Bridging a False Dichotomy between Fiction and Nonfiction Texts in AP Language and Composition

1. Bridging a False Dichotomy between Fiction and Nonfiction Texts in AP Language and Composition Michael Neal, Florida State & Alfonso Correa, School for Talented & Gifted (Dallas) AP Language and Composition Development Committee

2. How does the AP English Language and Composition course relate to college and university curricula? “The course equates to an introductory college course in rhetorical analysis and composition, so students who take that exam could possibly earn college credit for or placement out of an introductory composition course. Before applying for credit or placement, students should learn which type of composition courses their college(s) of choice requires. If the college has a non-literary composition program, it is more likely to grant credit or advanced placement based on the AP English Language Exam results….” --from AP Central

3. How does the current Course Description identify content? • The course “focuses on rhetorical analysis of nonfiction texts and the development and revision of well-reasoned, evidence-centered analytic and argumentative writing.” (p. 8) • Subsequently, the course reading is such that it “facilitates informed citizenship and thus increases students’ capacity to enter into consequential conversations with others about meaningful issues.” (p. 9) • “Also contributing to students’ informed citizenship is their ability to gather source materials representing particular conversations and then make their own reasonable and informed contributions to those conversations.”

4. For AP Teachers: School, district, or state expectations Limited time and Resources Training & background Preference For College Stakeholders: AP Courses more literary than compositional Distinction between composition & literature Different outcomes Different purposes Potential Tensions

5. Guiding Documents for College Composition Updated WPA Outcomes Statement (July 2014) • Rhetorical Knowledge • Critical Thinking, Reading, and Composing • Processes • Knowledge Conventions Frameworks for Success in Postsecondary Writing • Rhetorical Knowledge • Critical Thinking • Writing Processes • Knowledge Conventions • Multiple Environments

6. How do the AP Language course goals reflect college composition courses? • Developing Critical Literacy • Essential academic skills: critical inquiry, deliberation, argument, reading, writing, listening and speaking • Facilitating Informed Citizenship • “…students should be able to use the literacy skills practiced in the course for personal satisfaction and responsible engagement in civic life. Both these goals are better accomplished through the use of nonfiction texts.

7. What role should literary texts play? Continuum Minimal Limited Primary “The course requires nonfiction readings…that give students opportunities to identify and explain an author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques.”

8. If “none” or “minimal,” then… • Choose a range of engagingnon-fiction texts • Focus on the rhetoricalfunctions • Purposes • Audiences • Genres • Contexts • Connect to outcomes MOST IMPORTANTLY: • Make writing the subject of a writingcourse

9. What role should literary texts play? Continuum Minimal Limited Primary “The course requires nonfiction readings…that give students opportunities to identify and explain an author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques.”

10. If “limited,” then… • Complement literary with non-fiction texts • Focus on rhetorical functions of ALL texts • Teach students to navigate differences between literary and rhetorical analysis

11. What role should literary texts play? Continuum Minimal Limited Primary “The course requires nonfiction readings…that give students opportunities to identify and explain an author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques.”

12. If “primary,” then… • Expect pushback from college stakeholders • Expect pushback from the AP Language & Composition development committee • Expect students to struggle with non-fiction passages in general, on the exam and in college • Expect students to struggle with the differencebetween rhetorical analysis and literary analysis

13. Bourgeoisie Commodity Fetishism Hegemony Ideology Lumpenproletariat Superstructure Would we teach literary terms out of context? Marxism Feminism • Ecriture feminine • Indigeneity • Logocentrism • Ecofeminism • Hysteria • Identity Because the AP English Language exam has evolved to “emphasize the appropriate application of such [rhetorical] terminology…,” the terms that are used in the course “are best situated as part of the teacher’s vernacular, not the students’”

14. Treating Rhetorical Analysis • An accessible way to approach texts that students can learn without highly specialized language • Emphasis on contexts: people, places, purposes, cultures, histories, audiences, etc. • A historical and contemporary scholarly tradition

15. What role should literary texts play? Continuum Minimal Limited Primary

16. Thank you! Questions? Alfonso Correa: ACORREA@dallasisd.org Michael Neal: michael.neal@fsu.edu Brandon Abdon: babdon@collegeboard.org

17. Thank you! Survey Says… Feedback Form