AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION SUMMER REQUIREMENTS An AP course in English Language and Composition engages students in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of rhetorical contexts, and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Both their writing and their reading should make students aware of the interactions among a writer s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects, as well as the way genre conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing. The purpose of the AP English Language and Composition course is to enable students to read complex texts with understanding and to write prose of sufficient richness and complexity to communicate effectively with mature readers. An AP English Language and Composition course should help students move beyond such programmatic responses as the five-paragraph essay that provides an introduction with a thesis and three reasons, body paragraphs on each reason, and a conclusion that restates the thesis. Although such formulaic approaches may provide minimal organization, they often encourage unnecessary repetition and fail to engage the reader. Students should be encouraged to place their emphasis on content, purpose and audience and to allow this focus to guide the organization of their writing. REQUIRED MATERIALS You will need the following items for this class: a spiral notebook to be used as a terms journal (or ringed flashcards); loose-leaf paper for assignments; a binder or pocketed folders in which to keep handouts, essays, tests, quizzes, and other assignments; annotating utensils (highlighters, pencils, colored pens, etc.) ASSIGNMENT 1 Read Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand, as well as another book from the list on page 6 of this packet. You are to take detailed notes while you are reading. These notes may be annotated in your book (if you purchased it) or on sticky notes or separate sheet of paper if you borrowed the book. Either way, you must have the books with you on the first day of school. If you are using a separate sheet of paper, make sure to jot down page numbers so it is easy to find the pages as we are discussing in class. These notes should be ample proof that you have carefully read the works in their ENTIRETY. These notes will be due on the first day of class. Once school begins, you will be writing STRUCTURED assignments for the novels you have read. You should be prepared to turn in your book at the end of the first week of school. You should also expect an assessment on your book as directed by your teacher at the beginning of the course. If you read and engaged with the text through marginal notes as you read, you will be prepared. Annotation Rules for Summer Reading: - 40 total entries minimum for annotation (Per book) Use the following list to help direct your notations as you read-- When you make a notation in the margin, label it with a 1-7 to show what kind of response it is. Reader Response: Be able to trace your reactions, to ask questions in class, to remind yourself when you find answers to earlier questions. This should help note the writer s effectiveness. - Your reactions/emotional responses (humor, surprise, sadness, anger, frustration, disappointment, tension/suspense, disgust, criticism, disagreement, confusion) - Your questions or lack of understanding or doubts (ask Why? ) - Your revelations: when things become clear to you, when you make links - Similarities to other works: Reminds me of - Wonderful writing- passages that strike you artistically/aesthetically and why
Speaker: Think about how who the writer is and what he/she knows is communicated. This should help you decide the author s credibility. - Introductory facts: author backgrounds and relationship to the topic, bias, etc. - Ethos- how the author establishes credibility and character on the given topic - Note words and language that indicate the author s attitude or tone and where it shifts or changes and why - When the author directly or indirectly states how he/she feels - Note key lines that stand out as crucial to the author s argument Occasion: Think about what caused the author to write about this topic and whether or not it is a valid reason. - The author s reasons for writing- what is the motivation? - Historical, political, social issues surrounding the topic - The author s personal reasons as well as the greater world/national reasons for the piece - Evidence of views characteristic of the time period and culture surrounding the work - Descriptions of class judgments, racism, gender biases, stereotypes, etc. Audience: Think about what kind of person or people the author intended as the audience and whether or not the author is able to connect with that audience effectively. - Evidence of who (and it can be more than one) the author is trying to reach. - Where the author directly or indirectly addresses a specific audience - Any Call to Action that the author is issuing to the reader. - Pathos- where the author appeals to your sense of emotion through anecdotes and figurative language Purpose: Think about the author s purpose in writing this book and whether or not he or she is effective in that purpose. - Specific reasons for writing: informing, persuading, arguing, refuting, exemplifying- but make sure you note specifics. - Logos: the author s appeal to reason. Examine how he/she makes the reader believe in that purpose. Subject: Think about what the book is discussing and whether or not the author shows why this subject is important. - Elements related to the problem and issue - How the author develops or deepens the aspects of the problem/issue - How the author show the complications related to the subject and the implication of it to you, the nation, the world, etc. Authorial Devices and Structures in the Argument: Think about the author s techniques in delivery and how effective author s methods are for rhetorical purposes - the use of subtleties, patterns, style, structure, etc. - Changes in point-of-view/emphasis - Crucial language/vocabulary- not just a word that you don t understand, but one that seems crucial to understanding the argument- look these up. - Stylistic techniques: irony, satire, humor, exaggeration, repetition/patterns, possible symbols, significant metaphors and other notable literary and rhetorical devices - Tone: focus on the author s attitude toward the subject and how that is created. - How the author s structure of the argument/book influence the reader and relate to the subject, audience and purpose ***If I find any notes or content have been taken from online sources (such as Sparknotes, Shmoop, Enotes, Cliffnotes, etc.), you will receive a 0 for each of your summer assignments.
ASSIGNMENT #2 Begin your terms journal by writing the terms and definitions below. You may do this on flashcards, as well, if you learn better that way. If you begin a Quizlet, please make sure you have it organized with the list titles as the year progresses. This assignment will be due on the first day of school. Note: You will be adding to this list throughout the year. Rhetorical Terms & Glossary Abstract Anecdote Annotation refers to language that describes concepts rather than concrete images (ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific things, people, or places). The observable or physical is usually described in concrete language. a short, simple narrative of an incident; often used for humorous effect or to make a point. Explanatory notes added to a text to explain, cite sources, or give bibliographical data. Argumentation writing that attempts to prove the validity of a point of view or an idea by presenting reasoned arguments; persuasive writing is a form of argumentation Colloquialism a word or phrase (including slang) used in everyday conversation and informal writing but that is often inappropriate in formal writing (y all, ain t) Concrete Language Language that describes specific, observable things, people, or places, rather than ideas or qualities. Connotation implied or suggested meaning of a word because of its association in the reader s mind. Description Diction the picturing in words of something or someone through detailed observation of color, motion, sound, taste, smell, and touch; one of the four modes of discourse word choice, an element of style; Diction creates tone, attitude, and style, as well as meaning. Different types and arrangements of words have significant effects on meaning. An essay written in academic diction would be much less colorful, but perhaps more precise than street slang. Emotional Appeal; Pathos When a writer appeals to readers emotions (often through pathos) to excite and involve them in the argument. Ethical Appeal; Ethos When a writer tries to persuade the audience to respect and believe him or her based on a presentation of image of self through the text. Reputation is sometimes a factor in ethical appeal, but in all cases the aim is to gain the audience s confidence. Euphemism a more acceptable and usually more pleasant way of saying something that might be inappropriate or uncomfortable. He went to his final reward is a common euphemism for he died. Euphemisms are also often used to obscure the reality of a situation. The military uses collateral damage to indicate civilian deaths in a military operation. Example Exposition An individual instance taken to be representative of a general pattern. Arguing by example is considered reliable if examples are demonstrable true or factual as well as relevant. the immediate revelation to the audience of the setting and other background information necessary for understanding the plot; also, explanation; one of the four modes of discourse Figurative Language Such as metaphor, simile, personification, etc.
Humor Hyperbole Image Imagery Jargon anything that causes laughter or amusement; up until the end of the Renaissance, humor meant a person s temperament deliberate exaggeration in order to create humor or emphasis (Example: He was so hungry he could have eaten a horse.) A word or words, either figurative or literal, used to describe a sensory experience or an object perceived by the sense. An image is always a concrete representation. words or phrases that use a collection of images to appeal to one or more of the five senses in order to create a mental picture The special language of a profession or group. The term jargon usually has pejorative Associations with the implication that jargon is evasive, tedious, and unintelligible to outsiders. The writings of the lawyer and the literary critic are both susceptible to jargon. Logical Appeal; Logos When a writer tries to persuade the audience based on statistics, facts, and reasons. The process of reasoning Mood Oxymoron Paradox Parallelism Persuasion similar to tone, mood is the primary emotional attitude of a work (the feeling of the work; the atmosphere). Syntax is also a determiner of mood because sentence strength, length, and complexity affect pacing. a figure of speech composed of contradictory words or phrases, such as wise fool, bitter-sweet, pretty ugly, jumbo shrimp, cold fire a statement that seems to contradict itself but that turns out to have a rational meaning, as in this quotation from Henry David Thoreau; I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. the technique of arranging words, phrases, clauses, or larger structures by placing them side by side and making them similar in form. Parallel structure may be as simple as listing two or three modifiers in a row to describe the same noun or verb; it may take the form of two or more of the same type of phrases (prepositional, participial, gerund, appositive) that modify the same noun or verb; it may also take the form of two or more subordinate clauses that modify the same noun or verb. Or, parallel structure may be a complex bend of singe-word, phrase, and clause parallelism all in the same sentence. Example (from Churchill): We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields. a form of argumentation, one of the four modes of discourse; language intended to convince through appeals to reason or emotion. Regionalism an element in literature that conveys a realistic portrayal of a specific geographical locale, using the locale and its influences as a major part of the plot Repetition Word or phrase used two or more times in close proximity Rhetorical Question one that does not expect an explicit answer. It is used to pose an idea to be considered by the speaker or audience. Sarcasm Style harsh, caustic personal remarks to or about someone; less subtle than irony an author s characteristic manner of expression his or her diction, syntax, imagery, structure, and content all contribute to style
Synecdoche Syntax Theme Thesis Tone Transition a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent a whole, such as using boards to mean a stage or wheels to mean a car or All hands on deck. the grammatical structure of a sentence; the arrangement of words in a sentence. Syntax includes length of sentence, kinds of sentences (questions, exclamations, declarative sentences, rhetorical questions, simple, complex, or compound). the central idea or message or a literary work the main idea of a piece of writing. It presents the author s assertion or claim. The effectiveness of a presentation is often based on how well the writer presents, develops, and supports the thesis. the characteristic emotion or attitude of an author toward the characters, subject, and audience (anger, sarcastic, loving, didactic, emotional, etc.) a word or phrase that links one idea to the next and carries the reader from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph. Understatement the opposite of exaggeration. It is a technique for developing irony and/or humor where one writes or says less than intended.
FOUR CHOICES In Cold Blood by Truman Capote Truman Capote s masterpiece, In Cold Blood, created a sensation when it was first published, serially, in The New Yorker in 1965. The intensively researched, atmospheric narrative of the lives of the Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas, and of the two men, Richard Eugene Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, who brutally killed them on the night of November 15, 1959, is the seminal work of the new journalism. Perry Smith is one of the great dark characters of American literature, full of contradictory emotions. I thought he was a very nice gentleman, he says of Herb Clutter. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat. Told in chapters that alternate between the Clutter household and the approach of Smith and Hickock in their black Chevrolet, then between the investigation of the case and the killers flight, Capote s account is so detailed that the reader comes to feel almost like a participant in the events. (amazon.com) Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild. (amazon.com) The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger A True Story of Men against the Sea. Back cover description: In 1991, as Halloween nears, a cold front moves south from Canada, a hurricane swirls over Bermuda, and an intense storm builds over the Great Lakes forces converge to create a 100-year tempest that catches the North Atlantic fishing fleet off guard and unprotected. Readers weigh anchor with sailors struggling against the elements; they follow meteorologists, who watch helplessly as the storm builds; and, by helicopter and boat, theynavigate 100-foot seas and 120-mph winds to attempt rescue against harrowing odds. The Opposite of Fate by Amy Tan Amy Tan has touched millions of readers with haunting and sympathetic novels of cultural complexity and profound empathy. With the same spirit and humor that characterize her acclaimed novels, she now shares her insight into her own life and how she escaped the curses of her past to make a future of her own. She takes us on a journey from her childhood of tragedy and comedy to the present day and her arrival as one of the world s best-loved novelists. Whether recalling arguments with her mother in suburban California or introducing us to the ghosts that inhabit her computer, The Opposite of Fate offers vivid portraits of choices, attitudes, charms, and luck in action; a refreshing antidote to the world-weariness and uncertainties we all face today. (amazon.com)