Semester Exam Study Guide

AP Lit & Comp

1st Semester Study Guide

Literary Terms

Matching—these terms will pull from the poetry and short stories sections of the Bedford.

Critical Lenses

Matching—know the different lenses discussed in your textbook.

Good Readers & Good Writers

This section will test your understanding of the key points of Nabokov, Frost, and Perrine.  You’ll want to go back and review your annotations, notes, and reading journals. 

Short Stories

I’ll pull key passages from a variety of stories we’ve read this semester.  You’ll need to match them to the correct title and author.

AP Multiple Choice

I’ll give you one section of an AP exam (one poem and the questions following).  Answer all of the questions even if you don’t have a clue. =)

AP Free-Response Essay--Annie John

I’ll give you one essay question for which you should allow yourself 40 minutes.  Free response essay questions ask an open question/make a statement about literature in general.  You would then answer the question by writing an essay on the topic as it directly relates to a piece of literature (one from a provided list or, if you choose, another novel or play “of similar literary quality.”)  You should answer the prompt on your final exam using Annie John.

End of the Semester Reflection

The goal of the course is that you are making progress, seeing improvement, feeling more confident in your critical reading skills.  We've had lots of practice:  homework readings and class discussion, new terminology and perspectives that give you additional details to look for, one-pagers that put you on the spot for the day and make you show off your skills for the class, reading journal questions that help guide and deepen your thinking, and--oh yeah--tests where you have to actually critically read and answer crazy-detailed, written-to-screw-you-up AP questions. =)

So here's your latest way to show me where you are in these all-important skills:  your journal and reflection.

Last quarter I looked at your reading journal for a few things:

1. Were you using it to keep all of your Lit stuff in one spot?
2. Were you using it to record the in-brain processes of a critical reader of the varied assignments in AP Lit (details you noticed, interpretations of readings, etc.)
3. Were you adding to those notes with class discussion notes that help you see what you understand on your own and how that understanding changes with others' thoughts and interpretations?

This quarter, I'm looking for the same PLUS something else...and THAT is your journal reflection assignment.

In your journal, date an entry and title it "1st Semester Journal Reflection."  Complete a thorough, thoughtful, and detailed reflection of your reading skills thus far.  You should consider and include the following in your entry:

• What are your strengths as a critical reader?
• What are your weaknesses?
• What growth have you seen in your critical reading since the beginning of AP Lang last year?
• Since the beginning of AP Lit this year?
• How do you know this growth is occurring?  What evidence do you have?
• How effectively do you feel you are using your journal?
• Could you use it differently to make a bigger difference in your critical reading skill growth?
• How well do you feel you've been able to express your critical reading in the writing assignments this semester (in-class essays, poetry write-up, and lit analysis)?  What strengths and weaknesses in your writing impact that ability?
• What goals (related to reading AND the class at large) do you have for the rest of the year?

Spend some time and thought on this.  It's not HARD, but it will require some honest reflection to do it well. And guess what?  Even though it's an assignment I'm giving you and will grade you on, YOU will actually get the most benefit out of the activity--so do a good job for YOURSELF rather than your grade. =)

7th hour

Check your email--whichever one you've shared or emailed my Google account with because that's where I found all of your emails.  I've sent you a message with important info, especially if you're going to miss class tomorrow!

Annie John Journal Questions

AP LitAnnie John

1. As you read, keep in mind the aspects of post-colonialism we discussed in class.  Make note of important details, questions, or literary devices that connect to those ideas.

2. How is the parent-child struggle between power and lack of power extended to other conflicts in the novel?  Make note of the different places you see struggle for power, the ways it is achieved, lost, etc.  Who has the power and who does not?

3. How does identity work in this novel?  When does Annie discover she has an identity separate from her mother?  How does she assert it?  What implications does Kincaid’s choice to use a bildungsroman have on the novel as a whole?

4. As Kincaid tells the story, she relates it as an expulsion from Paradise.  What was the original expulsion from Paradise?  Who was expelled and why?  What do the references to Lucifer and Paradise Lost indicate to you?

5. Make note of the many references to sexuality.  How do these details contribute to Kincaid’s point?

6. By the end of the book, Annie has rejected every aspect of her home and childhood:  “As I was lying there my heart could have burst open with joy at the thought of never having to see any of it again.”  Is this sort of rejection an inevitable part of growing up?  Is Annie’s hostility and rejection unusually extreme?  If so, why?


COME TO CLASS HAVING PUT THOUGHT INTO ALL OF THE QUESTIONS.  COME WITH SPECIFIC QUESTIONS OR PARTS OF YOUR JOURNAL TO DISCUSS.  KNOW WHAT YOU NEED TO GET FROM CLASS DISCUSSION IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THIS NOVEL.

Lit Analysis Rewrites

Before you do anything, go back to your textbook.  Look at the sample lit analyses your author gives you.  They are not awesome, but they are better in analysis and evidence than what many of you have written.  Also look at the two I wrote for A Tidewater Morning.  Neither is finished BUT you will see that I have well-developed paragraphs focused on analysis and backed up with plenty of textual evidence.  Were they finished, they would be longer than five paragraphs.

3rd hour Tidewater Morning essay

7th hour Tidewater Morning essay


When you rewrite, consider these most common problems:

Structure:  You need a 2-part thesis.  You must state theme in your thesis.  Not a motif or topic, not a vague statement about what the author is doing.  Clearly go out on a limb and state what you think the author's point is.  Also make sure you've identified which element of the book you plan to analyze in order to prove that theme.  This should all happen in ONE clear sentence that appears at then end of your introduction.  Each body paragraph, then, should begin with a topic sentence that clearly supports that thesis AND is focused on the point the author is making with some aspect of that element.

Development:  This should NOT be a 5-paragraph essay.  You should have well-developed paragraphs (half to three-quarters of a page) and more than 5 of them.  Five paragraphs should be too restrictive.  You're arguing the point of a novel and you're not doing it in only 40 minutes.  You've spent time reading, taking notes, studying this novel.  Your analysis should reflect that in both depth and development of your ideas and argumentation.  Your intro and conclusion should also be well-developed.  All paragraphs (including your intro and conclusion) should be roughly the same size.  If they are not, you need to split very long paragraphs into two or further develop the short ones.

Evidence:  Almost all of you need WAY MORE.  Literally, you need evidence for every single claim you make BUT you also need to introduce that evidence and EXPLAIN it! The best evidence is the author's own words.  You are arguing that your interpretation of the novel is correct. Therefore, you can't rely on your interpretation of the author's words (what you're doing with paraphrasing) to be the only--or even majority--evidence.  It's not believable.  There are times when it's not efficient to show aspects of the book and you have to "talk about it"; however, that should not be the main way you support your claims.

The Quotes You Use and How You Include Them:  Obviously, use MLA.  And if you're doing anything weird, look up how to do it on Purdue OWL.  Long quotes have different rules.  Quoting multiple paragraphs (as in dialogue or a play) has different rules.  Quoting poetry has different rules (including Shakespeare).  Also, do NOT use ellipses.  If you're not going to use the whole passage, then do multiple short quotes that point out the parts you want--don't simply skip over the stuff you don't want. It makes your reader question what you're leaving out.  Probably you're doing it for space sake--to make your paper more concise. But it opens up your ethos to questions.  Also, multiple short quotes is ALWAYS preferable to long quotes.  Only use long quotes when you absolutely must.  I'm pretty positive that I have not shown you a single example of lit analysis that uses long quotes. They are simply not efficiently effective--and that's what you need.

Use Your Own Analysis:  Don't be looking to outside resources to help you figure out your book.  We have come a long way in your critical reading skills and this is where you use them.  You're all smarter than Sparknotes or Novelguide or any other website for stupid people who don't read their assigned novels.  Those cheater sites are NOT analyzing the novel at the level I am expecting you to.  Therefore, don't look to them for answers to what you should think or see in your novel.  Daisy represents the upperclass? Duh.  Why would you need a site to tell you that?  The green light represents Daisy?  Welcome to Gatsby 101.  You don't need those sites and they will NOT help you get a good grade.  You have to be able to explain and support your interpretation.  Those sites will not do that for you so you might as well spend your time interpreting the book on your own and writing something interesting and fresh because it actually came from your head--which will make it far easier for you to explain and support!  If for no other reason, keep this in mind: This process is where you figure out how to write an analysis--how to take your critical reading skills, interpret a work, and explain and argue it for others.  If you don't do that here and now while you have time to practice, work through it, and get feedback, how will you EVER be able to do in on the test in a timed situation?  Don't take the "easy way out" and end up shooting yourself in the foot.

Polishing:  Yeek!  I wrote a whole post on this and I feel like only 10-15% of you even looked at it!  Don't EVER turn in something you haven't polished!  Don't do it now in high school and definitely don't do it next year in college.  It is the WORST thing for your ethos.  It makes you look like either you don't know any better or you don't care about the quality of your work.  Why would you spend hours on your content and then give your teacher/professor a horrible first impression???  You may not be any good at mechanics, but it is time to deal with that.  Either figure out what you don't know and learn it (there is no grammar or mechanics rules you cannot teach yourself from free resources like Purdue) or learn who likes you enough and is good enough at this skill to read your papers and edit them for you.  If no one that likes you enough is any good at this stuff either, be prepared to use other resources or pay for editors.  In college that means going to the writing center for editing (which means getting your paper done early so you have time for that) or paying anywhere from $15-25/hour for editing.  It's cheaper and easier to just learn yourself.

Do some major revision to your essays.  Take the time to do a good job, clean up the problems, end up with a good paper that is all yours.  I expect FAR better work.  I expect it to take me a fraction of the time to grade because they are all good.  If that puts pressure on you, then good.  It should.  You all are capable of far better than you handed in.

SS Exam Prep

Thursday is the in-class essay portion of the short story exam.  You will read a very short story and analyze how the elements of fiction contribute to the overall meaning/effect.  This is strictly a skill-based portion of the test.  If you've been studying, reading, practicing your critical reading skills and interpretation, you'll just show what you can do.  No real preparation necessary...or possible.

Friday is the multiple choice section. This is the portion that you can and should prepare for.

• First section:  multiple-choice questions written over the stories we read and discussed.  Look through your reading journal at the notes you made while reading the stories for the unit as well as the notes you took during class discussions.
• Second section:  multiple-choice questions over "How to Tell a True War Story."  Reread the story, look at your RJ, reflect on your class discussion and make notes while it's still fresh.
• Third section:  really short story to read and multiple-choice questions over it.  Like the essay, this is strictly skill-based.  There is no real preparation for this section; the course so far has been your prep.

Bring your textbook and your reading journal to class with you on Friday!

Combining the Elements: "How to Tell a True War Story"

Here are some formal reading journal questions you should answer in your journal before our discussion tomorrow...which is why I'm giving you class time to read today. =)


1.  How does O'Brien's plot structure work and why does he do it this way?  How does this structure contribute to the story's overall meaning/effect?

2.  As you read, note the diction, imagery, tone, and style the author uses.  Once you've finished the story, go back and look at what these elements add to the story.

3.  What kind of narrator does O'Brien use?  Neutral?  Reliable?  How do you know?  Where do you think O'Brien stands in relation to the narrator?

4.  Track places where setting is highlighted.  Why does O'Brien do that?

5.  What symbolism do you see in the story?  Try to come up with clearly defined and supported analysis of its meaning.

6.  Make note of particular details, phrases, or vignettes that strike you as interesting, important, or intriguing.  Once you've finished the story, go back and consider those items.  What do they mean?  Why does O'Brien include them?

7.  What critical lenses could you use to look at this story for further depth?  Pick two and use them to help you tie all of these aspects of the story together to come to O'Brien's theme.  What is his point?

Independent Reading Booktalk with Lenses

AP Lit Independent Reading

Lit Analysis Booktalk

Assignment:
Prepare and give a 10-minute booktalk in which you give a BRIEF synopsis of your book, analyze an element of the book, and show how the author uses that element to create his/her theme.  This should be essentially what you did for your lit analysis, only you’re doing it orally.  This means you still need evidence. Rather than having to write, go through  the process, and worry about MLA citation and grammar, you’re challenged with the task of making it comprehensible to your peers in only 10 minutes.  Therefore, focus on ONE aspect of the novel, just as you did in your lit analysis essay.

Objectives:

• Continue working on lit analysis (theme, analysis of an element, and evidence to back claims)
• Apply critical lenses to a novel
• Demonstrate excellent public speaking skills
• Use and correctly cite (orally and written) credible literary sources

Items to be Sure You Include:

• Title and author
• BRIEF plot synopsis
• Analysis of the element you’ll be focusing on
• Argument of the theme of the book and how your element contributes to it
• Evidence from the text to back up your claims
• Works cited page either shared/emailed OR printed and handed to me BEFORE your presentation

Critical Lens Aspect
To help deepen your analysis, you’ll also need to apply critical lenses to your reading of the text.  EVERYONE will be using reader response (you can’t avoid it) and formalist (because this is AP Lit and ALL interpretations MUST be grounded in the text).  In addition, you should consider your novel from another perspective:  historical, biographical, feminist, psychological, Marxist, etc.  Use the lens to help you better understand the argument the author is making by considering the context or what he/she may be saying about society.  

In order to do this well, you should do some brief research on your author, the time period, psychology, etc.  When you use these outside sources to help deepen your understanding and to give more credibility to your analysis, you must cite your sources ORALLY during your booktalk.  Also, be sure to include the book you read and at least two other credible literary sources on your works cited page.

One note about lenses:  They are not "a thing."  You're not going to talk about "the lens" in your booktalk.  Lenses are a way of looking at literature.  I will be able to tell which lens you are using just by listening to your interpretation and your evidence.  No critic ever says "Using the psychological lens..." so you shouldn't either.

Sources
Credible literary sources are written by scholars and almost always published by university presses.  You have two good places to find quality critical and biographical sources:

1. EBSCO's Literary Reference Center.  That is the ONLY database you should use for criticism or biographical sources.  If you need to do other lens-specific research (historical, economic, psychological), use EBSCO's other databases.  Username:  3114indhs   Password: haea11   Helpful tips:  After you've searched, look under the Refine Search column on the left.  You can click under Source Types and restrict your sources to only literary criticism or biographies, depending on what you need.  Do NOT use Reviews.
2. Dunn Library at Simpson.  Search before you go, but seriously, this is here in town.  It's a college library and though it isn't as complete as Iowa or Iowa State, it has far more literary criticism than our high school media center can or should provide.  Search your title or author before you go, write down the call numbers so you can find the section/resources when you get there, and take your Indianola Public Library card.  It does require you to go somewhere and try something new, but I promise that the people who put it off the longest have the most frustration with criticism in AP Lit.  It's the BEST place to find quality sources even if it's not the most convenient. Be glad it's here in town.

Grading
I will grade your presentation using the rubric found here.
Your works cited page will lose one point for each error and two points for each missing item (author, date of publication, etc.).  Be sure to use the Purdue OWL to help you with your MLA.

Before Submitting Your Final Draft

This is a checklist of sorts.  Walk through it, step-by-step, fixing your own paper.  You're going to college next year so begin learning how to do your own quality checks.

Proofreading & Polishing Checklist

1.       MLA heading—is it correct?  Is it four lines of info in the right order?  Is the date in MLA format?

2.      Your title—do you have one?  Is it actually your title rather than the title of the literature?  If it includes the title of the literature, is that punctuated correctly?  Does your title have the word “essay” in it?  Get rid of it.  Make sure your title informs the content of your analysis rather than a label of the rhetorical mode.  Is it capitalized correctly?  Remember you capitalize first and last words and all words in between EXCEPT a, an, the, and, but, for, nor, or, yet, and all little prepositions under five letters.

3.      Title and author—included?  Capitalized and spelled correctly…every time?  Use the Find feature to check.  Punctuated correctly?  Remember that full-length works (novels, plays, anthologies) are italicized while smaller works (short stories, poems, one-act plays) are in quotation marks.  Use Find to make sure you did this every time.

4.      MLA format—correctly indented paragraphs?  Did you use the tab rather than space bar?  Double-spaced?

5.      Spacing and margins—all the same?  Nothing funky?

6.      MLA citations—included?  At the end of the sentence unless there is more than one citation in the sentence?  Is the citation part of a sentence (meaning there is end punctuation AFTER the citation)?

7.      Check each quote—did you copy it EXACTLY as the author wrote it?  If you made alterations for flow and clarity, did you denote the SUBSTITUTIONS with brackets?  Is the quote itself a complete sentence? If not, is it PART of a complete sentence with your own commentary?  Does the punctuation you use to intro the quote or transition out of the quote work to make the sentence complete and correct?

8.     Quote within a quote—do you have any of these?  If so, did you alternate double and single quotation marks:  Some people “believed this idea too ‘McLuhanesque’ for their taste” (Postman 43).

9.      Long quotes—do you have any of these? A quote that is more than four normally typed lines in your paper?  You should avoid these BUT if you do include one, did you use long quote format?  Look up the proper way to do it on the Purdue OWL or in the MLA Handbook.

10.  Hamburger method—did you use it?  Is every quote in your body introduced and explained?
11.   Commas—use the Find feature to search and check that you have followed the basic rules correctly.  I’ve listed them below.  If you need more info than I’ve provided, see the Purdue OWL for help.

a.      Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any of these seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet.

b.      Use commas after introductory a) clauses, b) phrases, or c) words that come before the main clause.

c.       Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Use one comma before to indicate the beginning of the pause and one at the end to indicate the end of the pause.

d.      Do not use commas to set off essential elements of the sentence, such as clauses beginning with that (relative clauses). That clauses after nouns are always essential. That clauses following a verb expressing mental action are always essential.

e.      Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses written in a series.

f.        Use commas to set off phrases at the end of the sentence that refer to the beginning or middle of the sentence. Such phrases are free modifiers that can be placed anywhere in the sentence without causing confusion. (If the placement of the modifier causes confusion, then it is not "free" and must remain "bound" to the word it modifies.)

g.       Use a comma to shift between the main discourse and a quotation.

12.  Hypen vs. dash—use the Find feature to search for a hyphen (-).  Are you using it correctly?  Is it making multiple words into one? With no spaces on either side?  Or are you using it as a dash (--) that interrupts a thought or denotes a long pause?

13.  Read the entire piece out loud to yourself—listen for places you get tripped up.  Revise those areas for better transition, flow, or clarity by looking at punctuation, sentence structure, and word choice.  If the sentence goes on for two or three lines, it’s likely a run-on that could be revised.  If your flow is choppy, you probably have a lot of simple sentences or compound sentences.  Use the Find feature to search for “and” or “but”—these are places you could revise for better flow.

14.  Semicolon—did you use any?  Do you need to use fewer “and”s?  A semicolon is used to connect two complete sentences WITHOUT a conjunction.

Use the Find feature to search for and double-check these commonly misused words:

a.      It’s (it is)
b.      Its (possessive)
c.       Your (possessive
d.      You’re (you are)
e.      Here (place)
f.        Hear (to listen)
g.      There (place)
h.     Their (possessive
i.        They’re (they are)
j.        To
k.      Too (also or excessive amount)
l.        Two (number)
m.   Witch (on a broom)
n.     Which (which one—this or that)
o.      Where (place)
p.      Wear (on your person)
q.      Were (past tense passive verb)
r.       We’re (we are)

Writing Conclusions

Consider this:

Your conclusion is the only place you have a chance to argue your thesis as a whole.  Your entire paper argues pieces or aspects of your thesis, but never has a chance to really argue it all together.  It's the only place you REALLY get to argue your actual theme.  Now that you've offered all of the reasoning and backed up everything with evidence, now pull it all together and really argue your theme overall.

Secondly, your conclusion should answer the "So what?" question.  Why does any of this matter?  Why does it matter that Gatsby's miserable or Santiago learned something about himself or Austen is criticizing class structure?  What does that mean for us today?  Why is the book still relevant? Powerful? Significant?  Make sure you address that in your conclusion.

People get worried about "not adding in something new" to their conclusion.  Yes, it's true that you should NOT make any more unsubstantiated claims.  This is not a place to continue arguing your thesis.  Your body should sufficiently make and back up all of those points.  This is a place to bring it together, connect everything, and show why we should care.  Please DON'T only repeat things you've already said.  That sounds horrible and unnecessary. =)  No, don't make new points of argument but DO certainly do what a conclusion needs done:  tie up any loose ends and leave us with the parting message of what we are to do with this information.

Lastly, your conclusion (and your intro) should be about the same length as your body paragraphs.  If they look wimpy or weak...they are.  Develop them.  USE them to help make your analysis make more sense and come together.

Body Revision Work

Revision Checklist

You have your thoughts on paper now.  You've got a start on your evidence and explanation. However, in my experience, most of you will either need more evidence, more explanation, less saying-the-same-thing-different-ways, or all of the above.  Also, you'll likely need better coherence, efficiency, and style before we're done here.

Walking through this checklist will help you address whatever concerns your paper might have.  Go through each step in order, working through it at your own pace.  Don't worry about your neighbor's paper--just stay focused on your own and what you need to do.  This is work time with me here and available for help, but not class discussion or peer review time.  Spend some dedicated time with your paper!

Add

• Highlight your claims—anything that is a statement of interpretation.  Add evidence of some type to support every one of those claims.
• Next, highlight the good stuff—places where the points you make and the evidence you use is excellent, strong, well-put.  Look at the places not highlighted—what do they need?
• Look at paragraph lengths.  In a well-written academic essay, your paragraphs should all be roughly the same length.  Where are your short points?  Further develop them.  Go deeper in your analysis and add more evidence.

Subtract

• Subtract the junk—in every sentence, experiment with pulling out words you don’t need.  Begin with words like “which” and “that.”
• Read one sentence at a time—get rid of repetition:  words, phrases, ideas.  Use the Find feature to help you find repeated words.
• Look at paragraph lengths again.  Where are your long paragraphs?  Is there content you don’t need?  Repetition?  Fluff?  Stuff that doesn’t support your thesis or topic sentence?  If so, get rid of it or change it so it works.

Substitute and Rearrange

• Look at your long paragraphs again.  Could you split them into two separate paragraphs?  Each making its own part of the larger point?
• Notice where you tend to use passive vs. active verbs.  Find “am,” “is,” “are,” “was,” “were.”  Rewrite those sentences with action verbs.
• Find “you.”  Do you mean something else?
• Find “I.”  Is first person effective for your purpose and audience or would 3^rd person be better?
• Where can you combine and condense?  Where do you have a point made in two or three sentences that could be made in one or two?  Where do you have simple sentences that could be combined into complex sentences?
• Where could your word choice be more precise and specific?  More interesting?  More fresh?  Don’t replace using the thesaurus—actually rewrite your sentences.

Poetry Reading for Wednesday

For Wednesday, I really want you to spend some time practicing your own interpretation AND how you would back it up.

1. Begin by reading the brief bio on Emily Dickinson on p. 1042-1051 in the textbook.
2. Then spend some time on each of the following poems:  "I heard a Fly buzz--when I died--" p.1065, "Because I could not stop for Death--" p.1066, and "Wild Nights--Wild Nights!" p.1058.
3. For each poem, note details and interpretation in your journal--not just a vague "I think it's about this"--but rather a clearly stated interpretation and some support for why you think that with details from the poem as evidence.
4. Next, read the criticism at the end of the chapter that discusses these three poems p.1077-1082.  Note in your journal how it impacts your interpretation.  Does it support your thoughts?  Give you additional details to consider?  Change your mind about some things?  Point out details you've overlooked or even misinterpreted?

The goal of this activity is to help you get more practice on actually arguing your interpretation...and forcing some of you to actually come to clearly defined interpretations BEFORE I make you do it on the test. =)

When you come to class, you'll practice on a couple of other Dickinson poems. The background with her poetry should help you with the class task.

It's almost here...

I hope you've all been having a good summer--relaxing, making money, going on fun vacations, and generally enjoying some free time.  School is just around the corner and I know you're all excited to be seniors.  Hopefully your summer assignments are coming along...or maybe you're done. =)

I have set up the Turnitin account for this year so get enrolled when you have a chance and submit the Tidewater write-up before school starts. You can bring everything else with you the first day of school.

Here's the enrollment info:
Class ID:  6699432
Password:  grissom

Enjoy the last two weeks and I'll look forward to seeing all of you soon!

AP Lit Summer Assignment

AP Literature and Composition

Summer Assignment

It's that time of year again!  Time for sleeping in, spending time outdoors, maybe working more shifts.  It's also time for working on your tan, going on vacation, and hanging out with friends.  You've all worked hard this year and you deserve all of that.  However, just so you don't lose EVERYTHING you've learned about critical reading this year, I have a small summer assignment to get you read for AP Lit.  =)

It is vital that you complete all parts of this summer assignment as our first few weeks of class (and therefore a large chunk of your first quarter grade) will be dealing with the books you read this summer and the notes you take over them.  You’ve all earned a well-deserved break, and I sincerely hope you enjoy your summer.  Just do yourself a favor and don’t put all of this off until August.  You’ll want to kick yourself if you have to spend the last two weeks of break doing homework instead of enjoying your last summer hurrahs.

Assignment #1:
Read A Tidewater Morning by William Styron.  It is made up of three vignettes telling stories from one man's life.  These vignettes are compiled into a novel which  means they are connected in some way...and that way is the theme.  Your task is to determine the theme, otherwise known as the author's point or argument. =)  To help you do that, take notes as you read.  Consider motifs, characterization, setting, significant rhetorical devices.

Once you have an idea of what the theme is, pick three passages of 4-5 lines--one from EACH vignette.  Complete an informal write-up (organized HOWEVER you want) that tells me what you think the theme is, analyzes and explains the significance of each vignette to that theme, and explains how those three passages are connected.  Be sure to include the passages, typed out in their entirety WITH an MLA parenthetical citation.

This will serve as the basis for learning how to write a lit analysis next year.  The more detailed thought you put into it, the easier it will be to write in-depth about later. Hint, hint. ;)

Assignment #2:

Choose a second book from the AP Book List:  This reading list is taken from previous AP Lit and Comp tests.  Your second assignment for this summer is to read one of these works.  You have many titles and authors to choose from, some of which may be unfamiliar to you.  Reading some reviews (Amazon’s a great source) may help you narrow down your options to something you’ll find interesting.  The books on this list are probably not the type of books you would typically choose for some light, vacation reading.  However, they serve a few important purposes:

• They are a sampling of the types of texts we’ll be reading, discussing, and writing about next year.
• They provide you with enough depth and complexity to get you thinking about theme and the elements used to express it.
• They begin/add to your literary storehouse of knowledge which you’ll need to pull from if you take the AP exam next spring.

Complete a reading journal as you read:  In order to get the most out of your reading (and make your fall assignments much easier), make sure you’re an active reader of this book.  As you read, complete a formal reading journal with the following categories: character development and function, motifs, rhetorical devices/word choice, setting significance, and form/structure.  I would recommend a couple of pages of notes for each category.  Track important details that relate to each category (be sure to mark page numbers!), pose questions you have as you read, and reflect and synthesize your understanding of the function and significance of these details once you’ve finished the book.  Basically, do the same thing you did for The Sound and the Fury but with my categories rather than the ones you chose on your own.  These notes should be ample proof that you have carefully read the work.  Do not summarize the plot! 

Write a final response:  Write a one-page response as soon as possible after you finish this book.  This is just an informal, first person reaction to the novel.  Did you like it?  Why or why not?  What did you find to be interesting in the text as a whole?  There are really no rules for a response; it’s just a chance for you to collect your thoughts on the entire piece and vent your excitement, frustration, or questions.  I would also like to see your beginning thoughts about the author’s point (theme).

All of this will be due the first day of class—make sure to bring everything with you!  

Summer Contact Information:

If you have questions over the summer about the course, your books, or the assignments, please feel free to check the resources here on the AP Lit Blog or you can email me at ms.kim.grissom@gmail.com

An Additional Article You Should All Read

In the dictionary next to the word "contradiction" senior year should be listed as an example. The whole year we seniors are constantly asked (nagged might be the better word) to constantly think about our future. At the same time we are encouraged (once again my word choice is questionable) to reflect on the past.
   Talking about my future seems unavoidable but I've done a good job avoiding the past. I don't love looking at the past. I had a bad haircut (more like revolting) and my braces did nothing to make me seem more fashionable. But I suppose there is more to my past then seventh grade. I did have an awesome childhood. As I have grown up I have realized that one of the best things about being a kid is that no one expects you to have it all figured out. The biggest consequence I had to face as a child was when I put a hole in the wall (by accident of course!) on Thanksgiving…while my mom was taking a nap. Nothing says, "Hiya Mom! How was your nap?" like a hole in the wall. Whoops. But besides that little incident I was a pretty good kid and I didn't have to worry about a whole lot of consequences. Growing up sure changed that. Even good things (like a college education) have consequences (I mean these loans are outrageous!).
   So maybe, as a Senior, I need to reflector on my past a little more carefully. Maybe these little consequences can teach me a few lessons about avoiding the large ones. Like, "hey, money doesn't grow on trees so appreciate what you have and don't go putting holes in it." (I don't know what my haircut was supposed to teach me. Maybe: You're not Taylor Swift so never try to pull off bangs…like ever.). After this little rant I'm starting to think maybe as we seniors are nagged about our future it might be important to look at our past (no matter how bad you looked)and take notes. There might be some important lessons there.

End-of-Year Journal Reflection

You're done with TWO years of AP English classes.  First, you should give yourself a big pat on the back.  Then, I would like you to spend some time reflecting on what you've learned over the course of the last two years:

• How have your reading skills improved and how do you know?
• How have your writing skills improved and how do you know?
• What skills do you think will serve YOU the most--personally--as you continue your education? As you continue your life?
• What do you see as your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to literature, writing, argumentation?
• What feedback can you give me as I strive to make this AP experience as beneficial for my students as possible? What was most helpful? What was least helpful? What do you wish we had done more of? Less of?

Thank you all for a fabulous two years.  I know I get crabby and we all get stressed, but it's a joy to teach you and you all give me faith that there will be plenty of intelligent, civic-minded, thoughtful adults to lead our society in a positive direction.  Happy last assignment! =)

Senior Article Options

Here are the articles written for the senior article.  Read them all and vote for your favorite using the link at the end.

Identity

While at Indianola High School, I lead the life of your average teenager. I was presented with academic challenges that forced me to grow as a student. I joined clubs and organizations that allowed me to express my strengths and develop my weaknesses. And I attended games and events to stay involved and have fun. But I can’t say that each day of my high school career was smooth sailing. At times, I felt like I didn’t even know who I was. But that’s what growing up is all about. It’s okay to feel a little lost when you’re finding who you truly are. I have fond memories of everyone at IHS. My teachers and classmates have made such a positive impact on my life. But I’m truly looking forward to now making my mark on the world. I’m looking towards all of the possibilities that my future holds. And I’m especially thrilled to continue to grow into the woman I am meant to be. 


Enjoying the Time Left

It seems like everyone jokes about wanting to be free of high school. I always hear how someone can’t wait to leave this prison and join the adult world. I may be the only one, but I am going to miss my high school experiences greatly. I don’t know if I’m ready to move on to the next level of my life. I barely got used to this step and now I’m expected to climb to the next one? For me, high school has been the greatest chapter of my life so far. It is in high school that one gets to experience the freedom of adulthood with the irresponsibility of adolescence. High school covers the entire range from college-level advanced placement courses to dressing like a moron for homecoming spirit week. It is in high school that a student gets the chance to try everything and finally start to figure out who he is as an individual. High school sports teach sportsmanship and how to step up to the plate as a team leader. Challenging academic courses teach dedication, perseverance, and how to have a good work ethic. Basically, high school prepares a student to fully become themselves, whether that is through college or entering the work force. The skills and life lessons learned in high school are invaluable, and I know I wouldn’t trade mine for the world. While everyone else in my school is counting down the days to summer, I am desperately clinging on to the time I have left. 


Advice

Before you begin reading this and think “Well gee, I’ve NEVER seen a senior describe their pent up emotions about their high school experience”, hear me out. I don’t plan on preaching this idea to you. Instead, I’m going to cheer you up!

While you’re going on a roller coaster ride of emotions now, just look at the bright side. All these great memories and the people you made them with…. Well, you’re probably going to forget most of them. Don’t feel bad, that’s just life. Sure you may have those few great friendships that last a lifetime (you lucky duck!), but you can’t expect to keep track of ALL these people when you’re all diffusing throughout the country. After all, feeble attempts at staying in contact with people from high school are what Facebook was invented for!

                  But don’t worry, as you go through college and into your adult life, you will remember at least some of those great times you had. You’ll look back and smile, and then you’ll get to look at where you are in life and how far you’ve come. You’ve had a great four years, but now it’s time to move on. Why would you want to live in the past? You know what’s in the past? No cure for polio and no Netflix. Is that the kind of life you want? I didn’t think so. So move forward into the next part of your life with excitement and make those new memories.  

Memories

As I look back on my four years at Indianola High School there are two things that really stick out in my mind. The first is how many fire drills and bomb threats we had. We spent more time wondering if our school would burn down or blow up than we did in class. The second thing is the outpouring of support our community has for all of the activities at IHS. I was fortunate enough to experience this first hand after the softball team won the State Championship. So many members of the community showed their support before and after we made the trip to Fort Dodge even though our arrival back in Indianola was way past most of their bed times. My time at Indianola High School has been filled with laughter and great memories. Deuces IHS. 

Survived and Thrived

Congrats Seniors! We survived. We survived three high school bomb threats (or bom treats), numerous fire and tornado drills, and managing to eat lunch after the national mandated "Healthy" Kids Act. We have survived the 2012 Mayan apocalypse and not having 11:35 monthly dismissals. We have survived for 18 years now, and it is finally time to show the world who we are. As we disperse off into the world, we will not forget who we were in high school- we have all the facebook posts and tweets to remind us how important everything was at the time. There have been times in our lives that we have not only survived, but thrived. This senior class has contributed to the school state championship debate team, state champion softball team, the football team's first six-win season since [insert year], and the chamber orchestra's best in center at contest. We have believed and we have achieved! This does sound rather clichéd, but it has been said before for a reason- it's the truth. Us seniors cannot escape the truth, because we can always look it up on our cell phones. Let us use the "Carpe Diem" expression for our graduation hurrah! And let us seniors remember, we have thrived before, and we will certainly thrive again.

The Future

Congratulations, Class of 2013!  It’s been an unforgettable journey, but we’re just getting started.  Don’t worry about all of the “lasts” of high school, but think of all the “firsts” to come.  Our future is wide open and the possibilities are endless!  We are the next generation of CEOs, business owners, doctors, and Wal-Mart greeters.  There is nothing we can’t do; after all, we survived middle school, right?  Just be sure to keep moving when they hand you your diploma before they change their minds.

Opportunities

As students at Indianola High School, we have been very fortunate. We have a pretty nice school and good academic, art, and sports facilities. The science wing was recently renovated, as well as the middle school. We now have our own field and field house with both an indoor and an outdoor track. We have baseball fields and access to Simpson College. Our high school has an auditorium/theatre that includes an instrumental pit, a fully equipped sound/electrics booth, catwalk, and a full rail. We have an entire wing dedicated to music which has two band rooms, a chorale room, a mirrored chorale room, two sets of show choir risers, and a room strictly for orchestra. It’s amazing we even have an orchestra program, let alone a great arts program. In addition to all of the sports, you can act, direct, paint, sketch, be on theatre crew, sculpt, design, dance, you get the point. Our school has provided us with many opportunities. We have chances to run on the track team and act in the play. Others play football and sing in show choir. Our school also offers many different clubs including art club, drama club, and science club. We compete in a 4A, CIML Metro conference for sports. We have the normal football team, cross country teams, swim teams, soccer teams, bowling teams, etc. But, if you want to branch out and you have a good eye, you can even join the trap team. Yes, there IS a team for that. We also compete in academic decathlon, science bowl, and recently, robotics. At football games, not only do we have a football team, but you can be entertained by cheerleaders and a halftime show of the dance and drill team, Impulse, and The Pride of Indianola Marching Band. Want to learn a different language other than English? IHS offers Spanish, French, and German. Like math? Join Mu Alpha Theta, our nerdy math club. Like to dance? Our dances include Homecoming, Sadie Hawkins/MORP, Sports Dance, MAD Dance, and Prom. If you want an academic challenge, take an AP class or a Simpson Class, or look into the DMACC program that’s starting up, next year. These are just some of the many things IHS offers to its students. We have the chance to take great classes and learn, as well as participating in groups and events outside of school. We are truly lucky to have all of these opportunities to do so many things.

Vote Here!