AP Literature & Composition (12th Grade) - Tenafly Public Schools

Copies of the TextsWe encourage you to buy your own copies so that you may highlight and mark the texts as you wish.Don’t forget that you will need an UNABRIDGED copy of Great Expectations.If you would like to borrow copies of the texts from the English Department, come to our office (room212) after school on June 22 or June 23.As you read each novel, you might use Post–its to respond to, and to reflect upon, the experience ofreading the novels – your emotional, cognitive and aesthetic responses. Mark memorable passages;places where you felt confused; places where you have questions; and so on. Mark passages containinginteresting examples of “diction, syntax and imagery” and passages you simply find “well written.” Thepassages you mark, and whatever notes you choose to make, will help you participate actively in the classdiscussions on the two novels – which will be one of our “great expectations” for the first few weeks ofschool.Self-Assessment of Your Paper:You will receive a grade for this first essay of the year. Be sure to convey:o Your deep and authentic reading of each text, including through the use of textual support.o Critical thinking about each text and about the texts in connection with one another. Go beneaththe plot level of the stories to analyze meanings you find emerging in your encounter with eachtext – and with the two texts.o Fluid writing in a personal, engaging voice and stylistic maturity.As you revise your paper, you might ask yourself:o Is your essay focused on the assigned task?o Have you conveyed your understanding of the two novels by making frequent references todetails from the text – details that you as a reader noticed (which, we hope and assume, will bedifferent from what other readers will notice)?o Have you used the present tense to discuss the events in each text? (Note: You can use thepast tense to discuss events that have already happened, which include the actual time youspent reading the texts.)o Have you varied your sentence structure to create flow?o Have you chosen words carefully to create vivid and active language?

Formatting Your Paper:Use MLA Paper Format (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html#General)General Formatting GuidelinesType your paper and print it out on standard-sized paper (8.5 X 11 inches).Double-space your paper.Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides.Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inchfrom the top and flush with the right margin; in the header, one every page, your last name shouldprecede the number.Use either italics throughout your essay for highlighting the titles of longer works and providingemphasis.Formatting the first page of your paperDo not make a title page for your paper.Provide a double-spaced entry in the top left corner of the first page that lists your name, yourinstructor's name, the course, and the date.Center your title on the line below the header with your name, and begin your paper immediately belowthe title.