Contact Information
Course Information
AP Language and Composition is an introductory college-level course that facilitates the development and fostering of a propensity for rhetoric and the study of language through close reading of and writing in a variety of modes for a variety of audiences. The course focuses on the philosophy that both reading and writing are centered around the study of the art of persuasion. We concentrate on the analysis of rhetorical purpose in both fiction and nonfiction writing: essays, speeches, editorials, letters, and the novel. A great deal of writing is done in this course, both in and out of class, in a variety of modes ranging from personal narrative to analytical to argumentative, as it mirrors the freshman English composition course in college. This class prepares students for the AP Language and Composition Exam, as well as great success at the collegiate level in English.
AP English classes--Major/Essay grades 60%
Quizzes and Daily grades 40%
AP English classes--Major/Essay grades 60%
Quizzes and Daily grades 40%
ap_lang_syllabus_and_course_info_2019-2020.doc | |
File Size: | 83 kb |
File Type: | doc |
About Me
This will be my 22nd year teaching English, 21 of which have been in Weatherford ISD. I have been teaching AP Language at WHS for 17 years, and before that I taught Pre-AP for 4 years at Hall Middle School. I am the English Department Head at Weatherford High School, and I am an AP Language and Composition Exam Reader for the College Board. My continued professional growth to prepare for the teaching of this course include 13 years of attendance at TCU's AP Summer Institute, 1 year at Rice University's AP Institute, and a 1 year at UTA's AP three-day institute. I am an avid reader of fiction, nonfiction, and professional publications.
I have a Master of Education in Secondary English Curriculum and Instruction, in which I maintained a 4.0 GPA as a graduate student.
I am married to Jamie Tharp, Physics teacher and coach at Paschal High Schoool, and we have two daughters, Abby, a junior at Texas Tech University, and Sadie, a senior at Weatherford High School. I love English. My classroom is my second home, and I find great joy and purpose in discussing literature, teaching writing, and encouraging college preparatory growth in thinking and skill development. I am very excited to embark on each day of each new week of the school year!
I have a Master of Education in Secondary English Curriculum and Instruction, in which I maintained a 4.0 GPA as a graduate student.
I am married to Jamie Tharp, Physics teacher and coach at Paschal High Schoool, and we have two daughters, Abby, a junior at Texas Tech University, and Sadie, a senior at Weatherford High School. I love English. My classroom is my second home, and I find great joy and purpose in discussing literature, teaching writing, and encouraging college preparatory growth in thinking and skill development. I am very excited to embark on each day of each new week of the school year!