AP Language and
Composition Summer Reading
Summer is almost here, and I am sure many of
you are wondering what to expect next year in AP Language and Composition. Summer
is a great time to spend time in the sun and go on vacations with family or
friends; however, you also need to prepare for the rigorous expectations that
come with AP Language and Composition. According to the College Board, AP
Language and Composition students should become skilled readers in a variety of
periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts. They also should become skilled
writers, which is my passion.
Engagement is the key to summer reading
success, and it is my hope that you will find enjoyment in what you read.
Beyond that thought, you need to prepare yourself for the course and exam in
May of 2009. The following assignments will be due the first class period when we
meet in September:
Assignment #1
Please write a letter of introduction, so
that I have a understanding of you as a teenager, student, son or daughter, and
friend. Make the letter informative, enlightening, and honest. This is a great
segue into writing your college essay, and it will help me write your college recommendation
letters. Let me know about your talents, interests, and passions. Take your
time on this assignment and brag a little, okay?
I have included some suggestions to help you
get started, but do not let them stifle your creativity. The suggestions are as
follows:
Family and friends
Interests and hobbies
Values
Achievements and honors
Strengths and weaknesses
Job experience
Community service experience
Plans for the future (including college)
Your dreams and aspirations
What do you want to change about yourself,
your community, or your world?
What important choices have you made in your
life thus far?
What is your learning style?
What gives you extreme joy or makes you
really angry?
Anything else you want me to know about you.
What should I know about your as a learner,
reader, and writer?
Assignment #2 (adapted from Christina Neukam)
Please read the directions for this assignment
carefully.
1.
Please
read The Narrative of the Life of
Frederick Douglas, an American Slave by Frederick Douglas and Ethan Frome by
Edith Wharton.
2.
As
an AP Language and Composition student, it is important for you to learn the
art of close reading. In order to start our year off on the right track, you
will practice the close reading techniques and critical reading skills
necessary to be successful on the exam by creating reading cards as you work
through each book.
The Cards:
1.
Please
purchase 50 lined note cards. If you are the creative type, it is okay to
purchase the colorful ones, as long as they have lines on one side.
2.
Complete
the cards as you read the book; do not follow the chronological order in your
directions for preparing your cards. You want the order to flow from the book.
3.
Mark
each card according to the category (Theme, Figures of Speech, etc.)
4.
Put
the page number on each card, so you can refer back to it at a later date.
5.
Make
sure your cards span the entire book.
Card Preparation:
Card#1 and #2:
Setting (2 cards)
Identify at least 10 descriptions from the book that
identify setting.
Card #3: Visual
Symbol
Look for a significant visual symbol within the novel or
narrative. Explain the symbol and the reason why the author used that
particular symbol and its relevance to the entire work.
Card #4, #5, and #6:
Striking Images, Ideas, Events, Objects, Phrases or Words
From each work, choose five items that seem significant or
striking. For each, state the context of the time (what it refers to) and why
you think it is significant. Use
complete sentences. Example: “paper-mache
Mephistopheles” (p 23) – refers to the bricklayer who never lays any bricks;
Marlowe describes him as empty and shallow – the devil’s agent, representing
the evils of imperialism.
Card # 7 Figures of
Speech
Find an example of a figure of speech in the book
(metaphor, simile, personification, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, irony, hyperbole,
symbol or allusion). Record the
example. Identify the technique. Explain the meaning in context of the
book.
Card #8 Rhetorical
Techniques
Find an example of a rhetorical technique (rhetorical
question, parallelism, repetition, euphemism, anaphora, paradox, or
antithesis). Record the example. Identify the technique. Explain how it is used for “effect”.
Card #9 Recurring
Motifs/Archetypes
Identify at least one recurring motif (Think about color,
objects, events, things, or animals). Cite at least 3 occurrences (don’t’
forget to cite page numbers.) Briefly state the context of the occurrence (What
is it about; What’s happening with it). Then write a
sentence or two stating how the use of the motif is connected to the overall
meaning.
Card #10 Rhetorical
Response (The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas- An American Slave only)
Identify one of the following appeals in the narrative and
give specific evidence:
● ethos-
appeals to audience’s sense of ethics/character
● pathos – appeals to the feelings and emotions of the
audience to change
their attitudes.
● logos – appeals to audience’s reason
Card #11 Structure:
Explain how the work is put together (the architecture of
the work) and what effect this structure has on the work as a whole.
Card #12 Theme:
State the message about human life or human nature that is
“hidden” in the story the writer tells. Explain your observation with details from the
novel or narrative. Use separate cards for different meanings. Write in
complete sentences.
Card #13. #14, #15, #16, and #17: Key
Passages
Choose one of the characters in the novel or narrative
that you find intriguing or interesting and find five key textual references significant to character development.
Copy the passage correctly (quotation marks, cite page number) and explain what
the passage reveals about the character. Mare sure to
represent the beginning, middle, and end of the book.
Card 18: Personal
Response
Write about your impression of the book, after you have
completed the reading the other note cards. Consider your emotional reaction,
any negative thoughts, connections to your own interests, and experiences.
Write in complete sentences.
Card 19: Bibliographic entry.
Write a bibliographic entry for the work using the Modern
Language Association (MLA) format. There are many websites that will help you.
PLEASE BRING YOUR
BOOKS TO SCHOOL THE FIRST FULL WEEK OF SCHOOL!
You will have a timed
writing assignment on each of these works as an additional assessment to the
cards.
If you
have any questions, please feel free to email me.
Have a
great summer!!!!!
Mrs.
Buckert