AP Language and Composition

Summer Reading Assignments for Students of Paxon School for Advanced Studies

DISCLAIMER:  This AP summer assignment has been adapted from the assignment designed originally by Ms. McElroy and Mr. Fox of Hollis/Brookline High School.  We thank them for their ideas.

What do I have to do?

1. Read Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck. Get your own copy of the book so that you can highlight important passages and take notes in the margins. 

Write an MLA citation for your book so we know which edition of the book you used.  Every time you use a quote, you should write the author and page number in parentheses at the end of the quote, like this:

Steinbeck explains that a journey has a “personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness” (Steinbeck 3).

2.  Write a list of 10 quotes for each of these four rhetorical strategies:

o   Diction

o   Detail

o   The Appeals—Ethos, Logos, Pathos (three of each, with one extra for the 10 total)

o   Tone

Provide an explanation for each of the 40 total quotes that shows how this device helps the author achieve his purpose.

3. After each set of ten quotes, write 100-200 words on why using that device was effective.  This is the ANALYTICAL SUMMARY.  It explains how the author uses the rhetorical strategy to develop his purpose.  In each typed analysis, you must identify the author’s purpose and use at least two partial or complete direct quotations, including appropriate citations, to provide evidence to support your claim. 

So, for the summer project you must carefully read the book and complete these minimum requirements:

• An MLA citation for your book and 10 direct quotes (examples) for each rhetorical strategy (diction, detail, the appeals, tone).
• Each quotation must be properly cited using MLA format. 
• A brief analysis for each quotation (see example below).
• 100-200 word summary analysis for each of the four groups of rhetorical strategies that identify the author’s purpose (see example below).
• Font must be 12-point Times New Roman
• Lines must be double-spaced

How will the project be graded?

• Don’t worry about being “wrong.”  Take chances with your analyses.  Practice makes perfect.  You’ll be doing this sort of thing often throughout the year and on the AP exam.
• Completion of the project is essential.  Above all, do your own work.  Any evidence of collaboration or plagiarism will result in your assignment receiving a zero.
• The rhetorical analysis requires you to use the following format:  Type the rhetorical analysis in 12 point Times New Roman.  Double-space the lines. Label each rhetorical strategy being analyzed and use bold letters to label them.  Number each quotation listed for each rhetorical strategy.  Identify each analysis with a bullet icon in order to visually differentiate between it and the quotation.  Format will be graded.

Why do I have to do this?

Authors/speakers use various rhetorical strategies to influence their audiences.  Being able to analyze these strategies is a key component to success on the AP Language and Composition exam. 

When is it due?

This rhetorical analysis is due on the first day of class.  Late assignments will result in a lower grade.  A reading assessment test will also be administered during the first week of school. 

HELP!  What if I don’t understand what to do?

Read the assignment before you leave for summer vacation.  If you have questions over the summer, email Mr. Nerf at nerfj@duvalschools.org.  During July 3-11, Mr. Nerf will be on vacation, so he might be unavailable to answer your questions.

What is an MLA citation?

For the book citation use this format:

            Author’s Last Name, First Name.  Title of Book.  Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.

If you need help typing MLA parenthetical citations, use the following web page as a guide: http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/research/mlaparen.html. 

I don’t understand how to do the quotes!

Do it like this:

Diction   

1.  “At these moments, I stop writing and relax with a coffee at my favorite restaurant, knowing that words can be changed, rethought, fiddled with, and of course, ultimately denied.  Painters don’t have that luxury.  If they go to a coffee shop, their paint dries into a hard mass” (Martin 5).

·         Steve Martin uses a series of words to describe how a writer has the ability to revise his work and uses a humorous description of a painter’s dried paint to communicate that some artist’s ability to revise and alter their work is more challenging.

This example uses a different book by a different author.

Note that the rhetorical strategy is typed in bold letters. 

Each quotation is numbered and cited using the MLA format. 

The analysis following the quotation is identified with a bullet icon. 

I don’t understand how to do the summary analysis!

Following each group of 10 quotations, you will type a 100-200 word summary analysis that explains how the author used the rhetorical strategy to develop his purpose.

Here is an abbreviated sample analytical summary:

                Steve Martin’s use of diction combines simple, straightforward language with surprising humor to develop his idea that writing is an art that requires extensive revision in order to create a meaningful and lasting work.  One of the talents that a good writer possesses is his ability to understand that his words “can be changed, rethought, fiddled with, and of course, ultimately denied” (Martin 5).  In a humorous aside, Martin notes that writers have a distinct advantage over other artists in that their medium—language—is more revisable than that of other artists, such as painters whose paint can dry “into a hard mass” (5) if left unattended.

I’m a visual learner.  How should this look?

What do the words “diction,” “detail,” “appeals,” and “ tone” mean?      

Diction:  The author’s choice of words and how such vocabulary choices contribute to the development of his purpose.  To evaluate diction you must hear the words and feel their effects as they reflect the writer’s vision.  What words does Steinbeck use to describe his experiences?  How does his language (word choice) contribute to the overall tone of the passage?   How does the use of his chosen vocabulary affect the reader’s perception of Steinbeck, the people he meets, the places he goes, and the thoughts he communicates?

Detail:  The facts, observations, and incidents used to develop the topic and impart voice.  Detail brings life, color, and description to the work. Detail focuses the reader’s attention and brings the reader into the scene.  Ironically, detail can also be an understatement by a lack of detail.  What points does Steinbeck include in his travelogue?  What does he omit?  How do the details (or lack thereof) add meaning and enrich the text?

Appeals:  Aristotle identified three appeals/techniques used by writers and speakers to influence their audiences.  You must analyze Steinbeck’s use of the following three appeals:  logos (logic), pathos (emotion), and ethos (credibility). How does Steinbeck appeal to the logical side of the reader?  What arguments does he offer to persuade the reader?  How does he try to evoke an emotional response from the reader?  What does he hope to accomplish by manipulating his audience’s emotions?   Lastly, how does he establish his credibility?  In other words, why is he an authority on certain issues?  Why should we believe him? The following are websites that can be accessed to help you understand the concepts of logos, pathos, and ethos:

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/llc/webclass/web/project1/group4/

This is a fun site with imaginative examples to help you understand.

http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/jgarret/3waypers.htm

This is a more scholarly approach to the terms, but not too difficult for the average person to understand.

Tone:  The expression of attitude.  Tone is the writer’s implied attitude toward his subject and audience.  Tone is the hallmark of the writer’s personality, and understanding tone is the requisite to understanding meaning.  What are Steinbeck’s attitudes toward his experiences and the people that he meets during his journey?  Does his tone change throughout the book?  The following website will give you plenty of helpful tone vocabulary words to use: 

http://dothgrin.net/tonewords.pdf  .  Use these tone vocabulary words when you are analyzing this rhetorical strategy.

How EXACTLY will this be graded?

The following guide will be used in grading the content of the rhetorical analysis.  The guide is based on AP evaluation criteria.

A—These impressive rhetorical analyses meet all length, number, and format requirements.  They are specific and inspired in their analysis and use of evidence.  Rather than pedestrian, obvious commentary, these essays display insightful thinking.  They refer to the work intelligently and they cogently explain how the author’s rhetorical strategies develop his purpose. 

B—These rhetorical analyses meet nearly all length, number, and format requirements. They also exhibit effective analysis of the work, but do so with less accuracy and clarity than A-level assignments.  The work tends to be obvious and less impressive.  They adequately analyze how the rhetorical strategies develop his purpose.

C—These rhetorical analyses meet most of the length, number, and format requirements. They attempt to analyze the devices, but may respond inadequately at times.  They may misrepresent the literature, analyze the rhetorical strategies inaccurately, or rely too much on simply summarizing or paraphrasing the work. 

D—These rhetorical analyses meet some of the length, number, and format requirements, but they demonstrate little or no success in analysis.  They may substitute simpler tasks for the ones demanded by the instructions.    They generally fail to indicate any real understanding of the rhetorical strategies and their purposes.  These assignments tend to merely consist of summary and paraphrase with no analysis. 

F—These rhetorical analyses fail to meet most of the length, number, and format requirements.  They show only a passing connection to the requirements delineated in the instructions.  In nearly every characteristic, these assignments are not considered acceptable in a high school assignment, much less an AP-level assignment.  Any indication of plagiarism will automatically result in a failing grade.  Any evidence of collaboration will result in your assignment receiving a zero.