AP Literature and Composition
Independent Novel Tasks
1. Each Friday, come prepared with a reading response task to share and discuss your book.
 Select a different assignment for each Friday.
 If you do not have a completed assignment ready at the beginning of the class, you may not participate in
the discussion and the assignment is considered late.
 Make sure to turn in your chosen reading response after the discussion.
2. Complete a Novel/Play Review Guide for your book and turn it in on the day of your presentation (see next)
3. Sign-up for a presentation day
4. On that day, be prepared to stand in front of the class for a 2-3 minute presentation (see next)
 Have the book with you to show us
 Tell us the title & author
 Give a 2-3 sentence plot summary (think setting, protagonist, conflict, climax, & resolution)
Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, tells the journey of an African American woman, Janie Crawford, from
childhood to adulthood, during the early 1900s in Florida. She struggles through two marriages, looking not only for love but a sense
of self, and finally finds both with a man named Tea Cake. Although a hurricane and a bite from a rabid dog change their lives, Janie
is able to return a content, fulfilled woman.

Why the book is of “literary merit” – Select two reasons why this book is of “literary merit” and defend
with specific evidence & reasoning
1
2
Has stood the test of time in some way, regardless of the date of publication. (e.g. original criticisms, rediscovered 1970s,
taught in universities, Time top 100, etc.)
Is universal in its appeal (bildungsroman, African Americans & women - relationships, love/gender theme statements).
Grades, they add up – 50 points!
Original research & book – 10 points
Friday Assignments (4) – 20 points
Novel/Play Review Guide – 10 points
Presentation – 10 points
*What is work of “literary merit”?
Besides the list of novels appearing on the AP exam, consider the criteria compiled by Barry Gilmore:
1
2
3
Entertains the reader and is interesting to read.
Does not merely conform to the expectations of a single genre or formula.
Has been judged to have artistic quality by the literary community (teachers, students, librarians, critics, other writers, the reading
public).
4 Has stood the test of time in some way, regardless of the date of publication.
5 Shows thematic depth: The themes merit revisiting and study because they are complex and nuanced
6 Demonstrates innovation in style, voice, structure, characterization, plot and/or description.
7 May have a social, political or ideological impact on society during the lifetime of the author or afterward.
8 Does not fall into the traps of “pulp” fiction such as clichéd or derivative descriptions and plot devices, or sentimentality rather than
“earned” emotion.
9 Is intended by the author to communicate in an artistic manner.
10
Is universal in its appeal (i.e., the themes and insights are not only accessible to one culture or time period).
Gilmore, Barry. “Standing on Merit: The Role of Quality and Choice in Student Reading.” Engaging Students with Literature: A Curriculum Module for AP® English Literature and Composition Engaging Students with Literature A Curriculum Module for
AP® English Literature and Composition, 2010 Curriculum Module. The College Board. Web. September 2015.
Literary merit From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Literary merit is the quality shared by all works of fiction that are considered to have aesthetic value.[1] The concept of "literary merit" has been
criticized as being necessarily subjective, since personal taste determines aesthetic value, and has been derided as a "relic of a scholarly elite".[1]
Despite these criticisms, many criteria have been suggested to determine literary merit including: standing the test of time, realistic characters,
emotional complexity, originality, and concern with truth.[2]
In 1957, at the obscenity trial for Howl, author Walter Van Tilburg Clark was prodded into defining literary merit. His response outlines some of the popular criteria: The only final test, it
seems to me, of literary merit, is the power to endure. Obviously such a test cannot be applied to a new or recent work, and one cannot, I think, offer soundly an opinion on the probability
of endurance save on a much wider acquaintance with the work or works of a writer than I have of Mr. Ginsberg's or perhaps even with a greater mass of production than Mr. Ginsberg's. ...
Aside from this test of durability, I think the test of literary merit must be, to my mind, first, the sincerity of the writer. I would be willing, I think, even to add the seriousness of purpose of
the writer, if we do not by that leave out the fact that a writer can have a fundamental serious purpose and make a humorous approach to it. I would add also there are certain specific ways
in which craftsmanship at least of a piece of work, if not in any sense the art, which to my mind involves more, may be tested