AP English Literature and Composition is an introductory college-level literary analysis course. Students cultivate their understanding of literature through reading and analyzing texts as they explore concepts like character, setting, structure, perspective, figurative language, and literary analysis in the context of literary works.

Students who are interested in reading, studying, an analyzing fiction (including novels, plays, short stories, and poetry) are encouraged to take APLit during their senior year at IHS.

We will be working with How to Read Literature Like a Professor (Thomas C. Foster) during the school year. You are encouraged to find your own copy over the summer (look for used bookstores or your local public library) and read it on your own because it is a great resource for students who wish to understand how to approach level texts (such as we will be reading throughout the year).

Poetry: One-third of our exam and our class is on poetry. If you are unsure of how to even begin reading and thinking about poetry on an AP-level, here are some good starting points:

Crash Course Poetry (model example with Emily Dickinson): https://youtu.be/R4WwhOdk_Eg

Poetry Podcasts: https://discoverpods.com/poetry-podcasts-2019/ 

Literature: The other two-thirds of the course and exam is prose. There is a whole world of amazing books out there, but you will want to focus your reading on fiction at the high-school and college-level. Use How to Read Literature like a Professor to reinforce your ability to analyze literature. Remember, it's not about the what; it's about the why.

Intro to Literature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSYw502dJNY

IF YOU DID NOT READ IT in English 3/APLang, read The Great Gatsby (F.Scott Fitzgerald) and The Scarlet Letter (Nathanial Hawthorne).

Highly recommended: Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë)

Authors typically covered in APLit (if you want to read anything by these authors): Margaret Atwood, Khaled Hosseini, Toni Morrison, William Shakespeare, Sophocles, Amy Tan, Alice Walker.

Another suggestion: Read books written by women and people of color (you've probably read enough dead white men to last you a lifetime), as well as literature that you feel are of "academic weight and merit" (aka avoid the children's and young adult genres). Consider, also, reading a second book by an author you read for one of your classes.

One last suggestion: Ignore everything: just read what you want this summer.