AP English Literature & Composition Agreement                        Mr. Falciani, teacher

2070 (Classroom) and 2032 (Office) or 2047 (Media room)                davidfalciani@gmail.com

Mrfalciani.com                                                                

Welcome to AP English Literature & Composition! This course is a challenging, engaging, college-level exploration of literature as art. Through critical reading, discussion, and written analysis of novels, plays, and poetry from various literary periods and perspectives, you will develop the reading, thinking, and composition skills necessary for success in college coursework and on the AP exam in English Literature. You need to be passionate about reading and writing in order to endure the pace and expectations of this course.

Course Elements

Reading Plays, novels, poetry, short fiction, criticism, other supplemental works. Besides assigned work for this class, you will be reading an independent novel each marking period. I will provide you with a reading list, or you may read a work of your own choice; see me first.

Writing

“Students will strive for clarity and grace in their prose. With practice, participation in peer response, revision, and individual writing conferences, they should begin to develop stylistic maturity.”(College Board Course Description).

Timed essays, (AP exam style, 40 minutes)

• Close reading of poetry

• Close reading of prose (fiction or drama)
• Writing about a work of literature as it relates to a particular element or idea (Open Question)

Literary Analysis Essays We will learn “how to make careful observations of textual detail, establish connections among observations, and draw from those connections a series of inferences leading to an interpretive conclusion about the work’s meaning and value.” (CBCD)

Personal Statement/College Essay Required, whether or not you are applying to college, or have already written another one. (September-October)

Response Journal: You will be using a journal for both personal and academic responses to the literature we read, the classroom experiences we have, and your progress in English this year. I will be reading your journals periodically and grading them for completeness. I will not share anything you write in your journal with anyone, unless I am concerned that you are in danger or are putting someone else in danger. Your journal will be collected, unannounced, at least once a marking period (six in all). Make sure that you are always up to date and that you have the journal with you in class each day.

Studentship and Effort

According to the College Board, “Reading should be accompanied by thoughtful discussion . . . in the company of one’s fellow students.” In order to have fruitful discussion, you must put energy and thought into reading, and come to class with comments and questions; you must also be attentive. Discussions and activities are intended to aid understanding of a work.  

The overarching goal of AP Literature is to help you cultivate mature habits of critical thinking as an independent reader of and writer about literature. You carry considerable intellectual responsibility for course preparation. This is a joint venture between teacher and students, not a “teacher monologue;” your participation is essential to understanding, growth, and refinement of ideas. Come to class prepared to participate, to listen to each other respectfully, and to try new things.

As your teacher, I am more concerned with attitude than aptitude—commitment and motivation as well as ability. Being brilliant alone is not enough. I expect you to work hard this year, and I want you to improve your skills. To some extent, my grading of your work will reflect this view. If you are working, you will thrive; if you are putting in half-hearted effort, your talent can only partly save you.

Multiple Choice In order to prepare for this part of the AP exam, we will do frequent annotation of texts, take frequent multiple choice practice, analyze answers, and create our own multiple choice questions.

Materials

1. Black or blue pens, a highlighter, and pencils. With rare exceptions, all submitted assignments must be done in black or blue ink.
2. Notebook. You may use a three-ring binder with loose leaf paper or a spiral notebook with perforated-edged paper. Be sure to have plenty of 8½x11 paper to use for assignments. I will not accept any work with scraggly edges.
3. Literary response journal. A marble composition notebook.
4. System for keeping handouts organized. You will have a lot of handouts, including texts, practice exams, and informational materials. I will provide these to you three-hole-punched (if possible). I suggest keeping sections in a three-ring binder, which you may keep in the classroom, and a folder for more current papers, but you can use any system that works for you, as long as you can keep and find materials.
5. Books. HSES will almost always provide these for you. Occasionally, I may ask you to acquire a book on your own, either from the library or by purchasing it. If this ever presents a financial burden to you, please come and talk to me.
6. New York Public Library Card.
7. A working, academically appropriate email address. Your email address should reflect your maturity and professionalism, and should not be profane or suggestive. You are required to check this email weekly, and maintain it throughout the year. If you have questions, see me.

Grading Policy

• I will assign a point value to all required work—homework, quizzes, tests, essays, journal entries, class work, projects, and participation. Your grade is made up of the following percentages:

50% Class work, Participation, Homework, Journals, Group Work, Study Guides, Studentship

50% Tests, Essays, Projects

• Your grade is calculated cumulatively. This means that all work counts as part of a single semester grade. You do not get a “fresh start” with the beginning of each marking period. Please note that marking periods are only progress reports on your movement toward that final grade, based upon all your work during the entire semester—from the first day of the first marking period to the last day of the last marking period. Start strong and stay strong. It will be hard to catch up if you fall behind early.
• I will be using the www.snapgrades.net website to calculate and post grades. You and your parent/guardians can go online to check your progress. You will get more information about this soon.
• You can expect me to grade your written work fairly and thoroughly, to give you constructive criticism, and to get it back to you in a timely manner. Please ask questions if you do not understand a grade!

Late Work

• Late homework assignments lose ½ credit for each day late. In college, your instructors will not necessarily give you the option of making up missed work, as you may have had in previous high school classes.  
• Arriving late or leaving early are not excuses for not submitting work. If you are present in school for any part of the day, I expect to receive your homework. If you cannot find me, put the work in my mailbox in the attendance office.
• Major writing assignments will be given and explained fully at least a week in advance, and will for the most part be due on Thursdays. I will allow one grace day with no questions or penalties. I will accept a paper late on Friday, but will accept no papers beyond that single day. If a student declines to turn an essay in on the assigned day, choosing to take advantage of the grace period, that is her choice. However, if she misses class on Friday, too bad. I make no exceptions. I expect you to respect the due dates that I set. Submitting assignments by e-mail does not alter this policy. If I do not have the assignment on the due date, it is late. This is my policy, for which I do not apologize. Of course, none of this need apply to you...if you respect the due dates and complete the work as assigned.
• I can and will make exceptions and exercise flexibility if an emergency arises.  If a problem should arise where you cannot hand in an assignment on time, see me about it as soon as possible. I will not give extensions the day an assignment is due. The sooner I know, the more likely you are to get an extension.

Absence

• I realize that you have personal commitments, other classes, and social events during your senior year; nevertheless, you have made a commitment to this course. It is your responsibility to manage your time and decide what you can handle.
• If you are absent, bring a note on your return that includes 1. the date, 2. the days you were absent, 3. a parent or guardian’s signature, 4. a phone number where they can be reached, and 5. the reason you were absent. If you know in advance that you will be absent, bring a note with all of the above beforehand. If I have no note, the absence is unexcused and considered a cut.
• If you miss a test or timed write, you can only make it up with a valid note and within one week of your return. It is your responsibility to make an appointment for the make-up.
• If you do not submit an assignment because you are absent from school with a valid excuse, you will have the same number of days to make up the work as you were absent.
• For periods of absence longer than a week, please see me to discuss an individual schedule for making up the work.
• Keep in mind that it is not easy to make up work when you have been absent, and you can never duplicate the instructional time you lose in just one day. Come to school.

Academic Honesty

• Do your own work. If I collect work that is identical, both students will receive zeros for the assignment, regardless of who did the copying, and the work cannot be made up. Cheating on tests or quizzes will also result in a zero.
• Plagiarism—using another person’s written work from the internet, a book or another publication, without proper attribution—will receive a zero, with no opportunity for make-up. Repeated and/or egregious offenses will be reported to parents, administration, and quite possibly to the colleges you have applied to. Do not cheat. It’s not worth it.
• It is OK to check sites like sparknotes.com once in a while if you get stuck on a particular question, but do not let these sites replace reading our texts, or do your thinking for you. If you are smart enough to be taking an AP class, you don’t need “intellectual crutches.”

Written Work

• Take-home essays and other writing assignments (unless otherwise specified) should be typed. If you do not have access to a computer, please let me know. Documents must be double-spaced, typed in an easy to read font (12 point maximum!), printed in black ink, the margins no larger than one inch.
• Unless explicitly stated otherwise, you are responsible for having with you, at the beginning of the class period, a physical copy of any work due that day. I will not accept assignments over email unless I have given specific permission or instructions. If you are submitting typed work, plan ahead and be sure your printer has paper and ink.  
• On handwritten notes or other assignments, I expect neat, legible writing in black or dark blue ink only.

Contacting Me I am free  3rd, 7th, and 9th periods. While you do not need an appointment to see me during those times, it is best to let me know when you plan to stop by. You can find me in the Media Suite, 2047. You and your parents/guardians can also reach me through dfalciani@schools.nyc.gov. I am happy to talk with you about our course material or your progress. I will always do my best to make sure that you feel you are being treated fairly in my class.

Homework and Time Management To succeed in this course, plan to spend between 45 minutes and one hour per school night studying, reading or writing for it. I will give you reading schedules and assignments as far in advance as possible so you can plan ahead. If you find yourself having trouble managing your time or feel overwhelmed by the work, please visit me to discuss the problem; we’ll work it out together.

The AP Literature Examination The AP English Literature and Composition exam takes place on Thursday morning, May 5, 2011. You are required to take the exam. Fee waivers will be available for those who need them. The exam takes three hours: one hour for multiple choice questions followed by two hours for essay questions. The reading, critical analysis, and writing we do throughout the year will prepare you for the challenge of the exam, but I hope it will do much more than that as well.

I look forward to a challenging and rewarding year together!

I have read the class agreement in its entirety, and I understand that I am responsible for completing all assignments, readings, essays and projects in Mr. Falciani’s AP English Literature & Composition.

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