Independent Reading
Booktalk
Rather than writing a paper over this independent reading book, I’d like you to prepare a booktalk. This will still demand some preparation time and require you to look critically at your novel. However, you’ll be able to skip the writing time.
You should include all of the following in your presentation:
- Author, title, and year your book was written
- Biographical and historical info on your author and his/her cultural context
- BRIEF plot synopsis
- Analysis of the novel: what is the POINT of the book (theme/the author’s argument about society, humanity, life, etc.) and what aspects of the author’s writing show that (this is your evidence--discuss symbols, characters, setting, etc.)
- Overview of at least two pieces of professional criticism on the particular text you read or the author’s work in general. (Do not choose criticism over another text by the same author and try to make it work.) You need professional criticism written by scholars of literature. This criticism should come ONLY from EBSCO’s Literary Reference Center OR a print source from the MC or Dunn Library. Sources that are not really criticism will not receive credit!
- Do some research to determine the impact of your particular text and/or author on the literary world. What later works were inspired by this one? Which authors/texts inspired your author? Why is this author/text considered to be great? (Notice I have not asked for your opinion on whether it’s great. If you’re reading it, it is. Instead, I want you to focus on what makes it great.)
The only thing I will collect from you is a works cited page documenting all the sources you used in preparing your presentation, including your independent reading book. (This should be at least four sources.) Do it right! I’m grading for real now and you will not have a chance to re-do it.
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