Antelope High School AP English Language and Composition Summer Assignment 2017-2018 Lisa Stanley- [email protected]
Congratulations on making it to your junior/senior year and for being enrolled in AP English Language and Composition! As you know, AP English is designed to be a college/university level course, thus the “AP” designation on a transcript rather than “H” (Honors) or “CP” (College Prep). This course will provide you with the intellectual challenges and workload consistent with a typical undergraduate university first-year English composition course. As a culmination of the course, you will take the AP English Language and Composition Exam given in May (required).
Each of the summer assignment tasks is located in our Google Classroom and must be submitted digitally for assessment.
To join our Google Classroom, logon to the internet and go to the following browser: https://classroom.google.com/ Join our class by entering the code: e9derb
Once in the classroom, you will see a brief description of the summer assignment along with this task sheet. Complete each of the tasks in the appropriate forum on or before the assigned due date. Please note that the single due date is for all fall and spring students.
Summer Assignment Analyzing Style: Following a Columnist
Some of the most prominent practitioners of stylish written rhetoric in our culture are newspaper columnists. Sometimes they are called pundits—that is, sources of opinion, or critics.
Attached, you will find a list of well-known newspaper columnists. Select one (or another one that I approve of) and complete the tasks below.
TASK 1: Brief Biography Write a brief (100-200 words) biography of the columnist. Make sure you cite your source(s) at the bottom of the page. I suggest you import a picture of the author, if possible.
TASK 2: Four Annotated Columns Make copies from newspapers or magazines or download them from the internet. I suggest cutting and pasting the columns into your Google Doc. Double-space all entries because it makes them easier to annotate and work with. Your annotations should emphasize such elements as: ● the central idea of the column ● the chief rhetorical strategies at work in the column ● identify appeals to logos, pathos, and/or ethos ● Answer the following: By what means does the columnist seek to convince readers of the truth of his/her central idea? ● the chief stylistic devices at work (literary devices) in the column ● the tone (or tones) of the column ● errors of logic (if any) that appear in the column ● the way the author uses sources and the types of sources the author uses ● the apparent audience the author is writing for Add a few final comments to each column that summarizes your general response to the piece. DO NOT SUMMARIZE THE COLUMN.
TASK 3: Depth of Analysis of One Column and Two Extras Choose a favorite column from Task 2 and compare it to TWO other treatments of the same subject: ● a straight, un-slanted news report about the topic of the column or ● another columnist’s opposing take on the issue or ● an editorial or ● a letter to the editor that disagrees with the original column Informed by the two extras you found and your own thinking and reading on the subject, write a brief assessment of the original column. Is it sound? Is it convincing?
TASK 4: Final Remarks Add a statement titled “Final Remarks.” In this, reflect on what you learned, what value this had, what you think of the writer or subject matter, etc.
All tasks are due in Google Classroom by midnight on the first day of school in August 2017. Failure to complete the assignment or a failing grade on the assignment will result in a lower “kick off” grade for the beginning of the new term. There is no excuse for not completing the assignment. If you enroll in the course, it is simply a requirement.
If you have any questions regarding your reading or assignment, please contact Mrs. Stanley at l [email protected]
List of Possible Columnists
Anne Applebaum (Washington Post) Steve Chapman (Chicago Tribune) Richard Cohen (Washington Post) Gail Collins (NY Times) Joe Conason (Salon.com) E.J. Dionne Jr. (Washington Post) Maureen Dowd (NY Times) Thomas Friedman (NY Times) Michael Gerson (Washington Post) Nat Hentoff (Jewish World Review) Jim Hoagland (Washington Post) David Ignatius (Washington Post) Derrick Z. Jackson (Boston Globe) Al Kamen (Washington Post) Mickey Kaus (The Daily Caller) Bill Keller (NY Times) Michael Kinsley (The New Republic) Joe Klein (TIME) Morton M. Kondracke (Roll Call) Nicholas Kristof (NY Times) Harold Meyerson (Washington Post) Mary Mitchell (Chicago Sun-Times) Peggy Noonan (Wall Street Journal) Clarence Page (Chicago Tribune) Kathleen Parker (Chicago Tribune) Ronald Brownstein (National Journal) Robert J. Samuelson (Washington Post) Mark Shields (Creators.com) Thomas Sowell (Jewish World Review) Andrew Sullivan (The Dish) Lynn Sweet (Chicago Sun-Times) George F. Will (Washington Post)