SOUTHERN ALAMANCE HIGH SCHOOL
June 2014
To: English IV Advanced Placement Students 2014-2015
From: Heather Holt and Chrissy Stein, SAHS English Department
Re: Summer Reading
According to our records, you have signed up for English IV AP. The purpose of Advanced Placement English
is not only to prepare you to pass the AP test in the spring of 2015, but also to help you develop skills
equivalent to those learned in college literature and rhetoric courses. Perhaps most importantly, the skills you
develop and hone in AP English will make your freshman year in college a more comfortable experience. We
expect everyone who signed up for AP English IV to take the AP exam. This is a most challenging course,
which requires the study and analysis of both British Literature and other works of literary merit. If you feel
you have been misplaced, you need to see guidance to change your class schedule by June 30. Do not wait
until we return to school at which point you will be expected to stay in the classes for which you enrolled.
In order for you to read all the material necessary, you are required to read Grapes of Wrath by John
Steinbeck and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba (the common read for all
SAHS Honors/AP students this year). While you are reading, take notes, note literary devices, write
questions, ect… You will take an AP level exam which includes essay questions for BOTH texts the first
week of school, regardless of which semester you have AP English! Failure to complete detailed readings
will result in failure and confusion. Failure to take the tests within the first week will also result in a zero.
Copies of Grapes of Wrath are stored at Southern HS. If you would like to borrow one of our copies, please
come to the Southern HS office ASAP to secure a copy on a first come first serve basis. Otherwise, you may
purchase it at any local bookstore. Often, used book stores have adequate copies as well. The common read
text must be purchased.
We are asking that you write a college application essay as well. Research colleges in which you are interested
and choose ANY topic they may suggest. If no topics are given, DESCRIBE HOW AN EXPERIENCE, A
RELATIONSHIP, A CHALLENGE, OR AN OBSTACLE IN YOUR LIFE HAS INFLUENCED YOU AND
WHAT IT HAS TAUGHT YOU. Be sure to include the essay topic/question as your title. Essays should be
typed, two to three pages, size 12, with regular font. This essay will also be due the first day of school so it may
be returned promptly to help you finalize your college applications.
Lastly, we are asking you to familiarize yourself with the AP Literary Terms by creating a 4X6” flashcard
for each of the terms listed on the back of this sheet. Each word needs to appear on the front of a card with the
definition on the back. If you have your own personal definition, use that one but look it up to ensure you are
correct; we will add literary examples to these notecards throughout the semester. These are also due on the
first day of school.
Have a great summer as you prepare for a successful senior year.
heather_holt@abss.k12.nc.us
and
chrissy_stein@abss.k12.nc.us
DUE AUGUST 25, 2014: College Essay and Literary Note Cards
DUE WEEK of AUGUST 25, 2014: AP Literature EXAMs for both texts
AP Literature and Composition: Literary Terms
Allegory
Alliteration
Allusion
Ambiguity
Amplification
Anachronism
Analogy
Anagram
Analysis
Anaphora
Anastrophe
Anecdote
Anthropomorphism
Antagonist
Antimetabole
Antithesis
Aphorism
Apologia
Apostrophe
Archetype
Argument(ation)
Assonance
Assumption
Asyndeton
Audience
Blank Verse
Characterization
Chiasmus
Circumlocution
Classicism
Cliché
Climax
Colloquialism
Comedy
Conceit
Conflict
Connotation
Consonance
Contrast
Denotation
Denouement
Deus ex Machina
Dialect
Dialectics
Dichotomy
Diction
Didactic
Dogmatic
Elegy
End stopped
Enjambment
Epic
Epigram
Epilogue
Epitaph
Epithet
Euphemism
Euphony
Evocative (evocation)
Existentialism
Exposition
Expressionism
Fable
Fallacy
Falling Action
Farce
Figurative Language
Flashback
Foil
Folk Tale
Foreshadowing
Frame
Free Verse
Genre
Gothic Tale
Hubris
Hyperbole
Iambic Pentameter
Imagery
Implication
Incongruity
Inference
In medias res
Irony
Interior Monologue
Inversion
Juxtaposition
Litotes
Lyric
Magic(al) Realism
Metaphor (extended, controlling, and
mixed)
Metaphysical
Metonymy
Mode of Discourse
Modernism
Monologue
Mood
Motif
Myth
Narrative
Narrator
Naturalism
Novelette/Novella
Omniscient Point of View
Onomatopoeia
Oxymoron
Pacing
Parable
Paradox
Parallelism
Parody
Pathos
Pedantry
Personification
Plot
Poignant
Point of View
Postmodernism
Prose
Protagonist
Pun
Purpose
Realism
Refrain
Requiem
Resolution
Restatement
Rhetoric
Rhetorical Question
Rhyme/Rime
Rhyme Scheme
Rising Action
Romanticism
Satire/Sarcasm
Scansion
Setting
Simile
Soliloquy
Sonnet
Spiritual
Speaker
Stereotype
Stream of Consciousness
Structure
Style
Subordination
Surrealism
Suspension of Disbelief
Symbol
Synesthesia
Synecdoche
Syntax
Theme
Thesis
Tone
Tongue in Cheek
Tragedy
Understatement
Verisimilitude
Vernacular
Voice