AP LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT
ASSIGNMENT #1:
How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster (non-fiction NEW/CLEAN COPY in PRINT only- ISBN-13: 978-0062301673)
Part 1: In-depth Annotations- READ THIS BOOK FIRST. You will read and annotate the Preface, Introduction, all
numbered chapters, the Postlude, and Envoi. You will complete the “Test Case.” You will do 50 numbered and evenly
spaced annotations. You may write directly in your book or use post-it notes by placing them directly on top of your
highlighted text. These sorts of annotations are done to mark the major concepts and devices Foster teaches you. It is
a work of non-fiction, so your annotations will be based on information gleaned from your reading. You will NOT use
the word bank on page 2 for this reading.
Part 2: Glossary of Terms- Create a hand-written glossary of twenty literary terms and concepts from the book by
following the format below. This work must be original. Focus on literary terms and concepts that are new to you or that you are the
least familiar with. This is meant to stretch your knowledge of literary concepts, analysis, and theory.
Literary Term
or Concept
Definition or Explanation of Literary Term or
Concept
Literary Text Example from Reading
Place term or
concept here.
(pg. # it
appears on)
Define term or explain concept here in your own
words based on your reading of HTRLLAP. Do not
use an outside source.
Include at least one example of the term or concept as it is
presented in the reading through a literary example, such
as the specific novels and poems Foster uses to elucidate his
points. Provide page number(s).
Term:
Faustian
bargain
(pg. #)
Definition: According to Foster, the Faustian
bargain is the classical archetypal foil between
man and an evildoer. Often referred to as a “deal
with the devil,” it happens when an otherwise well-
meaning protagonist submits to some fatal flaw of
their own, such as pride or envy, and surrenders
their own goodness or autonomy for something the
“devil” promises.
Literary Example: In HTRLLAP, the Faustian bargain gets its
name from the German tragic play, Faust, written by Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe. In the play, Faust is a successful
academic who is dissatisfied with his life. This spiritual
malaise leads him to make a “deal with the devil” when he
tragically exchanges his soul for unlimited knowledge and
worldly pleasures (pg. #).
ASSIGNMENT #2:
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (fiction NEW/CLEAN COPY in PRINT only- ISBN-13: 978-0486282114)
Part 1: In-depth Annotations- READ AFTER YOU READ HTRALLAP. You will do 50 numbered and evenly spaced
annotations. You may write directly in your book or use post-it notes by placing them directly on top of your highlighted
text. Annotate for the concepts in the word bank on page 2 AND specific literary terms and concepts you learned while
reading How to Read Literature Like a Professor. You must successfully apply NEW terms and concepts from HTRLLAP
through the text to earn an “A.”
Part 2: Literary Analysis- You will write a 3-4 page MLA literary analysis essay on Frankenstein by answering the
following prompt, which is fashioned after the Free Response essay on the AP Literature exam: In literature, a literal or
figurative transformation is a significant factor in the development of character and meaning of a work. In a well-
organized essay, with at least six direct quotes and engaging commentary, discuss the literal and figurative transformation of
Frankenstein and his wretch and how their transformations create theme. Be certain you clearly communicate what the theme is
specifically. NOTE: This is original work; you may not use any outside sources or study guides. Also, this is not a rhetorical analysis.
You will focus on the characters and their evolution, rather than the author’s craft. See the Purdue OWL online for help with MLA format
and creating your Work Cited page for the novel. Please contact me for help or if you have questions. **IMPORTANT: You will
submit a hardcopy of your Frankenstein essay the first day of school and post it to TurnItIn upon my forthcoming directions.**
WATCH THESE HELPFUL LITERARY ANALYSIS TUTORIALS:
How to write an introduction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWnoWpbyXSw&ab_channel=Ms.PeerEditor
How to write body paragraphs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0GS9rVRXFQ&ab_channel=Ms.PeerEditor (follows PDC model)
How to write conclusions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPE5omOu6RI&ab_channel=Ms.PeerEditor
RESOURCES & ADDITIONAL SUPPORT: PLEASE READ ALL DOCUMENTS BEFORE STARTING WORK!! THANK YOU!!
A Letter from Your English Teacher AP Literature and Composition Letter English Generic Essay Rubric
A Rationale for Summer Reading A Note on Grading, Checklists, & Rubrics
All assignments will be due the first day of school. Please plan on assessments and assignments that require your close
analysis of the texts the first several weeks of school. Be ready to discuss both texts in class.
All summer reading assignments will be graded as assessments.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at kphinney@ccslancers.com.
ANNOTATION DIRECTIONS & EXEMPLARS
REVIEW- ANNOTATION DIRECTIONS:
How to Create In-depth Annotations:
1) Find meaningful text and highlight or underline it.
2) Reread the text closely for meaning, purpose, and rhetorical or literary devices.
3) Label the highlighted text for a particular term or idea you’d like to offer commentary on.
4) Write about 2 sentences of commentary about your annotation. Commentary addresses the “so what” factor or
provides analysis. Use the acronym RIPE to help you create commentary on the devices or element you’d like to
analyze: Relationships, Importance, Purpose, and Effect.
Annotations analyze. The definition of analysis is as follows: a systematic examination and evaluation of data or information,
by breaking it into its component parts to uncover their interrelationships. Thus, annotations and reading logs do not merely
summarize your reading or provide commentary about your personal feelings. Annotations are the beginning of analytical
thought and your “proof of purchase” that you did—indeed—closely read and analyze your text. Please pay close attention to
step number four above. This is where many of us need to improve. Be certain all your annotations follow all four steps for
an “A” in the gradebook. Be sure all annotations have a VARIETY of terms from the literary word bank below.
Literary Word Bank: Use the word bank below to create your annotations in Frankenstein with a variety of terms. If you are
unfamiliar with a term, please add it to your glossary from Assignment #1. You will need to know ALL of these terms for
class.
Literary Devices: imagery, simile, metaphor, extended metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, catharsis, personification,
hyperbole, purpose, theme, symbols, motif, tone, verbal irony, dramatic irony, situational irony, juxtaposition, internal conflict,
external conflict, exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, archetypes (look up all the various ones),
protagonist, antagonist, direct characterization, indirect characterization, setting, dynamic character, static character,
allegory, allusion, foreshadowing, hubris, social commentary, ethos, pathos, logos, diction, syntax, style, and paradox
ANNOTATION EXEMPLARS:
See both the typed annotation exemplar below from My Antonia and the picture
to the right from Hamlet submitted by Caroline Wright Quarter 4 in AP Literature
and Composition.
Excerpt from the novel My Antonia (text used for annotation highlighted in
gray):
The feelings of that night were so near that I could reach out and touch them with
my hand. I had the sense of coming home to myself, and of having found out
what a little circle man's experience is. For Antonia and for me, this had been the
road of Destiny; had taken us to those early accidents of fortune which
predetermined for us all that we can ever be. Now I understood that the same
road was to bring us together again. Whatever we had missed, we possessed
together the precious, the incommunicable past.
Annotating for symbolism & theme:
The purpose of the road is to symbolize Jim’s connection to the past and to
Antonia. The effect is highly sentimental (pathos) as the novel ends, showing
Jim’s strong nostalgia for the past and his friendship with Antonia. This is
important because it brings the theme—the complexities of life and coming of
age—to a conclusion.
