AP English Language

Online for the 2025-2026 School Year

Teacher: Odelia Chan

Email: teach@odeliachan.com

Note: You must fill out an application and be accepted to the class before submitting payment. The 2025-26 application form: https://forms.gle/qpZKhohun9d4wTse7. I begin processing applications on March 1, 2025.

Course description:

“How do words shape our perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and opinions?” The answer to that is...complicated.

Words form the basis of our understanding of humanity and the world – they give structure and definition to our consciousness of reality. Words are vessels through which we gain and share knowledge with each other, even when colors fade and sounds dissipate throughout time’s relentless march.

While this interactive and rather demanding course prepares students for the AP English Language and Composition exam in May 2026, its purpose is grounded in something far more significant than academics. At the heart of understanding and dialogue is the human mind’s eternal search for truth and beauty. By taking this course, students are challenged to become deep thinkers, empathetic readers, and better writers.

Throughout the year, my students and I will:

• Study a bit of everything – the King James Bible, comic strips, Ayn Rand, long-form essays, biographies, and an anime film, just for starters – and come to understand how ideas work, what they are made of, and how they are communicated.
• Ask hard questions about life, ourselves, and the world, then examine the nuances and legitimacy of different answers to those questions proposed over the centuries. We’ll see that things are not always black-and-white, and learn to engage in thoughtful dialogue instead of emotion-driven squabbling.
• Examine (and develop) arguments on different real-world issues. Evidence would be presented, and we’d learn to wade through the rhetoric, realizing that context and presentation often end up being more impactful than facts.
• Experiment with creating in different writing genres – journaling, creative non-fiction, poetry, and fiction, in additional to AP Lang essays – to understand how words work, what they do, and how we can be better communicators.
• Explore the developing powers of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), discuss its impact on the written word for both writers and readers, and learn what separates human writing from AI writing and how to be "AGI-proof" for the future" as a communicator.

By the end of the course, students will understand complicated texts and write with complexity and clarity. They’ll also have grown in maturity as readers, writers, and thinkers. To reach this goal, this course involves extensive reading, writing, and online discussion.

Since reading and writing nonfiction lies at the heart of the AP® English Language and Composition exam, students should anticipate reading 40 - 60 pages of various non-fiction (and sometimes prose and poetry) and writing one essay (or the equivalent) weekly, as well as numerous shorter written responses per week. Students will also participate in interactive discussions of their readings throughout the week, composing responses to discussion questions and commenting on their classmates' responses; they will generally write a short reply to a "Morning Message" each day. Throughout the year students will engage in guided test preparation for the AP® English Language and Composition exam.

Knowing how to read and write is one thing: to earn one’s place in the written world is another. This course shows you how to begin that second journey.

Notes: Some things to be aware of before applying.

• I do not recommend students take this course alongside other writing- and reading-heavy courses. We are quite ambitious in this course. If you have concerns, contact me via email (prior to application) to discuss.
• Both the thoughts and the thinking processes of students would be challenged throughout the year. I may ask students to argue for positions they do not stand for, and there would be a “Debate Room” section of the class site where students can express their opinions and argue for their beliefs with classmates who disagree with them. Basic standards of respect and politeness will be enforced to maintain peace within the class.
• In addition to in-class reading, students will choose novels, plays, and nonfiction works to study either independently or in interactive book clubs with their classmates throughout the year. This translates to time and attention required of the student on top of regular course assignments.
• Throughout the year, I will emphasize the writing process, as students move from prewriting and outlining to drafting and revisions with the help of extensive critique from both their classmates and from me.

Course structure: This course is primarily asynchronous. Both lessons and assigned coursework are completed on students' own schedules with no required live meetings. Primary instruction consists of Morning Messages that students read and respond to each weekday. Students will interact asynchronously by writing extensive responses to each others' discussion questions and essays, as well as through writing responses to the daily Morning Messages.

This course does involve two flexible live components:

1. Monthly OPTIONAL Zoom sessions to complement class instruction: The timing of these meetings would vary so that all students who wish to attend may attend at least a few of them. I will share notes from each meeting for students who could not attend.
2. "Book Club" meetings via video chat: Students will have written options for these discussions as well, but since live spoken discussion is a valuable skill to practice, holding Zoom meetings to discuss books with classmates are encouraged.

Who should apply: This course is open to 10th, 11th and 12th graders. I may admit 9th graders with exceptional credentials. Strong interest in language, self-improvement, and argumentation is mandatory. Students should already possess the ability to think clearly and logically, to write well and read difficult texts, and to discuss ideas in both abstract and concrete terms. Students do not need extensive experience with formal literary analysis or essay writing, nor need they be well-known poets and philosophers. Above all, I welcome literate individuals who are self-aware, disciplined, and respectful (both towards themselves and others).

Required texts: Obtaining a hardcopy of each book below is recommended, though digital access is sufficient.

• The Art of Nonfiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers, Ayn Rand
• The Elements of Style, Strunk and White (any edition)
• Exogenesis, Peco Gaskovski
• The World Beyond Your Head, Matthew B. Crawford
• Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand

In addition, students will read seven AP®-level works of fiction or nonfiction of their choice (within certain limits), discussing these works in small groups with classmates. Further short readings, from a range of eras and on a range of topics, will be provided throughout the course (via free online access or PDFs).

Registration deadline: Applications will be accepted through August 1st, or until the class is full.

Technology needs: Students must have web access. Printer access is highly recommended. They must also be able to view and create PDF files.

Hours of study per week: 10-13 hours. We don't meet at set class times; rather, you will have assignments due by midnight on most days of the school week. I will also post an instructional message every weekday morning by 8 AM EST; usually this message involves a student response.

Course fee: $825 (no early bird rates)

Length of course: Tuesday, September 2, 2025 to Friday, May 15, 2026.

Breaks: Students will have one week off for fall break, one week off for Thanksgiving break, two weeks off for Christmas / New Year’s, and one week off for spring break. There will be no assignments due on U.S. National Holidays.

Accommodations: I accommodate students who need to work ahead, students who live in international time zones, or students who face particularly busy times during their school year. I also accommodate student travel plans, illnesses, and special events, and appreciate being notified of such “life hiccups” ahead of time whenever possible. However, students with extensive travel plans or time constraints during the school year are not encouraged to sign up for this course.

Instructor: Ms. Odelia Chan, a published novelist and writer, has been teaching AP English with Mrs. Maya Inspektor on AP Homeschoolers for the past three years. She graduated summa cum laude from Waldorf University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications in 2019. Since then, she has been teaching writing workshops both online and in-person. She writes on her website odeliachan.com and on her Substack Percolations. Offline, Ms. Chan is a housecleaner, multi-instrumentalist, and action-biased dreamer. In her spare time, she gives philosophical lectures to her dog Ragnarok and turtle Dienekes.

All general inquiries should be sent to Ms. Chan: teach@odeliachan.com