AP English Language and Composition – Mary Jo Zell

This session AP English Language and Composition  – with Mary Jo Zell is offered IN PERSON during Week 2: June 22-25, 2026 at Walton High School in Marietta, Georgia.

Meet your APSI Consultant for AP English Language & Composition

Mary Jo Zell lives in Saint Augustine, FL. She received her B.A. from Villanova University, and her master’s degree from Georgia Southwestern University. She began her teaching career in Pennsylvania and Georgia and  has served as the Department Chair of English at Keller High School, where she taught for 23 years. She was a classroom teacher for 30 years and has taught every level 9-12th.  She has served as an adjunct instructor at Tarrant County College, and spends her time consulting and working on textbooks.  

She has served as an AP Language Reader and Table Leader for the College Board for over twenty years.  She served on the College Board AP Literature Instructional Design Team and is an AP College Board Consultant who has conducted various workshops and summer institutes. Since 2010 she has worked with various state organizations conducting teacher training, leading mock readings, and presenting Saturday Sessions. She is currently the English Language Content Specialist for Mass Insight, Inc.  Additionally, she is a co- author of Ideas In Argument (Bedford, 2022, 2025), and Ideas In Literature (Bedford, 2022).

APSI Session Description

This week will focus on methods and content used in teaching students to become superior readers, writers, and thinkers. The class will focus on the skills of the course articulated in the College Board Course and Exam Description (2019) and the various ways to create engaging instruction. The course will be implementing the 1-6 Analytic scoring rubric, building composition skills, and presenting revision strategies to improve student writing. The goal is to cultivate new texts and strategies for classroom use, the seminar will include a variety of non-fiction in conjunction with relevant writing skills. The instruction of composition will be a major focus of the class. Much time will be spent looking at the timed essay. We will focus on the depth of study and building instructional units of study for a successful AP English Language classroom. scoring and revision strategies improve student writing. We will work with the objective and written portions of the AP English Language test. Finally, we will examine a variety of syllabi, forms of assessment, and managing the overwhelming paper load that comes with teaching AP English classes.

2026 WaltonAPSI / AP English Language and Composition / Mary Jo Zell