AP English Language & Composition / AP English 11
Summer Reading Assignments
Important Summer Assignment Dates:
•
•
•
July 15th: Deadline to submit nonfiction choice
1st day of school (even if class doesn’t meet—bring it to me): nonfiction assignment due, TTTC quiz
2nd day of class: The Things They Carried essay test
As preparation for the rigorous effort required in an Advanced Placement composition course, you will be required
not only to read two summer reading books but also to articulate thoughtful responses to ideas in those books.
START ON THESE ASSIGNMENTS EARLY!
This set of assignments is your first impression as an AP English student. These are also the first few grades for the
semester. If you have any questions, please e-mail me. I will try to respond as soon as possible.
Part I: Nonfiction Choice
Your mission is to seek out a nonfiction book that is worthy of college-level study—a book that you can savor and
enjoy—a book that you can envision using as a prop to introduce yourself. Read your thoughtfully selected work
and create an impressive packet that leaves us both smiling.
Please remember, this is a college-level course. Therefore, your book selection should be appropriate for a collegelevel course. If you are unsure of the appropriateness of your book selection, please e-mail me to gain approval.
I have created a list of suggestions below, but I encourage you to actively explore and select a book that may not
be featured here. Many of these texts are available in our school and city libraries.
Speak with your parents/caregivers about your reading selection. Some of the books on this list may not be within
the scope of the values in some homes, and if this is a concern, a talk will prevent any future misunderstanding.
Check out book descriptions/summaries on Amazon, Goodreads, and the New York Times archive.
You must submit your nonfiction book choice to me via e-mail (summer.upton@opelikaschools.org)
NO LATER THAN July 15th.
The purpose of our study of these nonfiction books is threefold:
•
•
•
To become more familiar with nonfiction texts (This course is based on a nonfiction model.)
To become more comfortable articulating thoughtful responses to literature
To expand our thinking in order to view familiar topics in new ways
Your assignment for your nonfiction book has several parts:
1) Use post-it notes to mark passages as you read. Every time you encounter a particularly important,
provocative, dramatic, surprising, even disturbing passage, mark it with a post-it note. Only when you have
completed the novel will you look at all those passages (and all the sticky notes!) and decide which to
analyze. When you are done reading your book, you will select 8 passages from the novel. (Beginning,
Middle and End) Copy the passages down (including page numbers) and then write about each passage in
the following ways. Passages/quotes must be from throughout the entire novel. Your project will be
considered incomplete if you only have quotes from the first half of the novel.
2) First, in a well written paragraph explain how each passage “fits” into the novel. Discuss the importance of
the passage to the book’s message, meaning or theme. Also, react to the passage as a reader. Help me
understand WHY you have selected this passage. Incorporate text support into your analysis. To generate
responses, you can consider the following as suggested prompts or questions:
• Why does the passage impress, intrigue, horrify, or puzzle you?
• Do you find the author’s use of language appealing or powerful? Does the passage jump off the
page as a great descriptive passage?
• Does it prompt a strong response from you as you read it? Does it present itself as so well-crafted
that you just love the sound of it? Is the language beautiful, descriptive, graphic?
• Is it particularly meaningful? Is it a high point in the book?
• Do you find yourself in agreement/disagreement with the ideas expressed?
AP English Language & Composition / AP English 11
Summer Reading Assignments
• Does the passage remind you of a situation you have lived as well?
• Does the passage make you laugh out loud or make you melancholy or make you something else?
• Does the author raise intriguing questions or issues?
• Does the passage challenge or expand your thinking?
You are not limited to the above list, nor do I expect you to answer all of the above. However, your
responses to the passages should clearly explain to me WHY these passages mean something to you, WHY
these passages caught your attention, and HOW these passages propel the author’s overall purpose of the
novel. Also, be reasonably concise. Find a balance between quantity and quality in your writing.
3) Then, select ANOTHER passage (NOT one of the above 8) as “The Quote of the Book.” This should be that
one passage that captures the essence – the true meaning – of the book for you, the reader. In a well
written paragraph explain exactly HOW this passage is the one perfect quote from the book. Think of this
as the one passage that you would absolutely want saved should your book ever be lost or destroyed.
4) Next, you need to write a REFLECTIVE LETTER (no more than one paragraph) about reading this book
and creating your quotes paper. Write to me about the thoughts, feelings, observations, and new insights
you experienced while reading it. Some ideas to think about for your letter:
• Tell me what you worked on the hardest or struggled with in doing this assignment
• Share with me what you think you did well: what worked, really worked
• Show me where you were drawn into the novel and where you were pulled away from the novel.
• Identify in your opinion the author’s – or the story’s – greatest strength and weakness
• Discuss in what ways the novel is similar to your life
• Explore what value, besides entertainment, this book has
• Share your overall impressions of the novel
• Discuss if you found yourself changing your mind about the book and/or the assignment
• Tell me what you think you need to focus on for the next novel assignment
• How this assignment helped sharpen your skills of literary analysis
Your REFLECTIVE LETTER is your chance to “talk” with me about your book, your project, and your
experiences in completing this assignment. With your letter, make me see your work – and your learning –
through your eyes.
5) Finally, create a cover page to tie your assignment together. To help me assess your ability to effectively
analyze a visual text, please include a cover page with a visual that you think captures some important
aspect of your selected book. You can arrange the cover page as creatively as you want, but be sure to
cite your source and include your name. In addition write a fully-developed paragraph of insightful analysis
discussing the significance of this visual. The paragraph may be included on the cover page or on the page
that follows. It is okay if this analysis ends up being a synthesis of information you’ve gleaned from any of
the other sections. (For instance you may integrate one or more of you selected quotes/explanations.)
You will be graded on the thoughtfulness of your responses, not necessarily length of writing or grammar and
mechanics. I am grading to see that you are thinking about what you have read and connecting ideas to a larger
context (your life, my life, the world as a whole, etc. – In other words, so what?).
All passages must include the page number from which they are taken. Cite page numbers as (235) or (16) or
(105). This assignment may be typed or handwritten. If typed, the assignment may be submitted electronically
through e-mail. If handwritten, you may turn them in to me in person.
Part II: The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
The purpose of our study of this award-winning novel is twofold:
•
•
To become more comfortable articulating thoughtful responses to literature
To explore the importance of storytelling in our lives and issues of the human condition
We will be using a reading guide to facilitate our reading of the book. The guide has questions as markers for your
understanding of the reading but will not be turned in as an assignment. However, your graded assessment of the
novel will consist of the following:
•
•
Reading check quiz on the 1st day of class
Essay test on the 2nd day of class (prompts provided on 1st class day)
AP English Language and Composition Nonfiction Reading List
GENERAL NONFICTION
Title
Power Plays: Politics, Football, and Other Blood
Sports
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That
Can’t Stop Talking
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely
Theory of Globalization
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
Author
John M. Barry
Susan Cain
Barbara Ehrenreich
Franklin Foer
Malcolm Gladwell
Description
An examination of the causes and effects of the pursuit of power in the arenas of the
media, politics, and even college football. Award winning and NYT Bestselling author.
Real-life examples that could change the way we see quiet members of our society
One woman’s story of attempting to survive on minimum wage
A surprising tour through the world of soccer, shining a spotlight on the clash of
civilizations, the international economy, and just about everything in between.
A book about how we think about thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an
instant that aren’t as simple as they seem.
A book about those men and women who are so accomplished and so extraordinary
and so outside of ordinary experience that they are puzzling to the rest of us
Explores the tipping point phenomenon—what causes a fashion trend, the popularity
of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate
A collection of essays that explore such nagging questions as “Why are there several
varieties of mustard but only one of ketchup?”
st
Guide to seeing through 21 century media spin by the founders of FactCheck.org
Outliers: The Story of Success
Malcolm Gladwell
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a
Big Difference
What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures
Malcolm Gladwell
unSpun: Finding Facts in a World of
Disinformation
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the
Hidden Side of Everything
Superfreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic
Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy
Life Insurance
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your
American History Textbook Got Wrong
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in
the Age of Show Business
The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids
Brooks Jackson and
Kathleen Hall Jamieson
Steven D. Levitt and
Stephen J. Dubner
Steven D. Levitt and
Stephen J. Dubner
Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in
the American Black Market
A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from
the Inner City to the Ivy League
Eats Shoots and Leaves: The Zero-Tolerance
Approach to Punctuation
One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at
Harvard Law School
The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used
Against Women
Eric Schlosser
An exploration of how our current educational climate of high-stakes testing and
pressure to achieve affects students
An exploration of underground drug trade and its surprising parallels to big business
Ron Suskind
A young man’s journey from the slums of DC to Brown University
Lynne Truss
NOT a grammar handbook. An argument about how we communicate in our
technologically-advanced world
The author’s compelling experiences of being indoctrinated at America’s most
prestigious law school
A bestselling classic about the obsession with physical perfection
Malcolm Gladwell
James W. Loewen
Neil Postman
Alexandra Robbins
Scott Turow
Naomi Wolf
An intriguing, easily readable exploration of data that answer questions like “Why do
drug dealers live with their moms?” and “Do parents really matter?”
A second volume in the Freakonomics series that asks new questions, such as “Are
people hardwired for altruism or selfishness?”
One history professor’s attempt to correct mistakes and misconceptions he found in
several high school American history textbooks. Winner of American Book Award.
An investigation of the television’s effect on American culture
AP English Language and Composition Nonfiction Reading List
ENVIRONMENTAL/HEALTH ISSUES
Title
Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green
Revolution—and How It Can Renew America
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of
Four Meals
Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the AllAmerican Meal
The World Without Us
HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS
Title
Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
and How It Changed America
Author
Thomas L. Friedman
Barbara Kingsolver
Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan
Eric Schlosser
Alan Weisman
Author
John M. Barry
Roger Williams and the Creation of the American
Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
Is Paris Burning: How Paris Miraculously Escaped
Adolf Hitler’s Sentence of Death in August 1944
Columbine
John M. Barry
Ishmael Baeh
Larry Collins and
Dominique Lapierre
Dave Cullen
Man’s Search for Meaning
Viktor E. Frankel
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival,
Resilience, and Redemption
Profiles in Courage for Our Time
Lauren Hillenbrand
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt.
Everest Disaster
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and
Madness at the Fair that Changed America
Jon Krakauer
Caroline Kennedy
Erik Larson
Description
Explores the decline of our planet because of global warming and overcrowding and
offers solutions to the downward trend. Pulitzer Prize winning author.
One family’s quest to “live off the land” in modern America
A follow-up to The Omnivore’s Dilemma that conceives a conclusion to all the
information from the previous book
Recounts food’s journey from nature to our plates and how our choices affect our
environment
An exploration of the history of fast food, the impact it has had on our lives, and the
myths we should forget about it
A simple concept of imagining the Earth without human beings offers an intriguing
way to explore our impact on the planet
Description
Account of flood of the MS River in 1927. Elements remarkably similar to the Katrina
disaster. Students whose bent is engineering will find the fight of man vs. nature
interesting. Connects well to American history, politics. Recipient of Francis Parkman
Prize from Society of American Historians for year’s best American history book
A history of the formation of American ideals that includes fundamental questions
about the separation of church and state and individual freedoms
One young man’s experience as a child soldier during wars in Africa’s Sierra Leone.
Dramatic story of the liberation of Paris. Exciting, emotionally charged history,
impeccably researched and written
10 years after the tragic events in Littleton, Colorado, asks questions about not only
the shooters and victims but also the culture that surrounded such an incident.
Psychiatrist’s memoir of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival.
Has sold more than 10 million copies in twenty-four languages. Listed in a Library of
Congress survey as among top ten books that made a difference in people’s lives.
The unforgettable tale of a young Army Air Forces bomber who crashed into the
Pacific Ocean in 1943
Continues the legacy her father began with the original Profiles in Courage. Includes
the accounts of thirteen acts of modern political bravery.
A harrowing tale of the perils of high-altitude climbing, a story of bad luck and worse
bbjudgment and heart-breaking heroism
Borders on true crime. The story of two men important to the Chicago World’s Fair of
1893, one the architect responsible for the fair’s construction and the other a serial
killer masquerading as a young doctor.
AP English Language and Composition Nonfiction Reading List
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an
American Family in Hitler’s Berlin
Reading Lolita in Tehran
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder,
Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English
Dictionary
Erik Larson
Azar Nafisi
Simon Winchester
Account of the first U.S. ambassador to Hitler’s Germany from 1933 and his family
watching history unfold from the other side
One bold teacher who shares forbidden Western literature with seven Iranian women
The interesting account of a giant undertaking and the two men most responsible for it
SCIENCE / MEDICINE (Especially appealing for students who are science oriented or interested in the medical field)
Title
Author
Description
The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest
John M. Barry
A detailed description of the scourge of the "Spanish flu" of 1918 with interesting
Pandemic in History
elements of the practice of medicine and medical school in those days. Winner of
several awards.
Surgeon!: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Doctor
Dr. Richard Caleel
A must read for anyone interested in the medical profession
The Emperor of All Maladies
Siddhartha Mukherjee
The “biography” of cancer and its treatment for over a thousand years
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal
Mary Roach
A riveting look at our insides that explores such questions as “How much can I eat
before my stomach bursts?” and “Did constipation kill Elvis?”
Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife
Mary Roach
A scientific examination of what happens after we die
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Mary Roach
About all the good deeds bodies that are donated to science do for us
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and
Oliver Sacks
Recounts the case histories of patients lost in the bizarre, apparently inescapable
Other Clinical Tales
world of neurological disorders
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Rebecca Skloot
The story of a poor Southern tobacco farmer’s wife whose cells—taken without her
knowledge—became the first “immortal cells” in history. They are still alive today and
have been used in numerous experiments since her death over 60 years ago.
TRUE CRIME
Title
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson
Murders
In Cold Blood
Author
Vincent Bugliosi
Our Guys: The Glen Ridge Rae and the Secret Life
of the Perfect Suburb
Bernard Lefkowitz
A Death in Texas: A Story of Race, Murder, and a
Small Town’s Struggle for Redemption
Dina Temple-Raston
Truman Capote
Description
Written by the lead prosecuting attorney, this book recounts the horrific crimes
committed by Charles Manson and four of his followers
The first nonfiction novel. Reconstructs the 1959 murder of a Kansas farm family and
the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, the story of
the lives and deaths of these six people, the victims and the murderers.
Account of 1989 rape of a mentally retarded girl by members of a NJ high school
football team. Several parallels to like crimes in recent years, including those in
Steubenville, Ohio.
Explores the aftermath of the 1998 killing of James Byrd, Jr., a black man who was
chained and dragged along a country road by three white males.