Extra Credit!
AP English Language and Composition
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30 possible points
Some of you may be interested in extra credit, and I’m interested in you reading
books that are INTENDED FOR ADULTS (because I want to push your horizons
of thought into the distance; and also, they will help you learn more words). If
you do some writing when you finish it, I can award you extra credit.
I have a list of books that are the style of well-crafted, thoughtful, and enjoyable
nonfiction you should explore. I would make an even longer list, but I didn’t want
to type any more.
Yes, ANY book you want. The only stipulation is that I must approve it. That’s
because I want to make sure you are reading something challenging.
The books can be fiction or nonfiction.
This applies for the rest of the year, and you can do it as many times as you like.
Types of Writing You Can Do/Points Possible
These are all things you can do when you finish books. You can do this as many times as
you like.
1. A rhetorical/stylistic analysis: For up to 5 points, you can write an analysis of
the rhetorical and stylistic choices the author makes in service of the writing’s
purpose. Yes, definitely use quotes for textual evidence.
2. An argument: For up to 10 points, you can write an argument that is inspired by
this writing. You would have to choose a main idea or claim in the writing, and
then you write what you think about this idea. You should use textual evidence.
3. A researched synthesis essay: For up to 15 points, you can write a research
paper. You may choose the topic of the research: you can do literary analysis, you
can choose to examine the style, you can write on the historical or cultural impact
of the writing…the possibilities are endless! Just make sure you use academic
sources, properly cite in MLA format, and use the sources thoughtfully and
responsibly (oh, and use text from the book, too).
4. Or you could do all three if you really want to.
YOU DO NOT GET THE FULL POINTS JUST FOR WRITING AN ESSAY. I will
award points based on my assessment of the quality of your extra credit writing; the point
values are the maximum you can earn.
Due Dates and Scoring
 These are due whenever you want.
 EXCEPT FOR THE LAST WEEK OF A QUARTER. This may be the best time
for you, as you may want to procrastinate or look to see if you need extra credit to
get from a B to an A. However, it is the worst time for me. I’ll have quarter exams
to grade, as well as regular class grading to finish, so I won’t have time to read
these. Also, I’ll make an exception for first quarter since you’re just getting this
now.
Here Are Some Books People Have Told Me Before That They Enjoy
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
On Writing by Stephen King
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston
Suggestions for Juniors for The Rest of The Year
You folks are getting a different experience from your junior peers in other English
classes; these are good choices to be more erudite scholars of American literature:
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Native Son by Ralph Ellison
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Slaughterhouse-5 by Kurt Vonnegut
Beloved by Toni Morrison