AP Literature and Composition Summer Assignment 2014
This is a course designed for students to deeply study representative works, from multiple genres and time periods. To build upon your reading, writing, and analysis skills, preparing for this intense course includes summer reading, watching, and written assignments, which are specified below.
Reading Assignments
· How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster
o If possible, this book should be purchased as we will refer to it throughout this course.
o Read the book and develop an understanding of literary analysis and how the repetition of patterns and symbols provide a deeper level of meaning in most texts.
· Elements of Style by Strunk & White
o If possible, this book should be purchased as we will refer to it throughout this course.
o Read the book and develop an understanding of the various elements of grammar that are addressed. There will be a grammar test shortly after returning to school.
· We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
o Again, purchasing this book would be ideal, but it is not necessary. This book is available free online in pdf form.
o Read the novel and focus on basic literary elements, such as symbolism, allusions, etc.
o Also, pay careful attention to the idea of freedom and lack of privacy in this novel.
· The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks
o Again, purchasing this book would be ideal, but it is not necessary. You will need to find a copy of this book. Local bookstores have been notified.
o Read the novel and focus on the idea of freedom. Also, find real-life examples of surveillance or lack of privacy.
Things to make note of in your text:
· Annotate anything that you think is confusing, interesting, surprising, or important.
· Annotate passages that generate a strong positive or negative response.
· How does the writer present the argument and prove it?
· What is the writer’s argument and tone and how are these achieved?
· Analyze the diction (word choice) and syntax (sentence structure) used to express point of view.
· Consider the writer’s purpose: to explain, to persuade, to describe, to entertain, to editorialize.
· Also, consider any logical fallacies in the author’s arguments.
· Write connections between this text, other texts, and Eagle Eye.
Watching Assignments
You will need to watch the movie Eagle Eye (2008), directed by D. J. Caruso and starring Shia LaBeouf.
· Make connections with the novels assigned and also with a relevant current event.
Writing Assignments
There are five assignments to accompany your reading. Each is due the first day of school. All assignments must be bound in a three-ring binder, compiled in the order they appear below.
· Choose FIVE chapters from How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Foster and apply what you have learned in those chapters to We and The Traveler.
o Create a power point slide show that explains the main points made in the Foster chapters and how those points apply to the books.
o You need to have the following information in your slide show:
§ Begin with a slide that has the titles and authors of the books.
§ Include a brief summary of the book.
§ A slide that explains the main points of each chapter from How to Read Literature Like a Professor that you have chosen to explain.
§ A slide that provides at least two examples (quotes please) from the books for each chapter in Foster’s book that you chose. Please include page numbers for each example.
§ Make your slides visually appealing – color, pictures, etc.
· Vocabulary compiled from How to Read Literature Like a Professor, We, and The Traveler: As you read, compile a list of unfamiliar vocabulary and define each word. Note the work and page number where you find each word and include the sentence in which the word was used. Submit one list all together that identifies the source text for each. Please number each entry in your list and identify the text in which you found your words.
· A Text Review Guide completed for each fictional work: The AP exam takes place in May, and you’ll need to do some active processing now to develop notes that will assist you in studying for the exam. For each fictional work you read, complete a Text Review Guide. A Review Guide for Eagle Eye (2008) is optional, but encouraged. Obviously, this would not be as detailed as those for your novels.
· Pivotal Passage and Response (one from each fictional work): It is critical that you think about what’s important in your texts. Just read well and think deeply.
Here’s what to do:
o For each fictional text, find one pivotal passage to reflect upon. It may be as short as a few lines or as long as a page or so. The passage should be interesting, thought-provoking, and significant to the work’s meaning(s) as a whole. Think critically and write a focused analysis on a few key elements rather than a random reflection. Here are some possible elements to explore:
How does the passage…
* develop central theme(s) or conflicts?
* use images or symbol(s) to convey meaning?
* develop character in a rich, significant way?
* use setting details to convey important themes, conflicts, or meanings?
* exhibit important shifts or turning points instrumental to the work?
Read through the entire text before choosing your passage—you have to be able to connect it to the work as a whole.
o Get past the beginning: Choose a passage that occurs at least one quarter of the way into the work (approximately).
o Copy (photocopy, write, or type) the entire passage and include it at the beginning of your response.
o Write a thoughtful, detailed discussion of your passage. Include, and highlight, a clear thesis statement that addresses the reasons the passage is particularly significant. Each response should be 350 - 500 words, double-spaced (typed only). Your response should analyze the passage specifically and discuss its most important elements, and you should demonstrate in your response that you have read the entire work. Do not merely summarize or translate the passage. Instead, address important elements in the passage and how they convey important meanings that are significant to the work as a whole.
o Pick a passage you will enjoy writing about. This is designed to be interesting and not a chore. Make this assignment belong to you.
· A short (1- to 2-page) connection between Eagle Eye (2008) and a current event (i.e. drones, PRISM, etc.).
· A short (1-page) treatise on “freedom vs. safety”: This essay should include a thorough definition, a statement of your philosophy on freedom, and a basic interpretation of how society, in general, identifies or manipulates freedom.
If you have any questions throughout the summer, contact me, Mr. Wegley, at or at my home, 236-8880.
AP English Text Review Guide
Type responses on another sheet. Retain this format.
Cultural context/genre (Identify & explain relevant information about literary period, author, type of text, etc.)
Setting(s)/Tone & Mood (Identify the setting(s) and their significance; identify the atmosphere in the text as established by the tone and mood; include, where relevant, quotes from/references to the text)
Brief Plot Summary (Summarize the plot of the text succinctly w/ special attention to development & resolution of conflicts)
Name/Role Motivation/Tension/Development Identifying Quote(s)
Main Characters: List & make notes about important characters in work / List as many as necessary.Significant Relationship
Name/Role to Main Character(s) Identifying Quotes/References (where relevant)
Minor Characters / List as many as necessary.Motif Significance (quote from text, where relevant)
Motifs(signif. objects, concepts, ideas, issues, statements recurrent in text) / List as many as necessary.
Theme How manifested in plot/characterization/other elements
(quote from text as relevant)
Themes(questions, statements, and/or dichotomies (i.e. this vs. that) / List as many as necessary.
Assignments adapted from Dr. Melissa King Rogers
AP English Student and Parent Information Sheet
***PLEASE COMPLETE THIS SHEET AND RETURN IT TO MR. WEGLEY IN ROOM 2044 BEFORE SUMMER BREAK.***
***ALSO, ALL STUDENTS MUST EMAIL ME BEFORE BREAK SO THAT A CAN CREATE AN EMAIL GROUP FOR SUMMER UPDATES.***
Student’s Name:
Student’s Email Address:
I’d like to know a little more about you as a student to get a sense of the interests and abilities of the class. Please take a moment to tell me about yourself. Feel free to include any additional information you’d like me to know about you.
Why have you chosen to take AP English?
What do you think are your strengths as a student?
What would you like to work on most in AP English, and why?
Please have a parent complete the sections below.
Names of Parent(s):
Address:
Phone Number:
Parent’s Email Address:
I am aware of the commitment involved with the AP English course.
Student Signature:
Parent Signature: