AP Literature & Composition – Summer Reading and Essay Guidelines Doctor Faustus​
by Christopher Marlowe and ​
Ethan Frome​
by Edith Wharton Due Date st​
Soft Date​
: AUGUST 1​
, emailed before midnight to your instructor. If you get it in prior to August 1st your instructor will give feedback on the content of your essay. This isn’t a grammar check. Official Due Date​
: AUGUST 24th, emailed before midnight to your instructor. We will be going through your essays during the first weeks of class, and in order to receive credit you need to have it turned in by AUGUST 24th. Submit your essay to Mr. Weber at ​
jweber@kenoshatjoseph.com​
. Texts Doctor Faustus1 by Christopher Marlowe and ​
Ethan Frome​
by Edith Wharton *Students are ​
not​
required to turn in annotated copies of the texts; however, annotating is beneficial. *There will be a comprehension test on these texts during the first week of class. The Topic Your essay should reflect on the following questions: ● What is the nature of redemption? ● How are the main characters both protagonists (in the sense that they undergo a fundamental change) and antagonists (in terms of their happiness, well­being, and soul)? ● How can Faust and Ethan be considered “Tragic Heroes”? How to Begin As you read, write margin notes and mark up your book. Will this be collected? No. Your main concern is: What is the proper way to assimilate reading and aid understanding? A well annotated text is a very helpful aid. Relying on memory alone is always a poor strategy. As you read ​
Doctor Faustus ​
and ​
Ethan Frome​
, summarize for yourself each chapter/scene before moving on to the next. Seeing as these stories deal with a fantasy culture, ancient culture and mythology, and current­ish events, ask yourself the following for each of the chapters: a) What is going on? b) Do I understand every reference? Have I looked up any foreign language phrases? c) Can I explain all of the cultural references? d) How have the events shaped the protagonist? e) What are some of the potential archetypes and symbols? Read with Subject in Mind As you read look for references in both texts that relate to the subject of ​
A Tragic Hero and Redemption​
. You will eventually narrow down this broad subject to something specific. The more specific you are the less you will ramble in your essay. In a short essay like this you need to be able to get to the point quickly. To help you with this you will use quotes from the novels to help you argue for or against the author. 1
also referred to as ​
​
The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus
Your essay should follow MLA formatting and citation guidelines with the following elements: ● Header ● Page numbers ● A purposeful, well­thought out ​
title ● An ​
introduction ​
paragraph that introduces your analysis rather than a summary of the book ● A ​
thesis ​
statement at the end of your introduction ● Several ​
body paragraphs​
that showcase your interpretation of the prompt ● A ​
conclusion ​
paragraph ● Quotes ​
from the book included in your essay (between 10­15% should be quotes) ● A ​
Works Cited​
page ● Times New Roman, 12 pt font, 1 inch margins ______________________________________________________________ Tips and Writing Mechanics A common error in essays is to simply retell or summarize the storyline. Summarizing is not an essay and your grade will reflect this. Go beyond summarization and the book report format. Your instructor knows the story and he assumes you do too. Only bring up key passages as referential points as you defend or argue against the author’s points made in the novel. Make the essay your own with your insights and your analysis. For this paper it might be helpful for you to start the body of your essay by defining key events from the books and how they fit into your thesis. Type a titled, ​
3­4 full­page​
critical essay critiquing ​
Doctor Faustus ​
and ​
Ethan Frome​
in MLA format. This is not a book report and you do not need to summarize the books. Again, assume that we’ve all read the two books. With such a short essay you should worry less about filling up space and more about making sure the space you are filling is worthwhile and very carefully crafted. You have more than enough material to work with, and you could probably write a full doctoral dissertation on this prompt; however, you are only writing 3­4 pages. Choose your words carefully. Finally, lastly, title the essay. Titles are not afterthoughts. Work with your title. Superb titles usually evidence superb writing. A title like ​
Doctor Faustus Compared to Ethan Frome​
does not show complex thought about the topic. Prove that you have read the books and spent considerable time thinking about them. For MLA Formatting, the Purdue OWL Website is the most recognized and up to date: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ Short excerpts (less than 2 lines) of key passages are to be cited as “..…” (Wharton 52). Quotes should neither play a minor nor a major part of your overall essay, but they should be present. For a 3­4 page essay you will probably have anywhere from 4­6 short quotes or 10­15% of your overall essay. Try hard to not have hanging quotes or long quotes for the sake of a long quote (see OWL for more explanation on that). If you have questions, Mr. Weber (​
jweber@kenoshastjoseph.com​
) will periodically check his email throughout the summer. He will probably respond faster if you also offer to mow his lawn or bake him cookies. He loves oatmeal butterscotch cookies. ​
There will also be an optional summer meeting to discuss the books and questions regarding your essay: probably mid­July.