Not your typical English Class….   And truth be told, it will rock your world. AP/IB Language and Composition is an intensive , one year course with a focus on rhetorical practices. It is designed for highly motivated juniors who have demonstrated success in English II Accelerated and accelerated history classes. During the course of the year you are required to read various literary works, analyze text, and interpret them with accurate use of terminology. This class requires that you write expository essays, creative non-fiction works, and embark on the IB Learner Portfolio. In addition, this course prepares you for the Advanced Placement Language Exam (May 2021). A successful pass rate in these exams will earn students college credit. Taking the AP Exam in May, 2021 and IB Language A Exam in 2022 demonstrates to colleges that students are serious about their education and indicates that they have mastered the skills taught in the course. A passing score on this exam may even earn students college credit. If you have financial concerns, please speak with me. While the AP exam is voluntary, it is highly encouraged. Financial hardship should not deter you from taking the exam.*  

• The class seamlessly integrates the complementary curriculum of International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP), and serves as the first year of a two-year IB English Language and Literature course. 

  • IB is divided into three areas of exploration: Readers, Writers, and Texts; Time and Space; and Intertextuality: Connecting Texts. The seven concepts underlying these areas of exploration are: identity, culture, creativity, communication, perspective, transformation, and representation. Students maintain a Learner Portfolio in which they reflect on the texts studied; this portfolio is an integral part of the IB assessments in the senior year. 

  • AP focuses on having students read and analyze others’ arguments, and then write their own. The foundational “Big Ideas” of AP are: Rhetorical Situation; Claims and Evidence; Reasoning and Organization; and Style. The understanding of these concepts is measured by the AP English Language Exam which consists of a multiple choice section (45%) and a free-response composition section (synthesis, rhetorical analysis, and argument--55%) administered in the spring.