11 AP English Language and Composition 2017-2018

Summer assignment

Welcome to Advanced Placement English Language and Composition. You will need to read three books:

One book on language and grammar (a comical book on punctuation): Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynn Truss, ISBN-10:1592402038

Two non-fiction reads: Both texts are classic man vs. nature narratives of true events and, like all great narratives, they represent the nature of the human spirit.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, ISBN-10:0385486804

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, ISBN-10:0307279464

(You may purchase the books online or download books onto an e-reader or Kindle. Printed copies are available at the Barnes and Noble store at Bay Shore. 20% discount with a Brentwood student I.D. You can personally order copies from Barnes and Noble and have the books sent to your home address. )

You are required to complete the following assignments. All assignments will be TYPED Times Roman 12 font:

Assignment for Eats, Shoots & Leaves: For each chapter (7 in total, including intro.), choose any of the questions below to answer, and support with evidence (a paragraph each).

1.  Which example in this chapter is most effective for making the point that punctuation is important? Why?

2.  What was the punctuation’s original purpose? Support with evidence from the text.

3.  Give one example of Truss using sarcasm or humor to make a point and explain its effectiveness.

4.  What is her main point in this chapter and what kind of evidence does she give to support it?

5. What is a concept discussed in the chapter and how will it be applied to your future coursework?

6.  Explain an analogy offered for punctuation. Which do you think is most accurate and why?

7.  What does the chapter’s title refer to? Explain how chapter’s content exemplifies the title.

Part One: Double-Entry Analytical Journals - Into the Wild /A Walk in the Woods

To create this double entry journal, you will draw a horizontal line halfway down each page and use the top half to write out the question along with evidence from the text that answers the question. On the bottom half, you will comment on the textual evidence, answering HOW the evidence answers your chosen question, HOW the textual passage is written, and WHY the author wrote the passage that way.

Questions:

1. How would you describe the writer’s style? (sentence constructions, word choice, rhetorical devices used, organization, imagery, details) in this section?

2. How does the author use language to create an effect? What is it about the language that stands out and makes the passage distinctive?

3. How does the passage reveal larger themes/major arguments at work?

4. What is the most important part of the section read today? Why would you classify it as important?

5. As you read today, what feelings did you experience in response to events (e.g. irritation, wonder, disbelief, recognition, etc.) and why do you think you responded this way?

6. What startling/unusual/effective words, phrases, expressions, or images did you come across in your reading today that you would like to have explained or clarified? Why do you think the writer used them?

7. Do you agree, disagree or qualify (you agree with some, but not all) with the writer’s viewpoint in this section? Why?

8. What techniques did the author use to make his argument? What makes them effective?

Answer one of the above after approximately 40-50 pages of reading. Do not read the entire book and then go back and complete your entries. You are not expected to respond to all of the questions, but to one of your choosing for each 40-50 page section.

Keep in mind that you should focus your journal entries on the three key aspects: the writer and his style, the audience and how the writer is addressing them, and the writer’s purpose in writing this book.

Your answers should be between 100-150 words in length. This will mean 4 entries for Into the Wild and 4 entries for A Walk in the Woods.

Sample Journal Entry

QUESTION: How would you describe the writer’s style in this section? How did the author use these devices to create meaning?

“I will see the city poured rolling down the mountain valleys like slag, and see the city lights sprinkled and curved around the hills’ curves, rows of bonfires winding. At sunset a red light like house fires shines from the narrow hillside windows; the houses’ bricks burn like glowing coals.” (Prologue 3)

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In this entry, Dillard uses many metaphors and similes to describe her hometown, making it into a living thing. By saying that the city resembled “slag,” “bonfires,” and “glowing coals,” she shows that the city has a fire within it that makes it live. None of the comparisons are completely negative, though. She uses the verbs “rolling,” “sprinkled,” “winding,” and “shines” to describe how the fires behave and lastly, she says the coals are “glowing.” So, while coal warms the city, it also engulfs it. All of these descriptions also relate to the fact that Pittsburgh was a town that thrived on coal mining in the 1950s.

***Note that none of this is a summary or a paraphrase of the text. Analyzing is writing about the HOW and the WHY.

Grading-

Eats, Shoots & Leaves

Chapter questions (14 points for each chapter)

Non-fiction reads

Into the Wild/A walk in the Woods

Discovery Journal (25 points each entry/ 100 points total per book) - Journal entry is significant in substance and length for every 40-50 pages of text.

____/100 – Quality journal responses (adequate number of questions, valid responses, and sufficient analysis of how/why author makes choices)

Assignment submissions: Hard copies of the assignments will be handed in the first day of school. You will be given a password and id number to join turnitin.com. Journals and question/ responses will then be uploaded to turnitin.com.

Contact Information and Expectations-If you have questions about any part of this project, you should contact your AP teacher, Ms. Bellino via email at .