Dear Junior AP Language and Composition Students and Parents/Guardians:
Welcome to AP Language and Composition. The AP English Language course emphasizes a mix of politics, history, social sciences,
current events, fiction, and non-fiction prose. This class is different from most English classes you have taken before; it will ask you to
analyze writing, develop sound reasoning and argumentation, as well as examine the power of language.
Part I Instructions: In addition to reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and completing the novel’s assignment, you will need
to complete the following two assignments prior to the first day of class. Please complete this activity prior to reading the novel because
it will help you complete the assignment associated with the book.
1. Read and annotate chapter 1 of The Language of Composition. This chapter will introduce you to the rhetorical situation (you
need to know what this term means!), the appeals of ethos, logos, and pathos, and determining effective vs. ineffective
rhetoric. These elements are the foundation to the AP Language and Composition course.
o In chapter 1, there are 11 activities. Complete the five of the activities PLUS the culminating activity as you read
(6 activities total). Your responses don't have to be lengthy; however, they do need to completely address all parts of
each question. Your responses should be typed in MLA format and edited.
2. Familiarize yourself with Tone Vocabulary list. You will need to make flashcards and memorize the definitions. On the first day
of class, we will have a quiz over those tone words. For the quiz, you will be asked to read a passage from your summer novel
and determine which tone is being used. You’ll have to justify your answer.
Part II Instructions: Over the summer, we want you to read and write about our first book—Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by
Jonathan Safran Foer. Because it is a contemporary fiction piece, we believe you will find this book a captivating read. You will be
responsible for having read this material when you start AP Language in the fall. Additionally, we ask that you do not substitute the
movie for the book because the movie adaptation is NOT accurate to the text.
As you read the book, write a quote log about important passages, key events, and characters. Find 5 important passages spread
throughout the book. Type your quotes in MLA format and comment on the passage’s importance. Here are some questions to
consider when responding to your selected quotes:
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What seems important about a passage?
What does the passage reveal about a character or theme?
What key words or images seem important in the passage?
How does this passage support Foer’s purpose?
After you finish reading and annotating the novel, answer the following questions. Provide an explanation for each response with
supporting evidence from the text. (This is NOT an essay! Simply answer each question with a short response.):
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Who is his audience?
What is the purpose of this text? (i.e.: What is Foer’s intention for writing this novel? What message is he trying to send to his
audience?)
Trace the tone of the novel from the beginning to the middle to the end. Does the tone change throughout the novel? How do
you know?
All portions of this assignment are due at the beginning of class on the first day of school.
If you have any questions about the assignment, please contact Sarah Ogborn at sogborn@sequoits.com or Jamie D’Andrea at
jdandrea@sequoits.com. We encourage parents/guardians to read along with their students and engage in discussion. If you would like
more information about the summer reading selection, please contact our department chair, Dee Andershock, at
dandershock@sequoits.com.
Have a wonderful summer!
Sarah Ogborn and Jamie D’Andrea
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Advanced Placement -- Language
Developing A Tone Vocabulary
admi ring--complimenta ry, favorable
ala rmed--excited
allusive--suggestive, hinting
aloof--haughty, distant
ambivalent--indecisive, having mixed emotions
angry--irate
anxious--uneasy, brooding
apathetic--uncaring. uninvolved
apologetic--regretful
audacious--bold. insolent
belligerent--contentious
benevolent--kindly
bitter--hating. malicious, resentful, rancorous
candid--frank, truthful
captious--ready to detect trivial faults
censorious--severely critical, condemnatory
clinical--detached, coolly dispassionate
cold--unemotional
complacent--self-satisfied, smug
condescending--showing superiority, patronizing
confident--certain, full of conviction
confused--perplexed, disconcerted
contemptuous--scornful, disdainful, disrespectful,
irrelevant
critical--judging harshly
cynical--contemptuously distrustful of human nature
and motives, misanthropic delirious--suggesting frenzied excitement depressed--dej ected desperate--showing a loss of hope detached.,-unconcerned, aloof, distant, ~nbiased didactic":-instructive dispasslonate--unaffected by strong feeling; showing coolness of judgment dogmatic--authoritative, assertive. arrogant dreamy--vague, in a state of reverie, appearing tranquil effusive--exce,ssivelydemonstrative, gushing elated--joyful; happy elegiac--expressing sorrow fanclful--whimsical flippant--Iacking proper respect or seriousness
forgiving--pardoning, eXCUSing
frivolous--Iacking seriousness. playful. silly
giddy--lightheartedly silly
hesitant--reluctant
impartial--unbiased, objective
impassioned--ardent, fervent, fervid
importunate--overly persistent in demand
incredulous--not believing
indignant--showing anger at injustice
insolent--arrogant, overbearing, impudent
ironic--expressing the opposite of literal meaning
irreverent--disrespectful
jocular--joking, humorous
lugubrious--disma', mournful matter-of-fact--concerned with fact only, not imaginative or fanciful; objective melancholy--depressed, dejected, sad optimistic--inclined to expect the best possible outcome
/' -"­
pedantic--narrowly or unimaginatively academic;
ostentatiously learned
pessimistic--inclined to expect the worst possible
outcome, fatalistic
pompous--arrogant, self-important
puerif,,--childish. juvenile
pungenl--caustic, stinging, biting
restrained--reserved
sardonic--disdainfully humorous. sarcastic
satirical-ridiculing, ironic, mOCking. taunting
sentimental--affectedly emotional, maudlin
skeptical--questioning, doubting
somber-serious,'solemn, gloomy, grave, melanchol
supercilious--haughtily contemptuous
sympathetic--favoring, pitying
tongue-In-cheek--ironic, facetious. sarcastic
threatening--menacing
urgent--urging insistently, earnest
vexed--annoyed, agitated
vlndictive--vengeful, spiteful, vicious
zealous";,,eager, passionate, fervent