❮ xiABOUT THE AUTHORS
Barbara L. Murphy taught AP Language and other college-level courses at Jericho High
School for more than 26 years. She has been a reader of the AP Language and Composition
exam since 1993 and is a consultant for the College Board’s AP Language and Composition,
for which she has conducted workshops, conferences, and Summer Institutes. She is cur-
rently on the faculty of Syracuse University’s Project Advance in English.
After earning her B.A. from Duquesne University and her M.A. from the University
of Pittsburgh, Ms. Murphy did her doctoral course work at Columbia University. She also
holds professional certifications in still photography and motion picture production and is
one of the founding members of the women’s film company Ishtar Films.
Estelle M. Rankin taught AP Literature at Jericho High School for more than 25 years.
She was honored with the AP Literature Teacher of the Year award by the College Board
in 1996. She also received the Long Island Teacher of the Year award in 1990. She was the
recipient of the Cornell University Presidential Scholars’ Award and has been recognized
by the C.W. Post Master Teachers Program.
Ms. Rankin earned her B.A. from Adelphi University and her M.A. from Hofstra
University. She has pursued further graduate work in the field of creative studies at Queens
College and Brooklyn College.
She has done extensive work in the research and development of film, drama, and
creative writing curricula, SAT prep, and the new NYS Regents benchmarks for English,
and has participated in numerous AP Literature conferences and workshops. Ms. Rankin is
currently a College Board consultant for pre-AP and AP English. Her finest teachers were
her parents, Edward and Sylvia Stern.
Ms. Murphy and Ms. Rankin are also the coauthors of McGraw-Hill’s 5 Steps to a 5:
AP English Literature, Writing the AP English Essay, and Writing an Outstanding College
Application Essay.