SUMMER READING
th
12 grade - AP Literature and Composition – 2015
Mrs. Kasten
Welcome to Advanced Placement Literature and Composition. Incoming AP Literature students
are required to read several texts in preparation for the course and subsequent AP exam. One
portion of the AP exam, the Free Response essay, demands that students have a wide variety of
challenging literary works that they can draw from when writing the essay. The goal of the
course’s reading, however, is not only to prepare you for the exam, but also to initiate you into
conversations about ideas through books by both contemporary and classic authors. Remember:
AP Literature is college; it is not preparation for college.
Part I: Reading and Annotating
Each student must do the following:
- Read and annotate the following novel and poem: Invisible Man (Ellison) and “We Wear
the Mask” (Dunbar)
o To prepare yourself, annotate by way of close reading. Pay special attention to all
standard literary elements such as: narration, plot, characterization, setting, tone,
figurative language and theme(s).
o If you are not familiar with annotation you are encouraged to read Dr. Adler’s
essay, “How to Mark a Book” (download at: www.bfhskasten.weebly.com)
Part II: The Essays
Both Essays should be 750 words each, typed and in MLA format. A Works Cited page is also
required for both and must adhere strictly to MLA format. Students are encouraged to use words
from the SAT vocabulary list.
Essay One:
In many works of literature, a character often chooses to allow others to define his or her
identity. This choice often involves an identity crisis, and the character is forced either to
acquiesce to others’ definitions or to find his or her own identity. Invisible Man is a novel where
a character is faced with this dilemma and the result. Do not merely summarize the plot.
Essay Two:
Read Paul Dunbar’s poem “We Wear the Mask” and write an essay in which you address the
speaker’s attitude toward the “mask”. Include such elements as tone, diction, and point of view
in your essay.
Part III: Due Date and Questions
Both essays, along with annotations for both texts, are due July 22nd – the first day of school
Any questions should be directed to Mrs. Kasten at [email protected]
Strategies for the Poetry Analysis Essay:
--Circle and underline important parts of the prompt as you read and analyze it.
--Write in 3rd person, present tense. Put poem’s title in quotation marks.
--Put author’s name and poem’s title in the opening paragraph.
--Establish the meaning of the work as a whole (main lesson/theme) in the opening paragraph.
--Thesis: Place in opening paragraph. “The text shows X in order to show/highlight/accomplish
Y.”
--Underline or circle parts as you read. Annotate in the margin.
--Note physical structure of the poem and its importance to the poem’s meaning.
--Title and ending are often the most important parts of poem. Address accordingly.
--Rhyme scheme? What is its purpose to the meaning of the poem?
--One-sentence summary: Jot down immediately after reading the poem.
--Poem’s message: What is it? How does the author deliver that message?
--Tone: Identify tone of poem and any tone shifts that occur, especially at ending.
--Irony: Always address irony if it is present and explain its importance to poem’s meaning.
--Address other literary elements and their importance to the poem’s meaning.
--Interweave analysis with summary. Pure summary is death. Support the points you make.
--Do not use line numbers; briefly quote. Don’t give first and last word with ellipsis in between.
--Do not say “The author uses diction” or that “Sentences have syntax.” These are givens.
Get to the point. (Ex. William Blake depicts a blacksmith’s setting for the creation of the
tyger with “furnace,” “anvil,” and “hammer.” Syntactically, William Blake’s “The Fly”
displays an erratic movement of lines that mimic the movement of a fly.)
--Do not write “I liked the poem” or “Shakespeare was a great writer.” Cut to the chase.
--Conclude, even if you only have time for one sentence. Restate your thesis,
emphasize “meaning as a whole” or “significant to the work,” and clinch it.
--Creative writing is not academic writing. Academic writing is analytical writing.