Choice Novel Summer Reading Assignment

AP English

Requirements:

o  BEFORE leaving school for the summer, set up a JSTOR account. Ask Ms. Medved for help.

o  Read ONE novel or play from the AP Open Question Text List[1]

o  Complete the form below.

o  After finishing your novel or play, research literary criticism articles about your novel or play. Use JSTOR. It’s the best.

o  Select one article. Read it.

o  Write a précis about your article. A précis is a brief summary of the main argument and ideas in the article. It should be typed and fewer than 250 words. Include a full MLA citation of the article at the bottom of your précis.

Due Date:

The précis, a copy of your literary criticism article, and this handout are all due the first Friday of the school year.

Choice Reading Assignment Tracking Handout[2]

As you read your choice novel, track the plot, structure, conflict, characters, settings, themes and resolutions on the form below. This structure will prepare you for the impromptu essay you’ll write about your novel during the first week of school in September. Specifically, prepare to write an impromptu essay about the characters and themes in your novel. Feel free to collaborate with peers, talk about your novel with friends and family, or read additional literary criticism about your novel. Immerse yourself in the ideas and delights of your choice book!

Components of Plot:

·  Exposition—beginning of novel/play when readers learn setting, characters, main conflict

·  Conflict—main obstacle preventing the protagonist from reaching his/her goal

·  Rising action—complications that develop and prolong the main conflict

·  Climax—turning point in story

·  Falling action—result of conflict

·  Denouement/Resolution—ties up loose ends

Plot Review

Name the TEN most important events in the plot. Be sure to include key moments of conflict, climax, and resolution. Consider charting them out by chapter/section/act.

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Character:

Identify the protagonist and antagonist. Describe the nature of their conflict, how it affects their behavior, and what resolution—if any—contributes to the overall meaning of the novel/play. Describe the appearance, speech, actions, thoughts (if accessible)[3], and opinions of others (how others view them) for EACH of the key characters.

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Character II:

Choose ONE memorable character and analyze the techniques used by the writer to develop that character. Again, consider appearance, speech, actions, thoughts, and the opinions of others.

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Theme

Identify THREE major themes in each work studied. For each theme, note the evidence (aka quotes with page numbers) that support the development of each theme (e.g. specific references to dialogue, plot, characters, language, setting, etc.)

Major Theme #1______

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Major Theme #2______

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Major Theme #3______

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Setting:

List FIVE ways the setting contributes to the meaning or effect of the novel/play. How does the setting influence emotions, thoughts, and actions of characters? Are there certain types of events or conversations that only take place in ONE location? Do different locations hold symbolic meaning?

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Structure:

Examine the structure of the novel/play. Describe its structure or shape. In what ways does the structure contribute to the work’s themes, characters, or overall meaning? In what ways does the novel/play follow the traditional five-act plot chart (exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution/denouement)? Where does it deviate from this template?

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Figurative Language:

Pick a few random passages to re-read in a novel/play. Identify the figurative language used in those passages (allusion, metaphor, personification, etc.). Name the figures of speech and note the patterns they create. HOW does the writer use them to contribute to the purpose or meaning of the work? How does the writer use them to effect particular scenes? Consider the use of figurative language in the writer’s development of tone, character, and theme.

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[1] NOTE: The first choice novel will be due the first week of the school year. The AP Text List is available at http://mseffie.com/AP/APtitles.html. Please select a novel or play you have NOT read before. Ignore King Lear, Oedipus Rex, Antigone, Medea, Crime and Punishment, Wuthering Heights and Beloved as these are required reading for AP.

[2] Adapted from Barron’s AP English Literature and Composition Test Preparation, 4th edition

[3] In drama, the audience usually has limited access to internal thoughts. These thoughts are revealed through asides or soliloquies.