Summer Reading | Literary Terms and Associated Assignments | Pre-AP 9th Graders
Students entering Fairhope High School’s Pre-AP ninth grade English classes will prepare a glossary of literary
terms that each student elaborates through the application of and reference to the required summer reading
texts. This assignment will be used on the students’ first assessment, and other related assignments for the
texts will be given during the first two weeks of school. This assignment will prepare students for those
assignments as well as for the beginning of the course skill set and literary terms test.
The glossary is to be set up using the Cornell note-taking method, which is a two-column system for
identifying key terms or questions in one column and providing definitions or responses in a second, larger
column. The following shows the set-up of a document for the Cornell method:
Key Terms
1. Identify the literary term
you will define.
Definitions and Response
1. Directly across from the term, write the definition. You may
use online references for the definitions or academic print
resources, and you are to identify the resource(s) that you
use on an accompanying bibliography that is in MLA
format. The definition is to be written using complete
sentences. NO CREDIT will be given for definitions that
are written as fragments or bullets or otherwise lack the
content, punctuation, and capitalization of complete
sentences.
Twenty of your terms have an asterisk after them.
Following the definition for these twenty terms, skip a line
and provide an example that serves as an illustration or
description of the term as it is applicable to the required
summer reading novel. This is to be your own
identification and elaboration. For this portion of the
content, you rely solely on your own reading skills. DO
NOT consult other people; DO NOT consult any outside
resources.
Example: The following provides an example of the way your document would look if allusion
and foil were on the list of terms:
Key Terms
1. allusion
Definitions and Response
1. An allusion is a reference to a well-known character,
place, or situation from history, music, art, or another work
of literature. The meaning of a reference to this other work
can be important to understanding the meaning of the
work that is being read.
In Walt Whitman’s poem “O Captain! My Captain,” there
are allusions to the Civil War and political pressures at that
time. Understanding these references enables one to
understand better the metaphors that compare the United
States at that time to a ship and President Lincoln to the
ship’s captain.
2. foil
2. A foil is a character who provides strong contrast to
another character, usually a main character, in a literary
work. The use of a foil enables an author to call attention
to developing characterization by showing these
differences.
In Romeo and Juliet, the Nurse is a foil to Lady Capulet.
While Lady Capulet is rather reserved, very refined, and
well spoken, the Nurse is quite warm toward others, even
affectionate, and humorous, sometimes in a bawdy way.
So that there is no confusion, I want to confirm that for all thirty of the terms you will have academic
definitions (with citations) related to literature. For fifteen of those thirty words, you will also have
descriptive short paragraphs that connect the literary term to the summer reading texts.
The required fiction for students entering Pre-AP Honors English in August 2015 is Edgar Allan Poe’s
“The Masque of the Red Death” and Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery.” You must also choose one
nonfiction text: either Frederick Douglass’ “Learning to Read and Write” or E.B. White’s “Once More to the
Lake.” In order to prepare the essay required once school begins, you must print each text (or pick up a
copy of the prepared packet from the front office), read, and thoroughly annotate (make marginal notes
and questions) three of them (2 required fiction and 1 nonfiction of choice) for use in class within the first
two weeks of school.
Typed Submissions: You may set up your Cornell charts on the computer using the table function.
Model your work from the spacing and numbering present for the example on the previous page. Save
your work on the computer used to create the document, and print a copy of the assignment to be turned
in ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.*
1. antagonist
2. protagonist
3. allegory*
4. direct characterization
5. indirect characterization
6. plot
7. exposition
8. rising action
9. climax*
10. falling action
11. resolution
12. internal conflict*
13. external conflict
14. suspense*
15. foreshadowing*
16. genre
17. motif
18. imagery*
19. metaphor
20. simile*
21. setting*
22. tone*
23. irony*
24. symbol*
25. theme*
26. point of view*
27. mood*
28. selection of detail
29. denotation
30. connotation*
Academic Source for Definitions
There are many sources available for your definitions. If you are having difficulty locating terms, consider the
following:
Baldick, Chris. "The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (3 Ed.)." The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms Oxford
Reference. Oxford University Press, 2012. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.
Wheeler, Kip. "Literary Terms and Definitions." Literary Terms and Definitions. Carson-Newman University, 23 Jan.
2013. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.
For help with citations, consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed. or the MLA Formatting and
Style Guide available through the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University.
While students’ definitions will certainly be like the definitions of other students since they come from academic
sources, all responses related to the novel should be original. Student work may be submitted to Turnitin.com to
check for plagiarism.