AP English Language and Composition Summer Research Assignment—(200 pts)
Purpose: You will spend the summer making important decisions that will affect your fall semester grade. Please take
this seriously. The topic you choose and the sources you find will be used to write a lengthy, synthesized argumentative
paper regarding a specific facet of your topic (for example, you won’t be writing about violence in general, but you may
write about causes for the escalation of violence in urban areas).
Organization: You are required to submit this assignment in a neatly arranged folder with pockets (not a three-ring
binder) that will include your journals, annotations, and hard copies of your source materials. All entries should be typed
where indicated: 12 pt. and double-spaced.
Task #1 (suggested time: 1-2 hours)
END PRODUCT: 1 journal entry
Getting Started: Do some basic research looking for sources and potential questions. Hint: go to a web site such as
Amazon.com and type in a search term to see what books are available on a given topic. Go to a bookstore or library and
look in their non-fiction sections. You might find some intriguing titles. Another option is magazines—take a look at
magazines like Psychology Today, Time or Popular Science to see what is being researched, discussed and analyzed.
The primary objective of this research paper is that you will practice forming an individual stance using evidence from a
list of varied resources. It requires that you have a mature knowledge of the issues that affect the world today. Think
about questions you have about the world, about life, about people, that you would be interested in researching.
Sample Student Questions from Previous Years
The following is a partial list of topics and questions that former students of AP English Language and Composition chose
to pursue in their research projects. These are listed here only to serve as examples, and should help you to make your
own decision. You do not have to use these topics exclusively—you can look at a variety of topics. Make your choice
based on your interests.
Environment
 What obligations does American industry have to nature and the environment?
Business/Economics
 How has the “American Dream” come to mean instant wealth?
 How does advertising convince Americans to buy things they wouldn’t otherwise buy?
Technology
 Has the use of technology made it more difficult for teenagers to be emotionally healthy?
Crime/Justice
 How responsible is a mentally disabled person who commits a crime, but cannot correctly identify his or her
feelings or understand his or her actions? Does the reason someone does something affect the outcome?
Politics
 How big of a factor is money in American politics and elections, and how does that corrupt the American system
of democracy?
Family Studies
 Are there any evident differences between the children of working mothers and the children of stay-at-home
mothers?
 What is the role of fathers in the family dynamic and what happens when no father is present?
Gender Studies/Media
 If technology and new media are constantly portraying images of "the perfect woman," is it harder for teenage
girls to be comfortable with their bodies?
 What has been done to eliminate the gender gap in the workplace? Are these effective solutions?
 Will the increasing prevalence of cosmetic surgery permanently distort human ideas of beauty?
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Food/Eating
 Does the way that society portrays the image of an attractive woman through celebrities, affect the eating
habits of most normal American women in such a way that would lead to an eating disorder?
 What are the ethical implications of today's "factory farms" and product-testing procedures on animals?
Psychology
 Does making fewer mistakes mean you are a better, happier person? Or are mistakes a prominent part of the
learning process?

Cultural/Language
 Do immigrants coming into the United States begin to lose their language and what are the possible effects?
Science
 Why do Americans struggle with scientific ideas, such as evolution, that other countries have come to accept?
Now, make the decision—what are you going to research? Write a one-page, 12 pt. font, double-spaced journal entry
in which you describe the topic that you have chosen, and why you chose it. The journal entry provides the
documentation for this task.
Task #2 (suggested time: 2-4 hours)
END PRODUCT: 10 hard copies of sources and an annotation sheet
Do some more researching about your chosen topic to familiarize yourself with the issues involved. Sources can include
books, articles, interviews, and academic Internet sites. Please make sure your sources are reliable and academic.
Please note that Wikipedia cannot be used as a source. Although Wikipedia can be used as a starting point, it is always
better to go to the original references.
From your broad researching, narrow down your options to 10 informative and credible sources. Obtain hard copies of
the 10 sources (having a hard copy means that you will make photocopies of key pages in books, print out Internet
sources, take notes during an interview, etc). You should highlight important ideas on your copies as you read. Please do
not print sources that are excessively long in full—you can print a selection of the source if necessary.
For each of the 10 sources, type 5-7 sentences that explain: 1) The qualifications and/or credentials of the author 2) The
main purpose of the source and 3) A summary of the main ideas, interesting facts, or interesting quotes from the source.
You can put all 10 on one sheet.
Task #3 (suggested time: 1-2 weeks depending on reading rate)
END PRODUCTS: Annotated
book
To narrow your focus, you think about specific questions within your topic. For instance, if you are working with the
broad topic concerning violence a narrowing question might be: “do video games cause kids to be more violent?”
Next, look up several non-fiction books that could be used as possible sources to answer each question. Again, go to a
web site like Amazon.com and type in your topic. A lot of book titles should pop up, and you should take some time to
pick one out that you think you’d like. Before buying, head over to a bookstore like Joseph-Beth to see it in person if
they have it in stock. NOTE: Avoid personal memoir or “self-help” books in order to keep your focus academic. For
example, Dave Pelzer’s A Child Called It would not be an acceptable book for this assignment. Also avoid books that have
fewer than 100 pages as these are probably not going to have enough information.
Acquire the non-fiction book. Follow the requirements according to the annotation rubric in this packet to read and
annotate the book in its entirety. If you buy the book, by all means write all over it. If you borrow the book from the
library, please use post-its (or some other means of annotation) throughout. Note that the rubric is specific and it will be
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strictly followed when graded. The actual book with annotations and the one page summary provide the documentation
for this task.
A Friendly “Common Sense” Reminder:
Please do not wait until the last minute to begin researching. This is assigned over the summer for a reason. See the
suggested times for the completion of each task, and then pace yourself accordingly. The summer portion of the
research assignment will probably take NO MORE than two weeks, which includes the time it will take to read a full
length work of non-fiction. The sooner you start, the more time you will have to think about the topic you have chosen,
and to collect sources to make your paper excellent.
This assignment is due—in full—on the first day of your class (A day or B day).
AP English Language and Composition Summer Research Rubric
Organization and Appearance of Project ______/10
The tasks are organized and in order in a folder—NOT a three ring binder. All entries are typed as stated in each task—12 pt font.
Task 1 Journal ________/40
The journal entry is insightful, reflective, and includes all information assigned. It is easy to understand, and shows correct grammar,
punctuation, and usage.
Task 2 Sources and Explanations ________/50
10 relevant and varied sources, each with a 5-7 sentence explanation
Task 3 Non-fiction Book Annotation Rubric ________/100
(1=little or no effort; 5=bare minimum; 10=exceptional effort, “above and beyond”)
Inside Front Cover—page references to key/main ideas and a legend indicating your system of organization (e.g. blue
highlighter=significant dates; pink highlighter=significant quotes).
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Inside Back Cover—the thesis, motifs or images, epiphanies, and any other notes that you choose to include for your own reference.
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Underline and take notes—significant ideas within the text of the book. You can use brackets [ ] for passages that are too long to
underline. In the margins of the book, explain the significance. Don’t just underline things randomly.
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Vocabulary—circle words within the text of the book that you don’t recognize, and include a typed list in which you define these
words and include the page number on which the word appears in your book. “I couldn’t find anything to circle” is not an acceptable
excuse. No fewer than 20 words will be accepted for full points. Place this sheet in your folder.
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Questions—write one open-ended question—a question that cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”--at the end of each
chapter. What are you left thinking about? When you finish reading, please type all of your questions (labeled by chapter and listed
in order) and include this page in your folder.
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Completion and organization of Task 3—annotation of the entire book, including the typed summary, is organized, neat, and
complete and reflects effort indicative of an AP level student.
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Overall Total _________/200
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