AmericanHeritage/APLanguageSummerReading
Youmustreadtherequiredbook(inbold).Anadditionalbookfromthelistisrecommendedandwill
countasyourfirstquarterindependentreading.Aminimumoffourresponsejournalsforeachbook
mustbesubmittedthroughoutthesummer.Refertoyourjournalinstructionsheetonthebackofthis
pageformoreinformation.Ananalyticalpaperwillberequiredwhenschoolconvenesinthefalland
moreinformationwillbegivenatthattime.*Allworksonthislistareacceptedcollegepreparatory
books;assuch,allmaterialmaynotbesuitableforallstudentsandmaynotreflectthestandardsof
CressetChristianAcademy.Pleaseknowwhatyourchildisreading!*
TheGreatGatsby–F.ScottFitzgerald
ALessonBeforeDying–ErnestGaines
TheirEyesWereWatchingGod–ZoraNealeHurston
EthanFrome–EdithWharton
TheAwakening–KateChopin
TheGrapesofWrath–JohnSteinbeck
MobyDick–HermanMelville
AFarewelltoArms–ErnestHemingway
SaintMaybe–AnneTyler
TheHelp–KathrynStockett
TheRoad–CormacMcCarthy
TheThingsTheyCarried–TimO’Brien
READINGRESPONSEJOURNALS
Four journals will be dropped to me reflecting on your book and your reading process: one after you finish the first fourth of
the book, one after you finish one half of the book, one after you finish three-fourths of the book, and one after you complete
the book. You must drop a total of four journals. INCLUDE YOUR NAME, THE DATE, THE BOOK NAME, THE
JOURNAL NUMBER, AND YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR JOURNAL HEADER.
All journals must be submitted prior to the first day of school – August 17, 2016.
Gotowww.dropitto.me/ccaenglish;enterthepassword:cresset;uploadyourdocument.
Eachinteractiveresponseentryshouldbeatleast3paragraphsinlength.Youcan'tbewronginyourresponses,as
thesereflectyourpersonalreactionstothetext.Takesomerisksandbehonest.Usethesamplepromptstohelp
yougetstartedwithexpressingyourlikes/dislikes,confusion,andobservations.Tellmewhatyouthinksomething
means.Makepredictionsaboutwhatmighthappenlater.Useyourpersonalexperiencestoconnectwiththeplot,
characters,setting,etc.
SampleInteractivePrompts:
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Ireallydon'tunderstandthepartwhere...
Ireallylike/dislikethisideabecause...
ThischaracterremindsmeofsomebodyIknowbecause...
Thischaracterremindsmeofmyselfbecause...
Ithinkthissettingisimportantbecause...
Thissceneremindsmeofasimilarscenein(titleofbook/movie/T.V.show)because...
Ilike/dislikethiswritingbecause...
Thispartisveryrealistic/unrealisticbecause...
Ithinktherelationshipbetween______and______isinterestingbecause...
Thissectionmakesmethinkabout...
Ilike/dislike(nameofcharacter)because...
Thissituationremindsmeofasimilarsituationinmyownlife.Whathappenedwas...
IfIwere(nameofcharacter)atthispoint,Iwould...
Ibegantothinkof...
Ilovetheway...
Ican'tbelieve...
Iwonderwhy...
Inoticed...
I'mnotsure...
Myfavoritecharacteris___...
Ilikethewaytheauthor...
Ifeltsadwhen...
Iwishthat...
Iwassurprised...
Itseemslike...
I'mnotsure...
Iwanttoknowmoreabout...
Ipredict...
Additional Summer Reading Assignment for AP Language
APLanguageisallaboutrhetoric(aka,theartofpersuasivecommunication).Readthroughtheentirepacket
beforechoosingyournon-fictionsummerreadingbook(TheImmortalLifeofHenriettaLacksbyRebeccaSklootOR
UnbrokenbyLauraHillenbrand)thencompletethecharttohelpyouorganizeyourthoughtsasyouprepareto
writeyourrhetoricalanalysisessay.Youwillcompletetheessayonceyoureturntoschool.Thechartwillalso
becheckedforcompletionwhenyoureturn.
Whenyouarriveinthefall,youwillbegintheyearbywritingarhetoricalanalysisbasedonyoursummer
readingbook.Whenyouareaskedtodoarhetoricalanalysisofatext,youarebeingaskedtoapplyyourcritical
readingskillstobreakdownthe"whole"ofthetextintothesumofitsparts.Youtrytodeterminewhatthewriter
istryingtoachieve,andwhatwritingstrategieshe/sheisusingtotrytoachieveit.Theguidelinesdetailthe
aspectsofthetextyoumightconsiderdiscussing,andtheyofferyousomedirectionintermsoforganizingyour
paper.Rememberthatyoudonothavetocoveralloftheseaspectswhenwritingaformalrhetoricalanalysis.
Rhetorical Analysis: Critical Reading Guide
Readingcriticallymeansmorethanjustbeingmoved,affected,informed,influenced,andpersuadedbyapieceof
writing.Readingcriticallyalsomeansanalyzingandunderstandinghowtheworkhasachieveditseffect.Belowisa
listofquestionstoaskyourselfwhenyoubegintoanalyzeapieceofprose.Thesequestionscanbeusedevenif
you'rebeingaskedonlytoreadthetextratherthanwriteaformalanalysis(aguidetohelpyouwritearhetorical
analysisessayfollowsthissection).Keepinmindthatyoudon'tneedtoapplyallofthesequestionstoeverytext.
Thisratherexhaustivelistissimplyonemethodforgettingyoustartedonreading(andthenwriting)more
critically.
Questionstoaskwhilereadingyoursummerassignmentcritically:
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Whatisthegeneralsubject?Doesthesubjectmeananythingtoyou?Doesitbringupanypersonal
associations?Isthesubjectacontroversialone?
Whatistheclaim(theoverallmainpoint)?Howdoestheclaiminterpret/commentonthesubject?
Whatisthetoneofthetext?Doyoureactatanemotionalleveltothetext?Doesthisreactionchangeat
allthroughoutthetext?
Whatisthewriters'purpose?Toexplain?Toinform?Toanger?Persuade?Amuse?Motivate?Sadden?
Ridicule?Anger?Istheremorethanonepurpose?Doesthepurposeshiftatallthroughoutthetext?
Howdoesthewriterdevelophis/herideas?Narration?Description?Definition?Comparison?Analogy?
CauseandEffect?Example?Whydoesthewriterusethesemethodsofdevelopment?
Howdoesthewriterarrangehis/herideas?Whatarethepatternsofarrangement?Particulartogeneral?
Broadtospecific?Spatial?Chronological?Alternating?Block?
Isthetextunifiedandcoherent?Arethereadequatetransitions?Howdothetransitionswork?
Whatisthesentencestructurelikeinthetext?Doesthewriterusefragmentsorrun-ons?Declarative?
Imperative?Interrogative?Exclamatory?Aretheysimple?Compound?Complex?Compound-complex?
Short?Long?Loose?Periodic?Balanced?Parallel?Arethereanypatternsinthesentencestructure?Can
youmakeanyconnectionsbetweenthepatternsandthewriters'purpose?
Doesthewriterusedialogue?Quotations?Towhateffect?
Howdoesthewriterusediction?Isitformal?Informal?Technical?Jargon?Slang?Isthelanguage
connotative?Denotative?Isthelanguageemotionallyevocative?Doesthelanguagechangethroughout
thepiece?Howdoesthelanguagecontributetothewriters'aim?
Isthereanythingunusualinthewriters'useofpunctuation?Whatpunctuationorothertechniquesof
emphasis(italics,capitals,underlining,ellipses,andparentheses)doesthewriteruse?Ispunctuation
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over-orunderused?Whichmarksdoesthewriterusewhen,andforwhateffects?Dashestocreatea
hastybreathlessness?Semicolonsforbalanceorcontrast?
Areimportanttermsrepeatedthroughoutthetext?Why?
Arethereanyparticularlyvividimagesthatstandout?Whateffectdotheseimageshaveonthewriter's'
purpose?
Aredevicesofcomparisonusedtoconveyorenhancemeaning?Whichtropes--similes,metaphors,
personification,hyperbole,etc.doesthewriteruse?Whendoeshe/sheusethem?Why?
Doesthewriterusedevicesofhumor?Puns?Irony?Sarcasm?Understatement?Parody?Istheeffect
comicrelief?Pleasure?Hysteria?Ridicule?
Intro to Persuasive Appeals and Techniques Key
Theartofpersuasionisalsoknownasrhetoric.ThisarthasbeenformallystudiedsincethetimeoftheAncient
Greeks,butitisstillveryrelevanttoday.
Persuasion,accordingtomanyscholars,isbroughtaboutmainlythroughthreekindsofproofsorappeals.Keepin
mindtherewillbesomeoverlapbetweeneachappeal.
1.
Logosistheappealtoreason(logic)
a.Forexample,apresidentialcandidatemightsay,“IntheSenate,Ivoted65timestosavethe
Grotonsubbase,anditbrought323jobstothearea.”
2.
Pathosistheappealtoemotion(sympathy,empathy)
a.Thecandidatecouldsay,“IvisitedfamilieshithardbyHurricaneSandywhowerestrugglingtoput
theirlivesbacktogether.Isuccessfullylobbiedtogetthemfederalaid.”
3.
Ethosistheappealofone’sowncharacter(ethics,authority)
a.TogetyoutoelectmeasPresidentIcouldstate:“Iamanhonest,hardworking,anddedicated
person.Ialwayscareformyfamilyandfriends.IalsohaveaHarvardM.B.A.andbroughtmy
companybackfrombankruptcy.”
Basic Rhetorical Techniques
personification–whennon-livingthingsaregivenhumancharacteristics
simile–comparisonusinglikeoras(canbeextended)
metaphor–comparisonwithoutusinglikeoras(canbeextended)
repetition–repeateduseofwords,sentencestructure,orideastostressimportance
hyperbole–exaggeration
irony–whenwhathappensistheoppositeofwhat’sexpected(focusonverbal)
paradox–contradictoryideasorsituationspresentedtogether
allusion–referencetosomethingoutsideofthetextthattheauthorassumesthereaderwillknow(historical,
biblical,literary)
parallelism(vs.parallelstructure)–repetitionofgrammaticalstructurestostressimportanceofideas
rhetoricalquestioning–askingaquestiontoproveapointandtofurtheranargument
euphemism–languagemeanttoconcealthetruemeaningofanideaortomakesomethingsoundlesssevere
pun–playingonwords
diction–wordschosenforadeliberatepurpose
syntax–typesofsentencestructure
tone–theauthor’sattitudeonasubject;consistsofdictionandsyntax
Rhetorical Analysis Graphic Organizer
WhattheWriterSAYS
Whatistheproblemtheauthorattemptstodealwith?
WhattheWriterDOES
Whydoestheauthorchoosetoaddressthis
problem?
Whoistheauthor’sintendedaudience?
Howdoestheauthortrytoreachthem?
Whatistheauthor’ssolutiontotheproblem?
Whydoestheauthorchoosethissolution?
Whateffectdoesitcreate?
Whatisthewriter’stone?Isitformal?Informal?Technical?
Jargon?Slang?Arecertainwordsrepeated?Isthelanguage
emotionallycharged?
Whydoestheauthorusethistypeoftone?
Whateffectdoesitcreate?
Howdidthewriterarrangehisorherideas?Specificto
general?Chronological?Compare/contrast?
Didthearrangementofideas,orthewaythe
authordevelopedthemcreatesomesortof
effect?Whatpurposedoesitserve?Why
didtheauthorarrangehis/herideasthis
way?
Whattypeofappealsdoesthewriteruse?Ethos?Logos?
Pathos?Listevidencehere.
Whywouldthewriterchoosetousethese
appeals?Whichappealisthemost
effectiveinprovingtheauthor’sclaim?
Arethereanyotherimportantrhetoricalfeaturesor
strategiesthatyounoticed?Whattechniquesdoesthewriter
use(irony,allusion,simile,metaphor,etc.)Doesthewriter
userepetitionoremphasisonpunctuation?(Findatleast
three.)
Whyweretheseused?Dotheyinfluencethe
audienceinanyway?
REMEMBER THIS CHART WILL BE COLLECTED WHEN
YOU RETURN TO SCHOOL!