SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT FOR SENIOR AP ENGLISH
For your summer reading assignment, you will read and annotate Catch-22 by Joseph
Heller. You should also review the literary terms included with this sheet. Your annotated copy
of the novel will be collected and graded during the first week of school, and you will have a quiz
on the literary terms shortly thereafter. AP Literature primarily deals with close reading.
Successful students will be able to interpret and analyze literature using textual rather than
emotional or anecdotal evidence. Annotation is one of the best ways to gather textual evidence
from a novel.
 Reading assignments should be read and annotated before the first day of class.
 If you find annotating while you read to be annoying and awkward, do it after you
read. Go back after each chapter and mark it carefully.
In addition, during the first few days of school you will have a test and in-class essay over
the novel. For the essay (but not the test) you will be able to use your copies of the novels.
 Warning About Relying Only On Study Guides: Cliffs Notes, Spark Notes, Max
Notes, Classic Notes, Pink Monkey Notes, Bloom’s Notes, Columbia Critical Guides,
Bookrags, Greenwood Literary Companions, etc. are all useful study guides. However,
they should not replace the actual reading of the texts. Additionally, since I own copies
of all of these guides for all of the books we will be reading next year, they will not help
you pass the tests.
Grading: Since everyone's notes will be similar in format yet somewhat different in content (there is
obviously no one correct phrase to have underlined on page 112 of the novel, for example),
annotation grades will be based on thoroughness, clarity, neatness, and apparent effort.
Suggested and Required Elements
There are a number of procedural expectations that make annotation practical and effective. First,
implement a consistent system. Use the same abbreviations and symbols every time you annotate.
Second, have a pencil close at hand. Yes, use a pencil. Why? You may change your mind or get
it wrong the first time; more recent discoveries may prompt a reevaluation of earlier findings, etc.
Third, be disciplined and annotate continually as you read.
Suggested ABBREVIATIONS/SYMBOLS (YOU CAN USE OTHERS, IF YOU PREFER):
b/c = because
+ = and
w/ = with
w/o = without
b/t = between
e.g. = for example
ex = example
* = important
 = of the utmost importance; crucial to
understanding
> = use caret to point to an exact location
TP = turning point
cf = conflict
Cx = climax
RES = resolution
Ch = characterization
S = setting
Th = theme
LT = literary term (identify the term by name:
irony, tone, foreshadowing, personification,
metaphor, symbol, etc.)
Required Annotation Strategies:
Timeline Catch-22 is not written in chronological order. You must create a chronological timeline that
shows ten major events in the novel, which you feel are most important, in the order that they happen.
Tracking nouns -- important people, places, things, and ideas: Put a box around the name (or
nominal if the character/setting/object is unnamed) of [1] a character the first time you encounter the
character, [2] a place (or other aspect of the setting) whenever it seems important or relevant, and [3] an
object when it seems crucial to the story. “Re-box” a character/setting/object whenever he/she/it returns
to the text after a long absence. Track important people, places, things, and ideas by supplying page
numbers whenever possible that point to previous encounters. Cross reference all of this tracking/tracing
by also writing page numbers at the spot of the earlier instances of people, places, things, and ideas.
Write brief comments whenever possible to make these connections clear and to note any evolution or
development.
On the inside front and back covers of the book, keep a list of the characters you encounter,
the page on which they first appear, and a very brief description of each. You may need to add to or
modify these descriptions as the story unfolds. In this way, you will develop a comprehensive list of
characters. Keep track of important aspects of the setting and important objects in a similar manner.
Chapter summaries/titles: At the end of each chapter, write a brief summary (2-3 sentences) of the plot
as it occurred in that chapter. Next, supply an instructive title for each chapter of the book. This may
prove useful for books in which chapters are already titled. This practice will help you solidify your
understanding of a chapter in just a few of your own words.
Underlining: Within the text of the book, underline or otherwise note anything that strikes you as
important, significant, memorable, etc. If possible and profitable, write brief comments within the side
margins that indicate your motivation in underlining. You need not underline every word. Often, I
underline isolated words and phrases. Occasionally, I connect such underlinings with a line, in essence
creating a new sentence, a distillation of ideas or meaning.
Vertical bars: Use vertical bars and double vertical bars together with abbreviations and symbols to
indicate passages that contain important themes, wonderfully nuanced descriptions, especially delightful
phrasing and/or syntax, provocative assertions, figurative language, etc. And, of course, write comments
and analytical snippets to clarify your thinking.
Vocabulary/unusual diction: Within the text of the book, circle words that are unfamiliar to you or whose
use strikes you as unusual or inventive. Look up words in a dictionary that seem essential to an
understanding of the meaning or the sense of the author. If it helps to do so, jot a brief definition or
synonym nearby.
Shifts: Note all shifts in point of view. Note all shifts in time. Note all shifts in diction and syntax.
Summer Vocabulary
Assignment:
Be prepared to use the
following words in our
literature discussion.
Allusion
Attitude
Diction
Figurative language
Metaphor
Simile
Irony
Literal language
Imagery
Tone
Symbol
Syntax
Theme
Setting
Structure
Style
Satire
Contrast
Repetition
Paradox
Understatement
Sarcasm
Rhetorical question
Oxymoron
Syntax
Parable
Point of view
Paradox
Direct characterization
Parody
Indirect characterization
Personification
Juxtaposition
Reliability
Allegory
Soliloquy
Ambiguity
Stereotype
Apostrophe (literary device)
Syllogism
Connotation
Thesis
Convention
Antecedent
Denotation
Clause
Didactic
Ellipsis
Digression
Imperative
Epigram
Modify
Euphemism
Parallel structure
Grotesque
Periodic sentence
Hyperbole
Jargon
Literal
Lyrical