SUMMER READINGAP LIT/COMP

Ah, what would summer be without the dreaded summer reading?! Miserable, that’s what! You need to keep those brains sharp. There will be two assigned books, a reading log, and response to complete (not an essay ). Submit your responses to turnitin.com by 8/1/16and bring a copy of your assignment the first day of class.

  1. Read Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor. You will need to purchase the

book. Copies are available at Changing Hands, Target, on Amazon, and Barnes and Noble with used copies at a reasonable cost. We will be using the bookthroughout the first semester. Mark your book and make annotations. Read this first, as it may be helpful in reading the novel.

  1. Read Khaled Hosseini’sThe Kite Runner. Copies are available on Amazon and half.com for as little as .75 for used copies. It is also available at Target and bookstores around the valley. You should annotate your book, noting important quotes or golden lines. I will give extra credit points for fully annotated books. Pay attention to plot, characters, themes, setting. There will be a test and an in-class essay on the novel.
  1. You will keep a reading log as you read How to Read Literature Like a Professor. For each chapter you need to highlight the important points. Please label each one with the title of the chapter. Include any terms you find relevant, examples etc. You will find an example below. How long should it be? Let the example below be your guide…don’t be too concise!
  1. You do NOT have to write a log for Ch. 27, “ A Test Case” or the final chapter “Envoi.” HOWEVER…READ THEM because there will be a homework assignment relating to it.

INTRO “How’d He Do That?”

Alludes to A Raisin in the Sun. Mr. Lindner is compared to the devil, which brings us to the Faust Legend. The Faust Legend contains a hero who is offered something he wants in exchange for his soul. Walter Lee Younger is tempted to sell his soul to the devil in the form of Mr. Lindner.

Foster discusses the “language of reading” and “grammar of literature” Short stories and novels have conventions: types of characters, plot, point of view, etc. Memory, Symbol, Pattern separate the professional reader from the amateur. Foster’s book is intended to help the student decipher the codes of literature.

By the way, you should read the intro and remember the FAUST LEGEND!

  1. Choose ONE of the following to complete. Please be thorough in your response-one page double-spaced minimum. This should be submitted with your reading log.

A. Think of a work of literature or a film that reflects a fairy tale. Discuss the parallels (Ch. 8).

  1. Discuss the “way the Bible shows up” in something you have read or seen. How does the allusion contribute to the work?
  2. Figure out Harry Potter’s scar or another literary character’s physical imperfection and analyze its implications for characterization.
  3. Write two free verse poems derived from or inspired by characters or situations from Greek Mythology (must be at least fifteen lines).
  4. Select two sonnets and demonstrate which form they are. Discuss how their content reflects the form (ch. 4). Submit copies of the sonnets with your annotations.
  5. Present examples of the two kinds of violence found in literature. Show how the effects are different.
  6. Discuss the importance of weather in a specific literary work (short story or novel), not in terms of plot (ch. 10).

You will submit your reading log and your selected response to turnitin. Bring a hard copy of the entire assignment to class on the first day of school. Submit both the log and the writing assignment as ONE document on turnitin.

ASSIGNMENTS NOT SUBMITTED TO turnitin.com BY 8/1/16 BY 7:59. WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT.

Directions for turnitin.com:

  1. Go to
  2. Click on create a user profile (student). Since you all have an acct, you should be able to add a class
  3. Class ID:12683056(APLit/Comp)Enrollment password: padres
  4. Your email address
  5. Your turnitin password. CHOOSE A PASSWORD THAT YOU WILL REMEMBER. You will use the password throughout the year.
  6. Click on the name of your class (AP Lit/Comp)
  7. Click on the submit button next to the assignment
  8. Browse for your file; click submit (accepts MS Word, WordPerfect, RTF, PDF, HTML, plain text (.txt) ). You can also paste your paper if you have trouble with your file.
  9. Double check that you have chosen the correct file and click yes, submit

Questions? I’ll be at school until Friday, May20th. During the summer, email me, and I’ll get back to you as quickly as possible:

Enjoy your summer! Enjoy the reading…it really is entertaining and thought provoking. Remember, as Emerson said, “Tis the good reader that makes the good book.” I look forward to seeing all of you in August for round two of academic rigor.  This info will be posted on bensonsblackboard.com

Mrs. Benson