AP English Language and Composition
Summer Assignment
Rationale: In preparation for your AP Language / English 11 course, you will need to expose yourself
to diverse mediums of communication in order to synthesize a response to the overarching question
that will introduce the course.
From the accompanying list you are to choose the following:
1 piece of non-fiction / essay
1 poem OR song
1 film / documentary to watch
1 visual accompaniment / political cartoon
2 articles of student choice that relate to the overarching question
Articles should be from a credible magazine or newspaper, such as: Time, Newsweek, The New
Yorker, Washington Post, The Weekly Standard, Mother Jones, The Economist, etc.
A. Links to suggested texts:
“On Dumpster Diving” by Lars Eighner (50 Essays; pg. 161))
From “Serving in Florida” by Barbara Ehrenriech (The Language of Composition; 394 - 403)
“I Just Wanna Be Average” by Mike Rose (50 Essays; pg. 350)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/66480190/I-Just-Wanna-Be-Average-by-Mike-Rose
“The Traveling Bra Salesman’s Lesson” by Claudia O’Keefe (The Language of Composition)
http://www.wolaver.org/peace/outsourcing.htm
“In Praise of a Snail’s Pace” by Ellen Goodman (The Language of Composition; )
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/12/AR2005081201386.html
“I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olson (The Language of Composition)
http://producer.csi.edu/cdraney/2011/278/resources/olsen_ironing.pdf
“Grade A: The Market for a Yale Woman’s Eggs” by Jessica Cohen (The Bedford Reader)
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2002/12/grade-a-the-market-for-a-yale-woman-seggs/302635/
B. Short Stories:
“Winter Dreams” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/winterd/winter.html
“Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway
http://www.scribd.com/doc/41444129/Hills-Like-White-Elephants-Complete-Story
"Mammon and the Archer" by O. Henry
http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/628/
"The Far and the Near" by Thomas Wolfe
http://www.readfirst.net/wolfe.html
C. Poems and Songs:
"Harlan Man" by Steve Earle
http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/earle-steve/harlan-man-2193.html
"The Mountain" by Steve Earle
http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/s/steve_earle/the_mountain.html
"The River" by Bruce Springsteen
http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-river-lyrics-bruce-springsteen.html
"Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" by Marvin Gaye
http://www.metrolyrics.com/inner-city-blues-lyrics-marvin-gaye.html
"You Can Make It If You Try" by Sly and the Family Stone
http://www.metrolyrics.com/you-can-make-it-if-you-try-lyrics-sly-the-family-stone.html
"I, Too, Hear America Singing" by Langston Hughes
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15615
"Let America Be America Again" by Langston Hughes
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15609
"Richard Corey" by Edwin Arlington Robinson
http://www.poemhunter.com/best-poems/edwin-arlington-robinson/richard-cory/
"Indian Singing in Twentieth Century America" by Gail Tremblay
"Shine, Perishing Republic" by Robinson Jeffers
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/shine-perishing-republic/
"Money" by Dana Gioia
http://www.danagioia.net/poems/money.htm
"Who Burns for the Perfection of Paper?" by Martin Espada
http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/136.html
"The Mix: The Sound of Your American Dream" by Eleanor Kagan at
http://www.npr.org/2012/07/01/155867822/the-mix-the-sound-of-your-american-dream
D. Films:
The Queen of Versailles, a documentary directed by Lauren Greenfield
Dogtown and Z Boys: The Birth of Extreme, a documentary directed by Stacy Peralta
Heist: Who Stole the American Dream?, a documentary produced and directed by Donald Goldmacher
and Frances Causey
E. Visual Texts:
“The Great GAPsby Society” by Jeff Parker
"American Pipe Dream," an editorial cartoon by Mike Keefe
http://www.intoon.com/cartoons.cfm/id/110032
“American Dream Check Out,” an editorial cartoon by Nate Sullivan
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=american+dream+editorial+cartoon&qpvt=american+dream+e
ditorial+cartoon&FORM=IGRE&adlt=strict#view=detail&id=D14F0A82025CFE661958FD66EC72B345480
2BCB3&selectedIndex=8
“Family Net Worth,” an editorial cartoon by Steve Kelley
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&biw=1280&bih=827&tbm=isch&tbnid=AMyzbQt6yOhxMM:&im
grefurl=http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/steve-kelley-pink-slipped-veteranpolitical-cartoonist-is-among-todays-times-picayunelayoffs/2012/06/12/gJQAuxcbYV_blog.html&docid=5Aq_Tc8Iyj1fcM&imgurl=http://www.washingtonpo
st.com/rf/image_606w/WashingtonPost/Content/Blogs/comicriffs/KELLEYworth.gif%253Fuuid%253D2GmjQrT0EeGhlHqLWE4bJQ&w=555&h=446&ei=07ddUfjJCbK4AOg2oHwBw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=321&vpy=176&dur=5953&hovh=201&hovw=250&tx=138&ty=12
4&page=1&tbnh=146&tbnw=179&start=0&ndsp=34&ved=1t:429,r:15,s:0,i:127
Overarching Question:
What is the American Dream and to what extent is it achievable for all
Americans?
Directions: After selecting materials from the list of requirements above, type the information into the
chart. For each of the categories listed in the chart, supply one piece of evidence from each source AND
explain HOW this quote relates to the overarching question.
Source
Text Name:
Poem / Song:
Film:
Visual / Cartoon
Article #1:
Article #2:
Evidence
Relation to Overarching
Question