Notes on Literature English IV AP Literature
Please use this form for complete your Notes on Literature. Our goal is to create a paperless assignment. You
can copy this page and use to easily format you assignment and then upload it on to Turnitin.com
1. Author’s Name
2. Title (and subtitle) of the book you are reading
Your book must be selected from the AP Literature reading list
3. The Edition of your book (most likely this is a first edition)
4. The Setting of your book. You should consider the following:
Locale
Time period
Time span (duration of time in the novel)
Outstanding historical references (events, people)
5. Main Characters
Names, main characteristics, conflicts, foils, relationships to one another
6. Summary of the Plot (do not copy and paste from SparkNotes)
Overall summary of what happens
Main conflicts and how these are resolved
7. Major Themes
Not subject matter. A theme is an underlying idea.
8. Method of Narration and Narrative Point of View
Who is telling the story; is the narrator identified; is it a first person narrator (with how much knowledge about
characters and events?) or a third person narrator (again, with how much knowledge); is the narrative method a mixed
one; does the method of narration stand out or is it subtle and seemingly hidden
9. Divisions of Structural Devices
Number of chapters, parts, books, divisions, etc.
10. Stylistic Features
Humor, satire, irony, symbols, pet phrases, dialogue, scene description, sensory perception, quirks, vivid language,
illustrations or maps, etc. (MUST HAVE EXAMPLES FROM THE TEXT)
11. Literary Period
Being with American, British etc. and then move into Modern, Post Modern, Romanticism, Gothicism etc.
12. Personal Evaluation as of this date
Indicate whether this is your first or a subsequent reading, and write a paragraph explaining frankly what you thought
of the book. Make a connection beyond the text to your life or society.
13. A Key Quote
Notes a key quote from this text – add what it means and why it is important.
14. What is the Author Know for
Please note if this author won any literary awards or contributed any other notable works
15. Connections
Make connections with your text to other novels, dramas or poems
16 This assignment must be turned in on Turnitin.com.
17 Remember that literature is always discussed in present tense.
18. Students must read books from the AP Literature List. The list is available on our website.
19. Notes on Literature are usually due on the last Friday of the Month. Dates are posted on the student calendar on our
website.
20. The following books are often required by classes at Ponderosa and are not approved for Notes on Literature, as one
of our goal is for students to read something they have not read. Please speak with your instructor and get approval if
you are interested in one of these books
English I Core Reading Requirements
English II Core Reading Requirements:
Romeo and Juliet
Of Mice and Men
Odyssey
Antigone
Julius Caesar / Midsummer Night’s Dream
Lord of the Files
Supplemental:
Great Expectations
Animal Farm
Mango Street
Dracula
Supplemental:
Night
Siddhartha
Secret Life of Bees
Joy Luck Club
Black Boy
All Quiet on The Western Front
Down River
Les Miserable's
English III Core Reading Requirements:
Great Gatsby
The Crucible
To Kill a Mockingbird
Tales of Two Cities
Fahrenheit 451
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Martian Chronicles
A Separate Peace
Weep not Child