2015-2016 12th GRADE AP ENGLISH: LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION
SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT
BACKGROUND AND EXPECTATIONS:
The AP English: Literature and Composition course aligns to an introductory college-level literary analysis
course. The course engages students in the close reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature to
deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure. As they
read, students consider a work’s structure, style, and themes, as well as its use of figurative language, imagery,
symbolism, and tone. Writing assignments include expository, analytical, and argumentative essays that
require students to analyze and interpret literary works. The course is designed to help students become
skilled readers and writers through engagement with the following course requirements:
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Reading complex imaginative literature (fiction, drama, and poetry) appropriate for college-level
study.
Writing an interpretation of a piece of literature that is based on a careful observation of textual
details, considering the work’s structure, style, and themes; the social and historical values it reflects
and embodies; and such elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone.
Composing in several forms (e.g., narrative, expository, analytical, and argumentative essays) based
on students’ analyses of literary texts
Writing that proceeds through several stages or drafts, with revision aided by teacher and peers.
Writing informally (e.g., response journals, textual annotations, collaborative writing), which helps
students better understand the texts they are reading.
Revising their work to develop A wide-ranging vocabulary used appropriately and effectively;
A variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of subordination and coordination;
Logical organization, enhanced by techniques such as repetition, transitions, and emphasis;
A balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail; and
An effective use of rhetoric, including tone, voice, diction, and sentence structure.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
1. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
2. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
3. A work by one of the AP Literature approved authors (not currently read in the Parkland curriculum)
listed on the following page.
Students may sign out copies of Hamlet and Brave New World from the PHS library. Online
copies of the text can also be obtained through Amazon or iBooks (on Apple devices), though fees
may apply. Also, free online versions of these texts can be found at the following links:
Hamlet- http://shakespeare.mit.edu/hamlet/full.html
Brave New World- http://www.idph.com.br/conteudos/ebooks/BraveNewWorld.pdf
ASSIGNMENT:
After reading the books, you will take a portion of the AP exam that involves 50 multiple-choice questions,
one in-class writing analysis and one in-class essay. You will have the opportunity to learn the expectations
before the assessments.
AP LITERATURE SELECTIONS:
Age of Innocence
All The Pretty Horses
Angela’s Ashes
A Passage to India
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Atonement
Beloved
Bless Me, Ultima
Catch-22
Cat’s Eye
Ceremony
Crime and Punishment
The Cherry Orchard
East of Eden
Ethan Frome
Fences
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Great Expectations
Heart of Darkness
Jane Eyre
King Lear
Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Madame Bovary
Medea
The Member of the Wedding
Moby Dick
Mrs. Dalloway
My Antonia
Out of Africa
Persuasion
Portrait of a Lady
The Piano Lesson
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
The Tempest
Things Fall Apart
To the Lighthouse
Song of Solomon
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Wide Sargasso Sea
Winter’s Tale
Woman Warrior
Wuthering Heights