ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENGLISH 4 LITMRS. CERNIGLIA
SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT 2016
Welcome to AP English! The basic curriculum is a chronological study of British literature augmented by a study of the history, politics and culture of each era. In addition to the works in the textbook, you will read approximately fourteen complete literary works (novels, novellas and plays) that may or may not be by British authors. Papers, seminars and regular journal assignments are also features of this course.
The summer assignment is to read: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
You must also read ONE of the following:
The Stranger by Albert Camus
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
Due dates are listed for each of the following assignments; all work must be word-processed in correct MLA format:
- For Wuthering Heights: Select THREE (3) passages you found particularly compelling. Type the passage (include chapter number) and a ½ page explanation for your choice (Sept. 2).
2. For The Turn of the Screw: Are the ghosts real or do they exist only in the mind of
the governess? Take a position and argue your point with at least three specific
references to the novel (2 pages) (Sept. 2).
3. For The Sun Also Rises: Write a two-page reflection paper in which you focus on a
a passage, a chapter, a character, a sentence, a word, an image, or anything
that strikes your interest in the novel.Your paper should include at least five questions
about the subject of your reflection (Sept 6).
4. For your “choice” novel: (Sept 12)
a)Read one scholarly literary criticism for your novel.
b)Write a briefsummary of the criticism; then in separate paragraphs, answer the following:
What is the author’s thesis?
Did the author prove his or her thesis? If so, was he effective in doing so? If not, why not?
What is one insight you gained from reading this criticism that you would not have thought about otherwise?
Would you recommend this criticism to another student? Explain.
c)Attach a copy of the criticism to your paper
d)Provide a bibliographic entry for the criticism.
5. Writer Anna Quindlen said, “The books that have spoken to me most powerfully are
the ones that made me feel as if they let me in.” In a one to two-page response for the
book you chose to read, speak to the truth (or untruth) of this statement as it applies to
your novel. Please use specific details.(Sept 12).