Summer Reading Assignment: AP English Language and Composition, 2016 For questions, contact Mrs. Erika McCarthy at [email protected].
Per School Board Policy 2240, Leon County Schools recognizes that certain instructional materials may conflict with a student’s or parent’s value system. In such cases, a parent may request in writing an alternative summer reading assignment. Please direct inquiries to Erika McCarthy at [email protected].
Our class is a deep and thoughtful study of nonfiction—its various uses in our culture, the tools of its construction, and approaches to crafting it skillfully. So your summer reading this year is not a novel, but a collection of nonfiction pieces. We hope you’ll find some surprises and some delights as you take the opportunity to study each piece in depth. Get a copy1 of The Best American Essays of the Century, edited by Joyce Carol Oates. Read the Introduction by Oates that begins on page xvii and consider her points about essays. Then choose one of the following sets of essays to read.2 (Dates in parentheses are provided to help you locate each essay within the anthology, which is organized chronologically.)
List A “Once More to the Lake” by E.B. White (1941) This set of essays is written in a variety of modes, “The Future Is Now” by Katherine Anne Porter (1950) from personal reflection to critical analysis to social “A Sweet Devouring” by Eudora Welty (1957) critique. Subjects covered include reflections on “The Way to Rainy Mountain” by N. Scott Momaday (1967) time, life in a nuclear world, developing a love of “Looking for Zora” by Alice Walker (1975) reading, the Native American experience, a quest to “Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying” by Adrienne Rich (1977) uncover a lost author, the relationship between truth and self, and interactions with wilderness. Some “The Solace of Open Spaces” by Gretel Ehrlich (1981) adult themes are addressed. List B “Pamplona in July” by Ernest Hemingway (1923) This set of essays is written in a variety of modes, “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston (1928) from travel narrative to social commentary to “The Old Stone House” by Edmund Wilson (1933) personal epiphany. Subjects covered include “Total Eclipse” by Annie Dillard (1982) bullfighting, interpretations of race, reflections on “A Drugstore in Winter” by Cynthia Ozick (1982) history and change, natural wonders, learning to “Okinawa: The Bloodiest Battle of All” by William Manchester (1987) read, the experience of war, and the phenomenon of “Graven Images” by Saul Bellow (1997) modern photography. Some essays contain violence. Assignment You will hand your work in electronically to Turnitin.com during the first week of school, so type up and save all of your work as a single file. All answers should be in complete, well-crafted sentences and/or paragraphs, and your answers must reflect a sophisticated and academic reading of each essay. Textual evidence will really help. Label your answers with the title of each essay. For each essay you read, answer the following: 1. What is the implied argument or central message of the essay? This will have to be inferred from a careful reading of the essay! 2. How would you describe the author’s tone, style, or voice3? Give two quotes that demonstrate your description and explain how those quotes enhance or further the author’s message. 3. What do you like about the essay? Be specific! What do you dislike about the essay? Be specific! After reading all of your essays, choose the one that you like best. In a formal, proofread, revised essay of at least 300 words, do one of the following: Option A: Write an argument that agrees with the message of the essay, disagrees with the message of the essay, or agrees with some of its points and disagrees with others. Make sure you clearly and correctly identify the message of your essay, and support your own position with specific evidence from your reading, observation, or experience. Option B: Write an essay about a topic of your choice that mimics the style of the essay you chose. To do this, you will need to identify at least five techniques or strategies that your author uses and incorporate them in a recognizable, respectful way into your own essay.
1 To reduce cost, you can get an electronic copy, a used copy, etc. 2 We will be referring to these essays and other essays in the anthology throughout the school year. Neither list is “better” or “preferable,” and the two lists cover equal amounts of text. Choose based on your own interests. 3 Feel free to look these terms up in a good literary dictionary like http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/litgloss/ or http://www.virtualsalt.com/litterms.htm. Not all online dictionaries are equally valid and reliable!