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UNIT 1 ? Communicating an Idea
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? RHETORICAL SITUATION: The Writer’s Message
Tom Hanks, Commencement Address, Harvard University
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE: The Writer’s Claim
Steve Rushin, Give the Kids a Break
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? REASONING AND ORGANIZATION: Narration and Description
Trevor Noah, Born a Crime
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? STYLE: The Writer’s Tone
Stephen King, Why We Crave Horror Movies
IDEAS IN AMERICAN CULTURE ? Faith and Doubt
Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
Langston Hughes, Salvation
Richard Feynman, The Value of Science
Arthur Miller, Why I Wrote The Crucible
Seema Yasmin, Can You Believe Anything? The Sunrise Problem
COMPOSITION WORKSHOP ? Writing a Narrative
Maiya Bhandari, Vibrant Colors (Student Model Essay)
AP® FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION WORKSHOP ? Rhetorical Analysis
Writing and Supporting a Defensible Thesis
Helen Keller, Letter to Dr. Finley
Kate Conley, Rhetorical Analysis Essay (Student Model Essay)
AP® FRQ Practice: Writing an AP® Rhetorical Analysis Essay
Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
AP® MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE
Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Danger of a Single Story (Speech)
Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing
UNIT 2 ? Appealing to an Audience
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? RHETORICAL SITUATION: Considering the Audience
Kamala Harris, I Will Not Be the Last
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE: Relevant and Sufficient Evidence
Israel Garcia, “Superpredator” Labels Are a Relic of the 1990s, but Tough-on-Crime Policies Persist
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? REASONING AND ORGANIZATION: Persuasion
Richard Haass, Why We Need Civics
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? STYLE: Syntactical Choices for Effect
George W. Bush, Address to the Nation on September 20, 2001
IDEAS IN AMERICAN CULTURE ? Reason and Revolution
Writing and Supporting a Defensible Thesis
Patrick Henry, Speech to the Virginia Convention
Thomas Paine, The American Crisis Number 1
Susan B. Anthony, Is It a Crime to Vote?
Audre Lorde, The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action
Sima Bahous, UN Commemoration of International Women’s Day
COMPOSITION WORKSHOP ? Writing a Persuasive Argument
Finley Gardner, Students Deserve a Free Education (Student Model Essay)
AP® FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION WORKSHOP ? Argument
Establishing a Line of Reasoning
Seth Hahn, Argument Essay (Student Model Essay)
AP® FRQ Practice: Writing an AP® Argument Essay
AP® MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE
Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading
Cori Bush, St. Louis Climate Strike Speech
Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing
UNIT 3 ? Understanding Context
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? RHETORICAL SITUATION: The Rhetorical Context
Dan Crenshaw, Five Lessons That Veterans Can Teach Us
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE: Sources of Evidence
Molly Smith, The NFL Must Prioritize Players’ Safety and Humanity
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? REASONING AND ORGANIZATION: Exposition: Process Argument
Chris Daly, How the Lawyers Stole Winter
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? STYLE: Transitions
Noam Chomsky, Ian Roberts, and Jeffrey Watumull, The False Promise of ChatGPT
IDEAS IN AMERICAN CULTURE ? The Individual and Nature
Margaret Fuller and Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Letter to Readers,” Volume 1, Issue 1 of the Dial
Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
Robin Wall Kimmerer, Skywoman Falling
António Guterres, The State of the Planet
COMPOSITION WORKSHOP ? Exposition: Writing a Process Argument
Kathryn Stribling, Breaking Into the World of Clay (Student Model Essay)
AP® FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION WORKSHOP ? Synthesis
Incorporating Evidence from Sources
Steve Reddy, Synthesis Essay (Student Model Essay)
AP® FRQ Practice: Writing an AP® Synthesis Essay
AP® MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE
Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading
Wendell Berry, The Agrarian Standard
Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing
UNIT 4 ? Analyzing Purpose
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? RHETORICAL SITUATION: Multiple Purposes
Taylor Swift, For Taylor Swift, the Future of Music Is a Love Story
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE: Function of Evidence
Liam Burke, Why the World Needs Superheroes
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? REASONING AND ORGANIZATION: Exposition: Definition Argument
Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur, Letters of an American Farmer: What Is an American?
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? STYLE: Eliminating Ambiguity
Ralph Ellison, Hidden Name and Complex Fate
IDEAS IN AMERICAN CULTURE ? Division and Unity
Frederick Douglass, What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?
Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address
Sandra Day O’Connor, Commencement Address, Stanford University
Zadie Smith, Don’t Let Your Fellow Humans Be Alien to You
Elizabeth Kolbert, How Politics Got So Polarized
COMPOSITION WORKSHOP ? Exposition: Writing a Definition Argument
Hannah Richards, Transcendentalism (Student Model Essay)
AP® FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION WORKSHOP ? Rhetorical Analysis
Writing Commentary
John Steinbeck, Symptoms
Phat Pham, Rhetorical Analysis Essay (Student Model Essay)
AP® FRQ Practice: Writing an AP® Rhetorical Analysis Essay
Queen Elizabeth II, History Will Remember Your Actions
AP® MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE
Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading
Colin Powell, Address at the Groundbreaking Ceremony of the U.S. Diplomacy Center
Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing
UNIT 5 ? Creating Coherence
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? RHETORICAL SITUATION: The Writer’s Exigence
Tom Morello, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Acceptance Speech
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE: Unity and Coherence
FKA twigs, Congressional Testimony on Intellectual Property
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? REASONING AND ORGANIZATION: Exposition: Causal Argument
Jay Caspian Kang, Should People Have the Right to Say Awful Things Without Facing Legal Consequences?
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? STYLE: Syntax for Emphasis and Coherence
Richard Rodriguez, X: The Neutering of the Spanish Tongue
IDEAS IN AMERICAN CULTURE ? Place and Values
Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi
Mike Ivey, A Rose by Any Other Name Is a Damned Brier
Jesmyn Ward, My True South: Why I Decided to Return Home
Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Displaced, the Unwanted
Xochitl Gonzalez, How Bodegas Became Cultural Centers for Beauty
COMPOSITION WORKSHOP ? Exposition: Writing a Causal Argument
P J Vigo, The Effects of Technology Integration on the Learning Experience (Student Model Essay)
AP® FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION WORKSHOP ? Argument
Creating Unity and Coherence
Alejandra Taylor, Argument Essay (Student Model Essay)
AP® FRQ Practice: Writing an AP® Argument Essay
AP® MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE
Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading
Zora Neale Hurston, How It Feels to Be Colored Me
Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing
UNIT 6 ? Establishing and Evaluating Credibility
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? RHETORICAL SITUATION: The Writer’s Credibility
Michael Phelps, Congressional Testimony on Anti-Doping
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE: Strategic Evidence
Preminda Jacob, Banksy and the Tradition of Destroying Art
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? REASONING AND ORGANIZATION: Exposition: Classification/Division Argument
Imani Perry, Opening Up the Hip-Hop Vault
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? STYLE: Precision of Language
Edward Lee, Why I Write
IDEAS IN AMERICAN CULTURE ? Wealth and Poverty
Upton Sinclair, The Jungle
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Fireside Chat: Outlining the New Deal Program
Barbara Ehrenreich, In America, Only the Rich Can Afford to Write Poverty
Lakshmi Puri, Women Entrepreneurs Can Drive Economic Growth
Darrell M. West, Should America Have Trillionaires?
COMPOSITION WORKSHOP ? Exposition: Writing a Classification/Division Argument
A Satirical Look at the Division and Classification of Essays (Student Model Essay)
AP® FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION WORKSHOP ? Synthesis
Synthesizing Evidence from Sources
Boya Shi, Synthesis Essay (Student Model Essay)
AP® FRQ Practice: Writing an AP® Synthesis Essay
AP® MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE
Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading
William Faulkner, Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing
UNIT 7 ? Comparing Perspectives
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? RHETORICAL SITUATION: Nuance, Complexity, and Contradictions
Lin-Manuel Miranda, What Artists Can Do
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE: Qualification and Concession
Kelly Conaboy, The Bizarre Tragedy of Children’s Movies
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? REASONING AND ORGANIZATION: Evaluation: Comparison/Contrast Argument
Suzanne Britt, Neat People vs. Sloppy People
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? STYLE: Syntax for Purpose
Colson Whitehead, The “Loser Edit” That Awaits Us All
IDEAS IN AMERICAN CULTURE ? Justice and Progress
Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail
Harvey Milk, You’ve Got
Elie Wiesel, Hope, Despair and Memory
Gloria Steinem, Commencement Address, Wellesley College
Judith Heumann, Our Fight for Disabilities—And Why We’re Not Done Yet
COMPOSITION WORKSHOP ? Writing an Evaluation Argument Using Comparison/Contrast
Riley Stevenson, Climate Activists Must Fight for System Change and Individual Change (Student Model Essay)
AP® FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION WORKSHOP ? Rhetorical Analysis
Explaining Significance
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Commencement Address, Johns Hopkins University
Mirabelle LoPresti, Rhetorical Analysis Essay (Student Model Essay)
AP® FRQ Practice: Writing an AP® Rhetorical Analysis Essay
James Baldwin, Letter to My Nephew: My Dungeon Shook
AP® MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE
Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading
John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address
Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing
UNIT 8 ? Explaining Complexities
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? RHETORICAL SITUATION: The Dynamic Rhetorical Situation
Kurt Vonnegut, Letter to Drake School Board
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE: Counterargument: Refutation and Rebuttal
Clint Smith, The Meaning of Life Without Parole
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? REASONING AND ORGANIZATION: Evaluation: Problem-Solution Argument
Scott Shigeoka, How Curiosity Can Help Us Overcome Disconnection
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? STYLE: Contrast and Incongruity
Horace Miner, Body Ritual among the Nacirema
IDEAS IN AMERICAN CULTURE ? Individuals and Communities
Toni Morrison, Be Your Own Story
Judith Ortiz Cofer, The Myth of the Latin Woman
Tommy Orange, How Native American Is Native American Enough?
Julia Alvarez, What We Believe About Identity
Chaiya Milowic, Influencer Culture Needs to End
COMPOSITION WORKSHOP ? Writing an Evaluation Argument: Proposing a Solution
Walter Li, Self-Care Alone Will Not Fix the System (Student Model Essay)
AP® FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION WORKSHOP ? Argument
Acknowledging and Responding to Opposing Arguments
Kat Humphreys, Argument Essay (Student Model Essay)
AP® FRQ Practice: Writing an AP® Argument Essay
AP® MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE
Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading
Ronald Reagan, Tear Down This Wall
Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing
UNIT 9 ? Joining the Conversation
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? RHETORICAL SITUATION: Understanding the Rhetorical Situation
Vivek H. Murthy, Surgeon General Urges Americans to ‘Rethink How We’re Living Our Lives’ in Closing Letter to the Country
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? CLAIMS AND EVIDENCE: Biases and Limitations
Tre Johnson, Black Superheroes Matter
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? REASONING AND ORGANIZATION: Multimodal Argument
Thomas Hobbs, Will Tattoos Finally Be Accepted as Art?
AP® BIG IDEA WORKSHOP ? STYLE: Voice and Complexity
Barack Obama, Remarks by the President in the Eulogy for the Honorable Reverend Clementa Pinckney
IDEAS IN AMERICAN CULTURE ? Technology and New Frontiers
Stephen Hawking, Questioning the Universe
John McWhorter, What the World Will Speak in 2115
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, Becoming Martian
Scientific American, Exploration Is Essential to Human Success
Jane Goodall, A Speech for History
COMPOSITION WORKSHOP ? Writing a Multimodal Argument
Reese Furr, Rhythm of Life (Student Model Essay)
AP® FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION WORKSHOP ? Synthesis
Demonstrating Complexity
Vihaann Upadhya, Synthesis Essay (Student Model Essay)
AP® FRQ Practice: Writing an AP® Synthesis Essay
AP® MULTIPLE-CHOICE PRACTICE
Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading
E.O. Wilson, The Bird of Paradise
Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing
AP® Practice Exam
Guide to MLA, APA, and CSE Documentation Styles
Guide to Generative AI
Visual Rhetoric Workshops
American Literary Periods at a Glance
Glossary/Glosario