Leuzinger High School AP Language and Composition



Leuzinger High School AP Language and Composition[pic][pic]

Summer Reading Assignment and AP Expectations

Ms. Eborn: Room G-110 Phone: (310) 263-2200 E-Mail: ebornm@centinela.k12.ca

We welcome and congratulate you on having been accepted into AP Language and Composition class! This will be a great year! To explain, the purpose of an AP course in English Language and Composition is to “engage students in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of rhetorical contexts, and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Both their writing and their reading should make students aware of the interactions among a writer’s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects, as well as the way genre conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing.” In order to achieve that goal, starting August 28, 2012 you will begin your journey of seeking to discovering rhetoric. A close and active reading of all texts is essential to your success in this class. You will be preparing under a stringent schedule for the AP Language and Composition Exam, which will be administered at Leuzinger High School on March 8-9, 2013.

The AP Language and Composition course explores a variety of American texts through which students learn close-reading and analysis skills. The purpose of the course, as stated by College Board’s AP English Course Description, “is to enable students to write effectively and confidently in their college courses across the curriculum and in their professional and personal lives.” The students read both nonfiction and fiction works by American authors in order to achieve a higher level of learning and analysis. Students are instructed in the different forms and functions of rhetoric in order to analyze written works, as well as to write on various topics through argumentation, narration, exposition, and analytical writings.

Through the completion of the AP Language and Composition course and the achievement of a passing score on the AP exam in May, students have the opportunity to earn a college English credit while still in high school. Furthermore, students receive an additional quality point above the honors quality point on his/her high school transcript. Although AP courses are more rigorous and demanding – requiring more reading and writing at a higher level of thinking – they can also be the most rewarding.

During one semester, this course combines the requirements for English 11 (a brief overview of American Literature Movements/Units, outside readings, and the Junior Research paper) with the study and preparation for the AP Language and Composition Exam in May (multiple choice questions concerning analysis of nonfiction texts and three essays demonstrating composition skills). This requires students to manage study time for projects, readings, and assignments.

A typical AP Language Week would most likely include the following:

• Two Quizzes-Includes Timed Writing (25 terms per quiz) covering literary or rhetorical terms used on the AP Exam (Ex. simile, personification, understatement, parallelism, diction, syntax, etc.)

• Two or three reading selections (15-20 pages each) from your English textbook which will be discussed and analyzed in class (reading is completed independently outside of class)

• Analysis/discussion of an outside reading assignment (100 pages per week)

• Daily in-class preparation for the AP multiple choice and written analysis using daily prompts

| The course will regularly review and reference an array of literary terms. Many of these terms are |

|concepts that you have learned in both 9th and 10th grade courses; however, some of the required |

|terms will undoubtedly be new. Regardless, ALL AP STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO MEMORIZE, |

|UNDERSTAND, AND RECOGNIZE EXAMPLES OF THE 101 LITERARY TERMS! |

|Students WILL be tested on these terms ON THE FIRST DAY OF each week |

|(as well as throughout the semester / school year). |

| |

|These terms should be studied not only prior to the first day of class, but also regularly throughout |

|the school year (especially prior to the AP test in May). |

| |

|The 101 AP TERMS can be found at |

In addition, throughout the semester students will be assigned the following items with advance notification:

Ø Four essays/writing assignments (expository, narrative, analytical, creative)

Ø English Research Paper

Our composition courses emphasize the expository, analytical and argumentative writing that forms the basis of academic and professional communication (UC Guidelines: Ethos, Logos, & Pathos), as well as the personal and reflective writing that fosters the development of writing facility in any context. In addition, most composition courses teach students that the expository, analytical and argumentative writing they must do in college is based on reading as well as on personal experience and observation. Composition courses, therefore, teach students to read primary and secondary sources carefully, to synthesize material from these texts in their own compositions, and to cite sources using conventions recommended by professional organizations such as the Modern Language Association (MLA), the University of Chicago Press (The Chicago Manual of Style), the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Council of Biology Editors (CBE).

These Summer Assignments will be key in establishing a high grade and in AP Exam preparation. Since there were staff changes made this summer and certain AP students did not receive the summer reading packet, it will be distributed on the 2nd day of school. AP Students will have 3 weeks to submit all assignments.

The course opens with “Examining Literary Analysis,” “What to Expect,” reading assignments and feedback and within three weeks, a discussion and work activities with the summer assignment. Students in AP Language read a significant amount of non-fiction prose; therefore, summer reading selections are non-fiction. This initial work will invite a fresh, analytical approach, one that will ask you to move beyond immediate response to close reading and study of language.

Assignment 1. Written Commentary. Read Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. While reading, keep track of five childhood events that have a great impact on his life. Describe each event and comment briefly on how each one changes him. Write a commentary (in first person) of approximately 3 pages in length in which you analyze the author’s style and discuss your impression of the author (narrator). For style, consider the use of elements such as diction, sentence structure, descriptive details, and method of organization. For your impression of the person, consider personality, beliefs, as well as character traits. Include textual evidence to support your statements. In addition, annotate the text by noting significant experiences, observations, and reflections about the text. Think about noting things such as vocabulary and passages that are not immediately clear, questions you have, first impressions, and new concepts. Annotating is making notations in the book or text you are reading.

Assignment 2. Reflective Journal. Read Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir edited by William Zinsser and keep a reflective journal of a minimum of 8 entries. Each of these required 8 entries must include a quotation, a page number, and a response to the passage (this must be typed). Annotate the text (see above).

Assignment 3. Newspaper/magazine Editorial Reading Analysis.

Clip 5 editorials or commentaries/essays (NOT news articles or informational features) from a reputable newspaper or issues-based magazine. Write your comments about each editorial/issue. Your response should be detailed and thoughtful. Consider:

✓ Do you agree/disagree with the editorial’s viewpoints? Why?

✓ Does the editorial make you want to know more about the issue?

✓ What are some of the author’s best arguments?

✓ Which arguments or points made by the author do not make sense to you and why?

✓ Is the author using logical or emotional appeals?

✓ How does this editorial connect with other knowledge you have from other sources or other editorials on the same subject?

✓ Does this editorial make you think about anything else?

Staple the editorial to the back of each response.

Suggested newspapers/magazines: The New York Times, Harper’s, Mother Jones, The National Post, The Washington Post, The Economist, The New Yorker, The LA Times, Atlantic Monthly.

I ask that you use the following satirical essay as one of your assignments for #3 above. “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift 1729. This essay can be found at:

Each assignment must be typed using MLA guidelines and citations. This means, double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman, and 1-inch margins. The AP course assumes that you already understand and use correct Standard English grammar. With that, begin the course by submitting work as free of grammatical and spelling errors as possible. Each paper must be completely yours and you must not use any resources other than the text itself to help you in any way. Do not use any Internet resources or book notes. You must purchase or check out each book (you will be annotating-include sticky notes with commentary, if you wish or just highlight, if this is a book you purchased) and bring them with you on the second day of week three. If you are unable to find the books on the shelf, they can be ordered. Begin your summer reading early. If you wait until after August 28, 2012 to begin, you will not be able to give the reading and assignment the full concentration needed.

Finally, have fun as you learn! Your opinion is valuable. We are here to give you the tools to express it![pic]

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