AP Literature and Composition

Summer Reading Assignment

Mr. Ku

sku@pioneercss.org

Hi all! Welcome to AP Literature and Composition, a college-level course that will be a step above any class

that you have taken in high school so far. This summer, you will be engaging in an assignment that will help

prepare you for the class, as well as for the AP exam. This assignment is to be completed by the end of the

first week of school. We will also use the first two weeks of school to review material from your summer

assignment, so it is imperative that you complete this assignment with your best effort. This assignment will

be divided into FOUR PARTS:

A. Reading –

How to Read Literature like a Professor – Thomas C. Foster https://www.stamfordpublicschools.org/sites/stamfordps/files/uploads/how_to_read_literature_like_a_professor.pdf

1. You can purchase a hard copy of this book, or find a copy online. This book will be the basis for your

summer assignment, so make sure you read it carefully. Each chapter of this book focuses on a

particular aspect, or lens, from which literature can be read and analyzed. Be sure to have a

comprehensive understanding of each chapter. You will be focusing on THREE chapters of your choice

to do annotations (see Annotations).

Frankenstein – Mary Shelley http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/84 2. For your second reading, you will read Frankenstein, one of the more frequently referred novels on the

AP Lit exam. If you are able to get a hard copy, that’s great, but the novel is available in public

domain. Please practice marking up and writing notes as you read the novel. You will also annotate

THREE passages/chapters of your chosen novel to connect to THREE different chapters from How to

Read Literature like a Professor (see Annotations).

B. Annotations –

For all of your reading assignments you are required to complete annotations (attached). Complete the

organizers by citing the page numbers, providing textual evidence, identifying the related chapter from How

to Read Literature like a Professor, and a writing a DETAILED explanation which analyzes and expounds the

text (use the examples which Foster provides as a model).

C. Key Terms and Literary Devices –

In this packet, you will also be required to define and give examples for some important terms and literary

devices (attached). Some of these terms will be familiar, while others will be new. All of these terms are

important, and will be referenced frequently in class and on the AP exam. Make sure you are familiar with all

of them.

D. In-class Assignments

1. Socratic Seminars and Discussion

During the first week of school, we will engage in multiple seminars and discussions regarding all of your

readings. Be prepared to discuss your findings with the class, and see if you can make connections to your

peers’ contributions to our discussions. A rubric for Socratic seminars is attached.

2. In-class Essay

During the first week of school, you will write an in-class essay using all both texts. The more prepared you

are, the better your essay will be. This essay will be graded by the official AP Literature and Composition open

response rubric, which is attached. Your essay should be multiple paragraphs, include textual evidence and

citations, and have in-depth analysis which connects your readings to a chapter of How to Read Literature like

a Professor.

ANNOTATIONS (Frankenstein)

Related Foster Chapter: ________________________________

Page # Textual Evidence Explanation/Analysis

Related Foster Chapter: ________________________________

Page # Textual Evidence Explanation/Analysis

Related Foster Chapter: ________________________________

Page # Textual Evidence Explanation/Analysis

Key Terms and Literary Devices

General

TERM DEFINITION EXAMPLE (from literature)

Allegory

Allusion

Anecdote

Imagery

Mood

Prose

Rhetoric

Tone

Voice

Character

TERM DEFINITION EXAMPLE (from literature)

Characterization

Dynamic

Character

Flat Character

Foil

Hero (Epic)

Hero (Tragic)

Hubris

Protagonist

Tragic Flaw

Dialogue

TERM DEFINITION EXAMPLE (from literature)

Aside

Diction

Litotes

Monologue

Proverb

Soliloquy

Narration

TERM DEFINITION EXAMPLE (from literature)

Anticlimax

Catastrophe

Comic Relief

Deus ex machina

Flashback

In media res

Motivation

Non sequitur

Paradox

Perspective

(limited)

Perspective

(omniscient)

Plot Manipulation

Red herring

Stream of

consciousness

Suspension of

disbelief

Unreliable

narrator

Genre (Time period)

Classical Era

Comedy

Deconstructionism

Elizabethan

Existentialism

Fable

Fantasy

Gothic Literature

Harlem

Renaissance

Magical Realism

Metaphysical

Modernism

Naturalism

Post-Modernism

Realism

Romanticism

Surrealism

Transcendentalism

Victorian