When | Why |
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Aug-13-20 | NoRedInk & Membean |
AP English Language and Composition Course Syllabus
Instructor: Ms. Melissa Easley Email: [email protected]
Location: LMHS campus, Room C300 Remind: text @ to 81010
Course Description
It is the goal of this course to “cultivate the reading and writing skills that students need for college success and for intellectually responsible civic engagement. The course guides students in becoming curious, critical, and responsive readers of diverse texts and becoming flexible, reflective writers of texts addressed to diverse audiences for diverse purposes. The reading and writing students do in the course should deepen and expand their understanding of how written language functions rhetorically: to communicate writers’ intentions and elicit readers’ responses in particular situations”.
This course assumes that you have already developed a command of standard English grammar. Therefore, writing assignments in this course will focus on the writing craft, assisting you to become a more competent writer in college-level coursework. The course emphasizes academic essays, some of which should be at least 1,000 words in length and be taken through multiple drafts before completion.
The AP Exam
The AP Exam for English Language and Composition will be administered on May 12, 2021.
The exam is three hours and fifteen minutes long and is comprised of two sections:
Multiple-choice questions 45 questions 45% weighting 60 min
Reading questions 23 - 25 questions
Writing questions 20 - 22 questions
Free-response questions 3 questions 55% weighting 2 hr 15
Q1: Synthesis 6 points
Q2: Rhetorical Analysis 6 points
Q3: Argument 6 points
The exam assesses the four “big ideas” for the course: Rhetorical Situation, Claims and Evidence, Reasoning and Organization, and Style.
Scores
Scores on the AP examination are reported on a five-point scale as follows:
5: extremely well qualified 2: possibly qualified
4: well qualified 1: no recommendation
3: qualified
Your score will be reported to you in early July. Most schools in Louisiana give credit for a score of 3 or better on the AP Language exam. However, some schools will only give credit for a score of 4 or 5. You will need to research any schools to which you plan to apply.
Grading Procedures
The standard grading scale in this class is as follows:
90 - 100 A 70 - 79 C Below 60 Failing
80 - 89 B 60 - 69 D
Students are expected to utilize JCampus to stay informed about their current grade in the course. I will not discuss grades during class; please see me before or after school or send an email if you prefer.
Labor-Based Grading Contracts
AP English classes at Liberty use Labor-based Contract grading to determine final course grades. This grading system rewards students with high work ethics for the labor they put into the course as they work toward growth and progress.
*This contract is to be signed by admin and teacher, then student and parent at the start of the semester.
*The contract adjusts to allowing less late and missed work per 9 weeks.
Details: 10 pt grading scales + extra quality point
Breakdown:
100 possible points a 9 weeks = 1-2 10-pt assessments (major) + 17-18 5-point assessments
*because four grades of X or I would mathematically equal 80%, once you miss 4 assignments or turn in 4 incomplete assignments, one of your other 5-point assessments will drop to a 4 out of 5 in Jcampus to reflect the accurate class score of 79 C. The same method applies to D’s and F’s.
1st 9 Weeks
Final Grade |
# of Late Assignments
(record kept by teacher) |
# of Not Submitted Assignments
(recorded as X in Jcampus) |
# of Incomplete Assignments
(recorded as I in Jcampus) |
A 90-100 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
B 80-89 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
C 70-79 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
D 60-69 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
F 60- |
7+ |
6+ |
6+ |
*If a student surpasses any one of these categories, their grade drops to the next category. E.g., if a student has 3 recorded grades of “I” but 2 recorded grades of “X,” that student has earned a “B” for the 9 weeks, and vice versa.
*The number of L, X, and I total in each category determines whether the resulting class letter grade is + or -. For example:
Student A
Final Letter Grade |
# of Late Assignments
(record kept by teacher) |
# of Not Submitted Assignments
(recorded as X in Jcampus) |
# of Incomplete Assignments
(recorded as I in Jcampus) |
B+ |
4 |
0 |
0 |
Student B
Final Letter Grade |
# of Late Assignments
(record kept by teacher) |
# of Not Submitted Assignments
(recorded as X in Jcampus) |
# of Incomplete Assignments
(recorded as I in Jcampus) |
B- |
4 |
3 |
2 |
Further explanation of each category:
Late Assignments refer to any assignment, activity, or assessment that is turned in after the due date prescribed by the teacher.
Not-Submitted Assignments refer to any assignment that is not completed within 3 days (24-hour cycles) of the due date prescribed by the teacher. “X” in Jcampus. Plagiarized assignments fall under this category.
Incomplete Assignments refer to any assignments turned in that have ignored guidelines and are inadequate. E.G. the assignment is a full essay, and the student turns in a paragraph; the assignment is a paragraph, the student turns in a sentence. Students may choose to turn these assignments in late instead of being recorded as “Incomplete.” “I” in Jcampus.
JCampus & Google Classroom - I update JCampus and Google Classroom regularly. I strongly recommend retaining copies of all returned work until the grade has been posted in JCampus so that if there is a discrepancy, you may show me the assignment and I can make a correction at that time. Stay on top of your grades. This is a college-level course. It is not your parents’ responsibility to monitor your progress; you should be doing that yourself.
Cheating and Plagiarism
Cheating and plagiarism are both direct violations of our school’s Academic Honesty Policy. Students caught cheating will automatically receive a zero on the task, will be referred to the front office for disciplinary action, and will have a notation placed in their permanent record. To avoid any misunderstanding, do not talk during a quiz or test (even if you have completed your work). If you have a question, raise your hand and I will assist you. As a special word of caution: in a digital era and age of virtual learning, it is especially tempting to cheat or plagiarize. Aside from the morality and ethics of such behavior, I will caution you that failure to complete assignments independently will result in an inability to complete additional assignments in a more restricted environment. Do the work. You’ll be happy that you did.
Cheating is defined as any attempt to receive academic credit for work done by someone else. This includes but is not limited to the following:
Copying another student’s work on a test
Looking at another student’s test paper
Copying another student’s homework or turning in a term paper, report, theme or project written or prepared (in whole or part) by another person
Using a textbook, notebook or “cheat sheet” on a test when it is not authorized.
Using an electronic device like a cell phone, iPad, or iPod on a test when it is not authorized.
Plagiarism - the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own (This list is meant to be illustrative only.)
Providing illegal aid to enable others to cheat is also considered cheating. This includes but is not limited to the following:
Allowing your work to be copied and turned in by another student as his/her own
Allowing your test to be copied by another student Writing a term paper, report, theme for another student
Preparing a project for another student
Obtaining unauthorized information about a test and/or spreading this information.
Sharing text messages with another student to give answers or information when it is not authorized. (This list is meant to be illustrative only.)
Self- plagiarism: Reusing old papers from another current or past class
It should be noted that eyewitness accounts of a teacher, evidence based on written work or confiscated “cheat sheets,” will be accepted as determining the occurrence of cheating. In no case where cheating has taken place will academic credit for any part of the assignment in question be given to any student involved. In all cases when cheating is determined to have occurred,
(1) the suspected work will be confiscated and a grade of zero will be given;
(2) the teacher will counsel with the student and will contact the parents of the student involved, and
(3) notification of the offense will be sent to the Dean of Students for discipline.
In addition to the above, punishment may include: first offense: In-school suspension, second offense: suspension, third offense: magnet status revoked/expulsion.
Attendance/Tardiness
I expect all students to be in the classroom prepared to work on bellwork when the tardy tone sounds. Upon your arrival to class, please take care of any “housekeeping” tasks before the bell rings. If you are absent from school or miss a portion of class due to an appointment or some other cause, you are responsible for finding out what work you missed and completing that in a timely manner. Our school policy allows you one day to complete work for each day missed; if you miss school on Monday, you are to get your make up work Tuesday and have that prepared to turn in on Wednesday.
Writing Assignments
Students will be asked to write frequently throughout this course, in prompts of varying degrees of length and complexity (essays, research papers, analytical writing, rhetorical analysis, argumentative writing, et cetera). All writing assignments should include a works cited page, formatted using the most recent MLA style guidelines (information will be provided with each assignment/rubric). Although we are virtual, I prefer for you to hand write your essays and short responses, then take a picture to submit. We are trying to get Rocketbooks for y’all, but in case we don’t, handwritten is preferred. Handwritten assignments must be legible; I prefer that you use dark ink, skip a line, and write on one side of your paper unless it does not bleed through.
LINK TO COURSE CALENDAR
Added August 13, 2020 at 7:05am
by Melissa Easley
Title: NoRedInk & Membean
Membean & NoRedInk
*Membean is a weekly practice. In order to receive credit, students must meet their training goal every week with 2 grace weeks (not counted). This will be calculated at the end of the 9 weeks - don’t fall behind!
*NoRedInk is independent grammar work. At the end of the 9 weeks, I will check each student’s progress, and students must not be missing more than 2 assignments to receive credit for the 9 weeks.
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Paragraph 5 clearly articulates the goals of AP Lang. Go Easley yay!!
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I love teaching AP Lang because I love how it focuses on students being active and informed citizens.
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I’m excited to improve my reading and writing skills, I love writing!
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I love writing too but sometimes I don’t know where to start :/
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bro me 2
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very much so accurate
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This will really help in the future.
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An important thing to remember about this course is that it requires much stronger writing with more emphasis on rhetoric and argument development. No more fluff writing just to get a grade :)
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I think it’s important that this course teaches us how to fully grasp the concept of writing and written language functions because it wasn’t really focused on or taught much in regular english class.
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This is important because last year we (Eng. ii) focused mainly on the study of classic literature and its interpretation. Now that we’ve seen and read it, this class aims to allow us to improve our writing skills and composition.
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I’ve always had trouble completing an essay this long or longer so learning how to do so should be fun.
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it’s important to know at the being of the year so you can start preparing yourself early
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It’s great that there is already a date set and layout of how long the test will be. It really helps the prep process and we’re able to fully prepare and get as much help before.
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this is important because it gives us a general idea of what the exam is going to be like as well as the date
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It gives important details about the exam we will take
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The free response portion of this test is going to be more important than in any other class. It is 2 hours of writing and is worth 55% of the AP test, meaning it will decide whether you pass or fail
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Joking! No cramming :) Just nice to know what to focus on
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It’s important to know that the four big ideas will be on the test so that when preparing for the test you have a general idea of what to study.
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Its good to know what the AP exam might focus on so that you now what to what to make sure you understand these topics.
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Focus on passing this AP test so you don’t have to get as many hour in college
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This refers to applying to college?
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The grading scaled is changed since this is an AP class so now an A would be a 100-90 and so forth until a below 60 is a F instead of 66 for usual classes.
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This is important because AP Lang is on a different grading scale where even a 90 is an A. This is a good thing to tell your parents ahead of time
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It’s important to keep track of personal grades, especially over virtual learning because things can glitch or your work might not have gone through and even though you did an assignment, you might not get points for it.
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We go over all of this Thursday, and I’ll explain in more detail, but what Marie said is true. Your grade in the class comes from the work (labor) you put in, not grades of A or B or C on individual assignments.
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this is important so you know what we are being graded based on and how our work will be kept track of so you know how heavily weighted each assignment is
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I need to memorize the Labor-Based Grading Contracts and its grading process. This isn’t something I’ve worked with before. And it is important to remember.
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Good idea! We will talk about the grading extensively next class, no worries! It is a transition, but a helpful one, and soon, it’ll be like normal :)
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The more you put in to this class the higher grade you get. The less you put in this class your grade will reflect on that
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This is important because it details the kind of grading we will be receiving in this class.
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do your work yall >:O
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Couldn’t have said it better myself…I am all about work ethic!
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This explains how many assignment you can miss while still earning the extra point towards your GPA.
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It is nice to know the exact number of slip ups that I have to keep my grade up.
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I like the grading scale in AP because your grades boosts if you have an A-D but, I’m striving for an A this year so my GPA can go up, yes lord lol
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Everyone is probably very confused with how everything is going, with all of the new accounts we have to make, and all of the online assignments we have, but I recommend going through each class everyday to double check that nothing wasn’t submitted that was supposed to be.
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Great idea. I will always try to make sure your assessments are all in one spot for y’all as well.
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I have to remember to check JCampus regularly, as not to miss anything important that has been added to my classes.
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I completely get this rule and am 100% sure that I understand this.
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Its important to know that the teacher keeps Jcampus and google classroom updated regularly because it gives the student more responsibility and allows the student to regularly check their grades to see if tutoring is need or to check and see what assignments they have due or missing.
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Its good that she tells us to keep our work in case this happen and it sounds like she will be willing to work with us about it as long as we provide our proof.
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Cheating clearly will have consequences so if you get caught you will get punished and they are going to put it on our permanent record.
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most definetly
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Cheating can range from a variety of ways that can get you the answer on a test or an assignment. Cheating will result in disciplinary Actions such as but not limited to write-ups, parents called, and or termination from the school.
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Cheating and plagiarism not only prevents the teacher from understanding your personal academic abilities, but it is also just not worth it.
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If you cheat and plagiarize that’s not helping the teacher understand what you know and what you don’t know. So you should not do it if you really care about your future.
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telling us exactly what it is makes us not want to be tempted to try it. I love it!
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Plagiarism can ruin everyhing you have going for yourself. It can even cause you to lose scholarships.
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I never really thought about this in general, but if this is a general rule that you can’t use old content you made, that’s good to know if I ever get super desperate.
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if you cheat might as well say bye-bye to everyone. cheating isn’t cool
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It’s always good to know how the teacher prefers to run their class.
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It is important for us to do work that we’ve missed.
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I think it is interesting that she prefers to have handwritten essays. I am glad to know this ahead of time.
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all teachers prefer different thing regarding essays so its good to know exactly what each teacher wants
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This says what requirements all the writing should follow. This is really important if we want to get a full grade.
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This explains the required format for all writing assignments.
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Although she prefer handwriting, but this course will definitely improve our skill of writing.
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I like that hand written is preferred. I personally feel like it helps me come up with more thoughts. Also looking at a computer screen is tiring.
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Sometimes I think it could be good to try and write things down to remember and show that you understand.
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General Document Comments 0
Read through the syllabus, then highlight anything you think is important and leave a comment about why it is important.
Ask any questions you have as well.
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