AP Language and Composition Summer Reading Assignment

A biography is a nonfiction story of a person's life. To be considered biography, the biography must be as true as possible, based on factual evidence. Most biographies today are split into two types: popular nonfiction books about celebrities, politicians, and historical figures and academic works based on scholarly research.

An autobiography is a nonfiction story of a person's life, written by that person. In other words, the author is writing about their own life. Both a biography and an autobiography tell the story of a life from birth until death - or to the present day, in the case of the autobiography.

A memoir, on the other hand, is written by an author about their own life, but has more in common with narrative nonfiction than biography in terms of style. Instead of telling about the entire life of a person, the memoir tells only about a certain period of time or about a certain life-changing event in the author's life. Memoirs are more individualized in style and tone than autobiographies, with the latter being more creative and less formal.

Memoirs, unlike academic biographies or autobiographies which are meticulously researched, come from the writer's memory and often contain known falsehoods. The writer will manipulate their own past to better the story - either moving events around, merging several people into one, or changing the scene of an event to create a better emotional climax. These are considered valid changes in a memoir, as long as the majority of the story isn't fabricated, as it was in the case of James Frey's A Million Little Pieces.

James Frey’s memoir A Million Little Pieces, published in 2003 and featured as an Oprah Winfrey book club selection, stimulates the controversy of whether or not memoirs need to be historically accurate. An author’s recollection of memories may stir concerns about the role of factual accuracy in the definition of what constitutes a memoir.

1. All students MUST read The Elements of Style by William Strunk 2. All students MUST read The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

3. Students must also choose ONE additional memoir to read:

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer A Child Called “It” by David Pelzer Three Cups of Tea by Mortenson and Relin Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi The Color of Water by James McBride The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby Dreams from my Father by Barak Obama Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer My Forbidden Face by Latifa Don’t Put me in, Coach by Mark Titus A Million Little Pieces by James Frey Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane The Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff Naked by David Sedaris The Liar’s Club by Mary Karr Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood by Oliver Sacks Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala Wild by Cheryl Strayed The Long Walk by Brian Castner

AP Language and Composition Summer Assignment: After having read all of your summer reading books, The Elements of Style by William Strunk, The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, and your other choice of memoir, complete the following extended response questions:

Question 1: Explain how Jeanette Walls’ writing style helps to establish her voice. Use textual support. Question 2: Explain how the writing style of your choice of memoir helps to establish voice. Use textual support. Question 3: In what ways are both authors effective or not effective in getting their points across? Use textual support. Question 4: How are these two authors writing styles similar and/or different? Use textual support. Question 5: Develop a position (argument) on whether or not a memoir should be historically accurate. Question 6: Develop a position (argument) on whether or not a memoir is valid as a memoir if it is found to contain non-factual information. Question 7: If you were to write a memoir, which event and/or experience would you write about and why? *All questions should be thoroughly answered and must be turned in on the first day of school.