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Dear 10th Grade English Teachers,

Sophomores are often thought of as the middle children of a high school—all the
eagerness of freshmen, combined with the skill and sophistication of upperclass-
men. More than anything, 10th graders are filled with possibilities. And for us as
the authors of Advanced Language & Literature, that means helping them gain
the skills, background knowledge, and earned confidence to be able to walk into
either AP English class in the future knowing that they belong there, and that they
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can be successful.
Since it is the goal of most teachers, schools, and districts to have enrollment in
our AP classes reflect the racial, gender, economic, and ethnic diversity of our
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schools, it’s essential that we give all students the preparation they need before
they enroll in an AP class. My co-authors and I are deeply committed to the
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idea that equity of access requires equity of preparation. For us, Pre-AP is not a
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course, but a mindset: all students are Pre-AP students simply because they
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are in an English class that hopefully leads into an AP class. We believe that with
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the right support, guidance, and curriculum, all sophomores can develop the read-
ing, writing, speaking, and critical thinking skills required in AP English, college,
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and beyond.
Now, all this is easy to say in a letter like this, but we know that the reality of
today’s classrooms makes this much tougher in practice. Within the same
classroom, you may have students who are reading Jane Austen on a daily basis
alongside students who are learning English as a second language. You may have
students who rarely write more than a text message seated next to someone who
has written fourteen novels of fan fiction. So, our main goal with this Second Edi-
tion of Advanced Language & Literature was to provide you with a wide range of
engaging texts on various topics at identified complexity levels written by authors
of diverse backgrounds. We paired these texts with approachable skills instruc-
tion, text-based questions, and activities that are meaningful, appropriate, and
easily differentiated for the spectrum of students you teach every day.
For me, one of the greatest joys of teaching sophomores is seeing just how much
growth they make in a single year, and getting to check in with them in the follow-
ing years about how they’re doing in their AP English classes. There is nothing
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better than when they say, “No problem. I got it.” This is our hope for you and for
all of your students with this second edition of Advanced Language & Literature.

Very truly yours,

John Golden

AP® is a trademark registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.

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