AP English Literature
Summer Work 2016
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due date:
estimated time:
Monday, August 29 (the first day of school)
6-8 hours for written assignments; reading times will vary
(for planning purposes only; work until you finish)
Dear AP Student,
Welcome to Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition! This packet explains in-depth
both the reading assignments and requirements and the written portion of the summer reading
assignment. Please read through it carefully!
Over the summer, you will be reading four works of fiction—Kate Chopin’s The Awakening (1899), Dalton
Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun (1939), and Nella Larson’s Passing (1929). In addition, you will read the
book required for all seniors, Chris Crutcher’s Deadline.
I will be sharing several documents with you in Google Docs and sending notifications through your
school email. If you would prefer to use another email address, please get that to me as soon as possible.
Additionally, I will create a student folder for each of you where you can put summer reading
assignments as you finish your work. I will look there for completed assignments. If you finish work early,
send me an email to let me know the work is in your folder.
Success on the AP English Literature exam is directly related to the breadth of your reading as well as
your continual practice of literary analysis through composition. The AP English course requires a
significant amount of reading (both independent and assigned), writing, and research. The AP Literature
and Composition Exam is scheduled for May 3, 2017 (mark your calendar!); it is not too early to start
preparing for it.
If you have any questions about the summer reading assignment or about the course in general, please
feel free to stop by the school and speak with me. I will be on campus with The Summer Experience on
weekdays from July 11 to 15. I will also be checking my e-mail over the summer should you have any
questions ([email protected]). I hope you find the summer reading interesting and
enjoyable. I am looking forward to an exciting year!
Sincerely,
Terri A. Shelton
Upper School Teacher
English Department
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A. Reading Assignments
Read each of the following four works.
• Classics
o The Awakening, by Kate Chopin (Bantam, ISBN: 0-553-21330-X)
o Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo (Bantam, ISBN: 0-553-27432-5)
o Passing, by Nella Larson (Penguin, ISBN: 0-14-243727-8)
• Young Adult
o Deadline, by Chris Crutcher (Greenwillow, ISBN-13: 978-0060850913). This novel is
totally a pleasure read! Enjoy! You do not have to annotate or highlight, you will be
asked to write a short, one-page reflection on this novel.
B. Writing and Reflecting Assignments
1. Active Reading
Read actively the three classic works of fiction and take notes on the content of each work.
• As you read, you are required to do one of the following (5 points on final grade):
o highlight in the text and make annotations in the margins, OR
o highlight in the text and take notes in some type of reading journal. I have reading
journal guidelines if you want them. The two-sided journal is a suggested journal type.
• In addition, complete the “Imagery and Symbolism Assignment” (on Google Drive).
• Complete the “AP Preparation for Free Response Question” (on Google Drive) for one of the
three classic novels.
2. Essays
Write two essays following the criteria below. This is a sample AP essay. There is no length requirement;
however, the essay should not be less than three paragraphs. (10 points on final grade)
For both essays, you should supply adequate and relevant textual support from the novels. Each essay
should have at least 2-3 quotes or passages with page numbers, in addition to textual references. Both
essays should be typed in a Google Doc, double-spaced, 1” margins, 12 pt. font, MLA format. All essays
should be your own, original work. Any information that is added from another source must be correctly
documented.
• Essay 1: Five-paragraph essay in which you compare/contrast the societal expectations of men in
each novel (except Deadline) and analyze how each male protagonist copes with those societal
expectations.
• Essay 2: Choose one of the three novels and respond to this prompt: “In many works of literature
a character conquers great obstacles to achieve a worthy goal. Sometimes the obstacle is a
personal impediment, at other times it consists of the attitudes and beliefs of others. Choose a
novel in which an important character must overcome a personal or social obstacle in order to
achieve a worthwhile goal. Then write a well-organized essay that explains the goal, if it is
achieved, and how the character achieves it (if it is not achieved, please explain why and what
happens as a result). Also explain the ways in which the character’s struggle contributes to the
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meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.” (Barron’s: English Literature
and Composition, 4th Edition, 2012.)
3. Poetry Essay
Complete the following Poetry Essay Assignment. (5 points on final grade)
• Log onto apcentral.collegeboard.com; click on “AP Courses and Exams”; “Exam Information”; “AP
Literature”; “2014 Free Response Questions” and complete the assignment for the poem “For
That He Looked Not Upon Her.” Pay particular attention to the title and the last two lines.
o Read the prompt and the poem closely. It is suggested that you read it through one time
entirely without marking anything, and then do a closer reading where you
highlight/underline and annotate.
o Complete the “Poetry Analysis Worksheet” that I have shared in Google Docs.
o Write a 3-5 paragraph essay that addresses the prompt and uses textual support from
the poem.
4. Literary Criticism
Locate and read one literary criticism for one of the three classic novels. (5 points on final grade)
• Read the criticism and summarize it in your own words. Type your response; it should be a
minimum of one page and should be correctly documented. Consider the following questions in
your summary:
o What does the article say about the author (writing experience, interest in writing,
education/career, how he/she was inspired to write the book, etc.)?
o What does the article say about the book? Is the article favorable?
o Is there controversy surrounding the book? If so, why?
5. Extra Credit Options
• Make a list of 20 new vocabulary words that you encounter in the novels and define them in
context. Present 5 to the class.
• Make a creative piece based on one of the novels, i.e., a poem, a CD with songs that reveal the
central themes, a movie trailer, a movie poster or collage. Your creative piece must be
accompanied by a one-page paper that explains how it relates to the events in the novel.
C. Evaluation of Summer Work
Twenty percent of your grade will be a reading test that will include objective questions based on each of
the works, 30% of the grade will be your completion of the assignments above, and the other 50% of
the grade will be based on your preparation and performance during a Socratic seminar. The week we
return to school, you will be asked to conduct a seminar based on questions you have generated. You
should come to the seminar with prepared questions, notes on the questions, and textual support and
examples (with page references) for each of the works.
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