Advanced Placement English Language and Composition (E5X/E6X) Summer Reading Assignment Congratulations on your acceptance into the

AP Language and Composition class! We hope you are looking forward to a challenging and rewarding year, as we are. Reading List: All of the following texts are required and it would be a good idea to own these copies for use throughout the year. However, it is fine for you to take any or all of these books out of the public library. It is recommended that you read with a pencil in hand, underlining, and annotating as you read. Also, mark particularly important pages with sticky notes or flags. In addition, start a notebook in which you keep your written responses detailed below. All of these techniques of active reading will help prepare you for the work we will embark on in the fall. The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White (must be fourth edition or later) A fundamental resource for writers, editors, and students since 1959, the slim volume known simply as "Strunk and White" distills the combined wisdom of Cornell University English professor William Strunk Jr. and legendary New Yorker writer E. B. White. Though there are other books on the market that delve more deeply into matters of grammar and style, this is the best single source for anyone who desires a pithy, lively guide to the essentials of effective writing. In prose that is itself a paragon of clarity, the authors indicate how to apply the basic principles of grammar and punctuation, how to properly construct a sentence and a paragraph, how to use words and expressions in their proper form and context, and how to avoid the mistakes and mannerisms that make for turgid, pretentious, or simply unintelligible writing. Even professionals who have achieved expertise in the art of written communication will want The Elements of Style nearby at all times for support and inspiration. Assignment: Read and outline this book. It is your grammar guide and you will be responsible for its contents. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser On Writing Well has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity, and its warmth of style. It is a book for anybody who wants to learn how to write, whether about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts, or about yourself. Its principles and insights have made it a cherished resource for several generations of writers and students.

Assignment: Read and outline this book. It details the principles, methods, and forms of effective nonfiction writing. You will be responsible for its contents.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King "Long live the King" hailed Entertainment Weekly upon the publication of Stephen King's On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer's craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King's advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported near-fatal accident in 1999 -- and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it -- fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told. Assignment: Choose three of Kings passages in which he defines writing, either directly or figuratively. In your own words, restate Kings point about writing in the passage and why you think this point is interesting or important. Also describe the technique he uses in that passage to get his point across, focusing on diction/syntax/tone/words, etc.

Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition (7X/8X) Summer Reading Assignment

Congratulations on your acceptance into the AP Literature and Composition class! We hope you are looking as forward to a challenging and rewarding year, as we are. To prepare you for the new way you will be looking at literature, we have prepared an interesting, challenging, and relevant summer reading assignment. This should be done over the summer, when you have time to read, think and absorb the information, not at the last minute, merely to get it done. We take this assignment seriously, and it will be our first impression of you, as a student. This also serves as both a preparation and basis for the AP Literature class. Mandatory Reading: How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas Foster (available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Greenlight Books on Fulton St, NYC Public Libraries). Read this book first. Did you ever wonder how teachers know that light symbolizes truth or that food is often used as a metaphor for communion in literature? Foster presents you with many of the secret meanings of motifs, symbols and metaphors in literature, which not only clarify the authors intent or theme, but help develop characterization and allow us to read literature at a deeper level. The book is written in a light, ironic style, while teaching about underlying meanings authors employ in their works. Assignment: Read and annotate this book (only annotate if you own it), use post-its, or take dialectical notes (see handout) in a journal. Take note of motifs, symbols and metaphors that seem particularly interesting to you or provide aha! moments. This will serve as a guide throughout the year. Then, choose one of the novels listed below: It is also mandatory to read one of the following novels, but you have a choice based on the type of fiction you enjoy reading. 1. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte 2. The Awakening, Kate Chopin 3. An American Tragedy, Theodore Dreiser 4. Catch 22, Joseph Heller 5. Obasan, Joy Kogawa 6. The Road, Cormac McCarthy 7. Beloved, Toni Morrison 8. Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky 9. Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert 10. The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath Assignment: While reading the novel, note motifs, symbols and metaphors the author uses, that you recognize from How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Annotate with comments in the margins, or post-its (if you own the novel) or note the literary devices (with page numbers) in your dialectical journals.

During AP Literature, the phrase, the meaning of the work as a whole, will be used a great deal. This is a code for the authors theme. Theme is not one word, such as love, family, happiness, etc. That is a subject or a motif. Theme is what about it?, meaning love, family, happiness, etc., stated in a full sentence. Examples: Love often changes a person for the worse, if she gives up her individuality for her loved one. Family provides acceptance and forgiveness no matter what indiscretion its members commit. Happiness attained at the expense of another is not fully enjoyed. After reading the novel, choose 3 different motifs, symbols and/or metaphors explained in Fosters book, which are prevalent and important to your chosen authors theme. Write an essay in which you discuss and analyze how the author uses these literary devices to get his/her theme across to the reader. Guidelines for Writing: 1. Essays must be typed, double-spaced, with the thesis as the last sentence of the introduction. The thesis must include your theme statement. For example: The fear of authority that is prevalent in Kafkas works, along with an obsession with his own death, is a reflection of his feelings about himself and his body caused by both his father and by anti-Semitism during his life. 2. Your application of devices from Fosters book, in your writing about your individual novel, must be accompanied by textual evidence, with parenthetical citations from the novel. Textual evidence is always in quotation marks. If the text is more than three lines, it must be single spaced and block indented. The page number (7) follows the quotation. (Visit http:owl.english.purdue.edu, or simply Google MLA Guidelines to see proper formatting and examples.) Your goal is to demonstrate how these devices clarify the authors theme for the reader. 3. Paragraphs must have unity. A topic sentence that supports your thesis should be the first sentence of each paragraph. All other information in the paragraph must discuss, explain and exemplify that. 4. A clear conclusion should end your essay. Introductions and conclusions should be relevant to the thesis statement you are supporting and not overly long and flowery. 5. Remember: Your goal is to support your thesis statement by applying Fosters secrets to your novel in an essay of at least 5 paragraphs that demonstrates your understanding of both texts, theme and various literary devices and/or motifs. 6. Your essay will be collected on Friday, September 10, 2010 and will count as a major assessment for your first marking period grade. Enjoy the assignment! Enjoy your summer! We look forward to meeting you and seeing your work in the fall.

Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition Summer Reading Assignment contd

The purpose of a dialectic journal is to have a meaningful conversation or dialogue with a piece of text in order to foster real learning. A good dialectic journal is one in which you have found a way to connect with the reading on a personal level. Real learning happens when you build connections between new ideas and older ones. So, when a piece of literature or an essay can get tied to one of your memories or beliefs, you are much more likely to have an authentic and lasting learning experience. Difficulty: Moderately Easy Instructions Things You'll Need:

Piece of paper Pen Reading selection How to Write a Good Dialect Journal

1. Step 1

Draw a line across the top of your paper and another down the middle. In the top left area, write the title of the piece you are reading, including page numbers if appropriate. In the top right, write the words, "My Response." 2. Step 2 Begin by simply reading the text as a whole piece. Use this time to get a feel for the theme, characters, story line and setting, if this is a fiction piece. If it is non-fiction, try to get a general grasp on the message, process, specialized terms and problems that the writer presents. 3. Step 3 Glance back through the entire text, taking each section in turn. In the left-side column of your journal, jot down the page numbers and phrases or sentences that stick with you. They might have stuck because they confuse, inspire, bewilder or resonate with you. Try to make at least 5 notes from every piece of reading.

4. Step 4 Pay attention to the sections you've highlighted in your notes. In your response column, write your thoughts about those phrases, terms and sentences. These responses should come from a real place and shouldn't be forced. Be clear about what confuses you, or write a brief note about the memory that you connect with the reading. 5. Step 5 Look back through the reading again quickly to see if any new insights have come to you now that you have made these connections. If so, jot these down in your dialectic journal as well. Tips & Warnings

To reference long sections of text on the left side of the journal, print a copy from your computer and tape it onto the paper.