May 2015 Olathe South High School 1640 E. 151 st Street, Olathe, KS 66062 To Incoming AP Language and Composition (English III) Students: You are now officially a college student! Why? Because this is a college-level course! You can earn college credit by taking and passing the AP Language and Composition exam in May of 2016. We will meld the American literature survey course with AP test preparation throughout the year. We have enclosed a sample of the types of multiple choice and essay questions found on the exam to give you an idea of what the actual test looks like. (You don t have to complete these questions.) Now, for the summer reading! During freshman and/or sophomore year, the work load was designed to prepare you for this college class; we regard Pre-AP English II as a college prep course, so if you were enrolled in Pre-AP, no doubt you are used to the challenging expectations of the AP program, experiencing homework every night, including weekends and holidays. The summer reading keeps you actively engaged in the learning and critical thinking processes that are part of our program. Moreover, it is your opportunity to make a favorable first impression by thoroughly performing the tasks assigned. All students will complete the following summer reading requirements: By June 24th, you will have compiled a list of literary terms and rhetorical devices, with a definition and example for each; you must also add its use/function for those with an asterisk. An example is provided. Keep these saved on your computer as we will be adding to this reference guide throughout the year. Feel free to access online sources and cut and paste these it s a guide. Hand this in to the office by NOON on June 24th. You will sign your name as evidence of the time you dropped this off. Our secretaries are not available after noon; please don t wait until the last minute to hand in your assignment and chance your watch being off by five or ten minutes. By July 15 th, you will have read one of the following: All Over but the Shoutin by Rick Bragg, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, The Color of Water by James McBride, or Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. You must complete a dialectical journal for your selection and hand this in to the office by NOON on July 15 th. You will sign your name as evidence of the time you dropped these off. Again, please don t wait until the last minute to hand in your assignment and chance your watch being off by five or ten minutes. We have included a sample student journal entry in the packet, so there should be no confusion regarding expectations and the proper format. N.B.: During 1 st quarter, you will read one of the other four books as an independent reading assignment. As always, we expect you to work on these assignments individually; these are not group projects unless you are willing to divide your grade with other students. IF you were not enrolled in Pre-AP sophomore year, you must complete two additional assignments in order to be able to participate in the discussion referring to the work Pre-AP students completed during their sophomore year. By July 1 st, before noon, complete an allusion assignment that provides an introduction to Greek/Roman mythology and Biblical references. Because literature abounds with these allusions, your knowledge of these allusions is imperative. Detailed instructions and examples are attached, as well as the required list of allusion topics. By July 22 nd, before noon, you must read and submit a dialectical journal for Charlotte Bronte s Jane Eyre, the novel read by Pre-AP students this past year. You will take an objective test over the book the second week of school. Jane Eyre is a novel that applies to most of the openended questions on the AP Literature test. (READ THE BACK)
Deadlines are never to be taken lightly. Do not depend on others to hand in your work for you; remember, you are now a college student! If the workload transcends your expectations, we would advise that you see a counselor immediately about an enrollment change (i.e. before the end of the school year). If you come to this realization during the summer, please contact the counselors by the third week of June. Know that our summer reading program is indicative of the summer reading requirements of AP programs all over the United States; since the AP exam is a global exam, you will be competing with students from all over the world. Therefore, it is important that we maintain high standards. We have made every effort to provide you with models illustrating what we expect your summer reading assignments to look like; therefore, we expect you to make the same effort to meet those expectations. If you have any questions about the assignment, please feel free to email us over the summer at mgibbensos@olatheschools.org or csmithos@olatheschools.org. If you will be out of town the days of the deadlines, attach your assignment to a file and email it to us before the deadlines (isn t technology wonderful!). If you lose this packet, this assignment is also available on the Olathe South website www.olathesouth.net under Quick Links AP Summer Assignments. We are looking forward to working with all of you! With a strong work ethic and sense of humor, we shall meet the challenges of AP Language and Composition! Onward and upward! Sincerely, Marci Gibbens Marci Gibbens AP Language and Composition Catherine Smith Catherine Smith AP Language and Composition OSHS English Department Co-Chair
Assignments: 1. Dialectical Journals. While reading the book you have selected, identify a passage every 1/4 of the book that exemplifies elements of style or rhetoric. (If you have a 300-page book, you need a passage every 75 pages; for a 250-page book, every 60 pages, etc.) Set your margins at 1 all the way around; your font should be Times New Roman, no larger than 12 point. Double-space both the passage and your analysis. Using a two-column entry format, type a full-column passage into the left column, followed by the page number on which the passage was found. At the top of the passage, label the elements of style or rhetoric the passage exemplifies. In the right column, analyze the elements used by the writer to convey his/her purpose and explain how these elements prove the writer s point or enhance the writer s message, characterization, etc. Your analysis must fill the entire right column (the length of the page). We would suggest you format these by inserting a table. Format all margins to 1 (top, bottom, left, right). SEE SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS AND MODEL ATTACHED! Note: You must select lengthy passages that illustrate a combination of two or three elements, thus assuring a full-page analysis/commentary in the right hand column. Elements: a. diction involves the particular words the author uses to make his point; usually these are words with a significant emotional connotation b. details think of details as phrases that are more factual and unemotional c. figurative language not to be interpreted literally (similes, metaphors, personification, analogies, conceits, etc.); used to aid the author in creating characterization, mood, etc. d. imagery the author s use of sensory words to create emotions, mood, characterization e. irony verbal/situational/dramatic; the expectation contrasts with the reality to emphasize/ convey a specific point f. sentence structure use of repetition, parallelisms, length to emphasize ideas, heighten the drama, etc. g. tone the author s opinion of his subjects and audience as expressed through the character s actions and speech. Tone is implied and revealed through diction; it is subject to change throughout the novel. Do not discuss tone alone you must also discuss the elements that REVEAL tone. Do not confuse AUTHOR tone with a character s tone of voice or with MOOD. 2. Literary Terms/Rhetorical Devices Reference Guide. Insert a table of three columns one for the term and definition, one for an example, and one for its use/function (use/function column completed only for those terms asterisked): 1. ad hominem attack* 2. alliteration* 3. allusion* 4. amplification* 5. analogy* 6. anaphora* 7. antithesis* 8. aphorism 9. apostrophe (the lit term, NOT the punctuation) 10. appositive 11. asyndeton* 12. bandwagon appeal* 13. chiasmus* 14. colloquialism* 15. ellipsis (the lit term, not the punctuation)* 16. ethos* 17. euphemism* 18. hasty generalization* 19. hyperbole* 20. juxtaposition* 21. litotes* 22. logos* 23. metonymy 24. mixed metaphor* 25. oxymoron* 26. parallelism* 27. paradox* 28. pathos* 29. personification* 30. polysyndeton* 31. rhetorical question* 32. synecdoche 33. verbal irony*
Dialectical Journal/Reference Guide Samples N.B.: You will be held closely accountable this year for your ability to follow directions. Especially when teachers provide specific directions and VISUAL EXAMPLES, it is imperative that you demonstrate close attention to detail. You will read one of the following: All Over but the Shoutin by Rick Bragg, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, The Color of Water by James McBride, or Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. 1. Set margins 1 all around (top, bottom, left, right). Insert Table. 2 columns, 2 rows. 2. As you read, look for passages in which the writer is trying to make a point through the use of two or more rhetorical devices. 3. Each passage in the lefthand column should be the full length of the column, double spaced. Use 12-point typeface in Times Roman font. LABEL ALL ELEMENTS TO BE DISCUSSED. 4. One passage for each ¼ of the book. If your book has 200 pages, one passage for every 50 pages. Put the page # at the bottom of the lefthand column. 5. The analysis in the righthand column should be the full length of the column. Highlight your analysis using the following methods: Italicize and bold-face the point the writer is trying to make in the passage; review what you have italicized/bold-faced Is it a complete sentence? Does it make a clear POINT? Bold-face any elements Underline all chunks within IMBEDDED QUOTATIONS (Remember that effectively imbedded quotations, when read aloud, sound like one long, fluent sentence. 3-4 chunks per CD). Italicize all commentary that analyzes the EFFECT of the elements (answers why the writer used these elements or what s/he was trying to achieve/convey through their use) analyzes whether the use of these elements is effective (explains why they strengthened/weakened his/her point) 6. Never refer to the writer by his/her first name, only the last name. 7. Commentary is NOT personal opinion (e.g. The writer uses great word choice. ). 8. Commentary is NOT redundant; it does not define the elements (e.g. His use of imagery helped me picture the setting or He used personification to give sunlight human characteristics. ). 9. Evaluation: Correct formatting = 15 points per log; Content = 35 points per log. (If you ignore the correct formatting, you cannot earn higher than a C-!)
Dialectical Journal Student Sample Figurative Language/Syntax Self-restraint becomes more of a challenge when the owner of a milliondollar condo (that s my guess anyway, because it has three floors and a wideangle view of the fabled rockbound coast) who is (according to a framed photograph on the wall) an acquaintance of the real Barbara Bush takes me into the master bathroom to explain the difficulties she s been having with the show stall. Seems its marble walls have been bleeding onto the brass fixtures, and can I scrub the grouting extra hard? That s not your marble bleeding I want to tell her, it s the worldwide working class the people who quarried the marble, wove your Persian rugs until they went blind, harvested the apples in your lovely fall-themed dining room centerpiece, smelted the steel for the nails, drove the trucks, put up this building, and now bend and squat and Commentary This passage contains both a metaphor and parallel structure to illustrate that the lower class in America has to work to keep people who have all the luxuries in life happy. Ehrenreich compares bleeding bathroom walls metaphorically to the bleeding the worldwide working class goes through just to make this one person (and other wealthy citizens) happy. This metaphor emphasizes the exhausting work people go through for little pay, while the wealthier class sits back in their daily luxuries, taking advantage of the manual laborers. The parallel structure describing those people who quarried the marble, wove [her] Persian rugs until they went blind and smelted the steel for the nails also highlights the hard work of the common laborers and their physical sacrifices to demonstrate what they experienced (and continue to experience) every day just to provide for their families. sweat to clean it. (90)
Allusion Workshop (ONLY COMPLETE IF YOU WERE NOT ENROLLED IN PRE-AP ENGLISH II LAST YEAR) Allusion A direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place or work of art. Allusions can be historical (like referring to Hitler), literary (like referring to Kurtz in Heart of Darkness), religious (like referring to Noah and the flood), or mythical (like referring to Atlas). There are, of course, many more possibilities, and a work may simultaneously use multiple layers of allusion. Writers often draw allusions that are biblical, classical, and literary. Biblical allusions refer to characters and stories from the Bible. Classical allusions mainly refer to characters and stories from Greek and Roman mythology. Other allusions come from various works of literature. Suggested sources: You may want to use a translation of the Bible, Edith Hamilton s Mythology, Joseph Campbell s Power of Myth, the library and also the Internet. When referencing the Bible, please include book, chapter, and verse(s). Example: Genesis 3:1-14 Provide for each biblical/mythological allusion (see example on next page): (Use an easy to read 12-point type) Name of story Source Paraphrased summary of story (about 50-75 words) Modern interpretation (If someone used this allusion today, what would he mean by it?) Biblical Mythological Historical/Literary 1. Tower of Babel 2. Job 3. The Prodigal Son 4. The Good Samaritan 5. Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors 6. Moses and the Bulrushes 7. Nebuchadnezzar/Shadrach 8. Abraham and Isaac 9. David and Goliath 10. King Solomon and his tests 1. Castor and Pollux 2. Pandora 3. Prometheus 4. Adonis 5. Echo and Narcissus 6. Perseus 7. Jason and Medea 8. Icarus and Daedalus 9. Helen of Troy 10. Midas 11. Antigone 12. Medusa 13. Harpies 14. Cassandra 15. Athena and Arachne 1. Don Quixote 2. Pilgrim s Progress 3. John Bunyan 4. Paul of Tarsus 5. Martin Luther You do not need a modern interpretation of these five allusions. Classical Mythology Example (Use this same format for the Biblical allusions) Name: Zeus Source: Greek: Joel Skidmore. Mythweb. http://www.mythweb.com Paraphrased summary: Zeus resided on Mount Olympus and was considered to be the god of gods. His parents were Cronus and Rhea. Cronus was told a son would take his power, so he swallowed his children to avoid the event. Rhea was displeased and decided to give birth to Zeus in a cave. She hid Zeus from his father and tricked him by wrapping rocks in cloth, which Cronus swallowed thinking the package was the infant. When Zeus was older, he did take power from his father and forced Cronus to regurgitate his siblings Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter, and Hera. Each child had control of the world and Zeus was the supreme authority. As a god, Zeus was known to be very severe in his punishment and very kind in his rewards. He had many children, some with other gods and some with mortals. Modern Interpretation: If someone referred to a character as being similar to Zeus, he would be implying that the character was powerful, authoritative, or promiscuous.
Reference Guide: Format/Sample Term/Definition Example Use/Function (Think: Why does a writer choose to use this element?) THIS IS COMMENTARY (CM)! Euphemism. The substitution of a mild or less negative word or phrase for a harsh or blunt one Anadiplosis. The repetition of the last word of one line or clause to begin the next. Antimetabole. The repetition of words in successive clauses, but in inverted order (e.g., "I know what I like, and I like what I know"). It is similar to chiasmus although chiasmus does not use repetition of the same words or phrases. My mother passed away recently, leaving a void in my life that can never be replace. "The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor. Striking story!" (Commodus in the movie Gladiator, 2000) "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." John F. Kennedy The writer s euphemism passed away softens the devastation experienced when losing a parent. Use the formula: The writer s (device) + VERB +. (This is the formula we will want you to use when writing commentary in your Dialectical Journals in July) The character s anadiplosis emphasizes climactically the dramatic way in which the main character s life came full circle. The writer s antimetabole highlights the importance of individual responsibility by contrasting most people s expectations that government should serve them with his suggestion that a person should ask to serve his government through public service. PLEASE BE SURE TO INCLUDE SEVERAL TERMS ON EACH PAGE! Possible verbs to use when writing: emphasize/highlights/accentuates/ demonstrates/conveys/illustrates/reveals contrasts compares/likens portrays/characterizes/depicts evokes/effects/elicits Deadline Review: June 24 (by NOON): ALL STUDENTS to have turned in at OSHS or via email the Reference Guide of Literary Terms/Rhetorical Devices July 1 (by NOON): Only those students NOT COMPLETING Sophomore PRE-AP ENGLISH should turn in at OSHS or via email the Allusion Workshop (All ALLUSIONS LISTED MUST BE COMPLETED) July 15 (by NOON): ALL STUDENTS to have turned in at OSHS or via email Dialectical Journals for The Glass Castle, All Over but the Shoutin, The Color of Water, or Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers. July 22 (by NOON): Only those students NOT COMPLETING Sophomore PRE-AP ENGLISH should turn in at OSHS or via email the Jane Eyre Dialectical Journals.