Advanced Placement Reading List

First Nine Weeks--Backgrounds in Literature

Mythology--Myths and Their Meanings
Bible as Literature--The Bible’s Greatest Stories
Romantic British Poetry--Burns, Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats

Second Nine Weeks--The Search for Individual Freedom and Identity

The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen

Third Nine Weeks--Reality and Illusion on the Stage

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Fourth Nine Weeks--Man Against Society’s Powers

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Night    by Elie Wiesel
LOTS of PRACTICE TESTS

TEST  INFORMATION:

1.    The AP Exam is administered through the College Board across the country in mid-May.  You will be
given the test by Mr. Houchin/Mr. Jackson.  You have already paid the test fee as part of your registration fees.

2.    Students score on a scale of 1 through 5 with 5 being high.  Many colleges and universities will give
college credit to students earning a 3 or higher.  It is a good idea to check out the AP score requirements of the
different colleges you are considering.

3.   THE TEST has two parts:  
     A)    Objective: You are given poetry and prose selections and must answer multiple choice
     questions on those passages that measure how well you can critically analyze a piece of
     literature.  You are given one hour to complete 50-55 questions.  This part of the test makes up
     45% of the score.
     B)    Writing: You will have two hours to write three (3) essays.  In the first two, usually one prose
     and one poetry, you are asked to read the passage(s), analyze it in terms of some elements of
     literature, and then write about that element(s).  The third essay is more open-ended.  Here, you
     are given a theme, concept, quotation, etc.  You must chose a piece of literature that you have
     read, apply that idea to the work, and write your essay.  You may choose the work of literature
     from the list they give you or chose another “of comparable literary merit.”  The three essays
     are worth 55% of the score.

4.    The TEST DATE:_________________________Mark it in your calendars NOW!