AP Literature & Composition(Turnitin-15399122/High School)

AP Literature & Composition(Turnitin-15399122/High School)

Summer Reading 2017-2018

Kean-Walsh

Welcome …….

General Instructions:

You have two reading assignments to complete this summer. You have been provided with the novels you will need, unless you joined the class late. Then, the expectation is for you to purchase the novels on your own or check them out from the public library. Each assignment has a due date. Some are due when you first return to school and some are due within the first few weeks of school. Pay ATTENTION to your due dates, because I DO NOT accept late assignments.If you have questions, please feel free to contact me via email at or . Be sure to follow each set of directionscarefully. All assignments will be submitted toturnitin.com. Please see the attached handout on how to create an account, if needed, and the class id and password.

Assignment 1: Due August 14, 2017(100 pts.).

COLLEGE ESSAY SUMMER ASSIGNMENT

Due on your first day of AP Literature to turnitin.com.If you finish this assignment early, turn it in. This is a formal piece of writing in MLA format. Make sure to spell check, look at structure and sentence variety, and grammatical errors (ie. tense of verbs, subject/verb agreement, etc…)

Common App Essay prompts:

The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don't feel obligated to do so. (The application won't accept a response shorter than 250 words.)

Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

Prompts: Choose 1

1. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?

2. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

3. Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?

4. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

Advice:

Rule #1 of college essay writing: SHOW, don’t TELL.

Rule #2: Admissions counselors read hundreds of these essays. Avoid sounding like everyone else. If you are going to use a common experience, develop it in a unique way. Your choice of essay and the unique perspective of your voice may be the deciding factors for admissions counselors.

Assignment 2: Due August 15, 2017-(100 pts.) You will have a test.

Read and annotate How to Read Literature like a College Professor by Thomas C. Foster. Do not try to read this book in one sitting or cram it into a week. Annotate by writing in the margins, using post-its, keeping a running list of observations on the inside of the back flap, or any combination of the above. The chapters that you are responsible for reading and annotating are: 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 19, 20, and 21. Of course you can read the whole book if you would like to. The book will help better prepare you for class and the AP exam. This has been the one book that previous AP students have stated that has helped them to better analyze literature.

Assignment 3: Due August 15, 2017-(100 pts.) You will have a test.

Read and annotate The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski.In brief, it’s about a mute boy, an idyllic farm, a family in crisis, and a pack of very special dogs, bred for their superior intelligence and empathy for people. It is a hero story, a coming of age story, a tragedy, and a love story. Just so you know, it is also very loosely based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the first work we will tackle as a class in August. Annotate by choosing ONE of the following themes to trace throughout the novel: Coming of Age, Isolation, Communication, or Fate. Using post-it notes or annotating with a highlighter (Yellow only), collect no fewer than 30 excellent quotes that connect to your thematic choice and connect to a specific character, allude to other literary works, use of exceptionally beautiful language, or give you that WHOA feeling readers get when they recognize a truth expressed in an excellent way. This novel is available for 10.96 at Barnes and Noble, if needed.

Assignment 4:Due August 21, 2017 (100 pts.)

Tying both novels together:(Hint: Use the first week of school to complete this assignment.)Each of you must choose one specific chapter from How to Read Literature like a Professor which you will teach the important aspects of the chapter to the class. You will put together a presentation on that chapter and how it appliesto Edgar Sawtelle. Have notes ready with talking points and your observations, for you should not be reading your presentation to the class. You may use Power Point or Google Slide Show, if you would like (NO Prezi’s please). The chapters you may choose from are 1, 2, 5, 6, 12, 19, 20, and 21.This novel is available for 10.96 at Barnes and Noble, if needed.

Assignment 5: Due August 25, 2017

Literature Cards: What’s That Called?-(Hint-Do a few sheets each month.)

Complete the definitions for the AP Lit Term Notecards. Remember when you are looking for definitions that you want the definition which conveys how the word applies to literature, not just any standard definition. Examples don’t have to be complete, but it’s not a bad thing to fill them in as you find them. This assignment is to be handwritten. 100 pts. (If you were in Pre-AP and still have your cards, then find them and turn them in!)

For help with literary devices and terms you can try the following resources:

Future Assignment: Due August 29, 2017 (100 pts.) (In case you want to get ahead of the game!)

The AP exam is 60 percent poetry. I would like you to try and analyze a few poems. Chooseany threeof thelisted poems below and follow the steps from “How to Read aPoem”. Read each of the poems you’ve chosen and annotate thoroughly paying specialattention to answering the questions, “How does the author use literary devices to create meaning?” Youwill need to find and print a copy of each of the poems you’ve chosen. Also, highlight the word choices(DICTION) that the author uses to create the TONE of the poem. This assignment will have other parts and tests involved, as we near the due date.

AP English Literature and Composition poems that frequently appear on the AP Literature Exams:

1. Elizabeth Bishop: “The Fish”

2. Andrew Marvell: “To His Coy Mistress”

3. Wilfred Owen: “Dulce et Decorum Est”

4. Robert Browning: “My Last Duchess”

5. Emily Dickinson: “Tell all the Truth but tell it slant--”

6. William Shakespeare: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

7. John Donne: “The Flea”

8. T.S. Eliot: “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

9. Dylan Thomas: “Do not go gentle into that good night”

10. Robert Frost: “After Apple-Picking”

11. Robert Hayden: “Those Winter Sundays”

12. William Butler Yeats: “That the Night Come”

13. Langston Hughes: “Harlem”

How to Read a Poem: (--This can all be done on the printed out copies of thepoems.)

1. The key to reading a poem is to take your time.

2. Don’t panic if you don’t understand it immediately; some poetry is so dense and layered that ifyou do grasp it in an instant, you’re a) overlooking something; b) reading a bad poem; or c) agenius.

3. Look at the title before reading the poem. What might it mean to you? Keep it in mind whileyou read.

4. Read it through several times out loud. The ancient oral tradition of poetry still applies today;good poetry is intended to be spoken. It is the only way to truly comprehend the poet’sintention, and to begin the process of grasping a poem in a deeply personal way, which is, ofcourse, the purpose of reading poetry.

5. After you have read it several times, begin to analyze. First apply the 5 “S” strategies.

This is an Annotated Guide to the Five-S strategy analysis for Passages and Poetry

1. Underline the first and last SENTENCES. Preview the passage by reading the first sentence, thelast sentence, and by skimming the text in between to determine the scope of the work. Bycarrying out this step first, you gain an overview that allows for effective pacing. You also have aroad map on which to base predictions and questions about the text.

2. Find all different or “funky” punctuation or SYNTAX and circle it. Discover obviousconcentrations of unusual or otherwise significant syntax and their purpose. Look for changes insentence length, sentence order, use of punctuation, and typographical elements such as italics,sentence inversion that creates rhetorical questions, etc. Mark this predominant syntax. Thismarking provides visual cues throughout the passage which will often guide the reader to thepart of the passage that conveys the most meaning-the crux.

3.Discover the SPEAKER; write the name and point of view label at the top of the passage. Lookfor such things as the number of speakers and the narrator’s point of view-this is most ofteneither first person (narrator as major character, narrator as minor character) or third person(omniscient, limited omniscient or objective). Unless otherwise specified, analyze from thespeaker’s vantage point. Note anything that gives a clue about the speaker’s attitude. Be ableto specify who is talking and how that person(s) feels about what is happening in the passage.

4. Discover the SITUATION; write one clear sentence on the top of the page about what happensin the passage. (Be sure to examine the title of the piece if it has one.) All passages have aconflict of some kind. Be able to answer the questions: What is the conflict? How is it resolved?

5.Draw a line in the passage where the major SHIFTS occur. Look for diction or word choicechanges in the time, speed, or character attitude/speech to find the shift. SHIFTS are oftenindicated by changes in structure, syntax, or diction, such as wording that evokes certainconnotations and sudden changes in tone, sentence length, rhythm, punctuation, or patterns ofimagery. Find areas of the passage where you can locate the most changes, and closelyannotate them.

*Then, answer these questions as well: (If you are not sure how to answer some of thesequestions right now, don’t worry. We’ll get there.)

1. Who is the author? When did he/she write the poem? What’s the historical context?

2. Don’t forget to examine what can sometimes be the most important clue to a poem’smeaning: “The Title”; has the title changed meaning from what you thought at thebeginning of the novel?

3. What Literary devices does the poet use? What is the effect of those devices?

4. How has the poet arranged the stanzas on the page? How do the lines look on the page?

5. Where the lines break and what is the meter?

6. Is there a rhyme scheme? Does the poem seem to follow a pattern or have a specific form?

Remember when annotating, it should be completely marked up with purpose. We will be looking atyour annotated poems. All three must be done for a grade.

2017-2018Possible Reading List

An essential part of being an analytical reader is interacting with the text. A key element to your success in AP Lit will be your interaction and annotation of the texts we read. Below is our possible reading list for the 17-18 school year. Please do not purchase them in advance since it is a possible list and not permanent!

TitleAuthor

Daisy MillerHenry James

Heart of DarknessJoseph Conrad

The Merchant of VinceWilliam Shakespeare

HamletWilliam Shakespeare

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s NestKen Kesey

Pride and PrejudiceJane Austen

AwakeningKate Chopin

Power of OneBryce Courtenay

Invisible ManRalph Ellison

Metamorphosis Frank Kafka

*There is a possibility that some novels may be provided by the school.