AP English III: Summer 2014 Assignment
Introduction:
The AP Language and Composition course is designed to prepare students for the Advanced Placement
Exam administered by the AP College Board each May. This course is especially designed to challenge
students to read and think critically in preparation for college level work.
The objective: Students will adopt a “citizen of the world” view that will prepare them to analyze fiction
and non-fiction texts, evaluate the ideas of others, form judgments, and develop ideas of their own.
Expectations for students enrolled in AP English III include a sense of personal responsibility and a
teachable attitude.
While the focus of AP Language is non-fiction writing, the course will also cover works of fiction
considered hallmarks of American literature. These include: THE GREAT GATSBY (Fitzgerald), AS I LAY
DYING (Faulkner), DEATH OF A SALESMAN (Miller), THE CRUCIBLE (Miller).
Students are strongly encouraged to purchase a copy of THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Study and annotation of this novel will begin week two.
Summer Assignment:
Part I - List of Rhetorical/Literary Terms
Create 3x5 notecards for each literary term/rhetorical device listed below. Hand write the
term/device on one side of the card and the definition AND an example on the flip side.
Definitions/examples should be concise and easy to master.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
alliteration
allusion
analogy
anaphora
anastrophe
antithesis
aphorism
appositive
apostrophe
asyndeton
polysyndeton
ellipsis
epistrophe
euphemism
juxtaposition
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16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
metonymy
oxymoron
paradox
parallelism
tricolon
zeugma
tone
connotation
denotation
periodic sentence
loose sentence
fallacy
pathos
logos
ethos
Part II: Memoir
Instructions:
Choose and read a memoir/non -fiction work from the list below. NOTE: Some of the works
contain mature material. Extra care was taken to select titles that not only appeal to the literary
merit needed for the AP College Exam, but also to the varying interest of the students.
Choose carefully. THEN, complete the attached memoir assignment.
Madeline Albright, Madam Secretary: A Memoir
Paul Allen, Idea Man: A Memoir of the Cofounder of Microsoft
Warren Buffet, The Snowball: Warren Buffet– the Business of Life
Richard Byrd, Alone
Larry Bird, Earvin Johnson, Jackie MacMullan , When the Game was Ours
Thomas Buergenthal, A Lucky Child, A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy
Eric Clapton, Clapton: The Autobiography of Eric Clapton
Jill Ker Conway, The Road from Coorain
Annie Dillard, An American Childhood; Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Firoozeh Dumas, Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America
Henry Louis Gates, Colored People
Ernesto Che Guervara, The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey
Daoud Hari, The Translator
Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Maxine Hong Kingston, The Warrior Woman
James Krakaurer, Into the Wild; Into Thin Air
James McBride, The Color of Water
John McCain, Faith of My Fathers
N. Scott Momaday, The Way to Rainy Mountain
John Muir, My First Summer in the Sierra
Liz Murray, Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to
Harvard
Azar Nafisi, Reading Lolita in Tehran: a Memoir in Books
Barak Obama, Dreams from My Father
Condolezza Rice, Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family
Condolezza Rice, No Higher Honor: A Memoir of my Years in Washington
Richard Rodriguez, Hunger of Memory
Frances Slakey, To the Last Breath: A memoir of Going to Extremes (title release May 8, 2012
Gary Soto, A Summer Life
Pat Summitt, Reach for the Summit
Luis Alberto, The Devil’s Highway: A True Story
Howard Wasdin and Stephen Templin, SEAL Team Six: Memoir of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper
Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery
Eudora Welty, One Writer’s Beginnings
Dick Winter , Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memories of Major Dick Winter
Richard Wright, Black Boy
Evaluation of summer assignment:
I. Memoir presentation (due first day of school)=
II. Terms notecards (due first day of school)=
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major grade
minor grade
AP Language and Composition – Summer Assignment Part II Continued
General Information:
You will complete a set of 11 slides. (You may use KeyNote, PowerPoint, or any other presentation
App/program of your choosing.)
1. You may complete the slides in any order, but you will probably have to read through the
majority of the memoir before beginning the assignment.
2. Maintain the per slide requirements. If the directions require one slide, then the information
may not go to a second slide – work on writing complete, yet concise statements.
3. Make sure the category is evident on the slide – I should not have to guess whether you are
speaking of a figurative language or rhetorical strategy.
4. Where applicable, cite the page numbers for the items on each slide. The proper way to cite
sources is: Author’s last name & page no. EXAMPLE: (Faulkner 74).
5. The slides must address the entire span of the memoir.
6. The information on each slide should be complete and easy to understand. You may utilize
bullets, lists, etc. unless the directions specify writing in complete sentences.
The slides should be completed as follows:
Slide:
1
Gen. Info.:
Name &
Bibliographic
Entry
2
Visual
Symbol
3
Setting
4
Intriguing
Text
5
Figures of
Speech
6
Rhetorical
Techniques
7
Rhetorical
Response
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Specific Slide Instructions:
Include your name, and complete the memoir’s information in MLA
format. Refer to the MLA handbook; the information is widely
accessible online. An excellent online source is the Purdue Owl
Website.
Find a visual symbol relevant to the work as a whole. Explain the
symbol and its significance to the work in 2-3 complete sentences.
This is an opportunity to project your own unique perspective of the
memoir.
Identify TWO phrases or descriptions identifying or describing the
setting of the memoir. The quotes may describe time, place,
atmosphere, etc. Remember to cite page numbers.
Document TWO items significant or striking to you. These items may
consist of images, events, ideas, objects, phrases or words (diction).
For each, state the context of the item (what it refers to within your
book) and why it is significant.
Find an example of a figure of speech (metaphor, simile,
personification, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, irony, hyperbole, symbol,
allusion) in the memoir. Then record the example, identify the
technique, and its meaning in context of the memoir.
Find an example of a rhetorical technique (parallelism, rhetorical
question, repetition, euphemism, anaphora, paradox, antithesis,
juxtaposition, parenthesis, etc.) Then record the example, identify the
technique, and EXPLAIN ITS EFFECT. Do NOT merely state, “The
author uses antithesis for effect.”
Identify one of the following appeals in the memoir: ethos, pathos,
logos. Make sure you prove your claim with evidence.
8
Structure
9
Theme
10
Key Passages
(May use two
slides if
needed.)
11
Personal
Response
Explain how the book is arranged (organized). What effect does its
structure have on the work as a whole?
Write a statement of theme you consider the meaning of the work as a
whole. Write in complete sentences. Remember: Theme is not a
single word or phrase – it’s a complete sentence expressing a complete
idea. Example: A prevalent theme in Golding’s Lord of the Flies is
that when men are removed from the confines of civilization, their
most base instincts will be revealed.
Find TWO key passages (approx.8-10 lines ea.) you find intriguing.
Copy the passages precisely, and explain what the passage reveals
about the book as a whole. Remember to write in complete sentences
and cite the page numbers. Excerpts should be taken from different
sections of the memoir.
Write a paragraph (approx. 6 sentences in length) expressing your
overall impression of the chosen memoir. Suggestions: Include your
emotional reaction, positive and negative factors, connections to your
own life, interests and or experiences. Would you recommend this
memoir? Why or why not?
Final advice:
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Choose a font size that is legible and can be read from across the room.
Write in third-person, present tense – Remember literature lives!
Use AP appropriate diction (Avoid empty diction such as: things, stuff, very, good, bad, happy,
sad)
Save as you go!
Save to either an external storage device or a virtual server like “The Cloud”
Due: FIRST DAY OF CLASS
**If you have any questions regarding the completion (or instructions) of this project, please contact
Mrs. Garland at shay.garland@bisd.net no later than August 13, 2014.
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