The AP English Literature and Composition course is designed to help students develop skills in close reading, careful analysis of literature, and effective written and oral communication. This particular course parallels the students’ study of U.S. history by exploring essential questions about national identity in literature. Students will explore both British and American perspectives of what defines an individual, and they will trace the development of American identity from the earliest explorations through the modern era. Genres studied will include drama, poetry, short stories, essays, and political speeches from the fifteenth century through the twenty-first century. Reading assignments will engage students in responding personally to the text, identifying and evaluating the authors’ use of various literary and rhetorical techniques, and exploring how the texts reflect the historical and cultural values of the British and American people. Writing assignments will include personal essays, personal narratives, journals, formal literary analyses, essays of comparison and contrast, argumentative essays, and poetry. Students will write single and multiple-draft assignments, both timed and untimed. Students will use the multiple-draft writing process to revise their work with feedback from the instructor and their peers. The course will also include preparation for the specific format and types of question students will encounter on the AP English Literature and Composition exam.