AP CompositionName ______
HW Assignment due Mon/Tues
after vacation
The AP Exam awaits- justfive short weeks after this vacation, so while we all need this well-deserved break, we can’t afford to drift too far away from reality either. Therefore, I want you to keep reading, and keep thinking, wherever you might be in the next week.
Our composition book is loaded with excellent reading selections, and it’s not too big or unwieldy to carry on a plane, to the beach, to work, or even to your bedroom. So don’t forget to bring it home from school today – you will need it.
Here’s what you will do: skim the Table of Contents and check out the theme of each chapter, along with the “essential question” printed in blue ink beneath the theme. For example, the theme of chapter 4 is Education and the essential question is: “To what extent do our schools serve the goals of a true education?” Peruse the remaining themes and think about which ones sound interesting to you. In particular, look at the readings listed under “Conversation” to help you decide a chapter to focus upon. A list of interesting possibilities is provided on back of this page (Suggested Readings).
Your assignment is to select two “Conversation” readings, and one other reading, from a chapter of your choice. Do not choose pictures or graphs or charts – you must choose readings. Do not choose a reading we have already done this year. To really help yourself prepare for the AP Exam, you should consider readings that are difficult for you- like an older piece of prose, if that is where you struggle on the multiple choice. You’ll notice many of the choices are very short– only two or three pages– so in honesty this shouldn’t take too long.
For each of the three readings you ultimately select, set up a notebook page with Title & Author at top; then summarize the author’s purpose in the piece. Your summary should be 8-12 sentences of good writing. Plan before you write so that you know all the key points you want to mention. Vary your sentences styles, place emphasis on appropriate parts of the summary, use transitions, write in present tense – pay attention to what you are saying, how you are saying it and why.
After writing summary, choose any three questions at the end of the reading selection to answer. You can choose from “Questions” or “Questions for Discussion” or “Questions on Rhetoric and Style” or “Suggestions for Writing”. Doesn’t matter to me which types of questions you choose, as long as you think sincerely and write carefully. Develop thoughtful responses of two or more sentences for each one.
Let me suggest that you do not leave this work until the night before it’s due!
**Suggested Readings**
Chapter 4: “The Liberal Arts in the Age of Info-Glut” by Todd Gitlin
Chapter 5: “My Mother, Myself, Her Career, My Questions” by Kimberly Palmer
Chapter 6: “The Happy Life” by Bertrand Russell
Chapter 7: “Mind over Muscle” by David Brooks
Chapter 8: “Drugs, Sports, Body Image and G.I. Joe” byNatalie Angier & “A Unique Take on Beauty” by Donna Britt
Chapter 9: “How Much Wallop Can a Single Word Pack?” by Geoffrey Nunberg
Chapter 10: “On Cloning a Human Being” by Lewis Thomas & “More Couples Screening Embryos for Gender” by Marilynn Marchione and Lindsey Tanner
Chapter 11: “He Doesn’t Like To Watch” by Julia Scott
Chapter 12: “It’s Easy Being Green” by Bill McKibben
Chapter 13: “The Empire Fights Back” by Chinua Achebe
Have a great week away from Manasquan High School! Be good!