AP Language and Composition
Summer Assignment 2014
Mrs. Williamson (aka Ms. Willi)
Email: sheila.williamson@elmoreco.com
AP English Language and Composition is a challenging and rigorous college-level
course that investigates the uses, purposes, and effects of language. In order to prepare
you for the material and skills you will encounter throughout the year, you are required
to participate in the Summer Reading Assignment. I have no problem with you
discussing these assignments and readings with other students; however, all written
assignments should be your work alone.
First, DON’T PANIC! You WILL survive the summer reading and writing assignments
and the AP Lang course. You will struggle, but this is a normal and necessary part of
the learning process. Second, you should take this work seriously. This assignment
will constitute a major portion of your first nine weeks’ grade.
The summer assignment is due by 3:00 on Monday, July 28, 2014. Late work will
incur a penalty of 10 points per day. No work will be accepted after Wednesday, July
30.
All assignments are to be submitted in a ½” three-ring binder, with tabs denoting each
assignment. With the exception of the flashcards, all work must be typed, double
spaced, with 1” margins. Use a legible 12 point font such as Book Antiqua or Times
New Roman . Your name, course title, assignment title, and date should be placed in
the header. Flashcards should be placed in a zip lock bag with your name on a card in
the bag.
I have contacted Books-a-Million in Prattville to inform them of the book requirements.
They have agreed to have the books available (Ask at the front desk). You can also
purchase the books on-line at Amazon.com.
Required texts:
Summer Reading Assignment:
On writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King.
5 Steps to a 5 500 AP English Language Questions to know by test day by Allyson Ambrose
ISBN 978-0-07-175368-5 (Note: this book will be used in the class. You will need this
book when school starts---NOT before.)
The Week - this is a weekly news magazine. The subscription is $35.00 and the money
MUST BE TURNED IN BY MAY 23. This is so the subscription order can be placed so
that we will have this available the first week of school.
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AP Language and Composition
Summer Assignment 2014
Mrs. Williamson (aka Ms. Willi)
Email: sheila.williamson@elmoreco.com
Assignment #1 On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
This superb memoir offers a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft,
comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is
grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer,
from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999—and
how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. (Anthony
Lunardi/Western Branch High School).
Have you ever wondered: “Did the author mean to do that?” King’s book provides an
excellent response to that question. AS King states in the introduction to this book,
“What follows is an attempt to put down, briefly and simply, how I came to the craft,
what I know about it now, and how it’s done.” In this book, you will learn that writers
do indeed make deliberate choices about diction, syntax, details, and other elements as
they compose their work. (This analysis is a major component of the work we will do in
AP Language.) This book is divided into four sections: C.V., Toolbox, On Writing, and
On Living: A Postscript. Your assignments will, likewise, be divided into four sections.
For each assignment below, please include the page numbers for the passages
discussed.
Task #1: C.V.
This is a non-fiction text, but it often reads like a novel. To tell his story, King uses
literary elements and techniques (i.e. imagery, dialogue, figurative language) which we
often associated with fictional pieces. Identify three passages in which King uses such
elements/techniques effectively. Explain the elements/techniques he uses and why
they are effective.
Task #2: Toolbox
Create a writer’s toolbox for yourself. Identify 7 rules of writing that King discusses
(include page number) which you think are important or interesting. As you select
them, think about your own strengths and weaknesses as a writer. Please number your
selections 1-7. Then add an additional 7 rules of writing which you have either
practiced or been taught throughout your school career. Example: Don’t begin a
sentence with “and.” In class, we will discuss the merit of these various “rules.”
Task #3 On Writing
How does King feel about writing? How do you know? Choose three key passages
from this section in which King defines writing, either directly or figuratively.
(Remember to include page numbers.) In your own words, restate King’s point about
writing in the passage and why you think this point is interesting or important.
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AP Language and Composition
Summer Assignment 2014
Mrs. Williamson (aka Ms. Willi)
Email: sheila.williamson@elmoreco.com
Task #4: On Living: A Postscript
This task does not pertain to just this section of the book. Rather, explain your opinion
of King as both a writer and a person. Would you consider reading one of his books
now, for example? (If you have read his books prior to this assignment, has your
opinion of the author changed? If so, how?) What do you think King’s purpose was
in writing this book? Support your answers to both prompts with evidence from the
text.
Assignment #2 Essays
1. “The Plot Against People” by Russell Baker - Read and annotate. Write a rhetorical
précis. (See the attached template).
2. “I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady. Read and annotate. Answer the questions 1-3.
3. “Neat People vs. Sloppy People” by Suzanne Britt.
a. Read and annotate. Use the “questions for discussion” section to guide your
annotations.
b. Complete both A & B in the section “Engaging the text”. These are two short
writing tasks. No more than a page.
c. Complete the essay assignment A in “Suggestions for Sustained Writing.”
This is a longer writing assignment for me to judge your writing skills.
Assignment #3 Rhetorical Device/Literary Terms
Argument and literary analysis are important parts of this course. To prepare to
analyze, there are some terms that students should know. Look up and record
definitions on flashcards for each of the following terms. You will find it easier to learn
these if you also find an example. We will go over these terms, and you will be tested
on these terms by the end of the first nine weeks.
You may find help with these terms on the following sites:
http://quizlet.com/5068313/ap-language-composition-literary-terms-flash-cards/
http://www.uky.edu/AS/Classics/rhetoric.html
http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/silva.html
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AP Language and Composition
Summer Assignment 2014
Mrs. Williamson (aka Ms. Willi)
Email: sheila.williamson@elmoreco.com
Rhetorical Devices:
A. Strategy
1. allusion
2. analogy
3. antithesis
4. distnctio
5. eponym
6. exemplum
7. hyperbole
8. hypophora
9. litotes
10. irony
11. metaphor
12. procatalepsis
13. rhetorical questions
14. sentenia
15. simile
16. understatement
B. Organization
17. anadiplosis
18. antanagoge
19. apostrophe
20. cause/effect
21. chiasmus
22. climax
23. comparison/contrast
24. conduplicatio
25. enumeration
26. juxtaposition
27. metabasis
28. parallelism
29. parenthesis
C. Style
30. aphorism
31. asyndeton
32. chiasmus
33. epithet
34. hyperbaton
35. metonymy
36. periodic sentence
37. polysyndeton
38. synecdoche
39. zeugma
D. Analysis of Reading
40. amplification
41. analogy
42. anaphora
43. aporia
44. deductive reasoning
45. epistrophe
46. exemplification
47. inductive reasoning
48. parataxis
49. personification
50. pun
51. simile
52. syllogism
53. symploce
E. Aristotelian Appeals
54. ethos
55. logos
56. pathos
F. Other
57. rhetoric
58. rhetorical question
59. syntax
60. thesis
61. tone
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