Id say prepare other books for the ap so you can do a good job and wont get docked points for your choice of book. The trouble with the ap literature and composition exam. Books of literary merit book years author book years absalom, absalom 00, 07,12 faulkner equus 92, 99, 00, 01, 08 shaffer the adventures of augie march bellow ethan frome 85, 03, 05, 07,14 wharton. Would chronicles of narnia, lord of the rings, harry potter, and alice in wonderland count. Books for ap english literature and composition courses. Does the book have enough literary merit to yield a good essay for the openended question or does it. What constitutes that defining content is notoriously difficult to nail down. Throughout the year, students have 4 different book club books, selecting from any title which meets our class definition of literary merit with some. In ap lit i try to cover two books a quarter eight in all. There are several things you can do to hone your skills and best prepare for the ap lit exam. Gidugu venkata ramamurty and gurazada apparao kanyasulkam revolutionized the literary field by establishing see modern drama good prose traditions using spoken form of telugu.
Book years author book years absalom, absalom 00, 07,12 faulkner equus 92, 99, 00, 01, 08 shaffer the adventures of augie march bellow ethan frome 85, 03, 05, 07,14 wharton. The ap english literature and composition course aligns to an introductory collegelevel literary analysis course. It emphasized close reading, particularly of poetry, to discover how a work of literature functioned as a selfcontained, selfreferential aesthetic object. Books of literary merit book years author book years absalom, absalom 00, 07,12 faulkner equus 92, 99, 00, 01, 08 shaffer the adventures of augie march bellow ethan frome. Scott fitzgerald is a short novel that many people enjoy. Books with literary merit there is no summer reading assignment for pre ap english. Engaging students with literature standing on merit.
Mar 21, 2020 if you arent sure if a particular work has the kind of literary merit the college board is looking for, ask your ap teacher. The ap english literature and composition development committee agrees with henry david thoreau that it is wisest to read the best books first. Conservative stance in advocating for legitimacy and protection of canonical literature no noncanonical. Read a minimum of 3 books of literary merit you have never read before. Choosing books to teach is very different than choosing books to read.
Twentyone poems for ap literature and composition neh. Why do you need to read books for the ap literature test. Jun 14, 2019 i have just finished my fourth ap literature reading where i read essay after essay after essay for question 3, so i am writing with this experience fresh on my mind. If you like my writing on books and literature, check out my other literature related posts on medium. Works referred to on the ap literature exams since 1971 specific years in parentheses. Scott fitzgerald, pride and prejudice by jane austen, 1984 b. For the ap english literature exam, what works are of. Apr 02, 2015 some students are told that they must read a book of literary merit for their assignment. Here are a few books that you may want to read that hold the title of literary merit. Each of the afore listed titles have been mentioned as possible references for use on the ap literature open question. Etymologically, the term derives from latin litarituralitteratura writing formed with letters, although some definitions include spoken or sung texts. Is the dunwich horror or any other hp lovecraft books of enough literary merit to reference on the ap test. Virginia tech scholarly communication university libraries. As a senior in high school taking ap english literature, i was told by the teacher that science fiction books could not be considered books of literary merit.
For the ap english literature exam, what works are of literary merit. The role of quality and choice in student reading barry gilmore lausanne collegiate school memphis, tenn. Professionals include people like english professors. The ultimate ap english literature reading list albert. Jun 21, 2017 how to tell if a piece of fiction has literary merit.
Mar 21, 2020 skillbuilding for success on the ap literature exam. The course engages students in the close reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature to deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure. One must be from an ap reading list one appears below do not select the bolded titles. It was written during the period called the roaring. The college board doesnt have an official recommended list of books to read for ap lit. Oct 19, 2015 ap literature and composition teacher mentioned it, i had no idea what it was either. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. These types of books have a certain level of skill in them that proves their worth. Its the start of the year in 12thgrade ap english literature and composition, and the students are furiously scribbling their responses to an essay prompt from the 2002 ap exam. The more you read books of literary merit the more prepared you will be. My class is doing an independent reading project, but we need to be able to reference our book on the ap test. Spurred by political awakening in the latter half of nineteenth century, a new era began in telugu literature with accent on prose writings. Its the start of the year in 12thgrade ap english literature and composition. Demystifying the ap english literature and composition open question sj miller and josh m.
Also, many students will take ap english language in junior year and ap english literature in senior year. Beowulf and the fight at finnsburgh by unknown, to the lighthouse by virginia woolf, the fountainhead by ayn rand. What the exam really measures are the limited literary. I m not sure the da vinci code is really a work of literary merit, says one student. Im looking to find some to read on my own because quite frankly ive absolutely hated almost every book weve had to read. Skillbuilding for success on the ap literature exam. Lol i asked my ap teacher who is a grader for the exam, and she said that it. We were having a debate in my ap lit class about what constitutes a work of literary merit. To prepare you for the intense ap english environment, you need to know some vocabulary and you need to have some practice critically reading. Literature can be classified according to whether it is fiction or. Literature can be classified according to whether it is fiction or nonfiction and whether it is poetry or prose. According to the college board, these characteristics constitute a.
The college board provides a list of these novels that have appeared on the ap exams in the past. Slifkin w e share with many of our peers a love and passion for teaching young adult ya literature in ap advanced placement english literature courseswhere teachers tend to. Using my commentary as help, youll be able to prepare your own ap english literature reading list to better prepare for a 5. To kill a mockingbird by harper lee, the great gatsby by f. Does the book have enough literary merit to yield a good essay for the openended question or. The ap english literature exam, on the other hand, focuses more on literary analysis. There is neither a required reading list nor a required textbook for ap english literature. Most frequently cited books in ap lit exam 19702014 26 invisible. Would you consider the bible an acceptable text for. A work is said to have literary merit to be a work of art if it is a work of quality, that is if it has some aesthetic value. The most effective approach is to read as many books of literary merit as possible. Science fiction of literary merit by gwsuperfan a staffcreated list. The ap english literature and composition course aligns to a collegelevel introductory literary analysis course. When creating your own ap literature reading list for the student choice freeresponse, try to pick works that are diverse in author, setting, genre, and theme.
Ap short story unit literary analysis and the short story approx 3 weeks students will use perrines literature to take notes on point of view, structure, characterization, humor, irony, and theme. Reflections from 2019 ap literature reading ap lit help. Books of literary merit book years author book years. They work together to plan their reading schedule and discuss their book choice in relation to ap prompts which vary from first to second semester. For the ap lit exam in particular, teachers want to know what books students should be writing on to score well on the ap exam. An exploration of the term according to my research. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
They make you think, says ap literature student, elizabeth christensen. Some of these books have material that may be offensive obscene language, sexual issues, religious issues, racial issues, and violence. Unsure of where to turn for a definitive ap english literature. In preparation for the ap literature exam you will need to be familiar with a wide range of literature. The other novel may or may not be on the ap list, but should be a work of literary merit. The books have to be interesting to seventeen year olds, move at a decent pace, have lots of topics for discussion and writing, be of literary merit, and due to time constraints, be relatively short. Scott fitzgerald, hamlet by william shakespeare, the scarlet letter by nathaniel hawthorne, pride and pre. Science fiction of literary merit the seattle public. I have just finished my fourth ap literature reading where i read essay after essay after essay for question 3, so i am writing with this experience fresh on my mind. There are no prerequisite courses, but students should be able to read and comprehend collegelevel texts and apply the conventions of standard written english in their writing. However, the reality is that the more students read now the better they will do on standardized tests actsat, not just eoc and the eventual ap examinations in their junior and senior year.
Literature, in its broadest sense, is any written work. Literary merit is a highly contentious topic that might get you shanked at an english department meeting for suggesting that hemingway is a big bag of alcoholic crap. There are no prerequisite courses, but students should be able to read and comprehend collegelevel texts and apply the conventions of standard written english in. Demystifying the ap english literature and composition open question we share with many of our peers a love and passion for teaching young adult ya literature in ap advanced placement english literature courseswhere teachers tend to teach canonical texts.
Do i need to be able to quote certain works in the essays. If you arent sure if a particular work has the kind of literary merit the college board is looking for, ask your ap teacher. Ap english literature and composition frequently asked. Starting early in the first semester, students select a book club book to read with a small group. How to tell if a piece of fiction has literary merit. May 09, 2012 for the ap english literature exam, what works are of literary merit. Ap literature and composition summer reading assignment. Sample literary devices essay things fall apart ap. New criticism was a formalist movement in literary theory that dominated american literary criticism in the middle decades of the 20th century. One of the most important steps you can take to prepare for the ap literature and composition exam is to read a lot and read well. As any teenager who read the sparknotes version of heart of d. In things fall apart by chinua achebe, the reader is taken on a literary journey to a nigerian tribe, the umuofia, to experience firsthand the struggles of a warrior named okonkwo. Ap literature and composition teacher mentioned it, i had no idea what it was either.
If you like my writing on books and literature, check out my other literaturerelated posts on medium. If i were to define literary merit, i would define it as a book that is considered quality work by professionals. Information and translations of literary merit in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. When i dislike a book i find it hard to get through it and focus on it, so writing essays on them isnt easy by far. Oct 09, 2010 good books of literary merit for the ap lit exam. The ap course is another badge of specious merit on the nearinfinite badgecollecting journey of modern youth. Anything goes, as long as its english literature of literary merit. At first glance, the novel appears to be written for a very specific audience. Ive categorized 35 different literary works to help you easily digest the key elements. Teachers are encouraged to select works of literary merit culled from a variety of genres and periods from the 16th century to the present. Furthermore, one of your novels must have been published before 1970 and the other must have been published after 1970.
More restrictively, it is writing that possesses literary merit. Engaging students with literature the college board. Let us leave aside early literary exemplars from verne to wells and forster and zamiatin and. Ellisons invisible man is a long read but it is definitely worth the time spent due to the way it tackles. Slifkin w e share with many of our peers a love and passion for teaching young adult ya literature in ap advanced placement english literature courseswhere teachers tend to teach canonical texts. According to the college board, these characteristics constitute a work of literary merit. Wondering which literary works to study to prepare for the ap english literature exam. A books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of. There are many novels of literary merit, and they mostly follow the same standards. Five great works of literary merit the silver scribe. According to my research, what has traditionally been assumed to be evidence of obsolescence in the literature of. On the other hand, if you think you can write a really good essay on hp but your essay on a different book would be terrible, id probably say go for hp and do a good job rather than do a book of literary merit and do a bad one. The concept of literary merit is impossible to define, and it is hard to see how such an idea can be used with any precision or consistency by policy makers, magistrates or judges.