AP English Language and Composition Summer Reading List and Assignment 2015
Welcome to AP English Language and Composition! As part of this course, you will read a book over the summer and
take notes while reading. The purpose of our summer reading assignment is simple: Reading over the summer helps
keeps your mind “in the game,” adds to the number of major literary selections you will have read by the time you
take your AP exams, and gives you and classmates a common literary experience, providing you and your teacher
with immediate instruction opportunities.
Assignment
Please select one of the following books to read over the summer. This list reflects a focus on non-fiction texts.
1. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Nonfiction): Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but
scientists know her a HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells were taken without her
knowledge in 1951. She became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio
vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she
remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance. The New York Times bestseller tells a
riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and healing; and of a
daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew.
2.
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (Nonfiction) Silent Spring galvanized conservationists, ecologists, biologists,
social critics, reformers, and organic farmers to join in the American environmental movement. Carson’s
sensational best seller helped transform and broaden the older conservation movement into more
comprehensive and ecologically informed environmentalism. Moreover, through dozens of translations, Silent
Spring affected events abroad and prepared the way for the rise of environmental and Green movements
worldwide. Today, half a century later, Silent Spring continues to outrage many conservatives and inspire
environmentalists.
Major Grade: Annotation of one novel (Due on the first day of school)
Choose one of the books for your summer reading. You must annotate the book (comment on, add notes,
interpret, mark up.) This means, you will need your own copy of the book so that you can use sticky notes,
underline, and write notes in the margin. The annotation will be your first grade in AP Language and
Composition when you get back to school.
Pay special attention to the speaker (the voice that tells the story), the occasion (the context and
circumstances that prompted the writing, the audience (the group of people the author wants to be
affected by the text), the purpose (the reason behind the writing of the text), the Subject ( topics
that are developed into full ideas, arguments, or themes-what the speaker is literally saying),
and the tone (the attitude of the author toward his/her subject. This helps to impart meaning
through tone of voice).
*****You will need to bring your annotated book to class on the first day. During the first week, you will use your
book to complete other assignments (i.e. timed essays, quizzes, tests, Socratic Seminars, etc.)
Contact your instructors:
Please feel free to contact your instructors via e-mail if you have questions about anything this summer.
Mrs. Holden:
[email protected]
Mrs. Osborn: [email protected]
AP Language and Composition is just what the title explicitly states—an advanced reading and writing intense course. Make sure that you like to read and write a lot,
or this may be the wrong course for you.