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INSIDE THE OPENING CHAPTERS

The book begins with four opening chapters that are designed to introduce the key literary and rhetorical tools students will use in their reading and writing about imaginative literature and nonfiction texts. Culminating Activities at the end of each chapter can be used as formative assessments, and those in Chapters 2, 3, and 4 are designed to mimic the types of tasks required on the AP^® Language and AP^® Literature exams.

Chapter 1 — Reading the World

In this chapter, we try to give students a bit of perspective on the role of literacy in the world, along with the importance of analysis—making observations, identifying patterns, and drawing conclusions—as the fundamental process humans use to make sense of the world around them, whether that means understanding a scientific principle or investigating a poem, graphic novel, or short story.

Chapter 2 — Thinking about Literature

In this chapter, we introduce students to the skills of literary analysis and close reading required for success in the AP^® Literature and Composition course. We begin by asking students to shift how they think from literal to metaphorical. We build on the familiar process of analyzing the elements of literature—setting, character, and so on—and move toward an analysis of theme: the meaning of the work as a whole. We then ask students to investigate how stylistic choices in prose and poetry help an author create specific effects and convey meaning.

Chapter 3 — Thinking about Rhetoric and Argument

In this chapter, we introduce the skills of rhetorical analysis, argument analysis, and persuasive writing that are central to the AP^® Language and Composition course and success in college. Through straightforward instruction based on brief examples, along with frequent skill-building activities, students move from understanding key concepts such as the rhetorical situation, ethos, logos, and pathos, to analyzing how authors use those rhetorical devices, and finally to how students can put those tools to work in their own writing.

Chapter 4 — Thinking about Synthesis

This chapter introduces students to synthesis, a key concept in the AP^® Language and Composition course, and likely unfamiliar to most students. This chapter builds on the familiar processes of drawing on a single source as evidence and using comparison and contrast, and then guides students through the process of considering multiple perspectives on an issue and integrating ideas from multiple sources into an evidence-based argument.