New Canaan High School
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- New Canaan High School
- Senior Advanced Placement: English Literature and Composition
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NCHS English Department - Ms. Emily Hernberg
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ADVANCED PLACEMENT LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION
(College Board Approved)
Grade: 12
Duration: 2 Semesters
Prerequisite: Application & Department Selection
Credit: 0.5 per semester
AP English is a demanding, full-year course for seniors interested in analysis of challenging, complex literary
texts. Students will be presented with works that range from the time of ancient Greece to 21st century America, works
by writers from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Students should expect to read a balance of classical texts as well
as texts written in the 19th and 20th centuries. Novels ranging in breadth from Heart of Darkness to The Brothers
Karamazov are also included in the AP curriculum.
Through written work that ranges from analytical essays to original creative pieces that feature application of literary
conventions from mentor texts, students will be assessed on their understanding of literary structure, style and themes,
as well as elements such as figurative language, imagery, symbolism and tone. Students will also be expected to present
their understanding of literature in various modes, and to generate and sustain class discussion about literature.
Students will complete a summer reading that is due on the first day of classes. Students must take the Advanced
Placement exam in May to receive the weighted grade for this course.
Reserved books for all AP Literature courses: Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Canterbury Tales, Beowulf, Grendel, The Oedipus
Cycle, Heart of Darkness, Things Fall Apart, Frankenstein, Pride and Prejudice, Crime and Punishment, The Divine
Comedy.