Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Composition
Name________________________________________________
GENERAL INFORMATION: During this summer section of the course, you are
responsible for completing the following:
1. Completing study questions for the novel independently.
2. Independently composing a rhetorically analyzed essay on one of the choices
given
3. Independently completing the assigned chapter study guides
4. Reading the syllabus along with your parents and signing the attached
contract to return with you on the first day of class
5. Independently reading the entire novel
IMPORTANT NOTE: #1, 2, 3, and 4 are physically due on the FIRST DAY
of class when you return in the August! #5 should be completed to your
discretion as you complete your assignment during the summer.
ASSIGNMENT #1
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
AP Language/Composition Assignment
Study Questions & Essay Topics
1. What is the significance of the opening scene of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?
5. How did Maya’s relationships with Big Bailey and Daddy Clidell differ? How does her
relationship with Big Bailey compare with her relationship with Vivian?
ASSIGNMENT #2
Essay Topics and Requirements
Directions: You are to compose a 5 paragraph essay on ONE of the
following topics. It must be computer formatted with the following in the
upper left hand corner double spaced:
Your name
AP Lang/Comp
Pre-Class Essay #___ (You will give the number of the topic that you are addressing)
August 8, 2014
1. The essay must have a clear introduction with a catchy attention getter
and thesis statement.
2. It must have a clear middle with three body paragraphs; each body
paragraph should contain a topic sentence and supporting details that refer
to your thesis statement.
3. It must contain a clear conclusion that wraps up the entire essay.
4. The essay will also be assessed for correct grammar and mechanics.
5. The essay must be double spaced, and the title must be centered AFTER
the required information in the upper left hand corner. Your title should
be creative and original. DO NOT merely give the title of the book as the
title of your essay.
6. Your last name and page number should be in the upper right hand
corner of each page as a header.
7. Make sure you use one inch margins all around.
TOPIC CHOICES
1. What characters serve as positive role models for Maya? Specifically, how does Maya
come to her conclusions about the strength of black women?
2. Does Maya’s sense of displacement make her susceptible to Mr. Freeman’s sexual
advances? How does the rape and Mr. Freeman’s death influence her throughout the
rest of the book?
3. Trace Maya’s relationship with Bailey. Does it change significantly over the course of
the book? Why or why not?
4. What means of resistance against racism does Angelou depict? How did the
opportunities for resistance for rural southern blacks differ from those available to the
black people in San Francisco? How might they be attributed to a generational
difference?
5. Is Angelou a reliable narrator? To what extent does her own memory seem to distort
her narrative? How would the significance of the work be different if it were fictional
Vocabulary
Vocabulary Word Pg. #/Context Clue Dictionary Definition
1. calamitous
2. troubadours
3. inordinate
4. winced
Study Questions
1. What two characters are introduced in this chapter? Give their specific
names.
Ch. II
Vocabulary
Vocabulary Word Pg. #/Context Clue Dictionary Definition
1. abacuses
2. thwarted
3. rancor
Study Questions
1. With whom does the narrator fall in love with in this chapter?
Ch. III
Study Questions
1. What is the narrator doing at the beginning of this chapter?
Ch. IV
Vocabulary
Vocabulary Word Pg. #/Context Clue Dictionary Definition
1. hamlet
2. bogey
3. chinaberry
Ch. IV
Study Questions
1. Who is Mr. McElroy?
Ch. V-X
Vocabulary
Vocabulary Word Pg. #/Context Clue Dictionary Definition
1. impudent
2. droned
3. cynic
Ch. V-X
Study Questions
1. How did Momma react to the impudent children?
2. Why did the kids not want Reverend Thomas to come eat?
Ch. 11-15
Vocabulary
Vocabulary Word Pg. #/Context Clue Dictionary Definition
1. habitual
2. lurid
3. quandary
Ch. 11-15
Study Questions
1. What was the first secret that Maya kept from Bailey?
3. What did Maya’s mother find that gave away Mr. Freeman’s crime?
4. Who was the person who threw Maya her first lifeline?
5. How is the poem, “It was the best of times and the worst of times” relatable
to what is going on in Maya’s life?
Ch. 16-20
Vocabulary
Vocabulary Word Pg. #/Context Clue Dictionary Definition
1. debutante
2. masochists
3. ecumenical
Ch. 16-20
Study Questions
1. Why does it irritate Maya that Mrs. Cullinan calls her Mary?
3. What does Maya mean when she says, “assume the posture of a man”?
4. What literary device does the author use in the 2nd paragraph of Ch. 19?
5. Why does Maya act differently around Louise from the other kids?
Ch. 21-25
Vocabulary
Vocabulary Word Pg. #/Context Clue Dictionary Definition
1. presentiment
2. gallantries
3. trammeled
Ch. 21-25
Study Questions
1. When Joyce leaves how does it affect Bailey?
4. What two reasons did Dentist Lincoln give “Momma” for not treating Maya?
5. Why did Maya believe that arrangements had been made for her and Bailey
to move back to California?
Ch. 26-30
Vocabulary
Vocabulary Word Pg. #/Context Clue Dictionary Definition
1. refutation
2. recrimination
3. elocution
Ch. 26-30
Study Questions
1. Instead of going to church, what did Maya, Bailey, and Mother Dear do on
Sundays?