Summer Assignments

AP English Language and Composition Summer Reading and Assignments

Welcome to AP Language and Composition, where we study the art and power of language. By registering for an Advanced Placement class, you have indicated your willingness to engage in scholarly activity. True scholars have a curiosity about their world that drives them to challenge their own beliefs, strengthen their own skills, and develop an awareness of current issues. Because reading is essential to scholarly behavior, I expect that AP students will read regularly throughout the summer. To support and encourage this habit, I have instituted the following project.

1. “IN THE NEWS” JOURNALS

One goal of the course is to help you become an informed citizen. In other words, you will gain a better understanding of current events and how writers help to shape and reflect them. To get a head start on this, you must read six news articles published throughout the summer and write about them. These news articles may come from newspapers (e.g., The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, USA Today), or news magazines (e.g., Time, Newsweek, and US News and World Report). Please note that articles should reflect various publication dates from throughout the summer. While you may skip a week here and there, you should not have six articles from the month of August.

Please attach the article to your journal. Journals should be typed, double spaced, and one page long. Please use 12 pt, Times New Roman font, and one inch margins.

Your journal response to the story should respond to the content of the article, but not summarize it. You should discuss the following:

• Your personal response to the story…what did you learn? What questions do you have about the issue? Did anything in the story bother or intrigue you?
• What techniques did the author use to present the story? Stories? Testimonials? Interesting word choice? Quotes? Statistics? How effective were these techniques in educating/informing you?
• Does the article appear to have a bias (meaning it presents information from one main point of view)? Why do you/why don’t you think so?
• How effective was the news article overall in informing or persuading you about the issue?

2. READING REQUIREMENTS

As AP scholars, you should consider that students who read more, score significantly higher on standardized tests such as AP Exams, ACTs, and SATs. In addition, reading helps to develop your vocabulary and your ability to connect ideas. Finally, reading will help to avoid the summer “mush” that our brains tend to become when we do not exercise them. In addition to the articles you read for the “In the News” requirement, you must read and think analytically about the two books you have chosen, one fiction and one non-fiction.

Fiction Choice – READ ONLY

The fiction choices are based on the following criteria:
1) I have multiple copies.
2) You do not read this book in any other class.
3) This book has appeared on the AP Literature exam.

It is up to you to research and choose the novel you think you will like best. If you change your mind over the summer, and you have access to another book on the list, you may switch your choice. Here they are:

To the Lighthouse – Virginia Woolfe
Passage to India – E.M. Forster
Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
Farewell to Arms – Ernest Hemingway
The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
Invisible Man – Ralph Waldo Ellison
Light in August – William Faulkner
All the Pretty Horses – Cormac McCarthy
The Jungle – Upton Sinclair
Cry, the Beloved Country – Alan Patton
Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck

You need to complete the book over the summer so you will be ready for the assigned project on the first day of school. The project is substantial, so do not wait until school begins to read your novel.

NON- FICTION CHOICE – Read and Write.

The non-fiction choice comes from the approved list. If you have a special request for another book that you would like to read, please clear it with me before you begin. This switch must be done in June – as I will not be near daily email in July and August. I have a number of these books personally which you may borrow, or you can purchase one for yourself or check it out from the library. I have not read all the books on this list, but some of my all-time favorites are here.

With this book, I want you to keep a response journal. However, I want you to focus on quotations that are significant to you. Keep a journal of these quotes as you read the book, then type up your explanation, describing what the selected quote means in the story, and what the quote means to you personally (a generous paragraph for each quote). You need to choose at least five quotes for this paper and turn in approximately two typed pages total.

While the only required readings over the summer are the two books and the news articles, I would be remiss if I did not offer you a warning about the course based on what I have seen from past students. AP Language and Composition requires that you read and analyze several important major works. Many of you may be saying to yourself, “No worries. I have been able to get by without reading the work in the past by watching the movie and reading online notes. I’ll be fine.” Others may be saying, “It’s the summer. I’ll worry about reading when we get back next year.” Either way, I have bad news for you. I cannot guarantee that you will be able to get by. I have seen student after student who has delayed reading or attempted to rely on the “non-reading” method who fails to achieve the level of academic success (that is, good grades and a good AP score) to which they have been accustomed.

All that being said, I hope you choose books you enjoy reading. That’s what reading is to me – pure pleasure. Have a wonderful summer!

Mrs. Susan Dunlap
dunlap.susan@amschool.edu.sv
willisdunlap@gmail.com
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