AP English 11

Summer Reading Assignment – The World is Flat

Read Thomas L. Friedman’s The World is Flat, 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. While reading, you will need to complete two separate journals: a Reading Journal and a Vocabulary Journal. Seventy-page, college-ruled notebooks are sufficient for each journal. Your work in these journals will be graded. They will also be used throughout the course during other units. Complete each journal following the directions below.

Reading Journal: The purpose of the Reading Journal is to aid you in understanding the “flattening” of the world as described by Friedman. Additionally, this journal will be our first foray into understanding how fiction and non-fiction writers use text to create meaning: a primary focus of the course. For each of the seventeen chapters, complete the following:

• Write a thorough summary of the chapter, capturing the essence of the core concepts as you understood them. Use your own language to explain the essential meanings of the text (check the section in Writers INC titled “Writing a Summary” for further information). In-class activities, including writing assignments, will depend heavily upon your deep understanding of the text. Your chapter summaries will be essential tools for you to reflect upon your understanding of Friedman’s arguments.
• Below the summary, list the primary organizational patterns and rhetorical modes used by Friedman to explain the central concepts of the chapter (most of his chapters include several of these). Then, write a well-developed paragraph that analyzes the effect of these modes of exposition. For instance, how does Friedman’s narration of his golf outing in the beginning of Chapter One help prepare the reader to understand the main ideas of the entire chapter?

Some common organizational patterns and rhetorical modes include the following:

• Narration: An event, real or fictional, is recounted – usually chronologically - to illustrate a point.           
• Description: A physical entity – a person or an object – is physically described using various forms of imagery and/or figurative language.
• Illustration/Exemplification: An idea is presented (perhaps an argument of some type) and then examples are provided to clarify or illustrate the idea.
• Comparison: Two people, events, objects, concepts, etc. are juxtaposed in order to deepen a reader’s understanding of one or both.
• Problem/Solution: A thorough analysis of some problem is presented, followed by one or more solutions.
• Cause/Effect: A phenomena or “effect” is analyzed in a way that clarifies the primary causes. It may also include projections of future effects.
• Process Analysis: Some process – a series of steps – is analyzed step-by-step in a way that deepens the reader’s understanding of how a result or outcome is achieved.
• Definition: A key concept is defined in a way that extends and clarifies the reader’s understanding.

Vocabulary Journal: Write down words that you encounter during reading which are outside of your “functional vocabulary” in a Vocabulary Journal (your functional vocabulary is the repertoire of words that you are already comfortable using in your own formal writing). Each entry must be written in two-column format. Write the word in the left column. In the right column, define the word, using the definition applicable to the context. Below the definition, write a significant portion of the sentence and the page number on which the word appeared. We will continue to add words to this journal throughout the year.
Advice: I don’t want you to interrupt your rhythm as a reader to complete this task. In most circumstances, readers do not need to immediately look up unfamiliar words they encounter in order to comprehend the text; context clues are usually sufficient. So my advice is to mark vocabulary with a specific color of highlighter as you read. After you complete each section, go back and add your highlighted vocabulary to your notebook.

This assignment is due soon after we return from summer break. I will not collect your books; I will collect your journals. All of the assignments related to the book will make up a significant portion of your grade for the first semester, so do your best on these journals to prepare yourself.

Word document: AP Language & Composition.doc

PDF Format: AP Language & Composition.pdf