Cover: The Language of Composition, 4th Edition by Renee Shea; Lawrence Scanlon; Robin Dissin Aufses; Megan M. Harowitz; Katherine E. Cordes; Carlos A. Escobar

Get more with Achieve.

Achieve's online courseware includes an e-book, quizzes, videos, and more. It's your most economical choice.

Achieve is only available for selected titles.

The Language of Composition

Fourth  Edition©2023  Renee Shea; Lawrence Scanlon; Robin Dissin Aufses; Megan M. Harowitz; Katherine E. Cordes; Carlos A. Escobar

ISBN:9781319524319

ISBN:9781319469177

ISBN:9781319409258

ISBN:9781319627867

About

Everything You Need to Succeed in AP® Language.

The Language of Composition, Fourth Edition, by Shea et al., includes all of the content and support you need to be successful on the AP® Language and Composition Exam. This one volume includes writing instruction/practice, a thematic anthology of readings for analysis, as well as AP® exam tips; give yourself the foundation you need to earn a great score.


E-book

Our e-books are accessible on multiple devices. Read online (or offline), bookmark, search, and highlight in an interactive and downloadable e-book.

Learn More

Achieve

Achieve is a single, easy-to-use platform proven to engage students for better course outcomes

Learn More

Table of Contents

1 • Rhetorical Analysis

Section 1

The Rhetorical Situation
Rhetorical Appeals
Analyzing Rhetoric and Style
Culminating Activity / Section 1: Analyzing Rhetoric: Defending a Claim with Evidence

Section 2


From Reading to Writing: Crafting an AP® Rhetorical Analysis Essay
Culminating Activity / Section 2: Crafting an AP® Rhetorical Analysis Essay
Section 3
Developing Sophistication in an AP® Rhetorical Analysis Essay
Culminating Activity / Section 3: Developing Sophistication in an AP® Rhetorical Analysis Essay

2 • Argument


Section 1


What Is Argument?
Understanding Claims
Understanding and Analyzing Evidence
Logical Reasoning and Organization: Shaping an Argument
Culminating Activity / Section 1: Analyzing Argument: Defending a Claim with Evidence

Section 2

From Reading to Writing: Crafting an AP® Argument Essay
Culminating Activity / Section 2: Crafting an AP® Argument Essay

Section 3

Developing Sophistication in an AP® Argument Essay
Culminating Activity / Section 3: Developing Sophistication in an AP® Argument Essay

3 • Synthesis


Section 1

Approaching Sources in Arguments
Examining Sources in Arguments
Synthesizing Sources
Using Sources to Inform an Argument
Using Sources to Appeal to an Audience
Culminating Activity / Section 1: Synthesizing Sources

Section 2


From Reading to Writing: Crafting an AP® Synthesis Essay
Culminating Activity / Section 2: Crafting an AP® Synthesis Essay
How Free Is Free Speech?

Section 3


Developing Sophistication in an AP® Synthesis Essay
Culminating Activity / Section 3: Developing Sophistication in an AP® Synthesis Essay

4 • Identity
Chapter Introduction / AP® Unit 4
Central Essay / Amy Tan, Mother Tongue
Classic Essay / Zora Neale Hurston, How It Feels to Be Colored Me
Other Voices
Visual Text
Conversation / Defining Masculinity
AP® Multiple-Choice Practice
Suggestions for Writing / Identity

5 • Environment
Chapter Introduction / AP® Unit 5
Central Essay / Bill McKibben, 2050: How Earth Survived
Classic Essay / Rachel Carson, from Silent Spring
Other Voices
Visual Text
Conversation / Animal Conservation
AP® Multiple-Choice Practice
Suggestions for Writing / Environment

6 • Money
Chapter Introduction / AP® Unit 6
Central Essay / Barbara Ehrenreich, from Serving in Florida
Classic Essay / Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal
Other Voices 
Visual Texts
Conversation / Paying for College
AP® Multiple-Choice Practice
Suggestions for Writing / Money

7 • Community
Chapter Introduction / AP® Unit 7
Central Essay / Rebecca Solnit, from A Paradise Built in Hell
Classic Essay / Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail
Other Voices
Visual Text
Conversation / Reparations
AP® Multiple-Choice Practice
Suggestions for Writing / Community

8 • Justice
Chapter Introduction / AP® Unit 8
Central Essay / Ta-Nehisi Coates, from Between the World and Me
Classic Essay / Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
Other Voices
Visual Texts
Conversation / The Second Amendment
AP® Multiple-Choice Practice
Suggestions for Writing / Justice

9 • Culture
Chapter Introduction / AP® Unit 9
Central Essay / Toni Morrison, Nobel Prize Lecture
Classic Essay / Joan Didion, On Self-Respect
Other Voices
Visual Texts
Conversation / Cultural Appropriation
AP® Multiple-Choice Practice
Suggestions for Writing / Culture

Endmatter /

AP® English Language Practice Exam
Glossary / Glosario
Grammar Workshops
MLA Guidelines for a List of Works Cited
Text Credits
Index

Headshot of Renee Shea

Renee Shea

Renée H. Shea was Professor of English and Modern Languages and Director of Freshman Composition at Bowie State University in Maryland, where she taught graduate seminars in rhetoric. A College Board faculty consultant for more than thirty years in AP® Language and Literature and Pre-AP® English, she has been a reader and question leader for both AP® English exams. Renée served on many committees for the College Board, including the AP® Language and Composition Development Committee, the English Academic Advisory Committee, and the SAT Critical Reading Test Development Committee. She is co-author of Literature & Composition, The Language of Composition, American Literature & Rhetoric, Advanced Language & Literature, and Foundations of Language & Literature, as well as volumes on Amy Tan and Zora Neale Hurston for the NCTE High School Literature Series. Renée continues to write about contemporary authors for publications such as World Literature Today, Poets & Writers, and Kenyon Review. Her recent publications featured Julia Alvarez, Manuel Munoz, and Namwali Serpell. She is doing a series of interviews for American Book Review entitled “The Laureates.”

Headshot of Lawrence Scanlon

Lawrence Scanlon

Lawrence Scanlon taught at Brewster High School for more than thirty years and then for another ten years at Iona College in New York. For twenty-five years he was a Reader and Question Leader for the AP® Language and Composition Exam. Over that same period of time, he has conducted AP® workshops and institutes in both AP® English Language and AP® English Literature throughout the United States and also in South America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East as a College Board consultant. He has served as a private consultant for many school districts. In addition, he also served on the AP® English Language Test Development Committee. Larry is co-author of American Literature & Rhetoric, The Language of Composition, and Conversations in American Literature and has published articles on curriculum and method for the College Board, Business Insider, and other publications.

Headshot of Robin Aufses

Robin Aufses

Robin Dissin Aufses was the Director of English Studies at  Lycée Français de New York, where she also taught AP® English Language and eighth grade English. Before her foray into international education, she was the chair of the English department at John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore, New York, and, prior to that, an English teacher at Schreiber High School in Port Washington, New York. She has taught every grade and every level of English. She is a co-author of Literature & Composition, The Language of Composition, Conversations in American Literature, and American Literature & Rhetoric, published by Bedford, Freeman & Worth. Robin continues her work in the world of education, teaching English part-time at Beer Hagolah Institutes in Brooklyn and serving on the board of Equality Charter School, a K-12 school in the Bronx.

Headshot of Megan Harowitz

Megan Harowitz

Megan M. Harowitz teaches AP® Seminar for English 10 and Honors English 10 at Rockville High School in Rockville, Maryland, where she has also served as Staff Development Teacher and AP® Coordinator. She is a member of the NCTE Committee on Literacy Assessment and a past President and Executive Director for the Florida Council of Teachers of English, and a recipient of the 2009 National Council of Teachers of English High School Teacher of Excellence. She is a co-author of BFW’s The Language of Composition, 3rd and 4th editions, and a contributing author to the Teacher’s Edition for American Literature & Rhetoric. She has been a reader for the AP® Language & Composition exam and a frequent presenter at the AP® Annual Conference and the NCTE Annual Convention. Megan holds a Master’s in Secondary English Education and is working toward her doctorate in Educational Leadership from Bowie State University, Maryland.

Headshot of Katherine Cordes

Katherine Cordes

Katherine E. Cordes is a National Board Certified English teacher with a BA in English, psychology, and medieval studies; an MEd in curriculum and instruction; and an MFA in poetry. She has more than 24 years of experience in the secondary English Language Arts classroom and has taught AP® Seminar/Honors English 10, AP® English Literature, AP® English Language, and dual enrollment college writing. As part of the College Board’s Instructional Design Team, Katherine contributed to the development, review, and dissemination of the 2019 AP® English Literature Course and Exam Description, and she has been an AP® Reader for the AP® English Literature Exam and a Question Leader for the AP® Seminar Exam. She is a co-author of BFW’s Literature & Composition, The Language of Composition, and American Literature & Rhetoric.

Headshot of Carlos Escobar

Carlos Escobar

Carlos A. Escobar teaches AP® English Literature and Composition at Felix Varela Senior High School in Miami, Florida, where he is also the AP® Program Director. Carlos has been a College Board Advisor for AP® English Literature, an AP® Reader, a presenter at local and national AP® workshops and conferences, and a member of the AP® English Literature and AP® African American Studies Test Development Committees. As part of the College Board’s Instructional Design Team, he contributed to the development, review, and dissemination of the 2019 AP® English Literature and Composition Course and Exam Description. Carlos also designed and delivered daily live YouTube lessons streamed globally by the College Board and was Lead Instructor for AP® Daily, the College Board’s skill-based, on-demand video series accessed through AP® Classroom. Most recently, the College Board selected him as one of two AP® Course Champions for AP® English Literature and Composition. Carlos is a co-author of BFW’s Advanced Language & Literature, The Language of Composition, and Literature & Composition.