AP Literature and Composition

AP Literature and Composition

Course option: Asynchronous

Grades: 11th-12th | Prerequisite: Successfully completed Blue Tent Honors English Lit & Comp 2 or an equivalent rigorous 10th grade-level English class

Course dates: August 17, 2026 to May 2027 (AP exam)

Course length: Traditional, full year

Live Sessions: NA

Course size: 15-20 students

Instructor: Christine Proctor

Cost: $895

More about Christine Proctor

Christine Proctor is an avid reader, lifelong supporter of the English language, and an enthusiastic writing coach. After sixteen years of homeschooling her three sons—now grown and pursuing college and careers—Christine transitioned fully into online teaching, where she brings literature and writing to life for students around the country.

Christine holds a degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina and has professional experience as both a news reporter and a copywriter for a national advertising agency. Teaching writing and analysis was a natural next step. Her years of raising three boys with wide-ranging interests expanded her world beyond reading and writing to include art, music, theater, and sports—experiences that continue to inform her teaching and deepen her perspective.

Before joining Blue Tent Online, Christine led poetry, dramatic writing, and storybook art classes through both the homeschool community and her church. Today, she teaches AP and Honors English to a global student base through Blue Tent, where she also facilitates enrichment offerings such as Creative Writing, Aspiring Authors, Journalism Club, and The Zenned Out Student, a course inspired by Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos’s Happiness Lab.

From the first edits students receive on their work, Christine’s appreciation for clear, effective, and thoughtful communication is evident. Nothing brings her greater satisfaction than helping students discover their own voices and express complex ideas with confidence and precision.

Over a decade teaching high school English. Christine Proctor brings depth, perspective, and clarity to literary instruction.
Seven years teaching AP English Literature. She understands the skills, pacing, and expectations that define success in AP Lit.
Experienced AP educator. Her AP Language teaching further strengthens her approach to close reading and analytical writing.
A careful reader of student work. Feedback is specific, thoughtful, and aimed at genuine growth.
Warm, structured, and approachable. Students feel supported as they stretch intellectually and take interpretive risks.

Feedback on Christine Proctor

Required resources

Core Text:

Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 8th Ed., Arp and Johnson
- Drawing on the highly regarded and accessible Perrine’s Literature, students reinforce and refine their understanding of foundational literary elements—such as character, setting, structure, symbolism, and tone—and, more importantly, learn how those elements work together to create meaning.
- Students move well beyond identifying devices. The focus of the course is analysis: asserting claims, supporting interpretations with evidence, and articulating how and why literary choices matter. Throughout the year, students practice reading closely and writing thoughtfully about poetry, drama, and prose fiction in ways that reflect the expectations of college-level literary study.

Reading

Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky (recommended translations: Pevear & Volokhonsky or Constance Garnett)
Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller (In the Perrine's text)
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
King Lear, William Shakespeare
The Awakening, Kate Chopin
Beloved, Toni Morrison
Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston
Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe

No Summer Reading/Writing Assignment

"I was in Mrs. Proctor's AP Literature and Composition, which really prepared me well for the exam and taught me so much more about writing, especially with a timer going! I loved the book discussions and all our assignments this year. Although it did not top Honors English 2 as my favorite of her classes, it was a close second! I cannot wait to be in her page-a-day creative writing course this fall."

"Thank you, Christine. You are top notch in our book. [My daughter] learned so much and most of all, she gained more confidence in her writing. We were just talking about the college essay she has to write this summer, and she said, "No worries, mom! You underestimate how much my writing has improved this year." :)

See the 2025 AP English Literature & Composition exam scores our students earned HERE.

Course Details

Our asynchronous online AP English Literature and Composition course, which complies with the AP course audit and has been approved by the College Board, invites motivated high school students to study literature as an art form—one that rewards close reading, careful thinking, and thoughtful conversation.

Designed for students who enjoy reading deeply and writing analytically, this traditional, full-year AP course emphasizes interpretation, literary analysis, and polished academic writing. Students explore how writers use form, structure, language, and literary elements to shape meaning and reveal enduring insights about the human experience.

In this course, AP Literature is taught with both rigor and care. Students are challenged intellectually while supported through consistent feedback, structured discussions, and intentional preparation for the AP exam.

Writing in AP Literature

Students enter AP Literature with a solid foundation in high school writing. That foundation becomes the starting point—not the destination.

Over the course of the year, students learn to:

Move beyond formulaic structures
Develop ideas-driven literary arguments
Write with clarity, precision, and control

Instruction emphasizes composition strategies, pre-writing, revision, and detailed feedback from Christine every step of the way. Students refine sentence structure, strengthen analytical precision, and polish their academic voice. MLA conventions are applied consistently from the start, and students become fluent in citation and works cited construction as part of their regular writing practice.

Discussion & Collaboration

This course is a discussion-centered course. Students participate in weekly, text-based discussion forums with peers from across the country, engaging in thoughtful conversation about literature and interpretation.

Using a Socratic approach, students learn to articulate and defend ideas, consider alternate perspectives, and refine their thinking through dialogue. The classroom environment is structured, respectful, and collaborative—designed to support intellectual risk-taking and genuine engagement. And past students—all 5 earners from the previous year—join the discussions every now and then to lend their expertise and wisdom.

AP Exam Preparation

Preparation for the AP Literature exam is woven naturally into the course.

From early in the year, students practice responding to authentic AP-style prompts. In the second semester, they begin structured timed writing and continue developing multiple-choice reading strategies.

Approximately six weeks before the AP exam, students shift into focused review, working with released prompts and practice exams. This preparation emphasizes calm confidence, strategic reading, and clear written responses. Past students who’ve earned 5s come on board to mentor a writer or two through the timed-writing prep work

Students who choose not to sit for the AP exam are not required to participate in exam-specific preparation during the final quarter of the course—an option that works well for busy juniors and graduating seniors.

A Course That Lasts Beyond the Exam

While the AP exam is an important milestone, the true value of AP Literature lies in the habits students build: close reading, careful reasoning, and articulate expression.

As Emily Dickinson reminds us, “There is no frigate like a book.” Students who join this course can expect a rich, challenging, and rewarding literary journey—one shared with a thoughtful community of peers and guided by an experienced instructor, Christine, who values both rigor and joy in learning.

Format

Students share an interactive online classroom.
This is an asynchronous (text-based) class. While there are no live meetings, it is not self-paced. There is student/student and student/teacher interaction throughout each week.
Average weekly time estimate: 8-12 hours
This course is NCAA-approved.
See our FAQs for:
- age/grade guidelines, prerequisites, and class fit recommendations
- a complete list of days, times, and breaks
- a list of CA charter schools where this course is a-g approved

Why This Course?

Focused on interpretation, not memorization. Students learn how to analyze literature meaningfully, not just label devices.
Aligned to AP expectations. Writing and discussion reflect the demands of the AP Literature exam and college-level literary study.
Discussion-driven. Weekly conversations deepen understanding and sharpen analytical thinking.
Strong writing instruction. Students receive consistent feedback and guidance to refine their academic voice.
Balanced and supportive. High expectations are paired with structure, clarity, and encouragement.

Course Goals

To read works from a variety of genres, including novels, short stories, plays, poetry, and essays
To study literature written from 1600 to the present, primarily by British and American writers and poets
To briefly examine the biographical background of writers as well as historical context
To critically analyze imaginative literature through close reading
To discover how writers reveal meaning through a broad array of literary tools and techniques, including diction, imagery, syntax, and figurative language
To write literary analysis essays that focus on meaning in a central argument, supported by apt and sufficient evidence from the original text
To engage in pre-writing thesis development, crafting meaning-focused thesis statements with precision and originality
To move beyond competence in writing, striving for complexity and elegance
To refine writing skillfulness through a process of pre-writing, essay development, and revisions in response to detailed instructor feedback
To correctly and consistently apply MLA 9 conventions
To improve original critical thinking through active weekly discussion forum dialogue with classmates
To gain a richer appreciation and enjoyment from all genres of literature