Mary Jo Zell 

    • College Board endorsed consultant for AP English Language and Composition – New
    • This session is offered in Event 1:June 20-23 Tuesday through Friday
    • Ms. Zell is also the consultant for AP English Language and Composition (combined new and experienced teachers) during Event 2 June 26-29, 2023 Monday through Thursday.

Meet your APSI Consultant for AP English Language and Composition

Mary Jo Zell lives and teaches in Keller, TX. 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 is currently the department Chair of English at Keller High School, where she has taught for 20 years. She is in her 28th year of teaching high school English and has taught every level 9-12th. Presently, she teaches AP Language and AP Literature.

For the past 17 years she has served as an AP Language Reader for the College Board; she is currently a Table Leader for the AP Language and Composition exam. 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. Additionally, since 2010 she has worked with NMSI- conducting teacher trainings, leading mock readings, and presenting Saturday Sessions.

Walton APSI Course Description for AP English Language and Composition – New

This week will focus on methods and content used in teaching students to become superior readers, writers, and thinkers. 

  • This week will begin with a close look at College Board Course and Exam Description, The AP English Language and Composition Exam, and various instructional strategies that will create an engaging and rigorous classroom. 
  • 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. 
  • We will examine a variety of syllabi, forms of assessment, and managing the overwhelming paper load that comes with teaching AP English classes.