Advanced Placement English III Language and Composition
Permian High School
Mr. Victor Chavez / Ms. Kristen N. Vesely, M.A.
[email protected] or [email protected]
2016 Summer Assignment
Welcome to AP Language and Composition, we are looking forward to an exciting year. This course is intended to
be taught at the same level as a college composition course and it prepares the student to take the AP Language and
Composition exam (REQUIRED) in May. In order to be ready for class, it is imperative that students continue
practicing critical thinking skills throughout the summer. These assignments are not meant to torture, but to keep
student’s minds sharp. These assignments must be completed and turned in on the first day of school. Hopefully
students will continue to read and write on his/her own as well as completing these assignments.
Plagiarism: Students will not receive credit for any work that is plagiarized because the student did not complete
the work. Furthermore, the student will not be allowed to make up the assignment that is plagiarized. The student
may not use Spark Notes, Monkey Notes, or any other materials to replace reading the actual book. This also
means the student may not use information from these websites for his/her paper. Students may not work
collaboratively on this assignment. All work must be the student’s original and independent work. If there
are difficulties in understanding or completing the assignments, please contact Mr. Chavez,
[email protected], or Ms. Vesely, [email protected].
Reading Assignment
Students must purchase the book listed below and read the entire book with a critical eye. Be prepared to
dissect the language of the book.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
After reading the book, please complete a dialectical journal. The journal will demonstrate the student’s
engagement with the texts and chronicle the student’s attempts to understand the language, and an argument as
well as providing a sampling of the student’s best critical thinking.
The student will create a chart (like the example below). Please be professional – all information must be typed
(12 point font, Times New Roman). In addition, the following must be included:
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MLA Heading: Student Name, Mr. Chavez/Ms. Vesely (Teacher Name), AP Lang (class), Date
completed – last name and page number in the top right corner.
Select 5-7 meaningful passages (the sentences can be a sentence or two in a single paragraph) that
adequately draw from the beginning, middle, and end of each text.
Write out the entire passage and include the page number.
Paraphrase/Summarize the passage. Please provide the context from which the quote came. (What is
happening before and after this passage appears in the text?)
Analyze and react to the passage in full sentences (NOT NOTES!) Use the Prolific Characteristics to
Note sheet for ideas about what to write. This should NOT just be a personal reaction or summary,
rather analyze the methods/strategies the author uses to convey his point. This is where engagement and
reflection will show. The analysis should be longer than the selected quotation or passage.
Example set-up:
Doe 1
John Doe
Mr. Chavez/Ms. Vesely
AP Lang
20 June 2015
The Scarlet Letter
Quotation/Passage from the text
w/page number
Paraphrase or Summary
Analyze and React
“In her lonesome cottage by the
seashore, thoughts visited her, such as
dared to enter no other dwelling in New
England; shadowy guests, that would
have been as perilous as demons to
their entertainer, could they have been
seen so much as knocking at her door”
(247).
This passage conveys the
intellect of Hester Prynne. She is
in trouble and forced to wear the
scarlet letter, but had people
known her thoughts she would
have been in greater trouble.
In this passage, Hawthorne
personifies the cottage and
Hester’s thoughts, giving them
life beyond their actual existence.
The cottage exemplifies Hester’s
life, a life of loneliness by the
seashore, but to her life of
loneliness comes “shadowy
guests.” These shadowy guests
are the thoughts-“speculations”that have become “common
enough on the other side of the
Atlantic,” but are still considered
dangerous here in the New
World. Hester conforms to the
Puritan way of life, externally
conforming to society’s
regulations, but all the while, she
is rebelling in her own mind.
She entertains
“perilous…demons” that threaten
her life just much as the act that
brought the scarlet letter to her
bosom. As shown through
Hawthorne’s tone, in a society
that rejected her, leaving her to
her loneliness, Hester finds her
solace and even hope from her
“guests.” Hawthorne further
describes Hester as one who
“speculate[s] the most boldly”
(247). Though she conforms, she
does not transform because of the
restrictions placed on her.
Instead, she nurtures her intellect
in ways that she otherwise might
not have, and thinks “boldly” of
new things and the unthinkable,
at times leading her to dark
thoughts and questions (248).
Prolific Characteristics to Note (SOAPSTone)
1. Reader Response: Be able to trace your reactions, to ask questions in class, to remind yourself when
you find answers to earlier questions. This should help note the writer’s effectiveness.
• Make Note of:
• Your reactions/emotional responses (humor, surprise, sadness, anger, frustration, criticism,
confusion, etc.)
• Your questions or lack of understanding or doubts (ask “Why?”)
• Your revelations (when “things” become clear to you, when you create connections between
ideas)
• Similarities to other works (text-to-text (This reminds me of…))
• Wonderful writing – passages that strike you artistically/aesthetically and why
2. Speaker: Think about who the writer is and what he or she NEEDS to communicate. This should help
you determine the author’s credibility.
• Make Note of:
• Introductory facts (author backgrounds and relationship to the topic, bias, etc.)
• Ethos – how does the author establish credibility and character on the given topic?
• Note word and language that indicate the author’s attitude or tone and where it shifts
• Note when the author directly or indirectly states how he or she feels
• Observe key lines that stand out as crucial to the author’s argument
3. Occasion: Think about what caused the author to write about this topic and whether or not it is a valid
reason.
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Make Note of:
The author’s reasons for writing – what is the motivation?
Historical, political, and social issues surrounding the topic
The author’s personal reasons as well as the greater world influences for the piece
Evidence of views characteristic of the time period and culture surrounding the work
Descriptions of class judgments, racism, gender biases, stereotypes, etc.
4. Audience: Think about what kind of person or people the author intended to view the piece. Is the
author able to connect with that audience effectively?
• Make Note of:
• Evidence of who the author is trying to reach
• Where the author directly or indirectly addresses a specific audience
• Any “call to action” that the author is issuing to the reader
• Pathos – does the author appeal to your emotions through anecdotes and figurative language
5.
Purpose: Think about the author’s purpose in writing this book and whether or not he or she is
effective in that purpose.
• Make Note of:
• Specific reasons for writing (informing, persuading, arguing, refuting, exemplifying)
• Logos – the author’s appeal to reason. Examine how the author makes the reader believe in that
purpose.
6. Subject: Think about what the book is discussing and whether or not the author shows why this
subject matter is important.
• Make Note of:
• Elements related to the problem or issue
• How the author develops or deepens the aspects of the problem or issue
• How the author shows the complications related to the subject and the implication of it to you, a
specific people, the nation, the world, etc.
7. Authorial Devices and Structures in the Argument: Think about the author’s techniques in
delivery and how effective the author’s methods are for rhetorical purposes.
• Make Note of:
• Changes in point of view or changes in emphasis
• Crucial language or vocabulary (Not just words you don’t understand, but words that seem to be
important to the understanding of the argument, i.e.: jargon, idioms, technical vocabulary, etc.)
• Stylistic techniques (syntax, irony, satire, humor, exaggeration, repetition, patterns, possible
symbols, significant metaphors, other notable literary and rhetorical devices)
• How the author’s structure of the argument or book influences the reader and relates to the
subject, audience and purpose. (Why did the author organize his/her ideas this way?)
ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS. NO EXCEPTIONS!!