11th Grade AP English Language and Composition
Since AP English Language is devoted to the study of non-fiction prose styles (autobiography, biography,
essays, letters, speeches, journals, articles), you need to familiarize yourself with these types of writing.
The following selections will get you started, and selections from some of these works will be studied in
class. Many of these selections (including magazines and newspapers) are available at your local library.
It is important to note that, since this is a college-level course, the reading lists for AP Language and
Composition contain works that include mature content. It is also imperative that you do not
procrastinate on this reading since you need time to think about these serious works in order to
understand all the levels of meaning and to do your assignment on Walden.
Expect to be tested on BOTH selections during the first week of school.
11th Grade AP Required Reading
• Walden and Civil Disobedience – Henry David Thoreau ISBN-13: 9781593082086
Summer Assignment
Purpose of Assignment: English 11 AP emphasizes the analysis of style and rhetoric, particularly
of non-fiction. Annotating will be the basis for our study on how to do close readings. YOU
WILL NEED TO BRING YOUR ANNOTATED COPY TO SCHOOL. This assignment will be due upon
entering the classroom on the first day of school. As English 11 AP also focuses on the
development of writing skills, we want to have an idea of your writing skill level as you enter
English 11 AP. You will be writing an essay based on this book during the first week of school.
Please allow yourself plenty of time to complete this assignment
ASSIGNMENT:
 Read and annotate the first three sections of Walden (“Economics”, “’Where I Lived and
What I Lived For”, and “Reading”), by David Thoreau.
 Find examples of the following rhetorical devices as you annotate:
o Simile
o Paradox
o Antithesis
o Euphemism
o Litote
o Rhetorical Question
o Extended Metaphor
o Analogy
11th Grade AP Option Reading List: Choose one of the novels
from the list below to read.

In Cold Blood – Truman Capote ISBN-13: 9780679745587

Black Like Me – John Howard Griffin ISBN-13: 9780451234216

Woman in the Mists: The Story of Diane Fossey and the Mountain Gorillas of
Africa – Farley Mowat ISBN-13: 9780618083602

The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath ISBN-13: 9780061148514

A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy
League- Ron Suskind ISBN-13: 978-0767901260 ISBN-10: 0767901266 Edition: Reprint
Book Study Guide Questions
These questions highlight information you should know about the books that you read over the
summer. You are not required to write answers to these questions; they are designed to help you focus
on the important points of any book that you read.
1. Know the main characters and what sort of people they are. What do they do and what happens
to them?
2. Have in mind the sequence of events. In what conflicts are the characters involved?
3. Be able to describe the time period and location of the story. If the culture described is different
from your own, try to understand how these cultural differences affect the feelings and
decisions made by the characters. Is the setting important to the plot? In what way?
4. Think about the author’s purpose in writing the book. What point or theme is the writer trying
to get across to the reader?
5. Consider how this book relates to you personally. How does it relate to what you have read and
studied in the past? Why do you think this book continues to be recommended as reading?