AP Literature is an intensive study of British Literature with a focus on writing and college preparation.  During the year, we will span British Literature beginning with the Anglo- Saxon Period through a more modern England.  Some of the texts we will read this year include Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, The Poetics by Aristotle, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, and poetry by John Donne, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and William Blake, just to name a few.  This course allows the students to use literature as a "spring board" for writing.           This class may require quite a bit of outside time on the part of the student.  However, the payoff can be college English credit by earning a high score on the AP exam.  Students may also find that AP Literature is the most beneficial of all the AP classes, no matter their future aspirations, because of the college level writing, SAT/ACT word study, review of grammar skills, speaking opportunities, and the opportunity to integrate technology in the classroom.  Since they will work intensively in this class, they will be better prepared to overcome the difficulties so many college freshmen face. Summer Reading 2008-09 Crime and Punishment    by Dostoyevsky Oedipus Rex    by Sophocles The Poetics     by Aristotle    This can be found online and is very short to print, app. 50 pages in 3 parts. AP Literature and Composition Mrs. Buxton Student expectations: 1.      Students will complete the summer reading by the first class day. 2.      Students will not only maintain excellent attendance rates, including timeliness, but will be expected to be on task at all times.  I do not allow food or drinks, electronic devices, or other distractions.  Books and other materials will be brought daily unless otherwise instructed. 3.      Students will be expected to maintain independence, maturity, and self-discipline.  This class is considered a college level class and is conducted as such.  Students will be expected to keep up with complex assignments and lengthy reading, as well as managing the load of other courses.   4.      This course is difficult, challenging, and at times, painstaking.  Unless the student is serious about this class and its expectations and is planning on taking the AP Exam, he or she may want to reconsider taking this class.  Students do not have to take the exam at the end of the year, but this class is focused completely on AP Exam preparation, which includes extensive reading and writing.