June 2013
Dear Student:
Welcome to AP English Language and Composition! AP English Language and
Composition is a course that focuses on rhetoric and argument. In the study of rhetoric, we ask
different kinds of questions about the texts we study: What is the author’s purpose for writing; How
does time, place and audience shape purpose and intention; How does the writer craft the piece to
effectively convey meaning and message? These kinds of questions challenge you to deal with
textual analysis and your own writing in new ways. In this course, you will study fiction but to a
greater degree nonfiction. Through these texts you will explore, question and analyze
contemporary social issues, historical arguments and social commentary.
Your experience in this course begins with the summer reading assignment. You will want
to bring your knowledge and experiences writing literary analyses to these texts, but the journal
prompts will require you to question these texts in different ways as you consider the writer’s
purpose, intentions and craft. The summer assignment requires you to read three texts: two
pieces of fiction (Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the
Rye) and one nonfiction selection (a book of your choice from the attached bibliography). A
structured series of journal entries is also required of you. The effort you put into doing a close
reading of these texts and developing thoughtful analyses in your journals will reflect your
readiness to take on the challenges of a college-level course.
Assessments of your summer reading experience will take place the first week of school. Read
these books carefully and be prepared to submit your journals to your teacher at the first class
session. Know that you will need to have access to the nonfiction text you select throughout
September. If you have questions, feel free to contact any of the AP teachers during the summer.
Please note that completion of the summer assignment does not ensure placement in a section of
this course.
Sincerely,
Ms. DiIorio
JDiiorio@3villagecsd.org
Dr. Kelso
ekelso@3villagecsd.org
Ms. Rochford
LRochfor@3villagecsd.org
Mr. Smith
jsmith3@3villagecsd.org
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AP English Language and Composition Summer Reading Assignment - 2013-2014
Assignment Required for all AP English Language and Composition Students
Assignment: For the summer assignment, you will need to read three books and develop journal
entries on those texts. There are four journal entries where you respond to The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel
Hawthorne; two entries on JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and one extended entry on a nonfiction
book of your choice. Some of these journals will require you to research topics related to the text to
enhance your understanding of the story. Writing should not be a summary of chapters of the novel, rather
a discussion using thoughtful analysis, specific references to the text and outside research that deepens
your understanding of each book’s context and each author’s time and place.
Evaluation:
1
2
3
Journal entries are due the first day of class. See below for specific guidelines for each entry. We
will use your writing the first few weeks of school.
Students will sit for an essay exam based on the two works of fiction.
A second assessment will examine the nonfiction selection.
Procedure for Journal:
1
Each journal entry should be 2-handwritten, loose-leaf pages (wide ruled). Typed journals will not
be accepted! Each entry should have a proper heading (see the example below) and should be
neatly stapled together when the assignment is due.
2
All work completed in your journal should be expressly your own. Journals should not be
copied or completed with others. Feel free to discuss your books with others; writing should be
completed individually. Information copied from Sparknotes, other online sources or students’
journals will be considered plagiarized and will earn a grade of zero.
3
Write in blue or black ink. NO PENCIL (it smudges and is hard to read). The journal entries are
TOOLS, so they will not be a “final draft” or perfectly neat artifacts; they must, however, be
readable. Feel free to cross through, scratch out, or insert. Editing marks are perfectly acceptable.
4
Read through specific assignments before beginning the book. The journal assignment will shape
how you read and respond. All writing should be a rich balance between your analysis,
textual support, and outside research. All ideas not your own should be cited using
parenthetical citations.
5
Complete journals as you read. Since each assignment requires a close reading of the text,
information you collect cannot be found in movies, plot summaries, or online sites such as
Sparknotes. Make sure you incorporate direct quotes and/or cite sources to support your ideas.
Textual references should be brief and relevant and should be followed by page or paragraph
numbers.
6
If you own the book, practice marking in the book as you read, noting and highlighting, underlining striking
words, key details, events and all of the information you find that will help you develop your journal entry. A
full digital copy of Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter can be found online at http://www.bartleby.com/83/. You
may find it worthwhile to print reading assignments, staple these small sections and carry them with you
where you go. A quiet spot on the beach, in your backyard, or in your house may offer comfortable ways to
read and think about this story. On a hardcopy, you can write all over the page, annotating as you go. This
process also breaks your novel into achievable chunks that you may find manageable.
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On the top line of each page, write the TOPIC, DATE, AND ENTRY NUMBER. (Below is a model of this
heading.)
Research and Allusion
July 1, 2012
Entry 1
2
Entries 1-7
Entry #
Element of
Study
1.
Research and
Allusion
Instructions
The Scarlet Letter
The Puritan society was a theocracy, a government where law and religion were enmeshed. Hawthorne’s
story furthers this connection through his use of allusions and diction that fall within the religious sphere.
Ideas such as redemption, repentance, confession, revelation, martyr, infernal pit, sin, “her fall”, Eden, the
devil, and original sin are a few you will encounter. Familiarize yourself with the meanings of these words.
Research phrases such as original sin and “The Fall” of the “Garden of Eden”. How did Puritan religious
beliefs shape their society? Take notes and make observations in your journal. Identify and gather
Hawthorne’s allusions to the Fall of Man and original sin as you read. How does Hawthorne use the notion of
original sin in this novel? How does this idea shape the community’s perception of Hester, Pearl, Arthur and
Roger? How does it affect the way you read the novel?
Use specific references with page numbers. Provide authors, titles or URLs for outside research. [2 page entry]
2.
Ethics
3.
Juxtaposition
4.
Research for
Historical
Context
The idea of a moral code is that such belief systems or philosophies in life helps individuals make
determinations between good/bad and right/wrong. The Puritans had a religious basis to their code. But
despite a very present code, we see people making quite a few errors in judgment. Hester follows her
passion and has a child out of wedlock, and she’s supposed to be married to someone else! Certainly a
moral error that didn’t go unnoticed. Identify a few aspects of the story that suggests the compromise of
moral viewpoints. What do you notice? Why is it problematic? What does this reveal about the complexity of
human nature? Use specific references with page numbers. [2 page entry]
Explain what Hawthorne gains from juxtaposing ideas: love and hate, acceptance and rejection, darkness and
light, sunshine and shadow, pride and humility, sin and redemption, public and private, emotion and reason?
Explore some of these juxtapositions. Use specific references with page numbers. [2 page entry]
Nathaniel Hawthorne published his novel in 1850, but this story is described as a “romance of seventeenthcentury Boston.” As you read this novel, you may begin to ask questions like “What was the relationship
between the Puritans and Native Americans?”; “What was the likelihood of surviving cross-Atlantic travel in
the 1600s?”; “What characterized medicine, government, or rules for daily living in the Puritan colony?”; or
“What is the difference between the Puritans and Pilgrims?” This entry challenges you to research questions
that arise for you from the novel. How does this research help you to better understand the novel? How does
this novel build on or connect to what you have studied about Puritan life in other classes or your summer AP
history assignment? What does Hawthorne want us to know? Make explicit connections between the novel
and your research. Use specific references with page numbers. Provide authors, titles or URLs for outside
research. [2 page entry]
5.
Diction and
Meaning
6.
Research and
Context
The Catcher in the Rye
Make a list of word and phrases Holden uses frequently. How do these words construct Holden’s attitude
toward other people and society? Also notice words Holden uses when talking about his brother Allie or sister
Phoebe. What do these words suggest about his attitude toward them? Use specific references with page
numbers. [2 page entry]
Salinger’s novel is viewed as a post-war commentary. Research American youth post World War II. What
issues were pressing at the time? How do these help us to understand Holden and his world? What did
Salinger want us to know? Use specific references with page numbers. Provide authors, titles or URLs for
outside research. [2 page entry]
7.
A Concept:
Argument
Independent Reading Selection
As you read your book, identify the writer’s argument (primary and secondary claims). You find these by
asking yourself some questions: What is the main argument the writer makes? What does the author want
me to know? How is the author proving that point to me? What evidence is being used to develop the ideas
in the book? Does the author present interviews or testimony? Does the author present facts and statistics?
Where does that information come from originally? Does the author cite sources? Is other research referred
to? Are stories, analogies or anecdotes told to further the ideas? Note: Arguments are made throughout a
text. This entry should be developed piece-by-piece as you continue to read your book. It should be an
ongoing process entry. This entry should be six pages and it should draw on ideas presented throughout the
book. Use specific references with page numbers. [4-6 page entry]
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Nonfiction Reading Assignment - Bibliography
Baldwin, James. Notes of a Native Son
Berry, Wendell. What Are People For?
Bikerts, Sven. The Gutenberg Elegies
Caputo, Philip. A Rumor of War
Darwin, Charles. The Descent of Man: On the Origin of the Species
Darwin, Charles. The Voyage of the Beagle
Dawkins, Richard. The Devil’s Chaplain
Delman, Carmit. Burnt Bread and Chutney: Growing Up Between Cultures—A Memoir of
an Indian Jewish Girl.
Didion, Joan. Slouching Toward Bethlehem; or The White Album
Dillard, Annie. An American Childhood or Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed
Ehrlich, Gretel. The Solace of Open Spaces
Eiseley, Loren. The Immense Journey; or The Night Country
Fortey, Richard. Trilobite!
Frazier, Ian. The Great Plains; or On the Rez
Friedman, Thomas. Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution--and How
It Can Renew America; or The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twentyfirst Century
Gabler, Neil. Life the Movie
Gould, Stephen Jay. The Flamingo’s Smile; or The Mismeasure of Man
Greene, Melissa Faye. Praying for Sheetrock
Hedges, Chris. War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning
Horwitz, Tony. Confederates in the Attic
Hurston, Zora Neale. Dust Tracks on a Road
Huxley, TH. Evolution and Ethics, and Other Essays
Isaacson, Walter. Steve Jobs; or Benjamin Franklin: An American Life; or Einstein: His
Life and Universe
Kaplan, Robert. The Nothing That Is: A Natural History of Zero
Krakauer, Jon. Into Thin Air
King, Stephen. On Writing
Kingston, Maxine Hong. The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of Girlhood Among Ghosts
Levi, Primo. The Period Table of Elements; or Survival in Auschwitz
Lopez, Barry. Arctic Dreams; or Crossing Open Ground
Markham, Beryl. West with the Night
Matthieson, Peter. The Snow Leopard
McBride, James. The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother
McDougall, Christopher. Born to Run
McPhee, John. The Control of Nature; or Table of Contents
Mencken, HL. The American Language; or In Defense of Women
Moore, Wes. The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates
Nathan, Rebekah. My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student
Nguyen, Kien. The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood
O’Casey, Sean. I Knock at the Door
O’Connor, Frank. An Only Child
4
Obama, Barack. The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
Orwell, George. The Road to Wigan Pier; or Down and Out in Paris and London
Pham, Andrew X. Catfish and Mandala
Pollan, Michael. The Botany of Desire; or The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death; or Technopoly
Salzman, Mark. Iron & Silk.
Schama, Simon. Dead Certainties: Unwarranted Speculations
Shabazz, Attallah, Haley, Alex and Malcolm X. The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to
Alex Haley
Shipler, David K. The Working Poor: Invisible in America
Sontag, Susan. On Photography; or Regarding the Pain of Others
Thomas, Lewis. The Lives of a Cell
Tuchman, Barbara. The Guns of August; or The March to Folly
Verghese, Abraham. My Own Country
Vowell, Sarah. The Wordy Shipmates
Walker Alice. In Search of our Mother's Gardens
Wearing, Alison. Honeymoon in Purdah
Weiner, Jonathan. The Beak of the Finch; or Time, Love, Memory
Welty, Eudora. One Writer’s Beginnings; or The Eye of the Story
White, EB. One Man’s Meat
White, Ronald, Jr. Lincoln’s Greatest Speech: The Second Inauguration
Wiesel, Elie. All Rivers Run to the Sea; or And the Sea Is Never Full
Wills, Gary. Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America
Wolff, Tobias. This Boy’s Life
Woolf, Virginia. Three Guineas
Wright, Richard. Black Boy
5
Summer Assignment - Journal Rubric
2012
Excellent
Student’s Name
Good
Needs
Improvement
Points
Organization:
Complete headings
0-10
10
8
6
0-10
Neatness and
Care
10
8
6
Completion: 7
Entries (1-6) are
2 single-page
entries. Entry 7
is 4-6 single-page
entries.
All 7 entries
submitted and
meet the
appropriate
page length.
(18-20 pts.)
Most entries
meet the required
page length.
(14-17 pts.)
Multiple entries
missing and/or
entries do not
meet the
required page
length.
(10-13 pts.)
0-20
Thoughtful
Analysis to the
Text: student
uses quotes and
specific
references to the
text and includes
page numbers.
Thoroughly
developed
response.
Some evidence
of developed
ideas.
Too much plot
summary. Little
or no analysis.
0-30
Thoughtful
analysis of the
text. Explicitly
refers to the
text.
(28-30 pts.)
Some interesting
interpretations of
the text. Brief
references to the
text.
(25-27 pts.)
Needs
development &
elaboration
(20-24 pts.)
Outside
Research:
students
connected the
text to outside
sources and
researched stated
topics when
needed.
Excellent
evidence of
outside research
and
connections.
Refers to those
sources
explicitly.
(28-30 pts.)
Some evidence
of outside
research and
connections with
some source
information.
(25-27 pts.)
Little evidence
of outside
research or
source
information.
(20-24 pts.)
0-30
Final Grade
See me
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