Hopewell High School AP Language and Composition Summer

Reading Assignment
Teacher Summer Contact: Ms. Scott
brittanyn.scott@cms.k12.nc.us
(980) 223-5315
In order to prepare you for AP Language and Composition, you will
need to continue practicing your critical reading and writing skills
throughout the summer. These assignments are designed to keep your
brains working for the summer and to assist you with understanding
the class as soon as you walk in the door. You are encouraged to
purchase a copy of the summers assigned reading so that you can
take notes in the margins and highlight information, however, you can
also check out free copies from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library. This
summers assignments have been created to give you an introduction
to the kinds of reading you will see throughout the course and the
types of analysis you will be required to do for that reading.
During the year and as part of your summer homework, you will
analyze the stylistic and rhetorical structure of mostly non-fiction
works. You will learn to write persuasively with precision, concision, and
clarity.
The completed summer assignment is due on the FIRST day of
school and will go into the grade book as your first assignment worth
300 informal points. Be prepared to discuss these assignments
on the first day. You must pace yourselves over the summer, not
leaving this for the last minute. Create a product that is tidy and easy
for me to navigate and grade. Please follow all formatting guidelines
and do not hesitate to contact me with questions.
Materials you will need to complete your summer reading
assignments:
1. A inch binder where all work will be held
2. Book: Reading Like a Writer: A Guide For People Who Love Books
and For Those Who Want to Write Them by Francine Prose
3. Book: Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
Set-Up for your Binder:
1. Set up your binder with three dividers
2. Label the first divider Literary Terms
3. Hole punch your typed glossary and put it here. Skip lines
between definitions please.
4. Label the second divider SPAM
5. Hole punch and put your reader responses here.

6. Label the third divider Outliers

7. Place your reader quote responses here in order by page number.
Part I: Define the literary terms list below. (You are creating
your own working glossary, which we will refer to throughout
the year.)
Literary terms are labels for the precise language tools used to create
meaning. Your understanding and use of these tools is crucial to your
success in this class and your achievement on the AP Language test.
While deconstructing a piece of writing, identifying the tool or
technique the author uses is crucial. Knowing how and why an author
used a tool is even more important. Define each of these terms
concisely and in your OWN words. Do not just cut and paste them from
an online dictionary. This will not help you understand the term and
how to use it. You must interpret the definition for yourself. You will be
required to use these terms correctly throughout the year and on the
AP exam. When you search, make sure that you are using the literary/
writing definitions.
A. Word Use and Meaning (All of these tools are used for a
literary effect)
Diction
Slang
Hyperbole
Prose
Imagery
Understatement
Verse
Sensory Detail
Cliche
Alliteration
Figurative Language
Irony
Onomatopoeia
Metaphor
Literary Tone
Connotation
Extended Metaphor
Literary Style
Denotation
Simile
Literary
Theme
Colloquial Language
Abstract and Concrete Language
Satire/ Humor
Sarcasm
Voice
B. Sentences and Paragraphs
Syntax
Phrase
Order
Parallelism
Sentence
Repetition
Paragraph
Clause
Juxtaposition
C. Literary genres/ rhetorical modes
Novel
Autobiography
Non-fiction
Biography
Short Story
Diary

Climactic
Rhetorical Question
Anecdote

Cause-and-effect
Compare and Contrast
Classification

Dramatic literature (plays)

Expository Essay
Memoir
Narrative Essay

Process Analysis

D. Fictional Elements
Point of View
Climax
Protagonist
Motif
Plot
Resolution
Antagonist
Flashback
Setting
Falling action
Archetype
Foreshadowing
Exposition
Episodic
Personification
Rising Action
Ambiguous ending
Anthropomorphism
Objectification
Audience
Dialogue
Symbolism
Parable
Allegory
E. Argument and Persuasion
Rhetoric
Claim
Oxymoron
Ethical Appeal (Ethos)
Evidence
Paradox
Rational Appeal (Logos)
Concession
Logical Fallacies
Emotional Appeal (Pathos)
Inductive Reasoning
Thesis
Deductive Reasoning
Part II:
Read Reading Like a Writer: A Guide For People Who Love Books and
For Those Who Want to Write Them by Francine Prose. This piece of
nonfiction will take you on a guided tour of the tools and tricks of the
masters to discover why their work has endured. This will serve as a
lesson about paragraphs, how to advance plot through dialogue, how
to use telling detail, etc. Prose, the author, will remind you to slow
down and pay attention to words, the raw material out of which all
literature is crafted. This text will provide a solid base from which we
can build on your exposure to effective non-fiction writing. I would
highly recommend purchasing this book for yourself so that you can
make notes and highlight to help assist you.
After reading, write an analysis: Analyze the text by Francine Prose
according to SPAM:
S: Stylistic devices and rhetorical (persuasive) strategies used in
the piece. Use the literary terms list to identify and briefly
explain what tool(s) the author used and why. AP Comp is mostly
about how well you can deconstruct and construct an argument.
P: Purpose (thesis or main point) for writing the piece. What are
your clues?
A: Audience. For whom do you think the piece was written? How
do you know?
M: Meaning of the piece to you. This is where you can (briefly)
elaborate about your personal reaction to the piece. Specific

textual evidence to support your thoughts is crucial to the

analysis.
In the analysis, explain what specifically in the text is effective and
how and why something was effective. Whether you like the text or not
is not important. Be objective, clear, and concise. Do NOT summarize.
Summary is not analysis. We will continue to analyze essays in this
manner throughout the year. This analysis should be at least one
page in length!
Part III:
Read the book: Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell and
complete at least 12 reading journals.

Complete reading journals for Outliers.

Each journal should be approximately half a page in length. You
should have no more than 2 responses per typed-double spaced
page.
Select one quotation or passage for approximately every 20-25
pages of text. (This should be at least 12 responses.) Respond to
the quotations, focusing on the ways in which the author uses
language (terms from your list) to create a specific effect. What
is it about the language that stands out and makes the passage
distinctive? How does the passage reflect the authors style and
reveal larger themes of the work? I expect responses to be
developed thoughtfully and intellectually. Responses should be
approximately 60 words or a page in length. The journals
should be constructed as follows:

Quote:
Write the quote from the book with the correct MLA citation (page
number).
Response:
Use one of the following ways to respond to the quote you chose in
paragraph form.

Raise questions about the beliefs and values addressed in the text

Give personal reactions to the passage

Discuss the words, ideas, or actions of the author

Tell what it reminds you of in your own experience

Write about what it makes you think and feel

Argue with or speak to the author