AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION SUMMER READING
BOOK ASSIGNMENT: Choose a nonfiction or fiction text from the list below; read it over the summer, and
complete each of the written assignments for your chosen book.
NONFICTION SELECTIONS:
 The Warrior Woman: Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston
 Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
 The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr
 Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior by Temple Grandin and
Catherine Johnson
 Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
FICTION SELECTIONS:
 Last of the Breed by Louis L’Amour
 Native Son by Richard Wright
 I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak
 A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Assignments for Your Nonfiction or Fiction Choice (These assignments should be ready to turn in to your
teacher on the day of your summer reading assessment.) ALL OF YOUR NOTES MUST BE IN YOUR OWN
HANDWRITING—NOT TYPED.
1. Top 10 Sentences—Select ten examples of interesting syntax* from the text. For each example:
• Write the sentence, complete with page number citation in MLA format.
• Analyze the use of this sentence in the context of the text.
• Write your own sentence in the same syntactical structure.
*Examples of unusual syntax:
•
•
“Brother, continue to listen. You say that you are sent to instruct us how to worship the Great Spirit agreeably to his
mind; and, if we do not take hold of the religion which you white people teach, we shall be unhappy hereafter. You
say that you are right and we are lost. How do we know this to be true?” –Chief Red Jacket, “Chief Red Jacket
Rejects a Change of Religion” (repetition of the phrase “you say” in order to reflect that the Native American chief
sees the white man as an outsider and cares little for his opinion.)
“I slowed still more, my shadow pacing me, dragging its head through the weeds that hid the fence.” –William
Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury (Faulkner uses commas in his sentence to slow down the sentence and reflect on
what the character is doing—walking slowly to somewhere he does not want to go.)
2. Analysis Chart—If you selected a novel, use the TPCASTT chart provided. If you read a nonfiction work,
complete the SOAPSTone chart.
“KNOW STUFF” ARTICLE ASSIGNMENT—In order to be critical members of society (and successful
in AP English Language), you have to know what is going on in the world around you. You also need to know
that “just the facts” can be considerably more or less the facts, depending on what the news source would you like
you to believe. So, throughout the course of the summer, choose an article each week—they must be dated from
five different weeks—and write a short (one or two paragraphs) rhetorical analysis of the item. Follow the steps
below for each of your five articles.
1. Find a current news item—NOT an opinion piece.
2. Write a short rhetorical analysis of the item (a brief summary of the article with at least two direct quotations;
include an analysis of the writer’s/article’s bias). Consider that a writer may have bias. A writer may be
biased toward or against something. You must carefully read a biased writer.
3. You must rotate among conservative, liberal, and non-US news sources (see the list to the right).
4. You may choose a news source not on the list, but it must be reputable—if in doubt, just clear it with me first.
NEWS SOURCES FROM WHICH YOU MAY CHOOSE:
Conservative:
Wall Street Journal
Fox News
Christian Science Monitor
The Weekly Standard
The Washington Times
Foreign:
BBC (British)
The Guardian (British)
Deutsch Welle (German)
NRC Handelsblad (Dutch)
Liberal:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The New Republic
NPR
Salon
Slate
MSNBC
NBC/CBS/ABC
CNN (?)
The New York Times
Newsweek
KNOW STUFF TEMPLATE
Consider the template below as you analyze your articles. The paragraph with blanks is to give you an idea of
sentence starters. You don’t have to follow it exactly.
 Title of Article
 Source and Type of Source (foreign, liberal, conservative)
 Date of Article
Through _____________________ and _____________________, this article shows _____________________ bias.
This bias first appears _____________________, when the author states _____________________. This implies
_____________________. Next, this bias is revealed in _____________________ when (the author) writes
_____________________. This suggests _____________________ and hints at _____________________, making the
reader believe _____________________. The _____________________ bias can also be seen in the way the author
_____________________, suggesting that _____________________. Had the author chosen to
_____________________, then the reader might conclude _____________________, but as it is written, the reader is
led to believe that _____________________. Although words such as _____________________ and
_____________________ suggest a tone of _____________________, these choices actually contribute to the
impression that _____________________, because _____________________. In fact, _____________________.
Furthermore, _____________________. The story ends with _____________________ pointing to
_____________________ as _____________________. By _____________________, the author ensures
_____________________.
Tips:
1. Sometimes it helps to read two articles from different types of sources in order to know where to look for differences in how the
topic is being treated. So, consider reading two, and analyzing one each week.
2. Avoid articles that focus on local news. Look for news about controversial topics—politics, war, economy, politics, and
politics.
3. Some articles by the Associated Press are run in both “liberal” and “conservative” news sources. But, the news sources pick and
choose—so, if an article appears only in one type of source, ask yourself, “why”? If the article were to appear in both types of
sources, does that mean it’s perfectly balanced?
TPCASTT Analysis Chart
Title of Novel: ______________________________________________________________________________
T
Title—What is your first impression of the title?
P
Paraphrase—paraphrase a significant paragraph from the novel. (Write the page number after your
paraphrase and explain why the passage is significant. Remember that paraphrasing means rewording the
authors’ words using your own diction and syntax. Your paraphrase should be close to the same word length as
the original and should demonstrate a complete understanding of the author’s meaning.)
C
Connotation—list three examples of the author’s use of figurative language and interesting word choice.
A
Attitude—list three strong adjectives to describe the author’s tone (attitude); think complexity. After
each adjective, cite phrases from the novel that demonstrate the tonal word.
S
Shifts—Identify and discuss at least two interesting shifts that relate to the work’s tone. Consider irony,
sentence structure, changes in diction, or unusual punctuation.
T
Title—What is your final impression of the novel’s title? Be analytical.
T
Theme—What is the author trying to say about the human experience, motivation, or condition through
this novel?
SOAPSTone
A Method for Analyzing Text
Title: ___________________________________________ Author: __________________________________
Claim with Textual Support
Speaker: the individual or collective
voice of the text
Occasion: the time and place setting;
Larger occasion: an environment of
ideas, attitudes, and emotions that swirl
around a broad issue.
Immediate occasion: an event or situation
that catches the writer's attention and
triggers a response.
Audience: the group of readers to
whom the piece is directed
Purpose: the reason behind the text;
its claim or what the author wants his
or her audience to think/do as a result
of reading the text
Subject: the general topic and/or main
idea (this should be very broad—just
a couple of words)
Tone: the attitude of the author
(affected by diction, syntax, and
Figurative language)
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