2010 Summer Reading Assignment

Welcome to AP Literature and Composition. Over the summer, you will be required to read two books—please note the appropriate due dates:

1. How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster: the ultimate cheat sheet for students. It gives you the inside scoop on how your teachers figure out all that meaning stuff about literature. It divides major concepts (symbol, archetype, allusion, pattern, etc.) up into small, easy-to-digest chapters and relates them to popular movies, TV, and literature (look for references to mythology, The Simpsons, Cinderella, The Great Gatsby, The Odyssey, Oedipus, Gilligan’s Island, the Bible, Mark Twain, Shakespeare, and Ghostbusters).

Although you will be expected to read the whole book this fall, focus on the following chapters: Introduction, 5-7, 11-15, 19, and 25.

2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky: Fyodor Dostoevsky’s psychological novel probes the inner workings of the criminal mind both before and in the aftermath of premeditated murder. This novel of realism takes the reader into the innermost thoughts of the central character and also probes the central philosophical issues of good and evil.

Assignments and Due Dates

Postings are due by midnight on the following dates:

August 10—Parts I-III

August 25—Parts IV-Epilogue

By each due date, you need post at least twice:

1 original post analyzing a specific quote with page number from the assignment. Your analysis must:

Be a minimum of 200 words, not including the quote.
Must tie the quote to an idea from How to Read Literature like a Professor. (i.e., "Yes, She's a Christ Figure, Too," or "Geography Matters...")
Should not be a paraphrase or summary of the quote—think significance.
Cannot repeat or regurgitate ideas from another student’s post.
Stay within the assigned section.

1 response to another student’s post that must:
Be a minimum of 100 words, not including the textual support.
Must use textual references for support.
Must be an actual response to what someone said—“I agree with Tom” is not sufficient.

Feel free to respond and continue the discussion in addition to your required posts. Just keep the discussion on topic and handle disagreements maturely.