Summer Reading for AP English III
Your summer assignment has two parts.
PART I:
Purposes:
 To educate yourself about complex ideas
 To examine authors' styles in nonfiction writing
Directions:
Choose five essays from the list below. (You can find the essays on Mrs. Berkman’s Teacher Website
from the high school website.) Read the essays, and as you read, notice what you think is important in the
essays. Then for each of the five essays, write a commentary of 250 words minimum. You will have a total of
five commentaries.
A commentary is written as an academic response to a reading. It provides a basis for an academic
discussion in a community of readers. Therefore, the commentaries that you write in response to these
essays will be used in class discussions at the beginning of the year and may be read by your classmates. You
can find an example of a commentary on Mrs. Berkman’s teacher website from the high school
website.
In your commentary, you should
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refer specifically to the author’s words (including at least one embedded quotation)
respond to the idea(s) in the essay (the author’s argument)
connect the idea(s) in the essay to your own experience, observations, or other readings
comment on the way the author uses language
pose a question or questions that you have about the text, ideas you are struggling with
learn more about your own thinking by writing the commentary
learn more about the idea(s) in the essay by the writing the commentary
Commentary Requirements:
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Minimum 250 words
Typed (double spaced, 12 pt. academic font)
Include the title and author of the essay in the commentary (titles of essays are in quotation marks)
Commentaries are due Tuesday, August 25th
Essay Choices:
 “Household Words” by Barbara Kingsolver
 “Coming into Language” by Jimmy Santiago Baca
 “How to Listen” by Aaron Copland
 “Just Walk On By: Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples
 “How Doctors Die” by Ken Murray
 “Outlaw” Jose Antonio Vargas
 “In Praise of the ‘F’ Word” by Mary Sherry
 “The Sense of Wonder” by Rachel Carson
 “Me Talk Pretty One Day” by David Sedaris
 “Struck by Lightning” by Gretel Ehrlich
 “Living Like Weasels” by Annie Dillard
 “On Dumpster Diving” Lars Eighner
PART II:
Purposes:
 To read a book over the summer that you both enjoy and that challenges you
 To have a choice about what you read
Directions:
As you read, notice what seems important about this book to you. During the first week of school,
you will write a response to this book. In your response, you will discuss your reactions to the book,
and you will comment on the author’s style. You will receive more specific instructions about the
requirements of this assignment during the first week.
Criteria for Selection:
 Minimum Length: 300 pages
(If you are reading an ebook, check the page count on Amazon.com.)
 Genre: Fiction or Non-fiction
 History: a book you have not previously read
 Level of Difficulty: something that is slightly challenging but that you will find enjoyable
 Recommendations:
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All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
The Narrow Road and the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Adapted from Valerie Taylor, WHS