- English
Prerequisite: B+ or higher in English 10 and departmental recommendation
Students in AP English and Composition learn to read critically and to analyze the rhetorical and stylistic devices at work in a wide variety of challenging texts, including creative, persuasive, and expository essays. Specific to this AP course, students examine how writers use the nuances of language as a tool to craft their message for a particular audience and to achieve their desired purpose. Students also practice research skills through reading, annotating, and synthesizing essays on a range of historical and contemporary issues. In addition to formal analysis, students work on developing their own voice, structuring an argument, and crafting personal narratives that speak to important transformational moments in their lives. Like their peers in English 11 American Literature, AP students undertake an interdisciplinary research project that requires them to gather scholarly sources and synthesize this information in order to compose a nuanced analysis of a vintage ad. AP students then extend their knowledge of the rhetoric of advertising by creating their own print advertisement and presenting it to professionals in the field.
- Advanced Placement