AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE & COMPOSITION SPRING 2015 Summer Assignment Packet Summer Reading Assignment: The Prince by Niccoló Machiavelli (Winter Break Reading Assignment: On Writing by Stephen King)
This packet contains instructions for the Summer reading and writing assignments with a deadline date of August 8th, 2014 (First day of school)
Contact Information: Email address: Phone:
M. Lemay, Instructor
[email protected] 504-595-6600
Dear Students and Parents: Welcome to the Advanced Placement English Language and Composition course for the Spring Semester 2015. The purpose of the course is to provide students who are willing and academically prepared with the opportunity to study and learn at the college level. During the Spring ‘15 semester, students will learn to develop and apply skills, abilities, and content knowledge that they will need later in college. Research shows that students who score high on the AP exam typically experience greater academic success in college. The successful student of AP English Language and Composition will be skilled in reading prose written in a variety of rhetorical contexts and will become skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. The student will become aware of the interactions among a writer’s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects, as well as the way the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing. In order to accomplish this, students will read from and write about a variety of subjects from a variety of disciplines. The course will emphasize the expository, analytical, and argumentative writing, as well as the personal and reflective writing that facilitates the development of writing in any context. Writing assignments will be based on reading as well as on personal experience and observation. Students will be taught to read primary and secondary sources carefully, to synthesize material from these texts in their own compositions, and to cite sources using conventions recommended by the Modern Language Association (MLA). Additionally, the course will help students to move beyond such formulaic approaches as the five-paragraph essay that fails to engage the reader and often encourages unnecessary repetition rather than a focus on organization of their writing with an emphasis on content, purpose, and audience. The first step in this journey will be the completion of the attached Summer Packet. A second packet will be assigned for completion during the winter break. The summer reading assignment is The Prince by Niccoló Machiavelli. Students will also complete the accompanying writing assignment which must be submitted on the first day of school in August. The winter break reading assignment is On Writing by Stephen King which will also include accompanying writing assignments. These completed assignments will allow me to assess the student’s current reading and writing skills in order to focus on strengthening and developing these skills. The assignments must be submitted by the deadline or a score of 0 will be assigned for the work. Of course, students admitted to the course have already displayed academic responsibility, so I do not anticipate any problems with this deadline for submission. Please carefully read and follow the instructions for the assignments. It is expected that you will do your best work so that your skill levels can be accurately assessed and lesson plans developed to insure your success. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email me at
[email protected]. Best Regards, Michelle LeMay AP English Language & Composition
The Prince by Niccoló Machiavelli Summer Assignments Instructions It is assumed that you will take an analytical approach to your reading. Please be sure that you pay attention to the reading. The topic focus for the semester will be political and government frameworks and their affect on individual rights. The purpose of Machiavelli’s writing is to provide a “recipe” for the successful “prince” and his belief that power and success is guaranteed for those who follow his instructions. History has shown that many of the world’s most powerful leaders exhibit the traits that Machiavelli outlines in his book first published in the year 1532. In order to complete your assignments, all you will need is this packet, a composition book, and research capabilities. Although the required research to complete your assignments is minimal, you must have access to book or internet resources at home or at your local library. ASSIGNMENTS (Organize your assignments as follows:) Vocabulary List: Reserve several pages in the back of your composition book to record a “Vocabulary List” of words with which you have difficulty. Notetaking: Every page of Machiavelli’s book includes ingredients for the “successful” Prince. In your composition book, you will be required to submit a (total) minimum of 20 recorded quotations that detail specific instructions for actions that will lead to success or failure. Use the following format for your annotations: o “Side-by-Side” notebook. On the left page, you will write the quotation you have chosen. On this page, you will annotate the quotation using examples and explanations of why certain instructions will lead to success, what actions should be avoided that will lead to failure, or any other specific advice that Machiavelli gives to the potential prince. On the right page, you will write your own reflection related to the quote. In addition to expounding on your personal viewpoint of Machiavelli’s instructions, include examples of past and current leaders or powerful people who you believe display(ed) traits that are similar to those specified in the quote. (Note: Although the total number of quotes required is 20, remember that, in research, “more is better”. You will be using the recordings in your composition book for related assignments during the semester.) Ingredient Chart: You may use the attached Graphic Organizer or create your own, to keep track of Machiavelli’s “ingredients” for success and failure. This record will help you to draw an accurate picture of the “successful Prince” and the Prince that will fail. Post-reading Assignment: When you have completed your reading, complete the following assignments. These assignments will require book or internet research:
o Use the attached template to record your findings or create your own to record the following: (Template can be found in separate file “AP Summer Packet Part 2.) In Chapter XVII – Concerning Cruelty and Clemency, Machiavelli discusses his philosophy of benevolence vs. dictatorial traits in a leader. He also refers to these traits throughout the text. Refer to the attachment listing 25 of history’s most powerful leaders. Your assignment is to conduct basic research to identify the leadership traits of three leaders whom you would consider to be “benevolent” and three leaders whom you would consider to be “dictatorial” or cruel. List as many traits as you can on the chart. Compare your chart to Machiavelli’s “ingredients” list that you composed during your reading. Choose one “benevolent” leader and one “cruel/dictatorial” leader that you determine possesses all or many of the traits on Machiavelli’s “ingredients” list. Write an 800 word (approx. 3 pages) essay in which you argue that these leaders were or were not successful. You should expect to conduct further research to learn more about the successful or failed leadership of the leaders you chose. Be sure to record the sources that you use to support arguments in your essay. (For web sources, record the web address and the name of the website; for books, record the author and title of the book in your notebook.) You will not be required to write a Works Cited page at this time, but you will refer to these sources again during the Spring semester when you will be taught how to record and cite your sources. If you have the resources to print or copy, you should print or copy the material that you use in your essay. BE SURE TO PROOFREAD YOUR ESSAY. YOU WILL LOSE POINTS FOR MECHANICAL ERRORS IN GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, VERB AGREEMENT, SENTENCE STRUCTURE, ETC. Do not include 1st or 2nd person pronouns in your formal essay.
Machiavelli’s Recipe For A Successful Prince Ingredients for Success
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Ingredients to Avoid (Failure)
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25 OF HISTORY’S MOST POWERFUL LEADERS Abraham Lincoln Augustus Caesar Cleopatra Genghis Khan Ivan IV of Russia (Ivan the Terrible) Mahatma Gandhi Nelson Mandela Queen Elizabeth I
Alexander the Great Ayatollah Khomeini Emperor Hirohito of Japan George Washington Joseph II (Roman emperor) Maximilien Robespierre Odysseus Ramses II
NAME OF LEADER: TRAITS
NAME OF LEADER: TRAITS
NAME OF LEADER: TRAITS
Attila the Hun Charlemagne Fidel Castro Idi Amin Joseph Stalin Napoleon Bonaparte Peter the Great Winston Churchill
