AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION

SUMMER HOMEWORK 2013

Dear Students,
Welcome to AP Lang. Your first task will be to complete the summer
homework. To do this, you will need to purchase the following four titles: The
Great Gatsby, Into Thin Air, The Things They Carried, and Their Eyes Were
Watching God.
For each book, you should read and mark the text. My suggestions for
markings include
a. underlining words that you do not know and looking them up.
b. circling words with powerful connotations and deciding what they
reveal about the characters or the narrator.
c. highlighting literary devices and identifying them in the margins.
d. highlighting unique sentence patterns and attempting to identify them
using the glossary.
The more that you engage with the text, the more you will be rewarded. You
will use your books when taking the open-book multiple-choice assessment.
A few rules: You may not use Spark Notes, Cliff Notes, or any similar
resource. You may not use another students book when taking your exam,
nor may you copy another students markings. Your summer homework is
intended to be an individual, not collaborative, effort.
At the completion of each novel, you should write a 40-minute timed essay.
Write each on loose-leaf paper using a blue or black ink pen. Next, retype
these essays on the computer. You have my permission to fix minor errors,
but do not revise entire essays. Your work should look like a rough draft.
Also, please do not write long essays. In the beginning of the year, the
typical essay is about two pages double-spaced.
You must submit these essays to Turnitin.com by Friday, September 6 th. All
essays should be copied and pasted into one Word document.
Class title: AP Language and Composition 2013-2014
Class ID: 6417416
Assignment Title: Summer Homework6 essays
Password: English
Upon your return, you will take a 30-minute reading assessment for a couple
of the books. (Dont panic; they wont be on the same day.) It is an openbook test and you may use your glossary of literary terms. However, I
strongly suggest that you review these terms in advance. The last thing that
you want to do is spend your time reading the glossary instead of the
passage. Do not write any notes from an outside source in your book or on
your glossary. This will be considered cheating and will result in a zero for
the exam.

Along with the prompts and the glossary of literary terms, I am providing a
general rubric to give you an idea of the AP standards for writing as well as
my suggested essay structure for your writing.
Good luck. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at
jhollstein@charterschool.org.
Have a great summer,
Mrs. Hollstein
THE PROMPTS
The Great Gatsby
In The Great Gatsby, Nick makes the observation that No amount of
fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly
heart. In other words, reality can never measure up to the dreams we
create for ourselves. Drawing on your own reading, observation, or
experience to develop your position, defend, challenge, or qualify
Nicks position. *Make sure to include at least one example from the
book.
The Things They Carried
Read the section of The Things They Carried titled Style (pages 135136). Then, in a well-organized essay, discuss how the author uses the
resources of language to create a meaningful scene without explicit
commentary.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
In Chapter 5 of Their Eyes Were Watching God, the narrator comments
that any man who walks in the way of power and property is bound to
meet hate. In a well-organized essay, defend, challenge, or qualify
this assertion. Use evidence from your reading, observation, and/or
experience to support your position. *Make sure to include at least
one example from the book.
Into Thin Air
Into Thin Air illuminates one of the greatest debates of our century:
commercialism/progress versus preservation. As leaders and citizens,
we must often decide to advance society or to remain true to ancient
wisdom, tradition, and history. Where does our obligation lie as
citizens of the world: to the preservation of the natural world or to the
pursuit of progress (or profit)? Use examples from your readings, life
experiences, and knowledge of history and current events to answer
the question.
Note: This question has been modified from a question that appears on
www.smccd.net/accounts/csmlcom/commons/Mach/IntoThinAirQuestio
ns.pdf

AP ESSAY STRUCTURES
I.
OPENING PARAGRAPH INFORMATION
Must Haves
Should Haves
(Basic/Passing score) (Strong/Above
Average)
An engaging hook
Some relevant
background information
that sets the context for
the issue
Thesis statement that
takes a clear stance on
one side of the issue
II.

Confident thesis
statement that takes a
clear stance on one side
of the issue

Could Haves
(Exceptional)
A unique, unexpected
hook
Background information
that adds credibility and
insight to the issue; well
contextualized with
possible historical
references
Bold and memorable
thesis statement that
takes a clear stance on
one side of the issue

ALL BODY PARAGRAPHS (please note that the typical AP

essay has two body paragraphs due to time constraints)
Must Haves
Should Haves
Could Haves
(Basic/Passing score)
(Strong/Above
(Exceptional)
Average)
Assertion (like a mini
Confident assertion
Bold, memorable
thesis statement; it
assertion
argues a point connected
to the thesis)
Evidence provided but it
Evidence provided; a
Evidence provided is
is shallow; there may be
couple of welloriginal, unexpected, or
more quantity than
developed examples
extremely detailed; one
quality
exist in each body
or two well-developed
paragraph
examples exist in each
body paragraph
The examples include
concrete, specific
The examples include
details
concrete, precise, and
engaging details
In close-text analysis, the In close-text analysis,
In close-text analysis,
author uses quotes that
the author chooses the the author chooses the
are large (multiple lines)
most precise words,
most precise words,

and fails to edit them

down to the most
important parts.

phrases, or short
quotes and analyzes
them.

phrases, or short
quotes and connects
them to the overall
message, tone, and
assertion.

Analysis states the

importance of the
evidence in a direct
fashion. This proves

Conclusion sentence
signals the end but
doesnt relate back to
assertion; possibly uses
In conclusion

Analysis proves the

relevance of each piece
of information and
connects it to the
assertion. The
evidence is well
embedded and clearly
connected to the
evidence.
Conclusion connects
back to the thesis

III.
CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH
Must Haves
Should Haves
(Basic/Passing score) (Strong/Above
Average)
Restates the thesis
Restates the thesis
using fresh, new
wording
Restates points
Connects the main
points to society
States why the message
matters

Predicts what would

happen if the message
is understood by the
audience

Analysis powerfully
connects evidence to
the overall message,
tone, and assertion.
The evidence is
flawlessly and naturally
embedded with colons
and/or transitional
words, phrases, or
sentences.
Conclusion connects
back to the thesis and
guides the reader to
the next point or the
final statements
Could Haves
(Exceptional)
Restates the thesis
using new, confident
language
Connects the overall
message to oneself,
society, the world
Explains why the
message matters,
considering connections
to our human nature,
emotions, and ethics.
Discusses the logical
importance of learning
from the text
Predicts what would
happen if the message
is understood by the
audience and what
would happen if it is
ignored by the audience

SCORING GUIDE FOR FREE-RESPONSE ESSAYS

When grading the essay, it is important to remember the time limits under
which students are working and to grade as for an in-class essay rather than
an outside-of-class paper. Essays should be graded holistically; however, an
essay that is full of grammatical or mechanical errors should not be scored
higher than a 2. Essays on the Advanced Placement tests are scored on a
system of 1 to 9, with 9 being the highest score possible.
9

These essays are exceptionally well written, show unusual insight, are
very well organized, and support assertions with appropriate examples.
They remain focused on all aspects of the topic and present a unique
writers voice.

These essays are very well written, show clear understanding of and
focus, are well organized, and usually support assertions with
appropriate examples. They focus on all aspects of the topic and show
a writers voice. They may have a few mechanical errors, but only very
minor ones.

7-6

These essays are well written, show an understanding of the topic, and
remain focused on almost all aspects of it. A few assertions may lack
specific examples, but the argument is clearly made. The writers
voice is somewhat less mature than that of an 8 or a 9 essay, but it is
still evident. There may be a few errors in mechanics, but only minor
ones.

These essays are for the most part well written, and usually remain
focused on the topic, but they fail to deal with all aspects of the topic.
The assertions that are made may be somewhat vague in relation to
the topic or a bit superficial in nature. The supporting examples may
be missing occasionally or not well related to the topic. There seems
to be some evidence of a writers voice, but not one of a unique
nature. These essays are usually characterized by some minor errors
in mechanics.

4-3

These essays have some problems with organization and coherence,

tend to wander from the topic in places, and deal only with one or two
aspects of the topic, or with all aspects in only a superficial manner.
The assertions that are made are too general in nature and are often
unsupported by relevant examples. The writing demonstrates weak
control of mechanics, and a writers voice is lacking or inconsistent.

These essays fail to focus on the topic clearly, stray repeatedly from
the topic, or simply restate the topic without any analysis. There is

poor organization and focus in the writing, and the few assertions are
generally unsupported by examples. The writing is characterized by
errors in mechanics and grammar.
1

These essays fail to deal with the topic, lack organization and
coherence, and/or contain many distracting mechanical and
grammatical errors.