Curriculum

AP Literature and Composition is an accelerated course designed to cultivate advanced readers and writers. This is the highest level English course offered at Troy High School and is part of the most advanced pathway. Our experienced teachers have an impressive knowledge base, having taught this course for many years, and having attended numerous trainings and professional development opportunities. 

 

In addition to preparing students for success on the AP Literature and Composition exam, students enrolled in this course will also complete their IB HL requirements. 

 

Students entering this course should already have a mastery of the following concepts and possess the following skills: 

 

• sophisticated knowledge of literary style and rhetorical devices

• analytical literary style analysis writing and composition 

• critical thinking and reading general knowledge of literary periods 

• precise and sophisticated grasp of language conventions and grammar facility in timed/on-demand writing assessments 

• a confident ability to formulate insights on literature and communicate concrete analysis in speaking and writing 

 

Workload expectations for this course (list typical amount of homework, projects, presentations, papers, etc.): 

• Typical assignments involve reading lengthy and complex texts, including novels and texts outside of class. The novels assigned are quite lengthy and contain dense, sophisticated language and complex themes. 

• Formulating reader response writing 

• Formal literary style analysis essays (including FRQs and HL exam preparation)

• At least one MLA research paper Collaborative assignments and presentations (both formal and informal) 

• Preparation for the AP and IB assessments. 

• At times, several concurrent units will require careful time management. 

• Students should expect an average of 3-6 hours weekly. This is an accelerated, college-level course. There will be an average of 5 core works/units of study per semester. 

• Students can expect to write between 3-6 essays in class per semester. 

• Students should expect to write 1-2 formal style analysis take-home or research MLA-formatted essays per semester. 

• Students should be prepared to discuss literature in class on a daily basis. The use of academic discourse and language in discussion is required and factored into grades. 

 

Course texts may include: 

• Jane Eyre

• Hamlet

• Macbeth

• Death of a Salesman

• The Glass Menagerie

• Long Day’s Journey Into Night

• The Importance of Being Earnest

• Frankenstein

• Native Son

• The Catcher in the Rye

• Extended units on poetry, short fiction, and literary criticism and non-fiction