Summer Reading Assignment for Fall 2013

AP Language and Composition

Summer Reading Assignment for Fall 2013

Venice High School

First, let me assure you that this assignment will be graded. If you choose not to complete the summer assignment, or if you choose to copy or plagiarize it, you will be sacrificing more than 200 points, enough to bring your grade down, and it is hard to raise a low grade.

Welcome to AP Language and Composition. Most literature courses focus on “What does a work mean?” AP Language, however, is focused on the controlling idea of “How does a work come to mean?” A major component of the AP Language and Composition curriculum is careful and critical analysis of literature. Through close reading, students will deepen their understanding of the way writers use language to create meaning. You (the reader) should be constantly asking yourself questions to analyze language and meaning. Questions to consider as you read:

Why did the author write this work at this time? Who is the reader addressed?

Who is the author and why should I trust him/her?

Why did the author choose this format?

Why did the author choose these particular words and phrases? ...this particular sentence structure? ...this literary device?

Who is the speaker and what is the author’s purpose in writing this text?

What is the tone of the text?

To increase your reading and interpretive skills, you will be expected to complete the following three assignments during the summer break. The reading and assignments should be completed by the first week of school in August.

1.Choose one:

Killer Angels, Michael Shaara (novel: a re-creation of the Battle of Gettysburg, insight into what the war was about)

Black Like Me, John Howard Griffin (memoir: a white man passes himself off as black in the Deep South during the Jim Crowera)

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain (novel: runaway slave and boy travel south down the Mississippi to find freedom)

Actively read your chosen book (read one of these) by thinking about the questions above as you read, as well as by paying particular attention to the universal topics it explores. Universal topics are short concepts around which an author may develop his ideas, such as: societal expectations, bravery, nature, honesty, religion, responsibility of citizens, hypocrisy, acceptance, patriotism, etc. You will be tested on this book in the first week of the semester.

Select one universal topic. As you read the novel or memoir, find passages that relate to that topic, and mark them with a Post-it note or other means to identify them. Think about what the author is saying throughout the story about that topic.

When you return to school, bring your book with you, as you will be able to use it – with marginalia – as you write an essay. You will not be able to use any printed material, such as SparkNotes or other source of work avoidance or interpretation. Read the novel, think about it, discuss it with your friends. Take an active role in your own education.

2.Expanding your vocabulary

Select 20 words that are unfamiliar to you from the non-fiction book you read or from

news articles you read this summer in the newspaper or news journals. Use quality publications such as the LA Times, NY Times, Time Magazine, US News, Newsweek, etc.

For each vocabulary word, write:

a)the word

b) the sentence in which the word is used, including the page number in correct MLA format (see example below)

c) a definition that fits the context in which the word is used

d) your own original sentence that shows the word’s meaning

Example:

1.demonize (from The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman)

a)“It is so easy to demonize free markets...because it is so much easier to see people being laid off in bunches...than to see them being hired in fives and tens by small and medium-sized companies” (276).

b)definition: to convert into a demon (demon = an evil spirit, like the devil)

c)When we study the history of the Americas, it is easy to demonize the white settlers who continued to push the Native Americans off their lands.

Note above definition. If your definition contains the root word of your chosen word, look up the root word itself.

3.Read one of the following non-fiction books:

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, Barbara Ehrenreich

In an attempt to understand the lives of Americans earning near-minimum wages, Ehrenreich works as a waitress in Florida, a cleaning woman in Maine, and a sales clerk in Minnesota.

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, Eric Schlosser

A journalist explores the homogenization of American culture and the impact of the fast food industry on modern-day health, economy, politics, popular culture, entertainment, and food production.

Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas Friedman

Friedman explains how global warming, rapidly growing populations, and the expansion of the world’s middle class through globalization have produced a dangerously unstable planet.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Today, buffeted by one food fad after another, America is suffering from a national eating disorder. He examines the profound implications that our food choices have for the health of our species and the future of our planet.

Growing Up Empty, The Hunger Epidemic in America by Loretta Schwartz-Nobel

This is a study of a hidden epidemic that still remains largely unacknowledged at the highest political levels. It is a call to action that will re-energize the national debate on the federal government's priorities.

Non-fiction book report; (typed MLA format)

Number these elements 1-9; begin with a brief description of the element (see underlined words below) or write the question; then describe each element separately.

1.Title, author, date of original publication (punctuate title properly)

2.What experience and/or authority does this author have on this topic? Why should we believe him or her? What authority does he has as an author? (Is he a researcher or journalist? Does he have first-hand knowledge of what he writes about? Did he win a Pulitzer Prize, or does he write for a well-respected publication?) The first time you mention the author, use his/her full name. From then on, refer to the author by his/her last name.

3.How is the book organized? Is it a collection of separate pieces, a chronicle of events, a narrative, or what? Is it broken into sections? chapters? What kinds of topics do these sections/chapters focus on? Is the first or last chapter in a different format? Why (in your educated opinion) did the author organize the book in this way? Explain your answers.

4.Briefly describe and summarize two different portions of the book. These could be brief chapters, essays, significant episodes, or important descriptions. Use your own judgement and write a half of a page for each (or more). (Show you read the entire book; don’t select two portions from the beginning chapters.)

5.Explain what the main purpose or thesis of the book is. Write no more than three complete sentences.

6.What is the full title of the book. Why was this title chosen? Does the author explain the title or are you expected to figure it out? Does it fit the entire book? Does the title accurately describe what the book is about? Back up your opinion.

7.Your response: explain why you liked/didn’t like the book, what you found valuable, referring to specific elements such as style, content, opinion of author, etc. (Minimum ½ page typed.)

8.Photocopy one page of the book so that there is white space around the type. Thoroughly mark it up with anything you observe. Do not use a highligher; use a pen/pencil and note in the margin why you marked something. Note literary devices, tone, word choices (diction), images, details, sentence structure (syntax), appeals (ethos, logos, pathos).

9.Rhetorical analysis: write one page about what you noticed in #8 above. Explain what the author did on this page and why she/he did that particular technique. What is the overall tone of this page? (Grade will be based on effort.)

See MLA format. Use this format or you will lose points. (Use 1-inch margins; the page number is ½ inch from the top of the page)

Name______Period______

Rubric - AP Language Summer Reading, 2013

Non-Fiction book: ❒ Nickel and Dimed (Ehrenreich)

❒ Fast Food Nation (Schlosser)

❒ Hot, Flat, and Crowded (Friedman)

❒The Omnivore’s Dilemma(Pollan)

❒ Growing Up Empty (Schwartz-Nobel)

MLA page format_____/5

a) Title (form), author, date of original publication_____/10

b)Experience and/or authority of author?_____/5

c)How is the book organized?_____/10

d)Briefly describe and summarize

two portions of the book. (½ pg each)_____/20

e)Main purpose or thesis of the book (max 3 sent)_____/5

f)Title of the book. Back up your opinion._____/5

g)Your response (min ½ page)_____/10

h)Photocopy one page, mark it up thoroughly._____/10

i)Rhetorical analysis of chosen page (one page)_____/20

TOTAL______/100

Vocabulary: 20 words

Sentence (correct format), definition, original sentence_____/60

MLA page format (5 points)

Name__Name______Period______

Rubric - AP Language Summer Reading, 2013

1.Non-Fiction book: ❒ Nickel and Dimed (Ehrenreich)

❒ Fast Food Nation (Schlosser)