Language and Composition: The Art of Voice (Muller and Whiting)

Part 3: AP Favorites

Overview

In a survey of several hundred AP teachers across the nation, leaders in their field were asked what their five favorite pieces to teach in class were. The most popular responses were the group of selections here. The vast majority of teachers listed these offerings, stating that these selections best represent the AP program. These pieces range across time periods, geographical areas, and genres—and highlight the art of voice.

Prepare to read, analyze, and enjoy the best of the best!
MAYA ANGELOU, Graduation
JUDY BRADY, I Want a Wife
JOAN DIDION, Marrying Absurd
JONATHAN EDWARDS, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
QUEEN ELIZABETH, The Golden Speech
RALPH WALDO EMERSON, Education
RALPH WALDO EMERSON, Self-Reliance
THOMAS HOBBES, Leviathan
JOHN F. KENNEDY, Inaugural Address
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., Letter from Birmingham Jail
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Second Inaugural Address
MACHIAVELLI, The Prince
NANCY MAIRS, On Being a Cripple
TIM O’BRIEN, The Things They Carried
GEORGE ORWELL, Politics and the English Language
GEORGE ORWELL, Shooting an Elephant
PLATO, Allegory of the Cave
DAVID SEDARIS, Me Talk Pretty One Day
BRENT STAPLES, Black Men and Public Spaces
JONATHAN SWIFT, A Modest Proposal
HENRY DAVID THOREAU, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
OSCAR WILDE, The Importance of Being Earnest
VIRGINIA WOOLF, A Room of One’s Own