AP Language and Composition
Mrs. O’Boyle, June 2010
KSS: Jennifero@cksd.wednet.edu
Home: timandjenno@wavecable.com
KSS: 662-4118
Home: 871-2189
Welcome to a class that will challenge your analytical reading and writing skills. This class will
require the purchase of one textbook: The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric (ISBN
978-0-312-45094-6) by Renee H. Shea, Lawrence Scanlon, and Robin Dissin Aufses (first edition). It will be
much cheaper for you to find these books on your own at places like www.Amazon.com,
www.barnesandnoble.com, Half Price Books, or www.WalMart.com (as well as multiple other places) than it
will be for me to order new copies and sell them to you. Therefore, please have a copy of each of these
books and have completed the assignment in the book by the first day of school. If you have serious
financial difficulties, please contact me before summer vacation to discuss options, and we will make sure
you have a copy of the textbook; however, you will not be able to write in it. You also have the option to
buy a used copy of the textbook from a previous AP student.
You will also be required to buy, or borrow from the library, three or four novels throughout the
year. I make every attempt to order Dover Thrift editions, which are quite inexpensive. As we decide on
each title, you will be informed about how to purchase your copy.
In addition, we will complete daily grammar practice in this course, and I strongly suggest you
purchase a workbook in order to be able to write in it and keep it in one place (this will be easier and neater
for you). However, you can certainly also write each exercise down yourself. If you choose to purchase a
workbook, you may pre-pay the bookkeeper $6.00 no later than the end of Flight Path (KSS, August 18 and
19, 2011 from 9:00AM – 1:00PM). I will then place an order for paid workbooks to be here by the first
week of school.
Classes in the Advanced Placement Program are the most challenging courses in the high school
curriculum. This class is a college level course designed to provide you the opportunity to earn college credit
while at the same time meeting the requirement for your high school English credit. Successful completion
of an exam taken in May could result in obtaining college credit. The fee to take the exam in May is
approximately $86. You will need to do your own research into which colleges accept which scores for
credit. While in this class, you will need to work at a constant, steady pace and keep up with both the
reading and writing. Class discussions will be much more interesting and beneficial when all students come
to class prepared, i.e. having completed the reading and writing assignments for each session. Faithful
attendance is extremely important because of the fast pace of the class, and plagiarism/cheating will
not be tolerated.
Be prepared to work hard, have fun, and learn a ton! I look forward to getting to know each of you in the
fall. If you have any questions whatsoever over the summer, please feel free to call or email me. I exist to
serve you. 
Sincerely,
Jennifer O’Boyle
Mrs. O’Boyle
Summer assignments on back.
AP Language Summer Assignments
Mrs. O’Boyle – 2010
Your essay should by TYPED, so if you do not have a word processor at home, you will need to leave
yourself time to go to the library or a friend’s house. If you write in pencil, you will have to re-write for
credit. Please proofread. This will be the first assignment I read in September, and if I find we need to start
the year with proofreading skills, that is what we will start with. 
I.
Write a 2-3 page “English Language” biography. In other words, creatively give the story of your
literature/writing/speaking life until now. Examples of things you could include: feelings, earliest
memories, teachers who have inspired, books you remember, writing assignments you have enjoyed,
writing you have done on your own, love of word play, etc. Why do you enjoy
reading/writing/playing with language? Please pay particular attention to
WORD
CHOICE, TONE, and VOICE.
Let your voice come through. This paper should tell
your peers and me things we do not already know about you. Use it as a chance to express yourself
(I would expect this to be in first person because of the nature of the writing). Have fun with it!
II.
Read chapters 1-3 in The Language of Composition. For each chapter, you must take notes in some
fashion equaling about a page. You may do this by annotating in your textbook if you own it (see
pp. 40-42 in textbook for sample), or by writing notes on paper in the form of a dialectical journal
(see pp. 42-42 in textbook for sample). Your notes should show that you have given thought to what
you are reading and that you are prepared to do the assignments in each chapter (but you do not
actually have to complete the assignments).
III.
OPTIONAL (but is helpful to your study of writing, is entertaining, and will earn you some
extra credit at the end of the semester): Read Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the
Craft. ISBN# 0-671-02425-6
Keep a brief response log that includes the following:

For every 20-25 pages (your notes should show me that you are thinking about what you are
reading)
o Notes/paragraphs which express your feelings, thoughts, questions about what you are
reading
o A few comments about writer’s style and language use (give the quote and then your
response or response, then examples)
o Questions you still have about the section or for the author
o One question you think would work as a good reading quiz question (short answer,
multiple choice, essay, true/false, etc.)
o Anything you want to bring up in our class discussion
o New vocabulary words with their definitions
AP Language Summer Homework Acknowledgement
Please return this form to Mrs. O’Boyle, so she knows who received this information. You may put it in her
box or hand it to her personally. Thanks, and have a great summer!
I, ______________________________ (make sure your name is legible), have received the AP Language &
Composition summer homework assignment.
An e-mail address where I can be reached: ________________________________________________
Date __________________________
Any other information you want me to have (i.e. you do not think you are taking the course and why):
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
AP Language Summer Homework Acknowledgement
Please return this form to Mrs. O’Boyle, so she knows who received this information. You may put it in her
box or hand it to her personally. Thanks, and have a great summer!
I, ______________________________ (make sure your name is legible), have received the AP Language &
Composition summer homework assignment.
An e-mail address where I can be reached: ________________________________________________
Date __________________________
Any other information you want me to have (i.e. you do not think you are taking the course and why):
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
AP Language Summer Homework Acknowledgement
Please return this form to Mrs. O’Boyle, so she knows who received this information. You may put it in her
box or hand it to her personally. Thanks, and have a great summer!
I, ______________________________ (make sure your name is legible), have received the AP Language &
Composition summer homework assignment.
An e-mail address where I can be reached: ________________________________________________
Date __________________________
Any other information you want me to have (i.e. you do not think you are taking the course and why):
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________