This summer, you are required to complete the following assignments. You must complete assignments sufficiently. You will be graded on the quality of your answers. Work must be typed. If you do not complete ALL work, you will be removed from AP English. You must have your work with you on the first day of school.
Task:
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Select and read TEN editorial columns from a newspaper such as The New
York Times or The Washington Post.
Cut and paste all of these columns on pieces of paper or print them from the electronic version of the paper on the internet. Be sure to include a variety of authors. Some suggestions include: Ellen Goodman, Bob Herbert, Charles
Krauthammer, Maureen Dowd, Leonard Pitts Jr., and William Safire. Their works can be found online through The Miami Herald, The New York Times ,
The Washington Post , etc. The ten editorials must be turned in!
Annotate (take notes) on FIVE of the ten editorials—these will be graded so be sure your annotations are thorough. There are many websites which give explanations on how to annotate.
Next, write a brief (one paragraph or so) response to each of the five editorials that you annotated. You either must defend, challenge, or qualify the author’s viewpoint. The term “qualify” in this context means that you may agree on some points made in the article and disagree on others. For example, “yes, but…” or “no, however…” Whether you defend (agree), challenge (disagree) or qualify, make your position clear.
Also in your written response, comment on the tone of the editorial and what type of diction the writer uses to achieve that tone. If you are not familiar with any of these terms you can look them up online.
Write your responses on separate sheets of paper. At least ONE response should be a “challenge” or disagreement with the author.
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ASSIGNMENT # 2
Select and read one of the following memoirs:
Hunger of Memory —Richard Rodriquez
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books —Azar Nafisi
When I Was Puerto Rican —Esmeralda Santiago
The Liar’s Club —Mary Kaar
Brother I’m Dying —Edwidge Danticat
Rocket Boys: A Memoir —Homer H. Hickam
Growing Up – Russell Baker
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings —Maya Angelou
Girl, Interrupted —Susanna Kaysen
Angela’s Ashes —Frank McCourt
If I Die in a Combat Zone —Tim O’Brien
Lucky —Alice Sebold
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance —Barack Obama
The Glass Castle —Jeannette Walls
Fat Girl —Judith Moore
Assignment:
Create a reading portfolio as you read the book. This will help you practice the close reading techniques and critical reading skills you need to master AP (college-level)
English assessments. The AP English curriculum requires you to comprehend much more than just what happens. You must work to understand and provide written and oral commentary on how the author uses diction and style to convey meaning.
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The Tasks:
Read through the entire assignment before starting this project so that you understand each part of the assignment before you begin.
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Complete portfolio assignments as you read . the book. Since the assignment requires a close reading of the text, the information you must collect cannot be found in movies, plot summaries, or
Sparknotes. Use of these aides are not permitted.
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You will need a portfolio to add and rearrange entries as you respond to reading.
You will not be able to complete the tasks in order! Task #1, for example, will probably not be the first task you complete. Since the symbol you choose must be important to the overall work, this task will probably be one of the last ones you complete. Also, you may find a striking image in the first paragraph of the book and complete task #5 first.
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Write the “category” in big, bold letters on the first line of every page. Write the number of the task in the upper left corner of each page.
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CITE PAGE NUMBERS FOR ITEMS ON EACH PAGE , except “Symbol” (#2)
“Theme” (#12), “Personal Response” (#18)
Prepare your tas ks as follows:
Task #1: BIBLIOGRAPHIC ENTRY. On the lined side, write a bibliographic entry for the work. Use Modern Language Association (MLA) style. (Websites abound with MLA style instructions, examples, and even MLA entry
“generators.”)
Task #2: VISUAL SYMBOL. Find a visual symbol important to the work. Explain the symbol and tell why you think the author chose to use that symbol and its significance to the overall work. Write in complete sentences.
Task #3 : SETTING. Identify at least 10 phrases or descriptions that identify the setting of the novel. They may describe time, place, region, or atmosphere.
Use bulleted phrases.
Tasks #4, #5, and #6: STRIKING IMAGES, IDEAS, EVENTS, OBJECTS,
PHRASES, WORDS. From the work, choose five items that seem significant or striking – for example, an image, an event, an idea, an object or thing, a phrase, a word. For each, state the context of the item (what it refers to) and why you think it is significant. Use complete sentences. (example: “papermache Mephistopheles” (p 23) –refers to the bricklayer who never lays any bricks; Marlow describes him as empty and shallow—the devil’s agent, representing the evils of imperialism.
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Task #7: FIGURES OF SPEECH. Find an example of each figures of speech in the book (metaphor, simile, personification, irony, hyperbole, symbol, allusion) (a)
Record the example, (b) identify the technique, (c)explain its meaning in context of the book. Refer to
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http://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/williams/figofspe.htm
for definitions and examples.
Task #8: RHETORICAL TECHNIQUE. Find an example of a rhetorical technique
(rhetorical question, parallelism, repetition, euphemism, anaphora, tautology, paradox, antithesis, and parenthesis). Try to find one of each.
Refer to http://www.virtualsalt.com/rhetoric.htm
for definitions and examples.
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Record the example
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Identify the techniques
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Explain how it is used for “effect” (more than saying it another way).
Task #9: RECURRING MOTIFS/ARCHETYPES. Identify at least one recurring motif (Think about color, objects, events, things, animals). Cite at least 3 occurrences (don’t forget to cite page numbers). Briefly state the context of the occurrence (what is it about, what’s happening with it). Then, write a sentence or two stating how the use of the motif is connected to meaning.
Task #10: RHETORICAL RESPONSE. Identify one of the following appeals in the novel; provide specific evidence:
• ethos —appeals to the audience’s sense of ethics/character
• pathos —appeals to the feelings and emotions of the audience to change their attitudes)
• logos —appeals to the audience’s reason.
Refer to http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/04/
for rhetorical appeals.
Task #11: STRUCTURE.
Explain how the work is put together (the architecture of the work) and what effect this structure has on the work as a whole.
Task #12: THEME. State what you consider to be the meaning of the work as a whole. Explain your observation with details from the novel. Write in complete sentences.
Tasks#13-17: KEY PASSAGES. Choose one of the characters in the novel that you find intriguing or interesting and find five key textual references (phrase, sentence, paragraph, excerpt) significant to character development. Copy the passage correctly (quotation marks, cite page number) and explain what the passage reveals about the character (appearance, beliefs, thoughts and feelings, attitudes, changes, etc.). Write in complete sentences. Make sure to represent the beginning, middle, and end of the book (example: “he had the pose of a Buddha” (p.4) – allusion. The allusion describes Marlow’s sitting position and even his trance-like state while he is telling his story. It also identifies him as someone unusual and different from the rest of the crew.).
Task #18: PERSONAL RESPONSE. Write about your impression of the book, after you have completed the reading and the other tasks. Consider your
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emotional reaction, positive and negative factors, connections to your own interests and experiences. DO NOT SIMPLY GIVE A THUMBS-UP,
THUMBS-DOWN RECOMMENDATION! Write in complete sentences.
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