AP English Literature & Composition

MCOE LIBRARY PORTAL 

Summer Reading 2026

Welcome to AP English Literature! This summer, you will complete three distinct tasks designed to sharpen your narrative voice, analytical summary skills, and cultural critique.

📝 Task 1: The Summer Trilogy Essays

Write three brief, distinct essays. Each essay must be 150 to 300 words (max), typed, double-spaced, and written in MLA format. Focus on vivid sensory details and strong voice.

• Essay 1: The Zenith – Describe the single best day of your summer.

• Essay 2: The Nadir – Describe the absolute worst day of your summer.

• Essay 3: The Comic Relief – Narrate a genuinely funny incident that happened to you or around you.

📰 Task 2: Current Events & Critical Voice

Stay connected to the world around you by tracking contemporary journalism.

1. Select: Find three high-quality news articles dated between June 2026 and August 2026.(from the approved list of sources below)

• The New York Times

• The BBC

• The Wall Street Journal

• The Atlantic

• The Economist

2. Print: Print a physical copy of each article to turn in.

3. Respond: On a separate sheet of paper attached to each article, write a precise three-sentence response:

o Sentence 1: Briefly summarize the central point or argument of the article.

o Sentence 2: State your personal opinion, position, or reaction to the piece.

o Sentence 3: Explain why you hold this opinion, using evidence from the text.

📝 Task 3: Le Roman

You will read one text before entering into AP Literature and Composition in August. The purpose of the summer assignment is to stay mentally active, so enjoy your reading - I will be reading along with you. Please select a book from the list below (you can choose an alternate book just let me know in advance/ have it approved). 

If you have any questions over the summer, email ghinojosa@dpol.net. I am looking forward to a great year with you.

The book you will be reading:

• The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. If you can't get a physical copy you can read the PDF version - Link: https://www.adobe.com/be_en/active-use/pdf/Alice_in_Wonderland.pdf

• The Long Walk by Stephen King. Here is a link to a PDF version; however it doesn't show the page numbers: https://ia902903.us.archive.org/12/items/FantasyFictionebookcollection/Stephen%20King/Bachman%20Novels/The%20Long%20Walk.pdf

• The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Here is a link to a PDF version of this novel: https://www.ssgopalganj.in/online/E-Books/CLASS%20VIII/Life%20of%20Pi%20by%20Yann%20Martel.pdf