English III-AP Summer Reading Assignment
While you closely read and annotate Fahrenheit 451 and Into the Wild, answer the questions on page 3.
Please type up your responses. On the first full day of school, be prepared to submit your assignment to
turnitin.com.
The Summer Reading Assessment will consist of the following:
1) the TDECDEC summer writing assignment that is due the first full day of class
2) an objective test over both books (multiple choice, quote- and character-matching, true/false, etc.)
3) an annotations check (see pages 4-5 of this packet for annotation expectations)
The requirement for each response: TDECDEC (≈ 6-9 sentences)
(T)opic Sentence – An opening statement that declares your answer to the question. At its heart, a
topic sentence consists of the claim (not merely a simple fact) that you are advancing about the text.
And yes, use language from the question in your topic sentence answer.
(D)etail –direct quotes (words, phrases, and quote fragments—not long passages
or full sentences) from the text that serve to prove or support the claim you
expressed in your topic sentence. Be sure to select details that strongly support
your topic sentence and to cite the page number of the selected detail. *You
must use at least two different details from the text for each question.
(E)laboration – Factual information (context)—woven with the selected detail—
that serves to orient your reader. Elaboration largely answers “How?” the
writer went about developing his or her ideas. It can take several forms:
 The placement of the Detail (What just happened prior to its use?
Beginning, middle or end of the chapter?)

The context of the Detail (How is it used in the text? What’s going on in
the scene or argument? Who says/asserts/does this? Why is the
author/speaker/character saying or doing this? To whom is the
author/character addressing?)

The specific device(s) being used by the author in the selected Detail. (In a
metaphor, Bradbury compares Captain Beatty to…/Krakauer’s uses
imagery to describe…)
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Paraphrasing of the Detail into your own words may be necessary if the
literal meaning of the Detail is hard to understand by itself.
(C)ommentary – Commentary largely answers “Why?” and “So What?”
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Make clear to the reader why the details you chose connect to and support
the claim in your Topic Sentence.
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Explain why the author included the Detail. (What is Bradbury’s or
Krakauer’s purpose in creating/reporting the Detail you selected? What is
the intended effect?)
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This is your turn to bring something to the table. Try extending the meaning
of the Detail by either explaining its larger (i.e., thematic) significance,
connecting it to your knowledge/experience of society, history, pop culture,
etc., or even by questioning the validity of the writer’s idea.
See the next page for a sample TDECDEC response.
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Detail and
Elaboration
should be factual
information—
coming directly
from the text—that
can’t be disputed.
Commentary—
should be more
opinion-based
because it features
your personal insight
and analysis; it is
arguable. Or someone
else may notice
something different
about the text. D&E
is about showing a
reader what the
author brought to the
table while
Commentary is your
chance to bring
something to the
table.
Sample TDECDEC response for Into the Wild
Question: How does Jim Gallien’s description of Chris McCandless in
Chapter 1 reveal his conflicted view of the boy?
Jim Gallien’s recollection of their car ride reveals his conflicted
1
understanding of the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness, he is impressed by
Topic sentence
provides a claim to
defend. Notice that I’ve
promised the reader I
will prove TWO
different ideas.
the boy’s intelligence and determination. 2Gallien—recalling that
2
1
opinion of McCandless; while he seems concerned about Chris’s naïve
McCandless lacked basic essentials, such as a compass, snowshoes, anti-
Detail (direct quote)
woven into a sentence
with elaboration
(paraphrased context)
mosquito protection, an ax, heavy-duty boots, or a proper gun—initially
finds fault with Chris, and Krakauer notes that Gallien “wondered” if Chris
was “one of those crackpots from the lower forty-eight who come north to
3
Parenthetical citation
with author’s last name
and page number of
selected detail at the
end of the sentence.
live out ill-considered Jack London fantasies” 3(Krakauer 4). 4Krakauer’s
description of what is likely a common attitude about those of us from “the
4
Commentary that offers
insight about the Detail.
lower forty-eight” among experienced outdoors folk like Gallien, serves to
5
introduce an argument—that it’s easy to romanticize life in the wilderness
and underestimate its dangers. 5However, 6Gallien also notes that Chris,
who seemed “well educated” and who asked Gallien “thoughtful questions
about the kind of small game that live in the country, the kinds of berries he
could eat,” was not merely some inexperienced 7“nutcase” incapable of
Transition word of
contrast—signaling a
shift to the second part
of my thesis.
6
Start of DEC#2—
Details (direct quotes)
woven into a sentence
with elaboration
(paraphrased context)
“nutcase” is such a
specific word choice, so
it’s quoted
7
8
9
surviving on his own (5). Despite whatever offensiveness Gallien might
have felt because of Chris’s naivety, he is clearly impressed with the boy’s
8
unshakeable grit and excitement about his plan to hike into the Alaskan
bush and live off the land. 10Krakauer likely chooses to begin his book with
Gallien’s conflicted impression of Chris because he expects his readers to
experience this same ambiguity, forcing us into a deeper examination of
Chris McCandless.
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Notice, the second
parenthetical citation
only needs the page
number
9
Commentary that
connects the Detail to my
Topic Sentence and then
10
attempts to explain how
the Detail helps the
writer achieve his larger
purpose.
TDECDEC Analysis Questions for Fahrenheit 451
1) What makes Montag’s experience at 11 North Elm different from the usual fire call, and as a result, how
does it affect him? [Remember to make your topic sentence claim-based, not merely factual.]
2) Captain Beatty explains to Montag that over time the content of films, radio programs, magazines, and
books were “…leveled down to a sort of pastepudding norm…” (51). Explain why the content of books
and other media has been “leveled down” in the society of the novel. [The detail/quote from the question
cannot count as one of your details.]
**I recommend answering the above question only after you’ve read and annotated the entirety of
the conversation between Montag and Captain Beatty (pgs. 50-59) at least twice. It’s arguably the
key passage of the novel, containing a majority of Bradbury’s ideas. (From a reading
comprehension perspective, it’s also one of the most difficult sections.)**
3) After reading Montag’s conversation with Faber (pgs. 76-87), answer the following question: What is a
specific example of a TV show, movie, or album that you have seen or heard that, in your opinion,
meets Faber’s definition of “quality.”
 First, using details from the text, interpret and explain Faber’s definition of “quality.”
 Then, include specific details (descriptions, song lyrics, etc.) from the movie, TV show, or album
to support your argument that this work meets Faber’s definition of “quality.”
4) After reading (and re-reading ) Granger’s conversations with Montag (from when they meet until the
novel’s end), what’s one argument about human behavior you believe Bradbury is advancing through
Granger’s ideas and philosophy?
TDECDEC Analysis Questions for Into the Wild
1) In Ch. 4 –What conclusions can we make about Chris’s philosophy and outlook on life based on the
decisions and actions Krakauer describes? (In particular, make sure to address the flood at Lake Mead,
as well as the excerpts from letters and journal entries that Krakauer includes. So, this will require a TS
with two parts. Ex. Based on the decisions and actions Krakauer highlights in Ch, 4, we can conclude
that McCandless values _______; additionally/however/in fact, he believes ___________.
2) In Chapter 6, Chris strongly advises Ronald Franz—especially in the letter Chris sends from Carthage,
South Dakota—to change the way he is living. Summarize and explain Chris’s philosophy, which he
advocates through his encouragement to Franz. As part of your commentary, describe an area of your
life or behavior where you presently practice the ideas reflected in Chris’s advice and explain how your
personal example reflects Chris’s philosophy. (Or...think about a specific area of your life that you feel
would benefit from the philosophy Chris advises Ronald Franz to follow. Or…using examples from
your life, explain why you disagree with Chris’s philosophy.)
3) Chapters 11-12 – How does Krakauer characterize Chris McCandless in these chapters? Identify and
defend a specific character trait. [Quoted details should come from Ch. 11-12]
4) In Chapters 14 and 15, through the use of his own story of climbing Alaska’s Devils Thumb, what
arguments about Chris McCandless is Krakauer attempting to advance and/or refute? In your analysis,
make sure to address Krakauer’s thoughts on what they were both seeking, what they were both naïve
about, and why. [Quoted details should come from Ch. 14-15]
5) Chapter 16-18– Although in his “Author’s Note” Krakauer suggests he desires to “leave it to the reader
to form his or her own opinion of Chris McCandless,” based on these final chapters, what opinion of
Chris do you believe Krakauer hopes the reader will arrive at by the end of the book? In your
commentary, address whether or not Krakauer’s opinion of Chris aligns with your own and explain why
or why not. [Quoted details should come from Ch. 16-18]
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What is annotating and why is it an essential skill to close reading?
Annotating is a permanent record of your conversation with the text. Through marking the text and
writing notes, it’s a way for you to interact with, talk back to, and join in the conversation with the
author and the work he or she created. It’s important that you create an annotating system that
works for you. This system might involve various symbols and highlighter colors. However, simply
underlining, highlighting, or drawing symbols is not annotating; it’s the notes and comments you
make in the margins that create the conversation.
There is no one way to annotate a text. It can involve any of the following:
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defining any unfamiliar vocabulary, terms, or references to help you comprehend the text
summarizing a passage or a section or a single paragraph
paraphrasing difficult text into your own words—simple, easy-to-understand language
recording questions that enter your mind as you read
marking sentences or word choices that you feel are significant
identifying important moments in the plot, such as conflict and tension
figuring out the point of view of the story
commenting on inferences you make about characters and how/why they change
noting details about the setting, time period, culture, world of the story
analyzing the author’s craft—figurative language, literary devices, description, how the text is
organized, sentence structure, tone, mood, word choice, style, etc.
predicting what may happen next
charting your own reading comprehension—marking places that confuse you that you need to
reread, further break down, or discuss
marking anything the writer does—with diction, syntax, imagery, details, etc.—that intrigues,
delights, disturbs, surprises, or moves you
recognizing big picture thematic ideas that emerge from the text
making connections between the text and your life, pop culture, society, history, etc.
But doesn’t this slow the reading down? Yes, absolutely! Because annotating forces you to put on
the breaks and drive slowly, you are far more likely to notice the scenery and uncover ideas that
would not have surfaced otherwise. As students, many of us have mastered the art of surface (or
pseudo) reading. Annotating helps thwart our scheme to merely skim and “fake read.”
Other benefits of annotating:
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increases the likelihood that we will retain and be able to recall information from the text
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eliminates or greatly reduces the “I read it but I totally didn’t get it” problem
makes it much easier to write about or discuss a text later on because we have notes to draw from
forces us to be active and alert readers, rather than passive and disengaged readers. (This is especially
important when we’re reading something we don’t like or find boring.)
helps us stay awake and focused when we’re totally exhausted but need to read
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A Few Last Guidelines for Annotation Expectations:
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You must have a hard copy of both books, not simply an e-copy. Annotations must be done by
hand—in your writing. (No, you can’t use your older brother’s book from two years ago.)

For each of these books, some pages are more dense and difficult than others, so there may be some
pages or passages where you make only one to a few annotations, while there will be other sections
where you fill the page to the brim.
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Start with comprehension of the literal meaning. Before we can notice anything fancy or deep, we
must make sure we understand what is happening or, especially with Into the Wild, the basic
argument or claim Krakauer is making. Writing out the main idea or paraphrasing a tricky sentence
into your own words is essential for basic comprehension.
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One technique you may find helpful is to annotate literal meaning (main idea/paraphrasing) on the
left and inferences and author’s techniques on the right. *In particular, the larger red-covered copy
of F451 gives you more white space, so it’s easier to annotate.
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When vocabulary or terms impede comprehension, you are expected to look up the word and define
it (using the definition Bradbury/Krakauer uses.) *Both these books are filled with SAT vocabulary
words, so it will be to your benefit to learn the words as you read.
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Since Into the Wild is nonfiction, in particular, you want to focus on the arguments Krakauer is
advancing. Also, as you will see in the example, many of the epigraphs that appear before each
chapter are connected to his overall purpose for each chapter and some are quite difficult, so don’t
ignore these when annotating.
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Since Fahrenheit 451 is fiction, annotating for theme is essential. However, like Krakauer, Bradbury
is also engaged in an act of persuasion, so pay attention to how he creates a fictional dystopian world
to advance arguments about issues and behaviors in contemporary society.
What Not to Do when Annotating:
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Don’t simply underline or highlight.
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You are welcome to record your own personal reactions (Ex. “How terrible!) to events in the books,
but these kind of notes should not be your primary annotations.
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Don’t simply write “simile” or “personification” or “oxymoron.” The goal is not to simply spot and
circle figurative language and devices. What’s more important is to consider why the author uses a
particular device. What idea is conveyed through the metaphor? What attitude towards the subject is
created with the diction? What is the purpose of this allusion?
We imagine you might be feeling a little overwhelmed at this point. That’s okay. It’s normal…and
good. This summer reading assignment will require some significant time and effort from you;
however, we feel pretty confident in saying that the amount of time and effort you put into it will be
commensurate with the amount of pleasure you derive from it. That’s true for this class as a whole.
We look forward to getting to know you next school year. We’re excited that we get to begin our time
together discussing these two fantastic books. While this assignment requires work and effort, our
hope is that you will also enjoy this reading.
Example of annotations for one page of Fahrenheit 451 and Into the Wild is on the next page
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Not every page needs to be annotated as much as these examples. The first third of books, as
authors introduce us to characters and the world of a story, are especially significant. In
addition, passages that confuse you—that are dense, full of difficult vocabulary, where
figurative language must be decoded to unpack the author’s meaning, where you find
yourself asking, “Huh?”—those are the passages that deserve the most annotation.
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