APhigh school
AP English Language and Composition
All 9 College Board AP English Language units: rhetorical situation, claims and evidence, reasoning and organization, and style — for both reading and writing — culminating in complex argument development. Build the analytical reading and persuasive writing skills tested on the AP exam.
9units
20topics
339questions
~8hours
Course Units
Learning objectives
- Identify the components of the rhetorical situation
- Analyze how audience awareness shapes a writer's strategic choices
- Explain how purpose and exigence drive rhetorical message construction
- Apply SOAPSTone analysis to nonfiction texts
Topics in this unit
Learning objectives
- Write with deliberate awareness of audience expectations
- Adapt tone, diction, and structure to fit different rhetorical situations
- Develop a writer's voice appropriate to purpose and context
- Explain the reasoning behind strategic writing choices
Topics in this unit
Learning objectives
- Identify and evaluate the types of evidence a writer uses
- Analyze the relationship between claims and supporting evidence
- Evaluate whether evidence is sufficient, relevant, and credible
- Distinguish between claims, observations, and opinions
Topics in this unit
Learning objectives
- Construct defensible thesis statements
- Select evidence strategically based on argumentative purpose
- Integrate evidence smoothly with signal phrases and attribution
- Write commentary connecting evidence to claims
Topics in this unit
Learning objectives
- Analyze how a line of reasoning develops throughout a text
- Identify organizational strategies and explain their effects
- Evaluate how counterargument and concession function within argument structure
- Analyze how transitions and structural choices guide the reader
Topics in this unit
Learning objectives
- Develop a sustained line of reasoning connecting claims throughout an essay
- Organize arguments using appropriate structural strategies
- Write effective counterargument-concession-rebuttal sequences
- Use transitions that show logical relationships between ideas
Topics in this unit
Learning objectives
- Analyze how diction shapes tone, meaning, and audience perception
- Evaluate how syntax creates effects such as urgency or emphasis
- Identify and analyze rhetorical devices (anaphora, chiasmus, antithesis, parallelism)
- Analyze how figurative language shapes audience understanding
Topics in this unit
Learning objectives
- Select diction strategically for tonal and persuasive effects
- Vary sentence structure for emphasis, pacing, and rhetorical effect
- Employ rhetorical devices purposefully to strengthen persuasive writing
- Develop a distinctive writer's voice appropriate to the rhetorical situation
Topics in this unit
Learning objectives
- Synthesize evidence from multiple sources to build original, nuanced arguments
- Develop complex arguments that acknowledge competing perspectives
- Integrate rhetorical analysis, argumentation, and synthesis skills in sustained writing
- Write under timed conditions meeting AP essay quality standards
Topics in this unit