AP English Language and Composition
Summer Reading 2014
Hello and welcome to AP English Language and Composition! The focus of the first semester is a
simple but important one: How do authors use devices to convey a larger message? To
introduce you to this skill, you will:
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Read Moby Dick by Herman Melville (It is available free as an e-book and free online as
a print text. If you need a hard copy, we can provide one.)
Identify 15 significant quotes within the novel (cited in MLA format)
Analyze each quote in relation to a theme/message of the novel (following the provided
three-step sheet)
The quotes need to span the entire book. That means you will find three quotes from the
following five sections:
Section 1: Chaps. 1-23
Section 2: Chaps. 24-51
Section 3: Chaps. 52-78
Section 4: Chaps. 79-109
Section 5: Chaps. 110-Epilogue
Some of your quotes may be relatively short (especially for diction examples), while others may
be lengthy. However, no single quote should be longer than eight sentences.
For the written portion:
First, identify a rhetorical device in the quote. If you cannot find one, choose another quote. If
there is more than one rhetorical device in the quote, choose one to focus on. Devices you should
consider are simile, hyperbole, allusion, metaphor, personification, diction (say what type),
imagery, and tone (say what type). However, you are not limited to these devices. You may
repeat devices, but do not rely too heavily on any single device.
Then, follow step one on the three-step sheet. When transcribing the quote, add context and work
the quote into your own sentence. NO FREESTANDING QUOTES.
Lastly, follow steps two and three—relate the device and quote to a theme. Each analysis should
be 6-8 sentences. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO SUMMARIZE. Instead, prove how the author
uses devices to stress a theme. An author does not HAVE to use imagery, he does not HAVE to
use hyperbole, etc. It is your job to explain how and why an author uses devices in relation to the
message.
Use the example below as a guide.
Device: Imagery
Quote with context (step one): While at the Spouter-Inn, a whaler’s mainstay,
Ishmael describes a painting at the inn’s entrance. Within the painting, he sees a
“long, limber, portentous, black mass of something hovering in the centre of the
picture . . . A boggy, soggy, squitchy picture truly, enough to drive a man distracted.
Yet was there a sort of indefinite, half-attained, unimaginable sublimity about it that
fairly froze you to it, till you involuntarily took an oath with yourself to find out what
that marvelous painting meant” (Melville 20).
Analysis (steps two and three): To convey his idea of man’s tendency to search for
higher meaning, Melville creates a telling image. In the above quote, he describes an
almost hypnotic shape in the middle of the picture. It dominates the center of the
painting and thus draws the eye. However, with the eye upon it, it remains indefinite,
true identification just out of reach. Still, Ishmael remains determined to see and
understand the painting as the artist must have intended. Melville’s image of Ishmael,
obsessed with finding some meaning in the painting, highlights his idea of the human
need to seek a higher truth.
Some helpful hints:
 Carefully read this assignment sheet. Attention to detail is a critical skill for AP Lang.
 Do not wait until the last second to read the novel and complete this assignment.
 List your examples in chronological order.
 Type your final assignment—12 point, Times New Roman.
 You will also be graded on:
- proper grammar and spelling
- third person (no forms of I, we, you) unless in quotes
- no contractions unless in quotes
- no quotes as their own sentences
- active voice and strong verbs (few “be” verbs—am, is, are, was, were,
be, being, been)
To reiterate, your summer reading assignment is to read Moby Dick and analyze 15 quotes. The
final product must be completely yours and yours alone. Do not, we repeat, do not use any
resources other than the novel itself, to help you (i.e. no internet resources or sparknotes to give
you ideas). We want to know what you observed while reading the essays, not what someone else
noted. That will be considered plagiarism and will result in a zero for the assignment.
The assignment is due on the second day of school, Tuesday August 26. It will be accepted one
day late, on Wednesday August 27, for a 10% late penalty, but will not be accepted after that
date. It is an expectation that AP students do not turn in late work. Expect a reading quiz on the
novel the first week of school.
If you have any questions, feel free to see Dr. Jackson in J272, Mrs. Green in ROOM, Ms. Evans
in K166, Ms. Russell in ROOM, or Ms. Dibler in E253.
Good luck and have a great summer!
STEPS TO ANALYZING AND EXPLAINING A DEVICE
Step #1: Device + context + quote. DO NOT USE FREESTANDING QUOTES.
Step #2: Explain the device IN DEPTH. Elab. on its effects.
1. Diction—What connotations? What images do the words create (if any)? Why are THOSE
SPECIFIC words chosen?
2. Imagery—What image is created? Describe it in your own words and enhance it.
3. Simile/Metaphor—What two things are being compared? (Don't just restate the comparison in
the exact words used by the author.)
4. Parallel Structure—What SPECIFIC words are parallel?
5. Pathos—What emotion is created in the reader and HOW is it created?
6. Logos—What logical process exists within the example?
7. Rhetorical Question—What issues is the author asking the reader to consider?
8. Hyperbole—What is being exaggerated?
9. Tone—How does the example show a certain tone?
10. Allusion—What is alluded to?
11. Personification—What is personified?
12. Exemplification—What example(s) is/are given?
13. Enumeration—What is listed?
Step #3: Explain how the effects created by the device help the author convey his message.
1. Diction—Now that the diction has created certain images or given connotations, WHY DOES
THE AUTHOR WANT HIS READER TO HAVE THOSE IMAGES OR CONNOTATIONS IN HIS HEAD? How
do they help him convey his message?
2. Imagery—Why does the author choose to create this specific image in the reader's head?
Now that it is in the reader's head, how does it help the reader understand the author's
message?
3. Simile/Metaphor—How does the comparison of those specific objects help the reader see the
author's message?
4. Parallel Structure—Why does the author make those SPECIFIC words parallel? How does
making certain words parallel help the reader see the author's message?
5. Pathos—Now that the author has created a certain emotion in the reader, how does he hope
to use this emotion to help his readers see his message?
6. Logos—Now that the reader understands the logical process in the example, how does the
author use that understanding to convey his message?
7. Rhetorical Questions—Why does the author choose to use a rhetorical question here? Why is it
important that the reader answer this question for himself? How does this answer help the
author convey a message?
8. Hyperbole—WHY is this exaggerated? How does exaggerating this help the reader understand
the author's message?
9. Tone—By creating a certain tone, what does the author hope to stress to his reader? How does
the author use the tone to convey a message?
10. Allusion—By making this allusion, what does the author want his reader to understand? How
does alluding to a certain event/person help the reader better see his message?
11. Personification—WHY does the author personify this object/idea/thought? How does giving it
human characteristics make the reader more inclined to see the message?
12. Exemplification—Why are these examples given? How does giving these examples help the
reader accept the message?
13. Enumeration—What is the effect of the list? Why does the author choose to overwhelm the
reader? How does the list help the convey the message?