100.4 GUIDED TOUR OF ADVANCED LANGUAGE & LITERATURE

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Anyone who has ever taught AP® English Language or AP® English Literature knows that students’ preparation for college-level coursework needs to start long before they set foot in an AP® classroom. We have developed this book to provide Honors and Pre-AP® English teachers with rigorous, high-interest literature, nonfiction, and visual texts, as well as engaging questions and activities designed to support and challenge developing young minds.

Walking into their English classes at the beginning of the year, students may ask, “Why do I have to take English again? Didn’t I do English already?” These are questions we, as authors of this book, have tried to anticipate and address. The answer we can give students is that this year they will have an opportunity to discuss compelling topics—some close to their own experience, others outside of their comfort zone—as they develop new skills and gain the knowledge they need to become college-ready readers, writers, and thinkers.

—Renée Shea, John Golden, Lance Balla

Welcome to Advanced Language & Literature, a textbook designed specifically for Honors and Pre-AP® English courses. This Guided Tour of the book will introduce you to its structure and features.

STRUCTURE OF ADVANCED LANGUAGE & LITERATURE

Skill-Building Opening Chapters

  1. Reading the World

  2. Thinking about Literature

  3. Thinking about Rhetoric and Argument

  4. Thinking about Synthesis

These opening chapters establish the core skills for college-level academic work: reading closely, thinking analytically, and writing persuasively. Each chapter uses brief and accessible texts to introduce key concepts, then provides multiple opportunities to practice those skills.
Thematic Readings Chapters

  1. Identity and Society

  2. Ambition and Restraint

  3. Ethics

  4. Cultures in Conflict

  5. (Mis)Communication

  6. Utopia/Dystopia

Using readings that range from approachable to highly challenging, along with rigorous guided analysis tasks, these chapters allow students to hone and demonstrate their mastery of the skills built in the opening chapters.
Helpful Reference Section

Guide to Language and Mechanics

Guide to Speaking and Listening

Guide to MLA Documentation

Glossary

These brief guides give students and teachers resources for developing presentation skills, problem-solving grammar issues, reinforcing documentation habits, and clarifying key terminology.