English AP: Literature & Composition

2016Summer Reading Assignment

Here are the details of your summer reading assignment and required responses. You are not required to read these novels in the order listed; however, you might want to consider it. In addition, you will have to either purchase books for the assignment or find them as “pdfs” in the “public domain,” online. For physical copies, we would recommend checking a used book store or the discount tables at a new book store. With that said, the books you will have to read are:

  1. An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina
  2. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
  3. the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime by Mark Haddon
  4. Candide by Voltaire

Also, please be aware that you should actively read these texts. While reading, it’s recommended for you to be taking notes about specific examples in the texts that are most relevant for responding to the writing prompts, below. For this purpose, perhaps you’ll want to use some post-itsor annotations on each page. As a result of the note-taking, you should be well prepared for the writing process.

Written Responses

Please complete all three of the following essays and be ready to submit them upon arrival in September. All responses should be at least 1 ½ -2 pages (no more than three), typed, double spaced, with no more than a 12 “Times New Roman” font. Moreover, you should please be sure to not simply summarize the plots. You want to create properly formatted MLA thesis-style papers, with critical thoughts and properly cited evidence from various parts of the texts. Each paper will be worth 1/3 of your first major grade for the course. Please do the best you can to complete all of these and see the rubric, below, for an explanation of weights.

  1. Identify a common theme in An Ordinary Man and Heart of Darkness. Compare and contrast the way that each work develops the theme that you identify. Support your response with at least three specific examples from each novel.
  1. First, you should conduct some research on autism. As a result of the combination of the research and your observations of Christopher’s behaviors in the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime, do you think this boy has a “promising” future? Will he achieve his specific goal(s)? Why or why not, and what are three specific things that you observe at different points in the narrative that help you to determine this?
  1. In terms of literature, satire is a form of writing that mocks, ridicules, or points out folly. In Candide, Voltaire mocks an idea credited to Gottfried Leibniz. That is: man lives “in the best of all possible worlds.” With this said, do you agree or disagree with Voltaire’s mockery? Why or why not? Support your response with at least three examples from different points in the novella.

RUBRIC

Each essay will be worth thirty three points. In order to achieve the best possible score on this assignment, students should be sure to include:

Possible Points

  1. A title that prepares the reader for the topic1
  1. An introduction with a clear and specific thesis6
  1. Development of at least 1 ½ -2 pages of content3
  1. Evidence of organization and focus; use of transitions3
  1. An appropriate number of cited, specific details from the

texts6

  1. Critical personal thoughts or outside source info

that show how your evidence supportsthe thesis.5

  1. Usage of proper MLA format and works cited page3
  1. Usage of the “third-person” analytical voice, in present

tense.2

  1. Proper grammar and mechanics2
  1. Proper spelling and word usage2

Good luck…we hope that you’ll have an enjoyable summer! We’re looking forward to working with you in September.