AP English Literature and Composition immerses students in novels, plays, poems, and short stories from various periods. Students read and write daily, using a variety of multimedia and interactive activities, interpretive writing assignments, and class discussions to assess and improve their skills and knowledge. The course places special emphasis on reading comprehension, structural and critical analysis of written works, literary vocabulary, and recognizing and understanding literary devices. The key foci of this course are comprehension, interpretation, and analysis. More specifically, the course focuses on close and thematic reading skills. The writing students undertake is overwhelmingly of an analytical nature; students analyze meaning and how meaning is created. The equivalent of an introductory college-level survey class, this course prepares students for the AP Exam and for further study in creative writing, communications, journalism, literature, and composition. The content aligns to the scope and sequence specified by the College Board and to widely used textbooks. Students may take the first semester of the course without taking the second semester but may not take semester 2 without taking semester 1.
