AP Language and Composition 2012
Summer REading Assignment
Advanced Placement Language and Composition (AP
Lang) focuses on persuasive and expository writing, with
an emphasis in rhetoric and argumentation. To prepare for
this class, students should try to immerse themselves in the
genre during the summer.
Students must read FOUR works of persuasive nonfiction.
Students should select their books based on their interests.
Below, you will find a list of popular persuasive nonfiction.
You can choose from this list, or you can choose different
books in the genre and get them approved by your English
teacher. Books need to be chosen before May 25, 2012.
Book Options
Title
Author
Cost on Amazon
Assassination Vacation
Sarah Vowell
$10.20
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Jared Diamond
$12.24
Drive
Daniel Pink
$9.60
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
$10.87
Freakonomics
S. Leavitt and S. Dubner
$10.99
Getting Away with Murder*
Chris Crowe
$12.91
Grant*
Jean Edward Smith
$14.96
Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know
Alexandra Horowitz
$10.88
The Majesty of Law
Sandra Day O’Connor
$10.60
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinventing*
Manning Marable
$11.62
Nickeled and Dimed
Barbara Ehrenrich
$10.20
Profiles in Courage*
John F. Kennedy
$7.37
Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea
Guy Delsisle
$9.76
Spook
Mary Roach
$10.17
Sugar Changed the World
Marc Aronson
$13.60
They Called Themselves the KKK*
Susan Campbel Bartoletti
$12.82
You Couldn’t Ignore Me if You Tried
Susannah Gora
$11.25
*Crosses with AP US History Book List
Summer Writing Component
Directions: One of the options must be completed for each of the four books you have read. You may do the
same option for each one or different options for all of them. The writing component must be typed and
formatted in 2009 MLA Style. Hand-written copies will not be accepted. Any references used must be cited
internally and be accompanied by a Works Cited page. Failure to cite sources is a violation of academic
honesty and will result in a failing grade.
Option A
Identify the central argument of the book, then agree with the claim, argue the claim, or qualify the claim by
saying when it is accurate and when it is inaccurate. Provide evidence from history, literature, current events, or
personal experience. No outside sources are required beyond the book you read, but you may use them as
needed to provide evidence.
Option B
Persuasive writing can appeal to emotion, logic or morals and values. Appeals to morals and values are called
ethos; appeals to emotions are called pathos; appeals to logic and reason are called logos. Discuss the balance
or imbalance of logos, pathos, and ethos in the book you read, citing specific bits of the book as evidence. No
outside sources are required.
*Option C
Write a book review. Do you recommend this book to other readers? Why or why not? Make this book review
look professional. It should not be a simple summary of the book. Research book reviews online to find
examples of phrasing.
Option D
Do some creative writing that engages an issue presented in the book. For example, you could create a story or
short film with characters whose setting, conflicts, attitude, or goals reflect the content of the book you read.
You could write a poem or a series of poems that make arguments about the issue explored in the book you
read. Whatever kind of text you write, include an explanation that links your creative work back to the book
you read. Explain how your work is related to the author’s work.
Option E
This is an open option. Prove any opinion about any aspect of the book you read. No outside sources are
required.
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Am I eligible to take AP classes?
Students enrolled in 10th and 11th Grade for the 2012-2013 school year are eligible to take AP English
Language and Composition. In order to be admitted to the class, students must complete the summer reading
assignment while on summer break. A teacher-constructed test will be administered the first or second week of
school to determine if that student has the skills necessary to succeed in an AP course. Students are limited to
taking two college-level courses during the school year.