Independent Reading Nabokov Essay

Your last required portfolio piece will be an essay that illustrates your understanding of Nabokov's rules for readers and writers AND how you applied them to your independent reading book this semester.  You will assess yourself as a reader and assess the author of your fiction choice as a writer. This should be done only in the context of the Nabokov piece, "Good Readers and Good Writers." 

Objectives:

• demonstrate your understanding of the Nabokov essay
• analyze yourself as a critical reader, identifying your strengths and weaknesses when reading fiction on your own
• continue your work with argumentation and analysis
• demonstrate your ability as a writer: structure, organization, support, and standard English

The Assignment

This paper should have two distinct parts.  You should begin with a very brief intro where you introduce the title and author of your book, introduce Nabokov and the title of his essay, and include an overall thesis for your paper.  Feel free to fill in the blanks on this one:  "I was a ________ reader of (author's last name)'s great writing."  This is an academic-style essay (though it will be longer than 5 paragraphs) because your audience is your teacher, your authority is your understanding of course content, and your purpose is to show what you know and can do.

  
Part One
In Part One, assess yourself as a reader of your independent reading book using Nabokov's standards of major and minor readers. You must accomplish this in no more than two pages of MLA format, double-spaced, Times New Roman size 12 font.  YOU and the NOVEL are the focus here: Do not summarize Nabokov's points.  Show how YOU stack up to his criteria and make sure you have evidence to support your claims about yourself!

• Remember that your audience is your teacher. We have read the Nabokov essay and do not need it explained.  Keep the focus on you and how you read the novel.
• Consider what textual evidence will best support your points. Make sure you choose the best evidence to prove your point.  You might also quote your own notes as evidence of your critical reading.
• Don't rely on only one part of the text for all of your paper's support. We will question whether you are even familiar with the rest of the book....
• Be specific and avoid the obvious. Does this paper explain how I read this novel in relation to Nabokov or could this have been written by a generic student?  Because this section is about how YOU read the book, it should be written in first person.

Part Two
In Part Two, explain how the author of your book fits all three criteria for Nabokov's major writer. You should also have evidence for this--quotes from the book that SHOW the author fulfilling Nabokov's roles for great writers. This section should also be no more than two pages.  Keep in mind, we made you choose a book that IS great literature.  Therefore, you're not determining IF the write fulfills these roles; your job is to use your critical reading skills to figure out HOW the author does it.

• When you talk about the author as a storyteller, don't simply summarize the novel. Show HOW the author is good at storytelling (the entertainment part)
• Be careful with the enchanter section.  Remember, enchanter doesn't mean magical in a abracadabra kind of way.  It is the artistic brilliance of the author--the way all of the details come together in the end.  Again, don't use plot summary here.  You must prove that the writer is, indeed, an enchanter.
• Because the focus of this section is on the AUTHOR, it should be written in third person--no "I" or "you."

Overall

• Audience and purpose should always influence your tone and level of language.
• No one except you should ever see a first (and probably a second) draft of any major writing assignment.  This paper will not receive formal in-class feedback, but it should be as polished as your other new portfolio pieces.  Make sure the paper you turn in is your best work.