Commitment Letter

AP Literature Commitment Letter

I will be teaching the AP English Literature and Composition course during the upcoming school year. Thirty one students have signed up for AP English, and Gloucester High School will be offering two sections, which means there is room for everyone. However, before the English Department finalizes the roster for the course I want to make sure you are committed to the course. 

During the summer you are expected to read the Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino (165 pages), Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (581 pages), Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (171 pages), and a book of your choice. You will also be expected to keep a passage response journal for each work, participate in four AP English Literature summer sessions at Gloucester High School, post comments on the AP English blog (http://apliterature2015.blogspot.com), and create a theme web. (You will find out more about the web in August). This litany of work is not intended to scare you off. However, I want to be honest and upfront about the expectations. If you are seriously committed to reading, writing, talking, and thinking at a college level, I assure you that you will find the summer experience to be fulfilling and rewarding. 

During the school year you will read between 500 and 1000 pages, write between twenty and thirty pages, and participate in several graded discussions each term. You are expected to be self-motivated and genuinely engaged; and, since the goal of the class is for every student to do well on the AP exam, it is important that you are willing to work with classmates in small groups to analyze text and evaluate peer work. You will learn from the texts, your teacher, and each other. To achieve this goal the class atmosphere must be collegial rather than competitive, and you must do your share of the work. 

Please consider this description of the course and make a decision about whether or not you are committed to fulfilling the requirements of AP English Literature and Composition.  If you have questions about any of the expectations please stop by 2209. I am looking forward to getting to know you.

Sincerely,

Michael Telles

English Teacher

Gloucester High School

mtelles@gloucester.k12.ma.us