Welcome to AP Literature and Composition

Dear AP Lit Students and Parents:

Welcome to our class blog, which I will maintain by adding reading resources, study tools, assignments, and any other materials that might be helpful to you as we move through the year.

I will add our syllabus after I have read your summer writing assignments on Ethan Frome, Julius Caesar, and "Black Walnut" along with your college essay.  (See the assignment in the two posts below.)  I will write the syllabus after I get to know you through your writing and can determine an appropriate starting place for us.  You can expect to see the syllabus here by the end of July.

Meanwhile, please add your name to the student contacts and sign up for the Remind.com messages by clicking the tabs at the top of the blog.  You are welcome to sign up for email notification of blog updates by using the widget in the sidebar on the right.

If you are still anxious about the exam, please visit the AP website (linked above) and have a look at sample questions, writing prompts, sample student responses, and the grading rubrics. This will give your a clear picture of the AP's testing expectations.  If any of the material you read raises questions for you, please feel free to post them in a comment below.  This way, your question and my response will be available for the good of the group.  (You can also email me directly if you prefer a private exchange.)

As a human being, an avid reader, and a creative writer, my fervent hope is that you will enjoy the class and that your reading and writing experiences will deepen your understanding of and curiosity about life itself and the very fine art of literature as communication.

I know you are used to--and expect--rigorous assignments.  I hope you will find the summer work challenging without being onerous.  In fact, I hope you enjoy the readings--they were written to be enjoyed, after all.  (They have also appeared on AP open response questions.)  Since they are short, you might enjoy, and benefit from, reading them twice.  (Really!)

Please get out and enjoy the summer in between all of your AP assignments!

See you in August,

Ms. Carlson

Summer Reading/Writing Assignments

Part 1
Texts:
Read Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare and Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton.  (Both of these tragedies are acclaimed works of literature that have appeared on the AP exam.  Check this list to see the names of other works that have appeared on the exam.)

Respond to the following AP essay prompt to write about each of these works.  Your first essay will be due on July 15.  Your second essay will be due on July 31. Share your work with me via Drive.  (Click here to view the grading rubric.)

Prompt: 
It has often been said that what we value can be determined only by what we sacrifice. Consider how this statement applies to a character from the play or novella. Select a character who has deliberately sacrificed, surrendered, or  forfeited something in a way that highlights that character’s values. Then, write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how the particular sacrifice illuminates the character’s values and provides a deeper understanding of the meaning of the work as a whole.

Note:  You can click this link to view the actual question from the 2014 AP exam along with sample student responses.

Procedure:
1.  Read the literary work.  (The titles, above, are linked to electronic versions of the text, so you don't need to buy the books.)
2.  While you read, keep in mind the prompt, and take notes using a dialectical journal.
3.  Write a claim that asserts a theme and addresses the prompt.
4.  Use the writing process as well as your knowledge of literature, history, and the authors to draft the essay.
5.  Do not use secondary sources.  This paper must reflect your thinking about these texts.  Students whose essays contain plagiarism will receive a score of zero for the assignment.
6.  Include text citations and references.  (This is where your dialectical journal should be helpful.)

7.  Conform to the MLA style sheet.  (See the tabs, above, for a link to the style sheet.)

(To read sample student essays along with the scoring guidelines, click here and scroll down to "2013:  Free Response Questions.")

PS  This link will take you to an interactive audio book with text version of Ethan Frome that is available on YouTube.  Here is a link to a segment of the 1993 movie adaptation starring Liam Neeson.)

And because it's so good, here is Mark Antony's speech, "Friends, Romans, and countrymen...'

Part 2
Next Task:

Carefully read and annotate "The Black Walnut Tree" by Mary Oliver. Then, write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how Oliver conveys the relationship between the tree and family through the use of figurative language and other poetic techniques.   (Note:  this prompt comes from the 2013 AP Lit exam.)

Follow the procedure guidelines, above, for this assignment, which will be due in Drive by August 7.

Summer Writing Assignment

The College Board says the "students’ college essay is their opportunity to reveal their best qualities and to show an admission committee what makes them stand out from other applicants."

The College Board also says The National Association for College Admission Counseling’s 2011 State of College Admission report has found that the essay can be "of considerable or moderate importance" to gaining admission to the college of your choice.

For these reasons--and to give me a sense of who you are as a human being and as a writer--you will write your essay as a summer assignment and share it with me via Google Drive.

You may select from among the Common App prompts below or from the prompts provided by your college of choice. I will score it using our district's college and career narrative essay grading rubric.  This assignment will be due July 3. 

(Note: If you have already written a college essay, please feel free to share that one.  The length requirement for the Common App is 250-650 words.  Work within that length requirement, and strive to be effective.)

2015-16 Common Application Essay Prompts

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

2. The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

3. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea.  What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

4. Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma-anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.

5. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

You must write 650 words (the maximum for the Common App) and you must format the paper according to MLA guidelines.

Note:  These prompts require you to select specific details from a moment in your lives.  A successful essay will bring that moment to life for the reader--who will meet you on this page for the first time.  Describe the experience in a way that makes it live on the page for your reader; do not write a list of accomplishments.  This work should read like a memoir, not a resume.