Course Description:

Advanced Placement (AP) Literature and Composition is a rigorous, exciting reading and writing college-level course, and students may, by a strong performance on the AP Exam in May, earn up to one year of college credit and/or advanced placement in college English. The more important goal is to encourage students to become avid, intelligent readers of great literature for the rest of their lives. The course requires of its students careful, deliberate reading of at least twelve (12) works studied in class, one novel read outside of class for summer reading, an intensive study of poetry, and a plethora of passages from former and practice AP tests. All approved texts by the College Board address mature topics. Writing, as an integral part of the course, will require at least six (6) compositions per trimester, which will reinforce the critical reading skills taught across the spectrum of literary genres. The course workload is college level and will include practice AP examinations throughout the year.

The philosophy of the course is rooted in the belief that literature frames the essential questions of both personal and collective human existence, and, therefore, its study is of the utmost importance.  It further assumes that the close study of the writer’s craft teaches crucial analytical skills and provides models of excellence in oral and written expression. 

This course will provide an opportunity for you to become immersed in the craft of writing.  You will be asked to engage in numerous invitations to challenge your thinking and reflect. Together we will write, read about writing, and discuss ways of building successful pieces of writing because as we already know, writing is fun.  It is assumed that you signed up for a class called “Honors Creative Writing” because you like writing. If you don’t, um, maybe you should double-check the course titles when signing up for classes? And good luck?

First and foremost, you are working on your stuff.  Therefore, you need to attend in a timely and consistent fashion, and you need to participate in all aspects of the class so that you can bring your ideas to fruition.  Participation and student involvement count toward your grade. If you are not present, or if you are present without your materials or brain, there is nothing anyone, yourself included, can do to help you with your writing.  Take your work and yourself seriously.