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2013/2014 A.P. English Language Students
Mrs. Volansky and Mrs. Maguire
May 2013
Summer Reading Assignments for Next Year
Welcome to A.P. English Language. In this course, you will work to become a “skilled reader of prose written
in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts, and (to become) a skilled writer who composes for
a variety of purposes…. (making you) aware of the interactions among a writer’s purposes, audience
expectations, and subjects as well as the way generic conventions and the resources of language contribute to
effectiveness in writing” (from AP English Language and Composition Course Description). To better
prepare you for the rigor of the class and for our initial units of study, you will have some preparatory work to
do. You will be required to obtain a composition notebook for AP English Language, in which you will work
to improve your reading, writing and thinking. The assignments below will be the first entries of your
notebook. Be prepared to submit your notebooks the first week of school.
For Unit 1-Introduction to Analysis, Argument and Synthesis:
They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein
Assignment:
Select three editorials on any contemporary issue and write a response for each in which you enter the
conversation with the writer using the suggestions from They Say, I Say. For each article, include a full MLA
citation first, then your response.
For Unit 2 – Education:
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
Assignment:
Read the novel, and then in approximately 250 – 500 words, discuss how Walls would respond to the
following question:
To what extent do our schools serve the goals of a true education?
For Unit 3 – Work:
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Assignment:
Read the novel, and then in approximately 250-500 words, discuss how Ehrenreich would respond to the
following question:
How does work shape or influence our lives?
We look forward to meeting you in the fall!