Summer Reading Assignment AP English Literature & Composition

2016- The Scholars Academy

2017 Instructor: Melissa DeLoach

You are required to read FOUR works of literary merit between now and
January to prepare you for AP English Literature & Composition which you will
take in Spring 2017 at USC Upstate as part of the Scholars Academys
comprehensive curriculum. The assignment is divided into 2 parts. Complete
the written assignment explained for each part. All of the assignments
involve Blackboard, so you will be enrolled in the AP English Literature course
by June 1. These tasks point directly to the requirements of the AP Literature
Exam which you will take for college credit in May. You must be well-read in a
variety of literature both classic and contemporary to do well on this College
Board exam and in this course. These assignments will earn you the first four
major grades of the AP Literature course.
PART ONE: How to Read Literature
For this assignment you will use a pdf file posted on Blackboard in the Summer Reading module
and the journal tool also linked in the Summer Reading module on Blackboard. It will also be
emailed to you.
The pdf file entitled "How to Read Literature Like a Professor" by Thomas Foster offers AP
Literature students candid, personal insight into the art of reading literature at the college level. It
was recently recommended for all AP Lit students.
Each chapter focuses on one major motif that AP Lit students should consider in analyzing
poems, novels, short stories, and plays. In response to a chapter, post one journal entry, being
sure to respond to three things:
1. What is the overall lesson Foster wants readers to take from this chapter?
2. What are three specific tips you gleaned from the chapter?
3. Connect Fosters lesson in this chapter with your personal experience with
literature. Be specific in referencing at least one particular work of literature
you have read to make your connection with this chapter. Using first person
here is acceptable.
An entry (covering one chapter) should be one well-written paragraph in complete sentences.
At least one quote from the chapter required in each entry.
All quotes must be documented using MLA style (Foster 5).
You must do 10 entries/10 chapter responses (any chapters as they are all superb and different).
There are 27 chapters in the pdf work. Please read ALL chapters, however.
Each entry is worth 10 pts of your total grade for this assignment.
A rubric for this part of your summer reading assignment is also posted on Blackboard.

Due July 1 by 11:59 pm.

Summer Reading Assignment AP English Literature & Composition

2016- The Scholars Academy

2017 Instructor: Melissa DeLoach

PART TWO:

Choose one work in each category for a total of 3.

For this assignment you will use 3 journal tool links in the Summer Reading Module on Blackboard as well as a
Word document of AP Lit Exam essay prompts, also posted in that module on Blackboard. You will need to refer also
to Fosters chapters you have already read as well. You may read these selections in any order you wish.
Two by Khaled Hosseini
The Kite Runner

CHOOSE ONE.
A Thousand Splendid Suns

Dramatic Classics
Lysistrata by Aristophenes
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
Diverse & Distinct
Beloved by Toni Morrison
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Formal Impressions
dates below.

CHOOSE ONE.
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
A Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen
The Hairy Ape by Eugene ONeil
CHOOSE ONE.
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor
Dostoyevsky
The Stranger by Albert Camus
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Private Journals

See due

The works above represent a multitude of cultures and eras, a requirement of the well-read AP Literature student.
For each work you choose in each category above, you will write a private journal in the AP Literature course on
Blackboard. A separate journal has been created for each work you read. A rubric is also posted on Blackboard. For
each work, you will post 4 entries as outlined below:
Entry 1: Read the first 25 pages of the novel or the first Act or scene of the play. Then write a visceral response
to the reading. This is your personal initial reaction to this work so far. Approach this response impressionistically at
first but go beyond those initial emotions into your first critical analysis of the text read thus far, formalistically. That
means use the work to support your response; at least one direct quote and lots of details indirectly. First person is
fine here! Talk to me honestly about your reaction to this book.
Entries 2 & 3:
Examine the list of essay prompts from past AP Lit exams that are posted on Blackboard.
Choose 2 of these prompts that you can apply to this book or play. Post a separate entry for each prompt noting the
year of the prompt; do not write the entire prompt in your entry. In your entry you must explain how this prompt fits
this book; so your first sentence should clue me in to which prompt you are referring. You dont have to actually
write the essay but informally explain the connection to the prompt & book. What details from the book are relevant
to this prompt? REQUIRED: Be specific and document direct quotes from the book. Use at least one quote in each
entry. First person is fine here! Talk to me honestly about your plan for this prompt in connection with this book.
Entry 4:
After reading the book, explain how you used something specific from Fosters How to Read
Literature Like a Professor to help you understand this book more fully. REQUIRED: Be specific and document
direct quotes from the book. Refer specifically to chapters and comments from Foster as well.
GRADE:
Each journal counts as a major grade and will be turned in following the deadlines below. Ten points
will be deducted for each day a journal is late. Each entry in each journal is worth 25 pts.
Journal #1 with 4 entries (visceral response + 2 prompt analysis + Foster connection): August 1 by
11:59 pm.
Journal #2 with 4 entries (visceral response + 2 prompt analysis + Foster connection): August 17 by
11:59 pm.
Journal #3 with 4 entries (visceral response + 2 prompt analysis + Foster connection): January 3 by
classtime TBA.

Summer Reading Assignment AP English Literature & Composition

2016- The Scholars Academy

2017 Instructor: Melissa DeLoach

Email me with questions as needed throughout the summer at mdeloach@uscupstate.edu.

Academic integrity is required of all Scholars. Your words should be yours, not the internets or your scholarly neighbors.
WARNING: Your work must be authenticnot a rehash of some online study guide you
found. Im more interested in what you got out of the reading rather than finely accurate
points ancient English teachers have noted. No two assignments, even on the same book,
will look or sound alike. Thats how authentic your work must be here.