The Grade 11 AP English course focuses on understanding, analyzing, and writing non-fiction prose, rhetoric and argumentation, and using multiple sources to develop and support your own arguments. The required preparation for Grade 11 AP English Language includes a literary memoir / book of advice on writing from a highly successful author, a segment of a book on understanding and crafting arguments, and a novel. You should also read at least one relatively challenging fiction or non-fiction book of your choice, either from the list of suggestions at the end of this handout or something equivalent. A good writer is first and foremost a good reader, and in AP English, general knowledge and strong reading ability are important for success. Reading thoughtfully from a range of challenging texts is one of the biggest contributors to success in English courses and in school overall.
Literary memoir and reflection on writing practice: On Writing by Stephen King (any edition)
As you read the first part of the book (the memoir section), use a highlighter and/or post-it notes to briefly annotate the text, paying particular attention to passages you feel illustrate pivotal moments in the author’s increasing awareness of how storytelling, creativity, reading and/or writing defined his sense of self and his voice as a writer. As you read the second part of the book (the writing advice section), make a list of your top four or five “take-aways” that you plan to apply to your own writing.
On argument: Thank You For Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion by Jay Heinrichs (edition: 2017)
What makes an argument work? Jay Heinrichs’ book provides you with insights into the nuts and bolts of persuasion by building on a foundation of classical rhetoric but then linking it to the tricks of great speakers in recent history as well as to pop culture and everyday life. Early in the course you will be working on arguments and what makes them tick.
Read Chapters 1 – 14: No note-taking is required as you read (and you are not asked to memorize any terminology), but you should quickly mark pages (e.g. with post-its) that give you surprising or “aha!” moments, e.g.: a technique you’ve observed in your reading or experience elsewhere (such as in following the news, below), or one that you’d like to try out yourself. These moments will provide a foundation for our discussions and work at the beginning of the year. Before the end of the summer, adapt one of the “Try this” activities in the margins to a situation in your own life, and write a short journal entry (about 200-300 words) about it.
Background novel: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (any edition)
You do not have to do anything with this dystopian novel besides read it! In fact, you don’t have to read it until about October or November, but it’s a good idea not to leave it until then, if you can help it, since it will establish your background for reading 1984 by George Orwell at Christmas break and another dystopian novel shortly thereafter. If you feel you must refer to a notes site like Shmoop or Spark to help you understand this text without teacher guidance, that’s fine, but please do not substitute reading the site for reading the novel itself (and discussing the novel with someone to help you understand it will probably be just as helpful, if not more so). If you feel like taking note of anything using post-its or similar quick annotation, consider marking where the novel seems to predict or reflect the current state of something in our society. OPTIONAL: if you enjoyed this book, consider reading The Handmaid’s Tale or watching the series based on it that was released on Bravo and Hulu (book and show both contain graphic, mature content).
Pre-reading of other course texts over the summer is NOT required. The Canadian School Book Exchange website lists only one book at the moment, because it is a text that might be difficult to buy through ordinary bookstores. The books listed above on this handout are the planned texts; during the year some texts may be added that you can buy from bookstores or online, or that will be arranged for class purchase through the school.
Building your personalized reading list for the year
Over the course of the year, you will be reading (and "reading") according to your own interests and choices. Over the summer, you will build a list of books and/or other media that will constitute your proposed reading list. With some exceptions, expect to have 15m of each class period over the course of the year to work your way through this list. You will share a GoogleDoc with your proposed list with me at the start of the school year. The order in which you list your choices does not matter.
The criteria for building your list are as follows:
a minimum of 20 books in English
the books may be a mix of fiction (including plays or compilations of poetry) and non-fiction, but at least 12 must be non-fiction
graphic books are acceptable, provided they do not dominate your list
you may substitute up to 5 books with any of the following other media:
a podcast series (a series has at least 3 episodes) = a book
a TED Talk playlist = a book
a series of at least 3 magazines with substantial articles = a book
a documentary film = a book
you may substitute up to 3 English books with books in another language
Keep in mind that you are not wedded to this list -- it may change as the year goes on. However, take this opportunity to include titles that you have always wanted to read and to explore titles that look enticing to you! Have a look at the next section for some ideas.
Independent Enrichment (optional but strongly recommended)
Read independently as much as possible over the summer, for pleasure and to expand your boundaries. It is important for this course that you read widely and continuously about current events, local, national and international issues, topics of interest in other fields (science, economics, psychology and other social sciences and Humanities, etc.) – your own interests should guide your reading.
Examples of suggested newspapers/magazines:
(feel free to explore any other North American or international publications containing substantive writing about current events and issues):
The Globe and Mail (Canadian newspaper)
The New York Times (US newspaper)
The Washington Post (US newspaper)
The Guardian (UK newspaper)
Maclean’s (Canadian news magazine)
The Economist (UK news magazine)
Time (US news magazine)
The New Yorker (US ideas magazine)
The Atlantic (US ideas magazine)
The Walrus (Canadian ideas magazine)
The National Review (US political magazine)
Wired (US tech and current affairs magazine)
Mic.com (online ideas magazine aimed at youth)
Reason.com (US ideas magazine)
Arts and Letters Daily (ALDaily.com – an online compilation of items from around the English-speaking world)
Ms Rice maintains a Twitter feed to which she frequently posts items of possible interest from a variety of sources. You will find it here: https://twitter.com/RiceAPLang – having your own Twitter account is not necessary. You can also subscribe to TheSkimm.com or TheFlipside.io to get articles via email on current topics from varying perspectives.
Another great opportunity for enrichment comes from the many entertaining and fascinating non-fiction podcasts that you can listen to, at camp or on a roadtrip, or just hanging out in your back yard, such as: Freakonomics Radio; Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History; This American Life; Strangers; Backstory; RadioLab; A History of the World in 100 Objects; Theory of Everything
Books (fiction and non-fiction) that focus on issues and ideas in our course and elsewhere – other courses where they might apply are indicated in parentheses. Check them out online or by browsing at a bookstore to see what interests you:
Animal Farm by George Orwell (World History)
Maus I and II by Art Spiegelman (World History / Visual Art)
Just Kids by Patti Smith (Gender Studies / Visual Art)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Law / Biology / World History / American History / AP Seminar)
Intuition by Allegra Goodman (Biology / Law / Philosophy)
The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan (Biology / Chemistry)
Perfume by Patrick Suskind (Chemistry / Philosophy)
Zeitoun by David Eggers (World Issues / Equity Studies)
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (World Issues / World History)
For the Win by Cory Doctorow (World Issues / Economics)
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill (World History / American History)
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley (World History / American History)
An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield (AP Seminar / Earth and Space Science / Sciences)
The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore (AP Seminar / Intro to SAP / World Issues / Equity Studies)
No Logo by Naomi Klein (World Issues / Economics)
The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf (Gender Studies / World History)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (Gender Studies / American History)
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (Gender Studies / World History)
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Intro to Sociology, Anthropology, and Psychology / World History / Philosophy)
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (Intro to SAP / Gender Studies)
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (Intro to SAP / Gender Studies)
The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King (World History / World Issues / American History / Equity Studies)
Sex, Drugs and Economics by Diane Coyle (Economics / AP Stats / AP Seminar)
Ru by Kim Thúy, in translation by Sheila Fischman (French / World History / World Issues)
The Secret Path by Gord Downie and Jeff Lemire (Intro to SAP / World Issues / Equity Studies)
21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari (World Issues / Equity Studies / Economics / Intro to SAP / Seminar)
Or check out Penguin's First Year Reads page to see popular common reads in various American schools and universities: http://commonreads.com/first-year-reading-categories/