Look Inside
Digital Options
Achieve
Achieve is a comprehensive set of interconnected teaching and assessment tools that incorporate the most effective elements from Macmillan Learning's market leading solutions in a single, easy-to-use platform.
Ideas in Argument
Building Skills and Understanding for the AP® English Language CourseFirst Edition ©2022
Quit Piecing It Together!
Look, we love a good quilt metaphor as much as anybody, but quit piecing your AP® Language course together.
Ideas in Argument provides everything a teacher needs for a successful and fully aligned AP® Language course. Each Unit includes br...
Read more
Have a question for a teacher using this product?
Ask a BFW Teacher Advocate →
Institutional Prices
Hardcover + AP® English Language Skills Practice Workbook for Ideas in Argument
C$114.98
ISBN:9781319491499
This package includes Hardcover and Paperback.
C$114.98
AP® English Language Skills Practice Workbook for Ideas in Argument
C$16.98
ISBN:9781319471897
Read and study old-school with our bound texts.
C$16.98
Fully Aligned to the CED. Written by the People Who Know It Best.
Quit Piecing It Together!
Look, we love a good quilt metaphor as much as anybody, but quit piecing your AP® Language course together.
Ideas in Argument provides everything a teacher needs for a successful and fully aligned AP® Language course. Each Unit includes brief, approachable skill workshops aligned to each Big Idea in the Course and Exam Description and to AP® Classroom. The book also includes
• Diverse and high-interest classic and contemporary texts
• Extensive AP Exam practice
• Scaffolded analysis instruction and practice
• Student friendly step-by-step writing instruction
• ELL support
Plus, you get a robust student and teacher resource package and a fully interactive digital platform. Don’t piece it together. Get a resource that has everything you need.
Alignment to the CED
"The first text Ive seen that aligned to the skills of the new AP English Language and Composition curriculum perfectly paced with College Board Progress Checks."
–Nancy Dickinson, Ridge Point High School, IN"I love that this book is aligned with the new CED and mixes contemporary and older texts. I think it will be a great support to teachers trying to figure out how to align their classes with the new AP units as well as offer reading and writing opportunities that hone students skills but are not just test prep."
–Elissa Cording, Mahwah High School, NJ"This seems so teacher and student friendly. To me it takes what is taught in the APSI and gives it to us in a text book. This is exactly what I have wanted."
–Erik Witherspoon, Sumter County School District, FL"If you are needing a textbook that aligns to the new AP Language course update, this is your text! This book correlates with the current course and exam changes as well as provides students with instructional texts from the past and present in order to understand the necessary skills to succeed on the AP exam."
–Dr. Rhonda E. Hlavaty, Luther High School, OK"Ideas in Argument is an exciting new text that finally provides students and teachers of AP Lang a place to hone their craft and skills in preparation for the AP exam. This book, being designed specifically for the AP Lang course and taking into consideration the revised AP curriculum is a ready to use resource to help raise the relevancy of my teaching and hopefully the exam scores of my students.."
–Geoffrey Kopp, Taylor Preparatory High School, MIOrganization
"The organization greatly builds the students confidence: introduces the concepts, the concepts are practiced with various texts from various time periods, and the practice leads to an application of knowledge that will assist the student not only on the exam, but also in scaffolding other skills."
–Jim Jordan, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, CA“The books biggest strength is the integration of all the parts of a good AP Lesson: A complex reading, questions to consider, style and reasoning to notice and then style and reasoning to create. It removes most of the obstacles that stand in the way: too much to select from, too many skills at once, no clear focus for the end, and no scaffolded introduction to style or reasoning.”
–Lauren Djigo, The Soulsville Charter School, TN“What I think I like most, though, is that each chapter culminates with one of the FRQ tasks, presumably in increasing degree of complexity (as with the CED units). This appeals to me because I prefer to organize my course by the three essay tasks. This text would allow me to teach the prescribed units in my own preferred order (mixing and matching from 1, 4 & 7 in my rhetorical analysis quarter, for example), something I havent been able to manage just yet.”
–Jim Jordan, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, CA“I typically find my own materials for class, but this book has everything already culled for me. Theres nothing in this unit that I wouldnt teach. I love the approach. It fits with the CED units and its what I already do but better organized.”
–Jennifer Manuel, Lafayette Parish School System, LAIdeas and Skill-Building
“Ideas in Argument is a synthesis of great American texts, past and present, with a new AP English Language framework that emphasizes skill development in students. Its the type of text that will help students see the connection between reading and writing as well as argument and analysis.”
–Deon Youd, Spanish Fork High School, UT“A book for teachers looking to encourage students to engage with Big Ideas. A text full of writing that does what all good writing does—encourages students to get into a conversation and respond.”
–Lloyd Hoshaw, Millard West High School, NE“The skills required for successful analysis are broken down into their essential parts so students can work on their mastery before putting all of the pieces together.”
–Mia Wall, The Overlake School, WA“It offers solid and well scaffolded rhetorical instruction and it folds in the language moves, rhetorical jargon, etc. as it moves forward rather than discussing too many things piecemeal.”
–Sherry Wynn-Perdue, Oakland University, MIA Complete Resource
"Written in a language accessible to a broad range of students, this textbook will remove hours of tedious planning because it does not require cutting and pasting from various sources to ensure that students are hitting analysis, reasoning, rhetoric and style all in one lesson."
–Lauren Djigo, The Soulsville Charter School, TN“I know that saying ‘I love everything about this book’ sounds disingenuous, but I really do like this book. If given the opportunity, I would use it immediately. Most textbooks require me to read and brood over before using, but this one is very user-friendly and fits in perfectly with what I currently teach.”
–Jennifer Manuel, Lafayette Parish School System, LA“This book has it all. It takes your students step-by-step through the necessary skills for the AP Language exam. It also will have them well-prepared for college-level writing. You also have great structure for new teachers and ways you can be flexible for the experienced teacher.”
–Jennifer Couling, Concord High School, IN
Table of Contents
UNIT 1: COMMUNICATING AN IDEA
Rhetorical Situation: The Writer’s Message
Queen Elizabeth II, History Will Remember Your Actions
Claims and Evidence: The Writer’s Claim
Stephen King, Why We Crave Horror Movies
Reasoning and Organization: Narration and Description
Gary Soto, The Jacket
Language and Style: The Writer’s Tone
Trevor Noah, The World Doesn’t Love You
Putting it All Together: Modeled Text
Noah Spencer, Why I, a Heterosexual Teenage Boy Want to See More Men in Speedos (student writing)
Ideas in American Culture
Colonization and Exploration
William Bradford, from Of Plymouth Plantation
N. Scott Momaday, from The Way to Rainy Mountain
Faith and Doubt
Jonathan Edwards, from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
Langston Hughes, Salvation
Composition Workshop: Writing a Narrative
Brighton Earley, Finding the Flexibility to Survive (student model)
Rhetorical Situation: Creating a Message
Reasoning and Organization: Creating Unity
Claims and Evidence: Developing and Supporting a Thesis
Language and Style: Conveying an Attitude
Preparing for the AP® Exam
Free-Response Question: Rhetorical Analysis
Writing and Supporting a Defensible Thesis
Benjamin Franklin, from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, from The Danger of a Single Story
Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing
UNIT 2: APPEALING TO AN AUDIENCE
Rhetorical Situation: Considering the Audience
Kamala Harris, I Will Not Be the Last
Claims and Evidence: Relevant and Sufficient Evidence
Steve Rushin, Give the Kids a Break
Reasoning and Organization: Persuasion
Tenzin Namgyak, Why Diversity Is Necessary for Democracy (student writing)
Language and Style: Syntactical Choices for Effect
George W. Bush, Address to Nation on September 20, 2001
Putting it All Together: Modeled Text
Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Don’t Understand the Protests? What You Are Seeing Is People Pushed to the Edge
Ideas in American Culture
Reason and Revolution
Patrick Henry, Speech to the Virginia Convention
Harvey Milk, You’ve Got to Have Hope
Patriotism and Democracy
Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, Number 1
Donald Kagan, On Patriotism
Composition Workshop: Writing a Persuasive Argument
Kalindi Desai, Phones Create Barriers between Peers (student essay)
Claims and Evidence: Selecting Relevant Evidence
Rhetorical Situation: Appealing to an Audience
Reasoning and Organization: Developing a Line of Reasoning
Language and Style: Creating Emphasis Through Syntax
Preparing for the AP® Exam
Free-Response Question: Argument
Establishing a Line of Reasoning
Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading
John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address
Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing
UNIT 3: UNDERSTANDING CONTEXT
Rhetorical Situation: The Rhetorical Context
William McRaven, Make Your Bed
Claims and Evidence: Sources of Evidence
Bryan Stevenson, Mockingbird Players
Reasoning and Organization: Exposition: Process Argument
J.J. Goode, Single-Handed Cooking
Language and Style: Transitions
Emma Chiu, Driving: Its Going Out of Style (student writing)
Putting It All Together: Modeled Text
Chris Daly, How the Lawyers Stole Winter
Ideas in American Culture
The Individual and Nature
Ralph Waldo Emerson, from Nature
Rachel Carson, The Obligation to Endure
The Individual and Society
Henry David Thoreau, from Walden
E.B. White, Walden
Composition Workshop: Writing a Process Argument
Alex Kucich, It’s Time for America to Start Feeling the Love for Ultimate Frisbee (student model)
Rhetorical Situation: Establishing Context
Claims and Evidence: Establishing a Purpose
Reasoning and Organization: Explaining Relevance
Language and Style: Using Transitions
Preparing for the AP® Exam
Free-Response Question: Synthesis
Incorporating Evidence From Sources: Work Experience for Teens
Source A: Jessica Dickler, Why So Few Teenagers Have Jobs Anymore
Source B: Helen Thomson, Why Adolescents Put Themselves First
Source C: Abigail Hess, Young People Are Less Likely to Hold Summer Jobs Now—Heres What Theyre Doing Instead
Source D: Grace Chen, Should Public Schools Provide Students With Vocational Opportunities
Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading
Wendell Berry, from The Agrarian Standard
Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing
UNIT 4: ANALYZING PURPOSE
Rhetorical Situation: Multiple Purposes
Patrick Wang, Why We Should Teach the Truth about American History (student writing)
Claims and Evidence: Function of Evidence
Alyssa Biederman, Melina Walling, and Sarah Siock, Meet Gen Z Activists
Reasoning and Organization: Exposition: Definition Argument
Hector St. John Crevocoeur, What Is an American?
Language and Style: Eliminating Ambiguity
Amy Harmon, "They" Is the Word of the Year, Merriam-Webster Says, Noting Its Singular Rise
Putting it All Together: Modeled Text
Barack Obama, 2008 Election Victory Speech
Ideas in American Culture
Division and Unity
Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address
Milton Friedman and Rose Friedman, from Free to Choose: A Personal Statement
Equality and Social Discontent
Frederick Douglass, What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?
Barbara Kingsolver, #MeToo Isn’t Enough: Now Women Need to Get Ugly
Composition Workshop: Writing a Definition Argument
Zoie Taylore, Redefining Ladylike (student model)
Rhetorical Situation: Connecting Audience and Purpose
Reasoning and Organization: Explaining Significance
Claims and Evidence: Selecting Purposeful Evidence
Language and Style: Eliminating Ambiguity
Preparing for the AP® Exam
Free-Response Question: Rhetorical Analysis
Writing Commentary
Ta-Nehisi Coates, Testimony before House Judiciary Committee
Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading
Colin Powell, Address at the Groundbreaking Ceremony of the US Diplomacy Center
Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing
UNIT 5: CREATING COHERENCE
Rhetorical Situation: The Writer’s Exigence
PINK, MTV Video Music Awards Speech
Claims and Evidence: Unity and Coherence
Kendrick Lamar, He Was Telling a Different Kind of Truth Statement Dictated to Paper Magazine
Reasoning and Organization: Causal Arguments
Melena Ryzik, How Sesame Street Started a Musical Revolution
Language and Style: Syntax for Emphasis
Narain Dubey, Breaking the Blue Wall of Silence: Changing the Social Narrative about Policing in America (student writing)
Putting It All Together: Modeled Text
Madison Moore, Tina Theory: Notes on Fierceness
Ideas in American Culture
Place and Values
Mark Twain, from Life on the Mississippi
Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, from Harlem is Nowhere
Opportunity and Oppression
Upton Sinclair, from The Jungle
J.D. Vance, from Hillbilly Elegy
Composition Workshop: Writing a Causal Argument
Keegan Lindell, Why I, a High School Football Player, Want to see Tackle Football Taken Away (student model)
Rhetorical Situation: Writing an Introduction
Reasoning and Organization: Unifying an Argument
Claims and Evidence: Connecting Relevant Evidence
Language and Style: Using Subordination and Coordination
Preparing for the AP® Exam
Free-Response Question: Argument
Creating Unity and Coherence
Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading
Corrie Ten Boom, from The Hiding Place
Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing
UNIT 6: ESTABLISHING AND EVALUATING CREDIBILITY
Rhetorical Situation: The Writer’s Credibility
Tre Johnson, Black Superheroes Matter
Claims and Evidence: Strategic Evidence
Dan Barber, What Farm-to-Table Got Wrong
Reasoning and Organization: Exposition: Classification/Division Argument
Mindy Kaling, Women in Romantic Comedies Who Are Not Real
Language and Style: Precision of Language
Richard Wright, A Hunger for Books
Putting It All Together: Modeled Text
Greta Thunberg, Speech at the U.N. Climate Action Summit
Ideas in American Culture
Endurance and Expression
William Faulkner, Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
Lin Manuel Miranda, What Artists Can Do
Wealth and Poverty
Andrew Carnegie, The Gospel of Wealth
Christian H. Cooper, Why Poverty Is Like a Disease
Composition Workshop: Writing a Classification/Division Argument
Josh C., A Massacre of Art (student model)
Claims and Evidence: Synthesizing Evidence
Reasoning and Organization: Arranging Reasons and Evidence
Rhetorical Situation: Establishing Credibility
Language and Style: Using Precise Diction
Preparing for the AP® Exam
Free-Response Question: Synthesis
Synthesizing Evidence from Sources: Citizen Journalism
Source A: Jason Tanz, Journalism Fights for Survival in the Post-Truth Era
Source B: Tony Rogers, Understanding Citizen Journalism
Source C: Chris Hogg, Is There Credibility in Citizen Journalism
Source D: Gracy Olmstead, Verifying Content on Facebook Is the User’s Responsibility
Source E: Pew Research Center, One-Sided and Inaccurate News Seen as the Biggest Problems with News on Social Media (infographic)
Source F: Gary Varvel, Excuse Me (cartoon)
Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading
Franklin D. Roosevelt, The New Deal Speech
Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing
UNIT 7: COMPARING PERSPECTIVES
Rhetorical Situation: Nuance, Complexity, and Contradictions
Ryan Kim, This is Us, It Has Always Been: The Myth of American Exceptionalism (student writing)
Claims and Evidence: Qualification and Concession
Tim Sprinkle, Do Robots Deserve Legal Rights?
Reasoning and Organization: Evaluation Comparison/Contrast Argument
Suzanne Britt, Neat People vs. Sloppy People
Language and Style: Syntax for Purpose
Colson Whitehead, The "Loser Edit" That Awaits Us All
Putting It All Together: Modeled Text
Tommy Orange, How Native American Is Native American Enough?
Ideas in American Culture
Identity and Identities
Ralph Ellison, from Hidden Name and Complex Fate
Durga Chew-Bose, Tan Lines
Justice and Civil Disobedience
Martin Luther King, Letter from Birmingham Jail
Edward Snowden, Why I Became a Whistleblower
Composition Workshop: Writing an Evaluation Argument Using Comparison and Contrast
Riley Stevenson, Climate Activists Must Fight for System Change and Individual Change (student model)
Rhetorical Situation: Introducing and Concluding an Argument
Reasoning and Organization: Connecting Reasons and Evidence
Claims and Evidence: Qualifying an Argument
Language and Style: Crafting Purposeful Syntax
Preparing for the AP® Exam
Free-Response Question: Rhetorical Analysis
Explaining Significance
Rosa Parks, Quiet Strength
Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading
Natalie Goldberg, from Writing Down the Bones
Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing
UNIT 8: EXPLAINING COMPLEXITIES
Rhetorical Situation: The Dynamic Rhetorical Situation
Preminda Jacob, Banksy and the Art of Destroying Art
Claims and Evidence: Counterarguments: Refutation and Rebuttal
Molly Ivins, Guns: Ban the Things. Ban Them All.
Reasoning and Organization: Evaluation: Problem/Solution Argument
Paul Jankowski, Are We So Connected That We’re Disconnected? Three Ways to Break through the Clutter
Language and Style: Identifying Contrast and Incongruity
Lydia Wei, Trendy Restaurant Menu (student writing)
Putting It All Together: Modeled Text
Kevin Roose, Dont Scoff at Influencers. Theyre Taking Over the World
Ideas in American Culture
Mind and Matter
Stephen Hawking, Questioning the Universe
Mary Roach, from Stiff
Criticism and Critique
Horace Miner, Body Ritual Among the Nacirema
The Onion, Wealthy Teen Nearly Experiences Consequence
Composition Workshop: Writing an Evaluation Argument that Proposes a Solution
Walter Li, Self-Care Alone Will Not Fix The System (student model)
Rhetorical Situation: Addressing Complexity
Reasoning and Organization: Justifying a claim
Claims and Evidence: Developing a Counterargument
Language and Style: Connecting with an Audience Through Stylistic Choices
Preparing for the AP® Exam
Free-Response Question: Argument
Acknowledging and Responding to Opposing Arguments
Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading
Ronald Reagan, Tear Down This Wall
Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing
UNIT 9: JOINING THE CONVERSATION
Rhetorical Situation: Understanding the Rhetorical Situation
Dan Crensaw, Five Lessons That Veterans Can Teach Us
Claims and Evidence: Biases and Limitations of Evidence
Matthew S. Williams, Are Space Habitats the Wave of the Future
Organization and Development: Multimodal Arguments
John Barry, It’s All a Part of the Game
Language and Style: Voice and Complexity
Ingrid Marie Geerken, Once Upon a Falling October (student writing)
Putting It All Together: Modeled Text
Toni Morrison, Be Your Own Story
Ideas in American Culture
Truth and Consequences
Barbara Ehrenreich, In America, Only the Rich Can Afford to Write about Poverty
Scientific American, Truth in Journalism
Technology and Globalization
Thomas Friedman, The World Is Flat
Fareed Zakaria, Everyone Seems to Agree, Globalization Is a Sin. Theyre Wrong
Composition Workshop: Writing a Multimodal Argument
Nati Duron, Quiet Confidence: Introverts and the Power of Silence (student model)
Rhetorical Situation: Acknowledging Multiple Perspectives
Reasoning and Organization: Unifying an Argument Across Multiple Methods of Development
Claims and Evidence: Synthesizing Evidence
Language and Style: Establishing a Voice
Preparing for the AP® Exam
Free-Response Question: Synthesis
Demonstrating Complexity: The Value of Liberal Arts
Source A: Lynn Pasquerella, Yes, Employers Do Value Liberal Arts Education
Source B: Robert Reich, A Four Year College Degree is Not Preparing People for Today’s Jobs
Source C: Daniel Bortz, Skills Employers Look For in College Graduates
Source D: Richard Vedder, Jonathan Robe, and Christopher Denhart, The Value of a College Degree is Diminishing Over Time
Source E: Association of American Colleges and Universities, Employer Research Supports High Impact Learning Practices (infographic)
Source F: Committee for Economic Development, Business Supporting College and Career Readiness (infographic)
Multiple-Choice Questions: Reading
E.O. Wilson, The Bird of Paradise
Multiple-Choice Questions: Writing
GLOSSARY/GLOSARIO
GUIDE TO MLA, APA, AND CSE DOCUMENTATION STYLES
INDEX
Authors
John R. Williamson
John R. Williamson is the Dean of K-12 Programs and Superintendent of Model Laboratory School at Eastern Kentucky University where he also continues to teach both AP® English courses. Prior to this role, John served as the Vice President of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment for The College Board’s AP® Program where he led the transformation of all 38 AP® courses and exams, including both AP® English Language and AP® English Literature. For over 20 years John has led workshops across the country as an AP® faculty consultant and trainer. Additionally, he has experience as a reader and table leader for both AP® English exams. John has taught courses at all high school levels as well as both undergraduate and graduate courses in composition, rhetoric, linguistics, and literature.
Mary Jo Zell
A teacher for almost thirty years, Mary Jo Zell currently serves as the English department chair at Keller High School in Keller, Texas, where she teaches AP® English Language, AP® English Literature, and Dual Credit English. She is also an adjunct professor at Tarrant County Community College. She has been a reader and table leader for the AP® English Language Exam for the last 18 years. She served on the AP® English Literature Instructional Design Team and is an AP® faculty consultant who has conducted national and international workshops and summer institutes.
Elizabeth A. Davis
Elizabeth Davis has taught English for more than three decades for Round Rock ISD and College Station ISD, where she also served as English Department Chair for many years. She has been a reader for the AP® English Language Exam and served on the AP® Literature Instructional Design Team. For over twenty years, she has served as an AP® faculty consultant, conducting workshops in both AP® English Language and AP® English Literature.
Program Resources
See a preview of this program’s resources
1. Sign in to unlock your preview. | 2. Select your desired resources | 3. Submit a request. | 4. Download.
Unlock Your Preview.Program Resources
Student Edition Sample
Teacher's Edition Sample
Teacher's Edition with Online Teacher Resources for Ideas in Argument (Single Item)
John R. Williamson; Mary Jo Zell; Elizabeth Davis | First Edition | ©2022 | ISBN:9781319418816Related Titles
Videos
00 Introducing Ideas in Argument
01 Meet the Authors
Author Talk
02 Alignment to the Course and Exam Description
03 What sets Ideas in Argument apart?
04 The Concept
05 Bringing the CEDs Alive: How do the units spiral and scaffold instruction?
06 A Layered Approach: Spiraling Concepts, Skills, and Ideas
07 Why spiral?
08 Differentiation
09 Equity Access
10 Reading Selections
11 Student-centered Approach
12 Not Just Test Prep- Creating Good Writers
13 How does a unit work: Reading Workshops
14 How does a unit work: Putting it all together and Ideas in American Culture
15 How does a unit work: Composition Workshops
16 Teacher Support
17 Assessment
We are processing your request. Please wait...
