ATTENTION, FUTURE AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDENTS:

The following is your summer reading for 2012:

• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (any edition)
• Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich

AP English Language focuses on the ways writers write, the techniques they use to get their ideas across to readers.

1. Begin by identifying the “purpose” of each work.
2. How are the two texts similar in their ideas or themes? How is each different?
3. Identify key techniques that each writer uses to convey his/her “purpose.”
4. If you find one of the texts more engaging than the other, try to determine the reasons why. Is it the humor? the subject matter? the tone? fiction vs. nonfiction?
5. Pay attention to the national news (through any medium you wish). Do you think both texts are still “relevant”? Why or why not?

   • ANNOTATE AND HIGHLIGHT both books, focusing on the points above.
   • Then, write your responses to the five points above, using complete, thoughtful sentences. Please type using MLA format.

In addition, I will expect you to be familiar with the following literary terms as we begin class. Be able to define as well as identify examples in each text:

      o Allusion
      o Analogies: Personification, Metaphor, Simile
      o Diction
      o Imagery
      o Irony
      o Literary point of view
      o Narrative
      o Paradox, oxymoron
      o Symbol
      o Tone/attitude

On the first day of class, you MUST bring your copies of both books as well as your typed responses to the five points above. You will have an OPEN BOOK test, which does you no good if you don’t have the books and notes. If you prefer to use a Kindle or Nook (or any kind of electronic device), that’s fine, but know how to use the “search” function in order to find a specific passage or chapter.

If you need to contact me, leave me a message at nelson@ndhs.org, but do not expect an immediate reply. I will check my school email only occasionally.