Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition s2

Mr. Herberg Summer 2015

SUMMER WORK Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition Your final year of English studies at Oak Park begins this summer. As a student in AP English Literature and Composition, you have chosen to undertake an intensive study of literature at a college level, both in thought and effort. Since the summer work will take up some of your vacation time, the two novels have been chosen for their merit and economy of expression. Here is the required reading for this summer:  Martel’s Life of Pi  Voltaire’s Candide, Penguin Classics, Translated by John Butt (ISBN-10: 0140440046) Please make sure that you purchase the specific edition of Candide. Our school usually provides an opportunity to purchase these works at one time and location. Also, you might want to purchase Style: 10 Lessons in Grace and Clarity for use later in the year when we spend some time on enhancing writing style, though this work is not required. Choose one of the works to answer the questions on the Theme Work Guide found on my homepage. Allow two to two-and-a-half hours to answer the questions after you have read the novel. Type your responses and organize into sections according to the groupings in the guide. Aside from the theme work responses, which are due the first day of class, you will be tested on both works the first week of school. The test will be multiple choice, factual in nature, and consist of questions on plot, quotations, and associations between elements within each work. This test may or may not be difficult for you depending on your ability to recall important elements in a work that stand out because they are key to understanding the work, or are a part of a pattern, a leitmotif, a strand of thought, or repeat key ideas, or further the author’s message. Although I strongly encourage students who enroll in AP English Literature and Composition to take the AP exam in May of 2016, it is not a requirement of the class; however, a willingness and desire to study and perform at a college pace is. In the same vein, to receive a good grade in class, your writing must exhibit college- level skills. AP English will provide you with the means to be successful in college English classes and offer you ample opportunity to demonstrate your learning, creativity, insight, and bravura in English. If you are not already well on your way to being a virtuoso in English literature, you will be soon enough. I look forward to a working with you next year.

Sincerely, Mr. Herberg