Mrs. K. Williams
AP English Language and Composition, grade 11
Room 212
Email: [email protected]
Prospective Novel/Drama List for 2012-2013: Invisible Man, Othello, The Awakening, Into the Wild, The
Scarlett Letter, The Great Gatsby, Hamlet, Beloved
Summer Assignment:
Welcome to AP English Language. Over the summer all prospective AP English Language students are
required to read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby. As you read, be sure to annotate the text
(see *Success #3 for explanation). After you have read the novel in its entirety CHOOSE TWO of the
essay questions below. Essays must adhere to the following guidelines: a minimum of 5 full paragraphs,
MLA citation (A MLA Works Cited page must be attached to each essay), typed, double-spaced, TimesRoman, size 12. Copy of novel with annotations must be brought to the first day of class for follow up
assignment.
1. Most of the characters in the novel, The Great Gatsby put on false fronts in order to conceal their own
imperfections. Identify and analyze at least three of the characters who put on these masks, their
motivations for doing this, and the repercussions they suffer because of it. Use quotes, symbols, and
events as support.
2. In retrospect, the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a book introduces some of the major
themes of the work. Analyze how the first chapter of The Great Gatsby sets forth the major themes of the
novel. Use quotes, symbols, and events as support.
3. Gatsby represents the American dream. What does The Great Gatsby have to say about the condition of
the American Dream in the 1920’s? Analyze the ways in which the themes of dreams, wealth, and time
relate to each other in the novel’s exploration of the idea of America. Use quotes, symbols, and events as
support.
4. The men in the novel use deceit, money, and abuse of power in order to get ahead. The women are
treated like expensive trophies by the men. Identify and analyze how the three female characters in the
novel are forced to behave in order to complete in this superficial world. Use quotes, symbols, and events
as support.
*Success in AP Language requires the following:
1. You should really love literature. Close reading is embedded in every assignment and you will be
expected to look below the surface of the text. You will be reading, annotating, and analyzing each
piece of literature.
2. You should really love to write. You will be writing each class period.
3. You must annotate everything you read. This can be in the form of writing your notes, ideas, and
questions in the margins of the text or via post-it notes. You must use more than a highlighter.
4. You must be dedicated to working hard. If not, maybe Advanced Placement English Language is
not the course for you.
TURN OVER
5. Learn your literary terms and build your personal vocabulary. This course requires academic
language and writing. You need to have an understanding of the terminology used in reading and
discussing literature. One of the biggest obstacles students face on the AP Exam is a limited
vocabulary.
**Literary Terms students should know before entering AP English Language. There will be frequent
quizzes on the following terms.
Ad hominem
Allegory
Allusion
Anagram
Anecdote
Anaphora
Antecedent
Antithesis
Aphorism
Apostrophe
Colloquial
Connotation
Cumulative sentence
Connotation
Denotation
Diction
Euphemism
Figurative language
Genre
Hypophora
Hyperbole
Induction
Infer
Invective
Irony
Juxtaposition
Metonymy
Oxymoron
Paradox
Parallelism
Pedantic
Periodic Sentence
Personification
Rhetoric
Rhetorical questions
Satire
Sarcasm
Semantics
Setting
Subjective
Syllogism
Syntax
Theme
Thesis
Tone
Understatement
Zeugma
Allegory
Circumlocution
Ethos
Logos
Pathos