AP English Literature and Composition
Summer Reading Assignment 2022-2023 School Year
Welcome to AP English Literature and Composition! Below you will find the summer reading assignments. Please be aware that all assignments are due on the second day of class and will be counted as grades. You will also be required to write an in class thematic essay using Jane Eyre. We will be using both of these books as a touchstone throughout the year. Failure to complete the summer reading assignments will greatly affect your chances of passing the first nine weeks of AP English Literature and Composition.
You can check these books out from our library; however, I highly recommend that you purchase them yourself so that you can annotate directly on the book. Either way, don’t wait until the last minute! Get them now, and begin reading.
Reading List:
➢ How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines, Thomas C. Foster (Read this one first.)
➢ Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (Read this one second)
Part One—Non-fiction – How to Read Literature like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines, Thomas C. Foster .
Assignments due on the second day of class. This non-fiction book will help you to understand how we approach literature in AP Lit. It will definitely be helpful for you to read the entire book even though you are only required to read 13 chapters.
Assignment: Read the 13 Chapters identified below. At a minimum you need to complete six of the paragraph assignments. Responses should be typed and submitted on Google Classroom. Whenever I ask for an example from literature, you may use works you studied in previous years in English. You may also use Jane Eyre in your paragraph analysis. You may use the same literary work more than once in completing the prompts (the vast majority can be answered using Jane Eyre). You may not use a movie unless the prompt asks you to.
Again, remember your responses should be paragraphs—not pages! A well-developed paragraph should be six to eight sentences. As you compose each written response, re-phrase the prompt as part of your answer. In other words, I should be able to tell which question you are answering without referring back to the prompts. Support your opinions with evidence from the texts you use. You must back up your assertions with quotes from the texts. Always record the page numbers for quotes and use MLA guidelines for referencing page numbers.
Paragraph Assignments for Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor (Choose Six):
Introduction: How’d He Do That? How do memory, symbol, and pattern affect the reading of literature? How does the recognition of patterns make it easier to read complicated literature? Discuss a time when your appreciation of a literary work was enhanced by understanding symbol or pattern.
Chapter 1 — Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not): List the five aspects of the QUEST and then apply them to something you have read (or viewed) in the form used on pages 4-5. Chapter 2 — Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion :Choose a meal from a literary work and apply the ideas of Chapter 2 to this literary depiction.
Chapter 3 — Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires: What are the essentials of the Vampire story? Apply this to a literary work you have read or viewed. [Look at works that have a vampire-like character, not a vampire story, so nothing from the Twilight series.]
Chapter 10 — It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow: Discuss the importance of weather in a specific literary work, not in terms of plot.
Chapter 12 — Is That a Symbol?: Use the process described on page 113 and investigate the symbolism used in a specific literary work you have read.
Chapter 13 — It’s All Political: Assume that Foster is right and “it is all political.” Use his criteria to show that a literary work is political.
Chapter 14 — Yes, She’s a Christ Figure, Too: Apply the criteria on page 126 to a major character in a significant literary work. Try to choose a character that will have many matches. This is a particularly apt tool for analyzing film — for example, Star Wars, Braveheart, Gladiator, Matrix Trilogy, The Green Mile, Chronicles of Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings.
Chapter 18 — If She Comes Up, It’s Baptism: Think of a “baptism scene” from a significant literary work. How was the character different after the experience?Discuss.
Chapter 19 — Geography Matters…: Discuss at least four different aspects of a specific literary work that Foster would classify under “geography.”
Chapter 21 — Marked for Greatness: Figure out Harry Potter’s scar. If you aren’t familiar with Harry Potter, select another character with a physical imperfection and analyze its implications for characterization.
Chapter 24 — …And Rarely Just Illness: Recall two characters who died of a disease in a literary work. Consider how these deaths reflect the “principles governing the use of disease in literature” (222-224). Discuss the effectiveness of the death as related to plot, theme, or symbolism.
Chapter 25 — Don’t Read with Your Eyes: After reading Chapter 25, choose a scene or episode from a novel, play or epic written before the twentieth century. Contrast how it could be viewed by a reader from a previous century with how it might be viewed by a contemporary reader. Focus on specific assumptions that the author makes, assumptions that would not make it in this century.
Part Two—Fiction – Read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Due on our second class meeting.
I will not be assigning annotations or journal for this assignment, but I HIGHLY encourage you to take notes as you read. This is a lifeskill! Most of you are NOT good at this! Let me know if you want tips and tricks.
Summer Reading Assignment Checklist:
✓ Read How to Read Literature like a Professor (at least the 13 chapters listed or if you are extra, in its entirety).
✓ Write paragraph responses for SIX of the thirteen writing prompts.
✓ Submit these paragraphs to the Google Classroom.
✓ Read Jane Eyre in its entirety.
Be prepared to write an essay on Jane Eyre.
Contact Information for Mrs. Lattin: [email protected]
Blog: lattinpap.wonecks.net
Google Classroom code: ctlnm3e
Remind code: text to the number 8010: @wolit2023 It is important that you sign up on Remind as I will send clarifications and reminders over the summer. (Even if you were on my Lang remind, please join this one as old reminds will be archived over the summer.)