AP Literature and Composition Summer Reading 2025

For this year’s summer reading, please read Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, published in 1813. There are many editions available, but Penguin, Oxford, or Norton editions are always reliable.

Goals for Summer Reading

We have chosen this novel in order to…

Introduce you to a complex work of literature that will allow you to explore the kind of rich narration, characterization, and thematic development that you can expect from the reading we will do in this course.
Provide you an opportunity to read a classic 19th century novel and with it a chance to engage with an older style of prose that will be commonplace on the exam in both multiple choice questions and in the free response essay question.

Expectations & Assignments

When we get back from break…

Our first unit will focus on Pride & Prejudice, with the expectation that you have read the novel in full from the first day.
We will practice close reading strategies as well as building claims and analysis in response to the novel’s development of characterization, setting, symbolism, and theme.
Be prepared for a reading quiz. Additionally, you will complete short responses in the first weeks of class based on the open prompt questions from the 2025 AP Literature & Composition exam. The quiz and the short responses will be graded.

You can view these prompts on the next page. While you do not need to prepare anything to turn in, keep these questions in mind to guide your reading so you are prepared to discuss and respond to them in class.

2025 AP Literature & Composition Exam Prompts

Set 1: In many works of literature, characters may be significantly affected by memories of the past. A character may be inspired by the past, haunted by the past, unable to let go of the past, or motivated by the past to craft a better future. Either from your own reading or from the list below, choose a work of fiction in which a character is significantly affected by a memory. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how the impact of the memory on the character contributes to an interpretation of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

Set 2: Many works of literature feature a character who holds a secret that can have broader implications for that character or other characters. For example, such secrets may create conflict, provide a source of consolation, protect characters from reality, or allow one character to manipulate other characters. Either from your own reading or from the list below, choose a work of fiction in which an important character holds a secret that affects that character’s relationship with one or more other characters. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how the effect of the character’s secret contributes to an interpretation of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

NOTE: You do not need to answer these prompts over the summer.

Use the prompts to guide your reading, thinking about characters and themes in the novel in relation to the subjects of secrets and memory.
We will work with these prompts together in class and use Pride and Prejudice to guide those discussions.

There will be graded assignments based on these questions but there is nothing you need to do over break.