AP Language and Composition Summer Reading Assignment 2016
Hello! Welcome to the wonderfully challenging world of Advanced Placement Language and
Composition. We are very excited that you have chosen this course and promise you a learning
experience unlike any you have had in English!!
You will have several readings this summer: 1 novel and 2 essays. You are be expected to have all
readings and assignments done on the first day of school. These assignments will be your first grades in
the class and will be checked at the beginning of class on the first day of school. Please, remember: This
is a college level course and will be treated as such. If you have any issues, please e-mail me at
[email protected]! I will be checking my e-mail all summer!!!!
Reading #1:
Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King
You can find the novel on amazon.com at the following link :
http://www.amazon.com/Devil-Grove-Thurgood-Marshall-Groveland/dp/0061792268
It is also available at the Seminole Country Public Library (although you will need to annotate certain
selections in the book, and we will utilize it in class throughout the year).
Assignment: This book must be read and understood at the beginning of the year. You may want to take
notes on what you believe to be important events and aspects of the novel, but your purpose in reading
this novel is to enjoy a well-written piece of non-fiction. We hope that it brings you an awareness of
both Florida history and how the events which occurred have played a key role in our culture and heritage
as both Floridians and Americans.
Reading #2: “Letter From Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr.
1. Read and annotate the essay found at the link below. Your annotations should incorporate the
SOAPSTone Worksheet (see page 3); you may include the SOAPSTone in the text as part of
your annotations. Be sure to make note of any parts of the text which left an impression upon you
as you will be expected to participate in a class discussion during the first week of class.
https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/Letter_Birmingham_Jail.pdf
Reading #3: “Learning to Read” by Malcom X
2. Read and annotate the essay found at the link below. Your annotations should incorporate the
SOAPSTone Worksheet (see page 3); you may include the SOAPSTone in the text as part of
your annotations. Make note of any parts which left an impression upon you as you will be
expected to participate in a class discussion during the first week of class.
http://harrison9thlithonors.weebly.com/uploads/5/8/0/4/58047613/learningtoreadbymalcolmx.pdf
-Warning: if for some reason the URLs above do not work, you are still responsible for printing and
reading the essays. You may simply need to search the title on Google and find another viable copy
(for "Learning to Read," be careful as it is also a novel; type in Malcom X “Learning to Read” AP
Lang if it brings up the entire novel instead of the excerpt…).
Methods of Rhetorical Analysis AP English Language and Composition
SOAPSTone: A method for analyzing discourse
(speeches, essays, editorials, other writings)
Please number and label each response in each essay. Highlight specific textual support for each part
of your SOAPSTone analysis.
1. S – Speaker: Discuss the authority and credibility of the speaker/writer. How does the speaker
establish his or her ethos in the speech/passage? Explain specific ways that the speaker/writer helps to
define him or herself as a trustworthy and/or qualified messenger.
2. O – Occasion: Analyze the reason(s) the writer/speaker is choosing to approach the topic at this
particular moment in time. Is he/she writing/speaking in reaction to a specific event or person? Discuss
how the occasion is revealed in the speech/passage.
3. A – Audience: Explain to whom this piece is directed. How do you know who the audience is? How is
the audience defined? Discuss how the speaker/writer demonstrates understanding of the audience and
how he/she uses that understanding to accomplish his/her goals.
4. P – Purpose: Analyze the purpose/argument/claim of the speaker/writer. Explore the purpose beyond
its basic informative nature. You must identify at least one specific action expected of the audience.
Discuss how the purpose is revealed in the passage.
5. S – Subject: Explain the general topic, content, and ideas contained in the text. Does the speaker/writer
explicitly state the subject or is it implied?
6. Tone: Analyze the attitude of the speaker/writer. Tone extends meaning beyond the literal. Find tone in
the author’s diction, syntax, structure, and imagery. Give specifics of the tone of the author and discuss
how the tone affects the effectiveness of the passage. Use your list of tone words to pinpoint the specific
tone(s) of the piece.