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HS AP English Language and Composition

TAUGHT BY

Andrew Hamaker

11th-12th

In this course, students will develop their skills as both readers and writers by learning to recognize and imitate the rhetorical strategies experienced writers use to serve their specific purposes. Areas of focus include descriptive, narrative, analytical, and persuasive writing as well as process analysis and the principals of Rogerian argument. Additionally, students will strengthen their understanding of grammar, with an emphasis on using punctuation and structure to enhance the meaning of a sentence. Students will read and analyze a variety of nonfiction works and hone their skills through regular writing and essay assignments. All students will take the AP exam at the end of the year. 4-6 hours of work outside class weekly.

CLASS MATERIALS

In addition to the books below, students will need a notebook or binder with plenty of paper along with pencils and pens in several colors.

First Semester:
*Keys to Great Writing (978-1582974927)
The Bedford Reader, Thirteenth Edition (Provided in class)
Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain (978-0451531209)
Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott (978-0385496094)
*On the Good Life, selections from Marcus Tullius Cicero (978-0140442441)
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis (978-0060652937)

Second Semester:
*Barron’s AP English Language and Composition, 10th edition (978-1506262055)
The Writer’s Workshop (Provided in class)
*The World-Ending Fire by Wendell Berry (978-1640091979)
The Lawless Roads by Graham Greene (978-0143039730)

*Please purchase books marked with an asterisk (*) using the ISBN in parentheses. For other books, the ISBN is for the edition I will be using, which is recommended for students also.

Andrew has lived in Asheville since he was 11 years old. He grew up homeschooled and was a particularly high performer in high school Latin classes. In 2014, he graduated from Union University with a B.A. in English and a minor in Music. Currently, he also works part-time at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Asheville. He has taught homeschool classes since 2016.

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