistic implications.
• articulate his/her own values and preferences with respect to both the style and substance of other individuals.

• demonstrate an understanding of cultural, historical, and/or social implications with precision, sensitivity, energy, and imagination.
• discern comparisons and contrasts among texts that propose different ideas.
• understand the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers.
• recognize features of the author's use of language and how the reader relates these features to his/her own writing.
• examine his/her own response in light of peers' responses.

• explain themes, issues, and concepts in order to relate complex issues from a variety of historical, stylistic, and critical stances.
• examine significant comparisons and similarities among texts that propose different ideas related to similar concepts.

• recognizing historical context in terms of the evolution of language and literature.
• examining literary techniques such as style, syntax, diction, figurative language, tone, purpose, and audience.

• presenting a focused thesis with supporting detail and commentary.
• adjusting diction, tone, language and method of presentation to the audience.

• using a variety of texts and personal reflections.
• specifying their complex nature.
• tracing their commonalities.

• making a concise thesis.
• using credible reasoning and convincing detail to support the argument.
• demonstrating an intellectually mature tone and stance.

• provide the audience with a clear, credible thesis that establishes intent.
• substantiate the thesis with general and specific textual references including quotations.
• elaborate on textual support with insightful commentary
• develop and organize ideas in coherent, persuasive, precise language culminating in a conclusion that is not a summary.

• creating an awareness and appreciation of thematic connections among works.
• conveying an understanding of historical background and social values based on different cultural perspectives.

• analyzing textual detail.
• exploring historical context as well as social and cultural values.
• evaluating an author's style, including syntax, diction, figurative language, and literary devices.
• considering organization, subject, occasion, audience, purpose, and speaker.
• sharing thoughtful discussion in the company of his/her peers.

• employing appropriate grammar and mechanics.
• applying knowledge of diction.
• revising writing to enhance voice and style, sentence variety, subtlety of meaning, and tone in consideration of questions being addressed, purpose, audience, and genres.

• using an effective writing process.
• utilizing a variety of sentence structures.
• incorporating clear transitions.
• developing and appropriately using a wide-ranging vocabulary.
• controlling rhetorical devices effectively, including tone, voice, and diction.