11AP Language & Composition

11th AP English Language and Composition 2023 Summer Assignment 

Welcome to Advanced Placement English Language and Composition. You will need to read three books:  

Three non-fiction reads:  

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, ISBN-10: 0385486804 - Why did Christopher McCandless trade a bright future--a college education, material comfort, uncommon ability and charm--for death by starvation in an abandoned bus in the woods of Alaska? This is the question the book tries to answer. While it does not answer the question with certainty, Into the Wild does shed considerable light along the way, not only about McCandless's "Alaskan odyssey," but also the forces that drive people to drop out of society and test themselves in other ways (Amazon Review). 

Hiroshima by John Hersey, ISBN-10: 1684116880- On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was destroyed by the first atom bomb ever dropped on a city. This book, John Hersey's journalistic masterpiece, tells what happened on that day. Told through the memories of survivors, this timeless, powerful and compassionate document has become a classic "that stirs the conscience of humanity" (The New York Times). 

The Color of Water by James McBride, ISBN-10:‎ 9781594481925 -Interspersed throughout his mother's compelling narrative, McBride shares candid recollections of his own experiences as a mixed-race child of poverty, his flirtations with drugs and violence, and his eventual self- realization and professional success. The Color of Water touches readers of all colors as a vivid portrait of growing up, a haunting meditation on race and identity, and a lyrical valentine to a mother from her son. 

(You may purchase the books online or download books onto an e-reader or Kindle. Printed copies are available at the Barnes and Noble store at Bay Shore. 20% discount with a Brentwood student I.D. You can personally order copies from Barnes and Noble and have the books sent to your home address. Brentwood High School library has copies available-first come, first served). 

Double-Entry Journals for Into the Wild/ Hiroshima/The Color of Water This assignment should be TYPED Times Roman 12 font. 

To create this double entry journal, you will draw a horizontal line halfway down each page and use the top half to write out the question along with evidence from the text that answers the question. On the bottom half, you will comment on the textual evidence, answering HOW the evidence answers your chosen question, HOW the textual passage is written, and WHY the author wrote the passage that way. Choose a variety of questions for your journals. Try not to repeat the same question over and over. Twice is fine, for example. 

Questions:  

1. How does the author use language to create an effect? What is it about the language that stands out and makes the passage distinctive? Do you think the language adds or detracts from the main idea of the passage?  

2. How does the passage reveal major arguments at work? Is the author’s argument valid or is it flawed? Explain. 

3. What is the most important part of the section read today? Why would you classify it as important? 

4. As you read today, what feelings did you experience in response to events (e.g., irritation, wonder, disbelief, recognition, etc.) and why do you think you responded this way? 

5. What startling/unusual/effective words, phrases, expressions, or images did you come across in your reading today? Describe your reaction and explain why you thought them unusual or startling.  What would you like to have explained or clarified? Why do you think the writer used them? 

6. Do you agree, disagree or qualify (you agree with some, but not all) with the writer’s viewpoint in this section? Is there an argument in a passage you believe contains bias and is not convincing? Perhaps the passage is persuasive. Explain why.  

7. Make connections with your own experience. What does the text make you think of in your life, in current events, in your academic studies? Does it remind you of anything or anyone? Explain. 

Answer one of the above after approximately 50-60 pages of reading. Do not read the entire book and then go back and complete your entries. You are not expected to respond to all the questions, but to those of your choosing for each 50-60 paged section. Keep in mind that you should focus your journal entries on the three key aspects: the writer and his style, the audience and how the writer is addressing them, and the writer’s purpose in writing this book. Your answers should be between 200-300 words in length.  This will mean 4 entries for Into the Wild and 4 entries for Hiroshima and 4 entries for The Color of Water.  

Sample Journal Entry 

Sample QUESTION: How would you describe the writer’s style in this section? How did the author use these devices to create meaning? 

“I will see the city poured rolling down the mountain valleys like slag and see the city lights sprinkled and curved around the hills’ curves, rows of bonfires winding. At sunset, a red light like house fires shines from the narrow hillside windows; the houses’ bricks burn like glowing coals.” (Prologue 3) 

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In this entry, Dillard uses many metaphors and similes to describe her hometown, making it into a living thing. By saying that the city resembled “slag,” “bonfires,” and “glowing coals,” she shows that the city has a fire within it that makes it live. None of the comparisons are completely negative, though. She uses the verbs “rolling,” “sprinkled,” “winding,” and “shines” to describe how the fires behave and lastly, she says the coals are “glowing.” So, while coal warms the city, it also engulfs it. All these descriptions also relate to the fact that Pittsburgh was a town that thrived on coal mining in the 1950s. 

*Note that none of this is a summary or a paraphrase of the text. Analyzing is explaining the HOW and the WHY. 

Grading- 

Non-fiction reads:  Into the Wild/ Hiroshima 

Writing Journal (25 points each entry/ 100 points total per book) - Journal entry is significant in substance and length (for every 50-60 pages of text.) 

____/100 – Into the Wild. Quality journal responses. 4 entries.  (adequate number of questions, valid responses, and sufficient analysis of how/why author makes choices, meets requirement of 200-300 words per entry) 

____/100 – Hiroshima.  Quality journal responses. 4 entries.  (adequate number of questions, valid responses, and sufficient analysis of how/why author makes choices, meets requirement of 200-300 words per entry) 

____/100- The Color of Water. Quality journal responses. 4 entries.  (adequate number of questions, valid responses, and sufficient analysis of how/why author makes choices, meets requirement of 200-300 words per entry) 

Assignment submissions: You will be given a password and id number to join the class turnitin.com. the first week of class. Then I will assign a date for responses to be uploaded to turnitin.com. Note: turnitin.com can detect student sharing and AI. 

Contact Information and Expectations-If you have questions about any part of this project, you should contact your AP teacher, Ms. Bellino via email at cbellino@bufsd.org.