Honors English IV & AP Language:
Sem I —Heroes & Villains 2025
Sem II — (AP Lang) Business Writing 2026

For Monday 9/29:
Read Part II (pp 49-92) On Writing Well, by William Zinsser, THEN:

1) revise your personal financial plan narrative. Include a LEAD and an ENDING. Make it a compelling narrative using techniques from Zinsser. Email it to me and bring all drafts to our next class.

2) revise business plan with post-presentation notes. Email it to me and bring all drafts to our next class.

Read — Drucker: How to Avoid H.E.N.R.Y. Syndrome, at least chapters 5-8 (pp. 75-165). Mark new knowledge, useful advice, things you agree with or disagree with (write notes in the margins so you remember why you marked it when we discuss).

For Monday 10/6:
Read Volume II Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley (pp 93-151)
mark for discussion: unexpected insights; connections to previous readings; useful sociological information about the human condition. What is a hero?

Revise a script for your audio profile, using notes from class. We will rerecord these by 10/23.

Reading schedule for Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley:
Monday 10/6 Volume II (pp 93-151)
Monday 10/13 Volume III (pp 155-265)

Find AP Literature vocabulary HERE OR play to study on Quizlet!

Grammar, key terminology, and vocabulary items that we have discussed in class are on the AP Literature & Composition Vocabulary Archive. While most of you will not take the AP Language exam until next year, it always helps to become familiar with these terms now (rather than cramming next year). The sooner you get started, the sooner (comparative degree) you will know all your terms.

Student Resources: AP Literature

Check every piece for THESE SKILLS before turning anything in for an edit.
Check ALL CITATIONS (quotes) with these formatting rules before turning anything in for an edit.

Click HERE for directions for email editing

Summer reading list for High School students

Access AP Literature class writing archives to see what our readings and assignments are for this year, and to read sample pieces written by previous English II students.

GRADING:

Participation = 30% (purely subjective, based on my perceptions of your initiative, interest, self-motivation, & tenacity)

Assignments (two parts of grade)

1st Semester EFFORT = 20%; CONTENT = 10%
2nd Semester EFFORT = 10%; CONTENT = 20%

Vocab/Multiple Choice tests= 15%
AP Portfolio essay grades= 15%
Exams = 10%<

"The difference between predictions and outcomes is the key to understanding a strange property of learning: if you’re predicting perfectly, your brain doesn’t need to change further…Changes in the brain happen only when there’s a difference between what was expected and what actually happens." — David Eagleman in Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain

Unfinished Pieces: Semester II
(updated 9/24/25)

Anna
Assignments: 95%[E]/93%[C]
AP essays = %
Vocab/Mult. Choice practice = 80%
AP exams = 

Class Business Plan
personal financial plan narrative
audio profile script

John
Assignments: 90%[E]/88%[C]
AP essays = %
Vocab/Mult. Choice practice = 60%
AP exams = 

resume
Class Business Plan
personal financial plan narrative
audio profile script

An explanation of the assignment grades above: The grade you see is an average of the CONTENT grades you have received over an average of the EFFORT grades you have received. We will have this on hand in class as a graph, which I expect to see rise over the course of the year. There will, of course, be dips, too...During the first semester, the effort grade will be weighted more; during the Spring semester, I will look at the content average as the more significant part of your grade.