Novel Reports

HONORS WORLD LITERATURE

NOVEL REPORTS

 

 

Novel Report Requirements:

Throughout the course of the year you will be required to complete a total of two novel reports. The approved novels are listed below.

For each of the two novel reports, you will need to read two books. One novel and one non-fiction work. After you have completed reading one of the novels listed below, you will need to fill out a “Book Chat” (Sections 1-3) for the novel of your choice. These questions need to be re-typed and placed into a MLA formatted document. Please, make sure to answer all the questions thoroughly. After filling out the first three sections of your book chat, you will need to find a non-fiction book that relates to one of the issues in your novel. After completing both the novel and the non-fiction book, you will complete section 4 of your book chat write a 4-5 page essay that answers the questions outlined below. Both novel reports will be turned into Turn It In by the posted due dates.

 

 

Novel Report Due Dates and Reading Options:

 

NOVEL REPORT 1: ( Suggested Due Date for BC: Nov. 9, 2016) Final: Dec. 7, 2016

LES MISERABLES(abridged): by: Victor Hugo

MOBY DICK (abridged): by: Herman Melville

DON QUIIXOTE DE LA MANCHA: by: Miguel de Cervantes

THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE: by: Stephen Crane

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: by: Harper Lee

FRANKENSTEIN: by: Mary Shelley

     

NOVEL REPORT 2: (Suggested Due Date for BC: April 5, 2016) Final: May 10, 2017

THE JUNGLE: by: Upton Sinclair

            THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET: by: Sandra Cisneros

FAHRENHEIT 451: by: Ray Bradbury

OUR TOWN: by: Thornton Wilder

      THE CRUCIBLE: by: Arthur Miller

      THE SCARLET LETTER: by: Nathaniel Hawthorne

 

 

Note: Non-fiction books need to relate to a chosen topic in each novel.

 

BOOK CHAT: EXPLORING FICTION

Please re-type questions and answers into a MLA formatted document. There is no length requirement for your answer, just make sure that you have completely answered the questions with the appropriate details and knowledge.

 

Part 1: Reading journal

This section will include a collection of facts, impressions and ideas recorded during and after you read the novel.

 

  1. Predict the story after reading the first chapter. What different predictions can you make ?

 

  1. Write about any matches or digressions between your predictions as the story develops.

 

  1. Give some details about the location or the setting of the novel. Why did the author chose this location for their story?

 

  1. Did you feel happy with the outcome of the story ? Give your assessment by explaining why or why not.

 

Part 2 Commentary

This section will include a collection of short written responses commenting on the main features of the novel.

 

  1. Are the characters real to you or are they just stereotypes ? Explain using the main characters as examples.

 

  1. Does the novel present realistic situations ? If so, how do you know? If not, what is being presented ?

 

  1. What kinds of issues and problems are being dealt with ?

 

  1. To what extent are the issues and problems resolved ?

 

  1. What kinds of readers (audience) might be interested in this novel ?   Why ?

 

Part 3 A Folio Piece

Select one of the following activities based on your work of young adult fiction.

 

  1. Write about events in the story from the point of view of a minor character. What did he or she see ? What did he or she do ? What did he or she feel ?

 

 

  1. What would you have done differently if you were one of the characters ?

Part 4: Book Chats

Compose a list of five observations which takes your book into consideration. Try to include at least one of each type of statement in your list. For some, it may be challenging to come up with a theme that applies to your works, or to find similarities between the characters. Try! Usually something will surface with a bit of digging. Think about the characters, the literary style, the setting, the author’s purpose, point of view, etc.

 

 

TYPES OF OBSERVATIONS:

 

Statements of comparison

ex.: ____ and _____ both deal with children growing up in violent surroundings.

____   and ____ both have villains who die in the end.

 

Statements of contrast

ex.:____ shows the negative consequences of risk-taking, while ______ shows its

rewards.

____ is a humorous coming-of-age story, while ____ is a serious one.

 

Statements of theme

ex.: Sometimes we are our own worst enemy, or, Suffering can make us

stronger. *Remember not to phrase a theme as a moral (NO “you shoulds”)

 

 

*********************************************************************************** Below is the instructions for the Novel Report Essay.

 

 

The idea of a professional book review is to briefly summarize the ideas of the book, but mainly to give your opinion about the book’s merits – it is a critical analysis of the book. Just like in the literature critique assignment, ‘critical’ does not imply that you are going to be mean or harsh in your review. It means that you are going to evaluate objectively whether the author(s) have fulfilled their objectives in the book, and whether they have used persuasive and unbiased evidence to support their claims. Did you find the book engaging? Persuasive? Did you agree with it? Did you enjoy it? Would you recommend it to others? What is the intended audience of the book? Does it succeed in reaching this audience?

 

Work hard on making your book review very readable to a general audience – it should flow well and be written nicely. You should have an introduction, discussion of the book, and clear conclusion (although these don’t have to be broken into explicit sections – you can write this like an essay). Include:

 

  • The title and authors of both books (novel and non-fiction)
  • The author’s objective(s) and audience(s) in comparison to one another
  • The author’s main arguments as seen through the eyes of your non-fiction book.
  • Your evaluation of the authors’ support of their arguments (provide examples)
  • Your evaluation of the authors’ interpretation and success with their objectives in writing their books (provide examples)
  • Provide a complete comparison with your non-fiction book
  • Your conclusions about the overall message and theme in both books
  • You can rate the book with a number of ‘water droplets’ [like a number of stars] out of 5 possible if you’d like, but this isn’t mandatory.

 

NOTE: Be sure to put any quotes from the book in quotation marks and to cite any sources used. Works Cited must be presented at the end of the essay.

 

PROPOSAL OF READING

 

NOVEL REPORT ONE: December 7, 2016

LES MISERABLES(abridged): by: Victor Hugo

MOBY DICK (abridged): by: Herman Melville

DON QUIIXOTE DE LA MANCHA: by: Miguel de Cervantes

THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE: by: Stephen Crane

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: by: Harper Lee

FRANKENSTEIN: by: Mary Shelley

 

 

NOVEL: __________________________________________________________

 

NON-FICTION:____________________________________________________

     

 

NOVEL REPORT TWO: May 10, 2017

THE JUNGLE: by: Upton Sinclair

            THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET: by: Sandra Cisneros

FAHRENHEIT 451: by: Ray Bradbury

OUR TOWN: by: Thornton Wilder

      THE CRUCIBLE: by: Arthur Miller

      THE SCARLET LETTER: by: Nathaniel Hawthorne

 

 

NOVEL: __________________________________________________________

 

NON-FICTION:____________________________________________________

 

 

 

 

 

APPROVED BY MISS LOOCK ON: ________________________________ INITIALS:______