Advanced Placement English Language and Composition
Mrs. Colacchio/English 11
Summer Reading and Composition Assignment
Thank you for returning the signed Advanced Placement Language and Composition
Class Expectations sheet. In order to secure a spot in this AP Class, you must complete,
and achieve a score of 75% or above on each separate assignment. These include:
5 thematic article responses, thematic article (source-based) essay, and read and
analyze a non-fiction book. The article analyses, essay, and Reader’s Notebook must
be in the front office by Friday, August 21, 2015. You will complete an in-class essay on
your nonfiction book when school commences in the fall. Any indication of plagiarism
or copying of another student’s work will result in a zero for your first test grade and
expulsion from the AP Course.
*Thematic Article Assignment: This assignment is useful practice in reading,
analyzing and responding to arguments. To create a foundation of examples and the
ways in which ideas are used to support a claim, read The New York Times, The
Huffington Post, US News and World Report, or any combination of the above
throughout the summer. The “Week in Review” section of the Sunday New York Times
provides insight into current events and arguments and is available at
nytimes.com/opinion. For this assignment read, attach a copy, and respond in your
journal, to at least five editorials, commentaries or essays about the same topic. Do
not use news articles or informational features. The editorials may be about any topic,
but they must address a common theme. The topic may be general (education,
healthcare, the environment) or very specific (the effect of The Common Core State
Standards on education, healthcare reform, the “Arab Spring” and its effect on the
Middle East). You must complete a one-page, thoughtful, and detailed response to
each article (20 points each). Your responses are not to be researched. Written
responses should reflect your own thoughts and observations. Possible responses may
include:
 Who is the author? Does he/she come across as knowledgeable or fair? Is there
a possible bias in the article?
 What are some of the author’s best arguments? What language makes this an
effective argument? Why?
 Do you agree or disagree with the editorial’s viewpoints? Why?
*Thematic Article Essay: Review your articles and sources (including any introductory
information) carefully. Then, in a five-paragraph essay that synthesizes at least three of
your sources, take a position that defends or challenges the topic of your editorials. Be
sure to cite your sources parenthetically using MLA format. Use the article titles or
authors to refer to the sources. Rubric= Claim (20), Evidence (20), Organization (20),
Language (20), Conventions/Format (20) =100
*Reader’s Notebook: The reader response notebook is an honest and uncensored
conversation between you and what you are reading. Read and complete a Reader’s
Notebook for your nonfiction text. Select a medium-large notebook in which to work
(no marble composition notebooks) or create a google document and share it with me.
For each entry, record the page number and information from the text (quotations,
interesting points, summaries); record your own writing and response to the particular
parts of the text you have identified. You must create a minimum of ten entries spread
throughout the entire book that you are reading. Your notebook will be evaluated
based on the quality, insight, and variety of your responses, so select personally
meaningful passages about which to write. Possibilities may include:
 Challenge/Accept- analyze how your life parallels or defies the events in the
text, be sure to use specific evidence
 Purpose/Audience- discuss the author’s purpose and how he/she achieves this
 Significant Quotations- include an interesting, memorable or provocative quote
from the text and explain, disagree, or comment on it
 You may also want to include other items in the notebook, such as; current news
clippings, drawings, etc. Remember the purpose of this assignment is to help
you become a more active reader. Complete it in the way that works best for
you.
*Nonfiction Book: Complete a Reader’s Notebook about a book by one of the
following authors:
 Bill Bryson
 Barbara Ehrenreich
 Malcolm Gladwell
 Mary Roach
 Eric Schlosser
 Sarah Vowell
The above assignments may be completed electronically and emailed to
Julie.Colacchio@doverschools.org, shared via google docs, or handed in oldschool on paper. Regardless of medium, it is due on Friday, August 21, 2015.