To All AP Language Students and Parents:
Welcome to Advanced Placement Language and Composition. I look forward to working with you in the
Fall. Because this is an intensive university-level writing class, all students must complete the assigned
Summer readings and associated writing assignments prior to the first day of classes in the Fall. Both
Summer readings share themes of dystopia, utopia and oppression. They will act as a common
foundation for students to expand on, learning rhetorical analysis, contrast, effective argumentation and
other building blocks on which the course is constructed. For this reason it is imperative that students
complete Assignment 1 by Monday, August 29, 2016 (the first day of school), and Assignment 2 by Monday,
September 12. The Summer reading/writing assignments are as follows:
Assignment 1: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Important Notes: Little Brother is available free at
http://craphound.com/littlebrother/download/ (in all electronic formats).
The author releases all of his books in DRM-free format. Students are highly encouraged to
read Doctorow's explanation as to why he does this at craphound.com. Credit for the Summer
assignment goes to Mr. Doctorow as well, since he published it as part of a Reading Guide.
Background Tasks (to be done before you read the book)
1. The students go to Cesar Chavez High school – do a quick Internet search to find out who he
was! This kind of cultural context information is KEY to understanding anything you read.
2. Look around your community (and our school) – create a list of the ways in which we as a
society keep tabs on the individual citizens.
3. How do you define “security”? What do you believe makes us secure?
4. Where do you see security devices used in our community? Do they actually help make our
world a safer or more secure place?
5. Define “utopia” and “dystopia” and then consider how much our current way of life in the
Washington, D.C. metropolitan area is both utopian and dystopian.
6. Explore the theme of power as it relates to our lives – who has power in our society and how do
they use it? Is power a positive or negative force in society?
7. The novel Little Brother plays A LOT on the ideas found in the novel 1984 written by George
Orwell (published in 1948) which imagined a future that was very dystopian. We will do a short
lesson on the Orwell novel and its ideas; however, it would make you extra-smart if you did
some extra Orwell research on your own – I remember reading Orwell in high school and having
my mind blown; I consider my introduction to him a big part of my awakening as a reader and as
someone with a social/political conscience.
Then, while reading Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, answer the questions below, do the research tasks
and keep detailed notes (using post-its or your own note-taking approaches).
The Characters (throughout the reading):
1. Create a list of characters – as we are introduced to each new character, detail how she/he fits
into the social hierarchy of the novel. Who has power over whom? How do these individuals
have power? How do these individuals use power?
2. Consider the non-human characters in this novel – like in “The Ray Gun: A Love Story,” there are
some important “things” in this novel that end up taking on almost character-like roles.
The Language (throughout the reading):
1. Make a list of words you do not know – AND LOOK THEM UP so you learn what they mean.
2. Doctorow uses a number of NEOLOGISMS – made up words that he uses that we are expected
to just accept – how many can you find?
3. Technical terms – this novel is FILLED with computer-speak, geek-talk and online meme terms –
for example, the use of w1n5t0n for Winston is a standard computer method of writing a name
using both numbers and letters. Create a list of the other technical terms used (and define them
as needed).
Assignment 2: Maus 1 & 2
Read Maus, Books 1 & 2 by Art Speigelman, keeping a dialectical reading journal that contains at least 20
valid entries. These entries should reflect your thinking process as it relates to the entire book (in other
words, not only the first section or book). Maus 1 & 2 are also available for download free of charge at
http://www.comix4free.com/2015/05/maus-books-1-2-complete-tpb/
as well as my site, englishscholar.com. They are in .cbr format, which is simply a renamed .rar file.
THIS ASSIGNMENT IS DUE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2016
This is my preferred (free, downloadable) comic reader: http://comicrack.cyolito.com/
I also have some lending copies in my classroom.
DIALECTICAL JOURNAL INSTRUCTIONS:
You may use your dialectical journal to:
Pose questions
Read closely for details, images, diction, etc.
Notice patterns
Write analysis and make connections
Make inferences about characters, symbols, etc.
Directions for formatting your journals:
1. Divide your page in half long ways.
2. The left column is for the actual quotes from the text and the page number. The right hand column is
for your reactions.
3. Your responses to the text will be counted as wrong if they are simply a summary of what is
happening in the book. The purpose of the journals is for you to THINK about the novel, not simply
describe what is happening.
Suggestions on how to begin your comments (just suggestions, you do not have to use any of these):
It’s interesting to me that . . .
I like/dislike this because . . .
This character is . . .
This part is confusing because . . .
This description makes me feel . . .
The setting gives the effect of . . .
The attitude of this character makes me feel . . .
The author seems to think/feel . . . because . . .
Sometimes I feel like that character when . . .
The tone of this part makes me feel . . .
This makes me think that . . . will happen later because . . .
This character seems to feel . .
Please note the following example from Animal Farm:
p. 35 “The pigs did not actually work, bur
Hmmmmmm...sounds like the pigs are getting
directed and supervised the others. With their
ready to pull one over on the other animals. How
superior knowledge it was natural they should
can the others be so stupid? The irony is that the
assume leadership.”
pigs have said that everyone should work, but
THEY aren’t working.
Vary your entries. Do not allude only to the written text. Base roughly half of your entries on only the
visual representations, i.e. Speigelman' illustrations.
Here is an example using Neil Gaimun's Coraline, another critically-acclaimed graphic novel:
Page 10, the largest panel. (upper right)
"The other - the big, carved, brown wooden door
at the far corner of the drawing room - was
locked".
I think that Gaimun made this panel very large to
show the reader how important the doorknob has
become to Coraline. Her obsession with it makes
it bigger in her head than it really is. Also, the
artist uses dark colors to make it seem dangerous,
or forboding.
Again, completing these assignments to the best of your ability is the key to succeeding in this class. The
two works, and the concepts these assignments address, form a basis for the skills that students learn,
starting with week one. You may use a journal, a composition book or any other suitable physical text to
construct your Summer assignments. Try to pace yourself, reading and writing gradually throughout the
Summer. I'm already looking forward to our year together!