Summer Assignment: AP English Language and Composition
Instructor: Mrs. S. Mann
A. P. English Language and Composition is a course that focuses on critical thinking, reading, and writing skills with a
special emphasis on analyzing a writer’s style and the devices and strategies he uses to affect readers’ thoughts and
feelings—i.e., rhetoric. This course will prepare you for the National AP exam in May and, to a considerable degree, the
SAT. All eleventh grade students must also take the VA SOL tests in Writing and Reading. The requirements for this AP
class are very rigorous, and your level of commitment and maturity must be extremely high—but in the end, consistent
effort will be rewarded. We will discuss other requirements more specifically in the fall. AP is a college level class;
understand that the instructor has no patience with immaturity or irresponsibility.
AP English Language and Composition is devoted to a study of non-fiction prose styles (autobiography, biography,
essays, letters, speeches, journals, articles) as well as some fiction (novels, short stories, and to a lesser degree, poetry).
Since many students are familiar with the latter and not the former, the summer reading and assignments are designed to
give you some of the fundamentals you need to be successful in the class during the upcoming school year. The two
SSOAPSTones are due (via email) by July 15. The Krakauer reading and outline are due on the first day of class.
My email address is smann@spotsylvania.k12.va.us.
Assignment #1: SSOAPSTone Exercises--Reading Actively and Analytically
Before you read the required essay and article described below—or any other writing, for that matter—look over the
selection to get a general overview. If a selection has a headnote (remarks, often in italics, that relate information about
the writer and the context of the piece), begin by reading it. Next, skim the selection to get a general sense of the order
and emphasis of the writer’s ideas. As you read, look carefully at the title and any internal headings or breaks, and note
the use of bold-faced type, italics, and the like. Pay special attention to the introductory and concluding paragraphs
where the writer is likely to make key points. Once you’ve read and contemplated, complete a SSOAPSTone exercise
for each selection. These need to be typed into the electronic format provided and emailed to me as separate
attachments on or before July 15. Name the documents with your last name and the specific part of the assignment—
either the Malcolm X piece or the article (i.e., Lastname--Malcolm X and Lastname--Article).
Readings for SSOAPSTone Analysis:
The following assignment will get you started on non-fiction analysis.
(1) Essay: Malcolm X. “Learning to Read” (excerpted from The Autobiography of Malcolm X). 50 Essays: A Portable
Anthology. Ed. Samuel Cohen. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2004. 245 – 254. Print. (See the PDF of the essay.) Read
each of the questions on the SSOAPSTone document BEFORE you read the essay. Then complete the SSOAPSTone.
(2) Current Editorial (article): Good AP students have a handle on local, national, and global current events. For
this part of the assignment, you will choose a columnist who writes for an online newspaper or magazine. Some
suggestions are the Washington Post, New York Times, Chicago Sun Times, or Boston Globe. To find a columnist, go to
the home website and check Editorials, Columnists, Opinion, or Op-Ed. Read a few current, relatively consecutive
columns by your author, then choose one article on which to complete a SSOAPSTone. You will need to provide a link
to the article in the SSOAPSTone in the table or attach an electronic, downloaded copy with the SSOAPSTone.
*****The SSOAPSTones are due to me (emailed as Microsoft WORD—not Works or Mac—document
attachments) no later than July 15. A grade deduction of 20% per day late will apply, so plan ahead. If you don’t
receive an email confirmation from me that I have received your assignment, I haven’t. Send a “test” attachment prior to
the due date if you aren’t positive you can get it right. Make arrangements early to visit the school or local library if
you'll need to convert Mac or Works documents to Word (I do not know how). If the assignment is not received by July
18, you will be dropped from the course and placed in an Advanced English 11 class.
Assignment #2: Analyzing an Argument: Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer (Anchor Books, 1996 or 1997)
The AP curriculum focuses heavily on argument analysis. Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild is indeed a well-crafted story
about a young man’s (Chris McCandless’s) life and death, but it is also an argument. For this assignment, you will read
Into the Wild and complete a two-column "outline" that will help you begin to analyze the ways in which Krakauer
presents his argument(s). Ultimately, we will turn this outline into an essay which will include an analysis of both the
structure and content of the argument. The outline is due the first day of class.
Do not use any source other than the text itself for any part of the summer assignment. Academic integrity is
essential to your success in this class. The use of someone else's words or ideas without proper citation is
plagiarism and will be treated as an honor code violation. Plagiarism is cheating and results in a grade of zero.
S.S.O.A.P.S.Tone (a prewriting organizer for short nonfiction)
General Directions: Copy the table below into a new Word document. Be sure to maintain the current format. Once
you have completed the general information at the top of the table, put your cursor after each question (i.e., leave the
question) and answer it completely. Answers do not have to be in complete sentences. Quote from the text to justify
your responses wherever appropriate. (For the Malcolm X piece, cite the ¶ numbers found in the margins of the text in
parentheses. The articles are short enough not to require additional citation besides the author’s name and website.)
Date:
Your Name:
Name of essay, article, etc.:
Author's Name:
Website Link if appropriate:
Subject
 What are the subject(s) of the text (the general topic, content, and ideas contained in the text)?
 How does the author present the subject(s)? Is it/are they introduced immediately or delayed?
(WHAT)
 What is the author’s focused academic idea (i.e., main thesis or overall argument)?
Speaker
(WHO)
Occasion
(WHEN/
WHERE)
Audience
(TO
WHOM)
 Who is the speaker (the voice that tells the story or relates the information)?
 Is someone besides the author identified as the speaker?
 Does the speaker introduce himself outright? If so, what information does he provide? If not,
what assumptions can be made about the speaker? What age, gender, class, emotional state,
educational level, etc. is suggested?
 What is the context or rhetorical occasion that encouraged the writing? (what’s going on? why’s
the piece being written, is it a reaction to a social injustice)?
 Why is it an important study for an academic reader or writer? (Why should the reader care?)
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Purpose
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(WHY)
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Style
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(HOW)
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Tone
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(HOW)
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Who is the audience (the group of readers to whom the piece is directed)?
Does the speaker identify a specific audience?
What assumptions exist about the intended audience?
What do they know? What do they need to know?
What is the purpose for the passage—to inform? to explain? to persuade? to entertain? something
else?
How is this purpose conveyed (i.e., what are some words, phrases, or line that indicate that
purpose)?
What is the type of writing? Is it a memory/memoir, a description, an observation, a valedictory,
an argument, a diatribe, an elegy, a declaration, a critique, a journal entry, or some combination
of these?
What specific rhetorical devices, techniques, and/or strategies* (see below) are used by the
author?
How and why are these particular devices involved in supporting the purpose, appealing to the
audience, establishing the tone, sparking a reaction in the audience, etc.?
What sort of attitude does the writer convey? If the author were to read aloud the passage,
describe the likely tone of voice.
How does he want his reader to feel after having read the piece?
What emotional sense pervades the piece? List some of the words or phrases that create or
indicate the tone.
*Rhetoric: the art of adapting the ideas, structure, and style of a piece to the audience, occasion, and purpose for which
it is written.
Devices (tools and mechanisms the writer employs to develop the strategy; special effects): alliteration, allusion,
analogy, antithesis, apostrophe, epithet, hyperbole, metaphor, onomatopoeia, oxymoron, parallelism, personification,
rhetorical questions, simile, understatement, etc.
Techniques (choices and HOW the author uses rhetorical devices): diction, tone, syntax, point of view, and organization
Strategies (these are the special effects of writing; they help create an author’s voice): jargon, formality or informality,
active or passive voice, balance, interruption (this relies heavily on syntax), omission, etc.
Into the Wild "Outline"
Name:
Date:
General Directions: Complete the table below electronically (i.e., type it). The cells will expand as you
require more room, and bullets will continue when you hit "enter" after the previous bullet within the cell. Be
sure to maintain the current format of the table. Your answers do not have to be in complete sentences. Quote
or paraphrase from the text to justify your responses wherever appropriate. Cite the page numbers of the
quoted, paraphrased, or summarized material in parentheses. Print the completed outline, and bring it with you
the first day of class.
Who is Jon Krakauer,
what's his background, and
what interest does he have
in Christopher
McCandless?
Who was Christopher
McCandless? Describe him.
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Summarize what you
consider to be the
"beginning" of the book?
Where does the "beginning"
end?
What purpose does the
"beginning" serve?
Summarize what you
consider to be the "middle"
of the book? Where does
the "middle" end? Are there
multiple "sections" within
the "middle"? If so,
summarize them separately.
What purpose does the
"middle" serve?
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Summarize what you
consider to be the "end"
section of the book? What
purpose does the "end"
serve?
Is this an effective
organization method?
Why or why not?
How else might the book
have been organized? What
possible effect would that
method have had?
What types of research has
Krakauer done?
What are the various
"sources" Krakauer has
used in telling
McCandless's story and
formulating his argument
about McCandless's death?
List all you can find.
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How has Krakauer used the
research and various
sources to put together his
argument?
How has Krakauer cited
(given credit for) the
research and various
sources?
What is Krakauer’s
hypothesis specifically
regarding how and why
McCandless died (not about
why he went “into the
wild” in the first place)?
Is this hypothesis at or near
the beginning of the text, or
is it at or near the
conclusion?
Did you find this effective?
Why or why not?
Do you believe that
Krakauer’s hypothesis is
valid? Why or why not?
What is Krakauer’s overall
argument about
McCandless—about the
young man and his
character and actions?
In conveying this overall
argument, is Krakauer
convincing, successful,
effective? Why or why not?
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