Moreno Valley High School AP Language and Composition
Summer Assignment
This course is designed primarily for students entering the AP English Language class. Students
should have passed their English 2 Honors with a grade “C” or better, and should have been
recommended by their teacher. It is an accelerated English class designed for high achieving
college-bound students.
All candidates to this program will be held to a contractual agreement that requires outstanding
academic discipline, prompt and thorough submission of work, love of reading and writing,
excellent attendance, and, most importantly, a great ability to balance efforts in handling several
activities during and after school, such as other honors classes and extracurricular activities.
Receiving a “D” or failing grade at the first quarter, will put you on probation, and you will be in
danger of being transferred to regular English 3 class. August is planned for review and
orientation; by September, the class will proceed to a college-level pace.
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You
You
You
You
You
You
will be reading The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
will annotate the novel with sticky notes and answer questions related to topics given
will write an essay
will find examples of given terms in the novel and essays read
will research and understand specific AP Literary terms and be tested on them
will print and annotate several essays
The Scarlet Letter:
Overview and Assignments
Introduction As AP students studying language and composition, our purpose in reading The
Scarlet Letter is not to study it as a work of fiction, but as a masterpiece of language. While you
may or may not find the story to be enjoyable and may or may not learn something about people
after reading it, we need to draw our attention to the details of language:
Nathaniel Hawthorne is an artist; this novel is his masterpiece.
What elements of language did he use?
What strategies were chosen with his reader and his purpose constantly in mind?
We are ultimately studying his STYLE and the components that comprise it.
Your Assignment
As you read the novel, ANNOTATE it for the elements you read about above. If you are using a library copy
of the book, use “Post-Its” to annotate. Identify stylistic choices as you read. Analyze for their importance
by asking questions, making connections, making predictions, and evaluating their effectiveness while you
read. Create and list several high-level questions throughout the novel that are based on your findings.
When we meet, we will work with the novel in its entirety. You will be expected to bring forth numerous
insightful details from the novel that convey Hawthorne’s style and purpose. Be prepared to discuss in form
of Socratic Seminar and group discussions, the elements you bring to the table.
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Part 1: Literary Devices
Style involves the author’s choice and arrangement of words in sentences (diction and syntax), the
use of sensory and/or figurative language, the tone, and the mood. Look for such things as the
length and complexity of the sentences; the use of words that are obscure, and occasionally,
archaic; his allusions (Old Manse, the War of 1812 in “The Custom House”, etc.); the balanced,
often parallel syntax; the occasional metaphors; the excessive—by modern standards—punctuation;
and the tone of friendly formality.
Assignment to be turned in:
You will make your own chart on a separate piece of paper similar to the one below. It must be
typed or in blue or black ink. As you read, think of adjectives that describe Hawthorne’s style.
Think “outside the bubble”, too: How was this style created, and what is its effect on the reader?
In a chart form, analyze the style used in the novel.
Give a few examples of each throughout the novel.
Style
Definition
Of term
Example from text
With page number
What purpose does
Hawthorne have in
using this device:
What effect does it
create for the story?
Diction
Syntax
Figurative Language
Sensory Detail
Imagery
Metaphor
Lenth and complexity
of sentences
Tone
Mood
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Part 2: Historical Background and Author Connection
“The Custom House”
The first “chapter” of the novel is called “The Custom House”, which is entirely a different style
than the actual novel that follows. In “The Custom House”, you will become acquainted with the
important events of Hawthorne’s life, as well as some of the conventions that early novel writers
used, and with Hawthorne’s prose style. Some questions you should be able to answer after
reading this section are:
You will answer the following questions using mla format, textual evidence, proper
citations and formal voice.
1. What is romanticism?
2. What is the purpose of this chapter?
3. How does Hawthorne’s family history contribute to his attitude toward The Custom House
and his place in society?
AP-Type Questions:
4. How would you describe Hawthorne’s attitude toward his former job and fellow workers?
Why do you think so? (This is asking for TONE and evidence supporting your inference.)
5. In this essay, Hawthorne addresses the reader directly. What effect does he create with this
manner?
6. What effect does the detailed description of the scarlet letter have on the reader?
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Part 3: Theme
The Scarlet Letter explores the effects of sin, guilt, punishment, and revenge. You will make your
own chart on a separate piece of paper similar to the one below. It must be typed or in blue or
black ink. In a chart, similar to Part 1, give examples from the text with page numbers that relate
to the given themes that run throughout the novel:
Theme
Example from
text with page #
Example from
text with page #
Reader’s
response:
1-3 sentences
Guilt can destroy a person, body
and soul.
The punishment imposed on us
by others may not be as
destructive as the guilt we
experience.
True repentance must come
from within.
Revenge destroys the victim and
the seeker.
Even well-intended deceptions
and secrets can lead to
destruction.
One must have the courage to be
true to one’s self.
It is by recognizing and dealing
with their weaknesses that
people grow stronger.
The choices people make
determine what they become.
Within each person is the
capacity for both good and evil.
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Part 4: Symbolism
The Scarlet Letter is considered to be the world’s first truly symbolic novel. You will make your
own chart on a separate piece of paper similar to the one below. It must be typed or in blue or
black ink. Below are some examples of symbols to watch for that carry through and change
throughout the novel, though I’ll leave their interpretations up to you:
Symbol
Text where
Symbol is
found (#)
Text where
Symbol is
found (#)
Interpretation
Text where
Symbol is
found (#)
Interpretation
The scarlet
letter itself/
the letter A
The names of
Pearl,
Dimmesdale,
Chillingworth
The forest
The scaffold
The prison
Sunlight
The absence
and presence
of light
Colors and
absence of
color
The rose
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Part 5: Rhetorical Devices to achieve purpose
Watch for the following as you read. When you find prominent examples of each, actively consider
why he used it and how he used it.
What is his purpose, and how does using rhetorical devices
help him convey his purpose to the reader?
Rhetorical Device
Contrasts
Duality
Definition
Example
Purpose
Good/evil, dark/light, forest/town,
color/absence of color,
supernatural/ reality, etc
How does Pearl’s
character reflect the
duality of the Puritan
community?)
Allegory
Connotations
(especially with names); aka
characternym (a name that
symbolizes or stands for some
aspect of the character’s
personality)
Motif
(hand over heart, The Black Man,
the color red)
Contradiction/ Irony
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Writing Segment: Argumentative
Essay Outline:
• There are three statements about literature. Defend or refute (go against) one of the following
statements; support your stance using specific citations from the two works you have chosen to
read.
• Your response should reflect your thoughts, observations, and analysis of The Scarlet Letter and
one other novel you have recently read. You should include specific textual evidence and citations
to help prove your point. For this project, research is discouraged. Your response should be
original.
• Do not summarize; critically analyze the novels.
• 3-4 pages, not including the Works Cited page.
• Times New Roman font
• Double spaced
• Use MLA format for in-text citations and Works Cited page.
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Annotated Works Cited
* For help with MLA citations, go to : https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
• Due Date: The first Friday of school. ~Make sure it is printed AND e-mailed to your assigned
teacher upon your arrival.
Statement One:
"A story must be exceptional enough to justify its telling; it must have something more unusual to
relate than the ordinary experience of every average man and woman" --- Thomas Hardy
Statement Two:
"What lasts is what is written. We look to literature to find the essence of an age" --- Peter Brodie
Statement Three:
"Thus all art is propaganda and ever must be, despite the wailing of the purists ... I do not care a
damn for any art that is not used for propaganda"--- W.E.B. DuBois
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AP Summer Vocabulary:
*make use of the dictionary and google to fully understand the meaning as well as function of
the word in literature.
Your vocabulary assignment must be TYPED in MLA format.
Here are 20 vocabulary words. Be sure to study these words and gain a good understanding of
them. For each word you must relate them to your novel. You must then:
1. Write an explanation of how the word relates to your novel of choice. (2-3 sentences)
2. Find a citation from the novel that relates to the vocabulary word. Please remember to use
proper MLA citation format.
Example Vocabulary Exercise
Capricious:
Scout, in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, is very capricious in her everyday actions. She
continuously surprises her brother Jem and her friend Dill with her ability to keep up with the boys
not matter what they do. She also often has outbursts that display her powerful personality.
A citation that exemplifies how Scout is capricious is when she impulsively fights her cousin. Scout
states, "This time, I split my knuckle to the bone on his front teeth. My Left impaired I sailed in
with my right, but not for long" (Lee 84).
Rhetoric: Rhetoric is the art of using language as a means to persuade. Along with grammar and logic or dialect, rhetoric is one of the three ancient
arts of discourse. From ancient Greece to the late 19th Century, it was a central part of Western education, filling the need to train public speakers
and writers to move audiences to action with arguments. The very act of defining has itself been a central part of rhetoric, appearing among
Aristotle's Topics. **Rhetor: in ancient Greece and Rome, a master or teacher of rhetoric; an orator.
Bombastic: Using or characterized by high-sounding but unimportant or meaningless language; pompous; grandiloquent
Ethos: An appeal based on the character of the speaker. An ethos-driven document relies on the reputation of the author.
Logos: An appeal based on logic or reason. Documents distributed by companies or corporations are logos-driven. Scholarly documents are also often
logos-driven.
Pathos: An appeal based on emotion. Advertisements tend to be pathos-driven.
Capricious: Impulsive; unpredictable
Tone: The writer's attitude, mood or moral outlook toward the subject and/or readers, i.e. as angry, empathetic, critical, ironic, suspicious, comic,
surprised, sarcastic or supportive, etc.
Appeal: The power of arousing a sympathetic response, to arouse a sympathetic response.
Argument: Discourse intended to persuade; the subject matter, a process of reasoning.
Colloquialism (colloquial): A word or phrase used in an easy, informal style of writing or speaking. It is usually more appropriate in speech than
formal writing. Colloquialisms appear often in literature since they provide a sense of actual conversation and use the pronunciation, grammar, and
vocabulary of everyday speech. Mark Twain makes use of colloquialisms in his Huckleberry Finn, such as in the opening line of the story, "You don't
know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but that ain't no matter" (Twain 1).
Connotation: Suggestions and associations which surround a word as opposed to its bare, literal meaning. It is the opposite of denotation. Literature
uses connotation; science and philosophy use denotation. Connotation refers to qualities, attributes, and characteristics implied or suggested by a
word and depend upon the context in which the word is used.
Apathy: A lack of feeling or emotion, lack of interest or concern.
Paradox: A statement that appears to be contradictory, but which reveals a deeper truth. For example, one of the most important principles of good
writing is this: "Less is more." It means that the most effective writing is clear and focused; everything extraneous is avoided. As Chesterton used the
term, a paradox can refer both to a true statement, which at first seems to be false; and to a false statement, which at first seems to be true.
Dialect: Variety of language confined to a region or group, manner or means of expressing oneself
Understatement: A statement which says less than is really meant. It is a figure of speech which is the opposite of hyperbole. Hyperboles
exaggerate; while understatements minimize.
Hyperbole: Deliberate and obvious exaggeration for effect. Example: "I have tons of money."
Anecdote: A short narrative of an interesting, amusing or biographical incident.
Condescending: Patronizing or assuming superiority.
Voice: An author's distinctive literary style, basic vision and general attitude toward the world. This "voice" is revealed through an author's use of
SYNTAX (sentence construction); DICTION (distinctive vocabulary); PUNCTUATION; CHARACTERIZATION and DIALOGUE. The voice of an author may
cover a wide range of possibilities (i.e. "victim," "judge," "friend," "coach," "spy," "opponent," "cheerleader").
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Rhetoric Readings
Please print the essays below and bring them to class on the first day. The links are available on
the following webpage. They can be found through Google or the links under them. Read each
essay and annotate based on your overall understanding of the texts.
Annotation is the process of writing reflective comments regarding opinions, connections, and
questions. You may want to highlight important names and information. Instructions for annotating
can be found at http://www.bucks.edu/~specpop/annotate.htm.
You must come to class on the first day prepared to discuss all of the essays. A writing assignment
may follow the class discussion.
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"Why I Want a Wife" by Judy Brady
o http://www.columbia.edu/~sss31/rainbow/wife.html
"Politics and the English Language" by George Orwell
o http://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/e_polit/
Due first Friday of School. Do not procrastinate.
Checklist of Work: Highlight each assignment after it is completed
Reading
Annotate Novel
Chart 1: Style
Author Background:
The Custom House
Chart 3: Theme
Chart 4: Symbolism
Chart 5: Rhetoric
Essay
Choose second novel
Choose a prompt
Begin an outline
Vocabulary
Rhetoric
Print Essays
Printed and formatted
vocabulary assignment. Annotate Essays
Rough Draft
Final Draft
*You may reach me any time through email, twitter, or facebook.
FB: movaleblanc leblanc
Twitter/gmail: movaleblanc
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