2. For the books, see each chart for the specific assignments. 3. For the article, print and then write your annotations directly on the article.

Transcription

1 AP Language & Composition Summer Reading 2016 Background: AP English Language and Composition is a challenging and rigorous college-level course that investigates the uses, purposes, and effects of language. In order to prepare you for the material and skills you will encounter throughout the year, you are required to participate in the Summer Reading Assignment. Required Reading: Before You Begin: 1. Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little, Brown, Print. 2. Miller, Arthur, The Crucible. New York: Penguin, Print. 3. King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. New York: Scribner, Print. 4. Miller, Arthur. "Why I Wrote The Crucible." The New Yorker. Conde Naste, 13 Oct Web. 03 June Please BUY the books. I strongly recommend a hard copy as it is much easier to thumb through a book. For The Crucible, you need the Penguin Classics edition with the introduction by Christopher Bigsby. 2. For the books, see each chart for the specific assignments. 3. For the article, print and then write your annotations directly on the article. 4. Please bring each assignment, typed, MLA formatted, and properly cited. Due dates are as follows: (And these dates should NOT imply you should delay the completion of these assignments prior to 1 September!) 1 September: On Writing by Stephen King 7 September: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell 9 September: The Crucible by Arthur Miller

2 Have you ever wondered: Did the author mean to do that? King s book provides an excellent response to that question. As King states in the introduction to this book, What follows is an attempt to put down, briefly and simply, how I came to the craft, what I know about it now, and how it s done. In this book, you will learn that writers do indeed make deliberate choices about diction, syntax, details, and other elements as they compose their work. (This analysis is a major component of the work we will do in AP Language.) This book is divided into four sections: C.V., Toolbox, On Writing, and On Living: A Postscript. Read the entire book, however, choose TWO of the tasks below to complete. Be sure to MLA cite all passages. Task #1: C.V. This is a non-fiction text, but it often reads like a novel. To tell his story, King uses literary elements and techniques (i.e. imagery, dialogue, figurative language) which we often associated with fictional pieces. Identify three passages in which King uses such elements/techniques effectively. Explain the elements/techniques he uses and why they are effective. Task #2: Toolbox Create a writer s toolbox for yourself. Identify 7 rules of writing that King discusses (include page number) which you think are important or interesting. As you select them, think about your own strengths and weaknesses as a writer. Please number your selections 1-7. Then add an additional 7 rules of writing which you have either practiced or been taught throughout your school career. Example: Don t begin a sentence with and. In class, we will discuss the merit of these various rules. Task #3 On Writing How does King feel about writing? How do you know? Choose three key passages from this section in which King defines writing, either directly or figuratively. (Remember to include page numbers.) In your own words, restate King s point about writing in the passage and why you think this point is interesting or important. Task #4: On Living: A Postscript This task does not pertain to just this section of the book. Rather, explain your opinion of King as both a writer and a person. Would you consider reading one of his books now, for example? (If you have read his books prior to this assignment, has your opinion of the author changed? If so, how?) What do you think King s purpose was in writing this book? Support your answers to both prompts with evidence from the text. (Adapted from: images.pcmac.org/sisfiles/schools/al/elmorecounty/.../summer2014_1.docx)

3 Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell Background Outlier is a scientific term to describe things or phenomena that lie outside normal experience. In the summer, in Paris, we expect most days to be somewhere between warm and very hot. But imagine if you had a day in the middle of August where the temperature fell below freezing. That day would be outlier. And while we have a very good understanding of why summer days in Paris are warm or hot, we know a good deal less about why a summer day in Paris might be freezing cold. In this book I m interested in people who are outliers in men and women who, for one reason or another, are so accomplished and so extraordinary and so outside of ordinary experience that they are as puzzling to the rest of us as a cold day in August. Reading Assignment Do a close reading of the text. A close reading means to keep a pencil or pen in your hand as you read and make notes in the margins, underline confusing and/or favorite passages, highlight interesting information, and comment on significant language. As you read, concentrate on Gladwell s unique definition of success. Notice how he uniquely defines and presents this abstract concept through his creative chapter titles, research, personal stories, and observations. You ll be surprised about how much you will learn from this original perspective on success.

4 Back of the book blurb: I believe that the reader will discover here the essential nature of one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history, Arthur Miller wrote of his classic play about the witch-hunts and trials in seventeenth century Salem, Massachusetts. Based on historical people and real events, Miller s drama is a searing portrait of a community engulfed by hysteria. In the rigid theocracy of Salem, rumors that women are practicing witchcraft galavanize the town s most basic fears and suspicions; and when a young girl accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch, self-righteous church leaders and townspeople insist that Elizabeth can be brought to trial. The ruthlessness of the prosecutors and the eagerness of neighbor to testify against neighbor brilliantly illuminate the destructive power of socially sanctioned violence. Written in 1953, The Crucible is a mirror Miller uses to reflect the anti-communist hysteria inspired by Senator Joseph McCarthy s witch-hunts in the United States. Within the text itself, Miller contemplates the parallels, writing Political opposition...is given an inhumane overlay, which then justifies the abrogation of all normally applied customs of civilized behavior. A political policy is equated with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence. Reading Assignment: As you read, look for symbols, examples of characterization, biblical allusions, and irony. Write a 900 word essay, MLA formatted with citations using the three sources provided (the novel, the introduction by Christopher Bigsby and the article Why I Wrote The Crucible to answer the following prompt: Preserving one s reputation is a prevalent theme in The Crucible. Examine two characters in detail who are concerned with their reputations. How does this affect how they act? How are their situations similar or different? Is a good name more important than the truth? How does this connect to the McCarthy trials?

5