Advanced Placement English Language and Composition/ENG 151

Advanced Placement English Language and Composition/ENG 151 Summer Reading and Viewing Program (2014)

To maintain—rather than lose (i.e., the summer effect)—the valuable thinking, reading, and writing skills that you developed throughout the 2013-2014 school year and to prepare you for the academic challenges of English 151 and AP English Language and Composition, specifically the May 2015 AP English Language and Composition exam, you are instructed to complete a variety of summer reading or viewing assignments. These assignments reinforce skills that you have previously learned and will apply throughout the school year, provide research for a number of essays that you will write, and introduce terms that will help you grow as “skilled readers of prose written in a variety of contexts” and as “skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes” (College Board).

All assignments are due the first day of the 2014-2015 school year unless otherwise noted. These assignments will count as 15% of your quarter one grade. Please note that if you choose to not complete the summer reading assignments, you will not be eligible for a quarter one A. Note also that your semester one grade will reflect your summer reading success or lack thereof. Because late work will not be accepted, avoid waiting until August to complete the assignments. Follow the planner below or construct one of your own that better fits your schedule.

I encourage you to enjoy your summer with family and friends as well as devote time to your continued academic growth. Please contact me at [email protected] if you have any questions concerning the assignments.

Have a fun summer! See you in September. Mrs. Ide

Assignment Overview:  Read and annotate 3 great American speeches  Compile a current events portfolio (20 articles and notations)  View and analyze 3 documentaries  Read 1 AP-quality nonfiction book and complete 1 essay draft  Write out flashcards for 50 rhetorical terms Speech Reading and Annotation (up to 30 points) 1. Read 3 great American speeches. Each speech selected should be from a different decade. You may select speeches from the following websites:  http://www.americanrhetoric.com/top100speechesall.html  http://www.greatamericandocuments.com/speeches/

2. Print out each speech and begin practicing annotation (marking up the text with notations that will aid your comprehension of the essay). Consider at least ten of the bulleted items as you read each essay. Keep annotated essays in your AP Language binder.  define unknown vocabulary  make inferences  note important main points/claims  note tone/connotatively charged diction  identify the figurative language/rhetorical strategies in the passage  identify the function of figurative/rhetorical strategies at work in the passage  make personal responses  ask questions and theorize answers  make predictions and hypotheses  note patterns/motifs  evaluate the author/character’s arguments/claims and challenge these claims  make connections outside of the text  comment on the form/format/structure and shifts in style/structure  determine point of view  note universal human behaviors or themes at work in the text

Current Event Portfolio (up to 180 Points) 1. You will create a portfolio of examples and ideas to use as support for a number of argument essays. To locate these examples or ideas, you are to read 20 reputable newspaper, news magazine or journal articles (The New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today, The New Yorker, etc.). Articles must relate to current global, national, and local issues. Entertainment and sports articles will not count unless the article reflects an issue more significant than an individual celebrity’s personal problems, signing bonuses, etc.

2. Print each article and then make brief notes applying the SOAPSTone method to each article. See sample note sheet below and refer to Appendix A for SOAPSTone information. Keep articles and notes in your AP Language binder.  MLA Works Cited entry  Speaker (Author)  Occasion (Rhetorical Context)  Audience  Purpose (Goal)  Subject (Message)  Tone (Attitude)  Summary of Main Points  Personal Response

Sample (by Denise Ferguson)

Documentary Viewing and Basic Analysis (up to 30 points) 1. View one documentary of your choice each month (June-August). The following websites link to a multitude of documentaries:  www.pbs.org (Click on Programs and then on the Frontline icon to access documentaries.)  www.topdocumentaryfilms.com/watch-online/  www.watchdocumentary.org  Netflix (if you subscribe)

2. Make brief notes on the following items as you watch the documentary. See sample SOAPSTone notes above and Appendix A for SOAPSTone information. Keep notes in your AP Language binder.  MLA Works Cited entry  Speaker (Author)  Occasion (Rhetorical Context)  Audience  Purpose (Goal)  Subject (Message)  Tone (Attitude)  Summary of main points  Personal Response Independent Nonfiction Reading and Essay (up to 25 points) 1. Read one AP-quality, nonfiction book of your choosing. o Discover popular non-fiction for AP Language students at http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/ap-language-and-composition-reads

2. Keep a reading journal. For every chapter of the book, summarize key concepts or memorable quotations and passages. Comment on any standout literary or rhetorical strategies. Finally, provide personal reactions to the content (reflect on the events of the chapter and include how you would react in a similar situation). Place your reading journal in your AP English Language and Composition binder. Bring the binder and its contents to class the first day of class.

3. Respond to the Summer Essay Prompt (A first draft is due no later than the third day of school). Prompt: Works of nonfiction, whether implicitly or explicitly, present an argument to the reader and support this argument with different types of evidence and rhetorical techniques. For your selected summer reading, briefly identify the work’s central argument. Then, analyze the evidence and techniques the author employs to support his or her argument. Finally, in the conclusion, evaluate the argument as a whole. Avoid summarizing the text. Rather, focus on analyzing and evaluating the evidence. Attempt a two-page response. The essay will be considered a first draft and will be revised as the school year progresses.

Vocabulary for Summer Essay

 Rhetorical Appeals: logos, ethos, pathos  Rhetorical Modes: narration, description, exposition, argumentation  Rhetorical Devices: See flashcard list.  Literary Devices: See flashcard list.  Style: An evaluation of the sum of choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, and rhetorical and literary devices.  Diction: The author’s word choices, especially with regard to their precision and effectiveness.  Syntax: The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences. Refer to the rhetorical schemes on flashcard list.  Tone: attitude, point of view  Thesis: Statements that express the author’s opinion, purpose, meaning, or position.  Genre: Primary genres for AP Language—autobiography, biography, diary, criticism, essays; and journalistic, political, scientific, and nature writing. Rhetorical/Literary Devices Flashcards (up to 50 points) 1. For the following terms, make flashcards (term on one side and a brief definition on the other side). Save room to add examples as the school year progresses.

2. Bolded Terms: These terms have been introduced and studied in Freshman Literature and Composition, American Literature and Composition, and British Literature and Composition. Flashcards for these terms are not required but may prove helpful.

*Schemes: Deviation from the ordinary pattern or arrangement of words, letters, sounds (transference of order). **Tropes: Deviation from the ordinary and principal meaning of a word (transference of meaning). Appendix A

SOAPSTone (Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, Tone)

Originally conceived as a method for dissecting the work of professional writers, SOAPSTone provides a concrete strategy to help students identify and understand the main components of writing, including their own writing. SOAPSTone provides a series of questions that students must first ask themselves, and then answer, as they begin to analyze texts and/or plan for their own writing assignments.

S—Speaker Question: Who is the Speaker? The individual or collective voice of the text. Whether this voice belongs to a fictional character or to the writers themselves, students should determine how a writer develops the personality/character/credibility of the speaker or narrator that will influence the overall meaning of the text. Think about: What assumptions can you make about the speaker? (e.g. age, gender, emotional state, etc.) What is the speaker’s point of view?

O—Occasion Question: What is the Occasion? The context and catalyst that prompted the writing. All writers are influenced by the larger occasion: an environment of ideas, attitudes, and emotions that swirl around a broad issue. Then there is the immediate occasion: an event or situation that catches the writer's attention and triggers a response. Think about: What else was going on in the world when the author was writing?

A-Audience Question: Who is the Audience? The group of readers to whom this piece is directed. It may be one person or a specific group. This choice of audience will affect how and why writers write a particular text. Think about: Who does the author want to be affected by the text?

P—Purpose Question: What is the Purpose? The reason behind the text. Writers need to clearly consider the purpose of their text in order to develop the thesis or the argument and its logic, or in the case of fiction, to develop a theme. Writers should ask themselves, "What do I want my audience to think or do as a result of reading my text?"

S—Subject Question: What is the Subject? The general topic of the text. What is the speaker literally saying?

T—Tone Question: What is the Tone? The attitude of the author toward his/her subject. With the written word, tone is created by conscious choices in diction, syntax, figurative language, imagery and selection of details to extend meaning beyond the literal. Does the speaker seem sarcastic, aggressive, wistful, pessimistic, hopeful, bitter, reflective, skeptical, etc.?

DIDLS (Diction, Images, Details, Language, Syntax)

The acronym DIDLS is used to help students analyze the tone of a passage. By dissecting argumentative pieces, and considering their parts, passages should be much easier to comprehend.

D—Diction Questions: What words does the author use? How do these words characterize the passage? I—Images Questions: What images does the author create? How do these images imbue the piece with sensory input? D—Details Questions: Which details does the author include and omit? How do these details inform your understanding? L—Language Questions: What type of language doe the author use? How will this type of language work with the audience the writer has in mind? S—Syntax Questions: What types of sentences are used? How are words ordered? Where are points of emphasis?