E2: Independent Reading and Vocabulary for 4/6/15

Independent Reading 

• The book must be at least 250 pages or approved by instructor. 
• The book needs to be appropriate to the level of a high school sophomore in content, context, and reading level. 
• This should NOT be a book you have read for another English class. Pick a book about something you actually want to read.

Essay #1: To be written after chapter four, but prior to the halfway point. It should be 500 words and answer one or more of the following questions––

• What’s the point of view and how well is it executed? Support and explain.
• Are the characters believable? Are they well-written? Support and explain.
• What themes are being set up? How do you know?
• What motifs and symbols seem to be important at this point? Support and explain.

Essay #2: To be written after the halfway point, but prior to the end. It should be 600 words and answer one or more of the following questions––

• How well does the author build the characters? Support and explain.
• Is the plot developed naturally and believably? Support and explain.
• Have the themes continued to be weaved into the narrative? Have new themes become apparent? Explain.
• Are there any significant changes to the motifs and or symbols? Have they been developed further? Support and explain.

Essay #3: To be written after you finish the book. It should be 750 words and answer one or more of the following questions (feel free to bring in and acknowledge other sources)––

• How does the book fit into the time which it was written? Support and explain.
• How did the author’s own experiences influence the themes, plot, and characterizations? Support and explain.
• Does the author do a good job writing an interesting story? What areas could use editing or improvement? Support and explain.

Vocabulary List for 4/6/15 Quiz

• Rhetoric: a type of discussion whose chief aim is to persuade the audience to think or act in a particular way; the art of debate (political debates)
• Satire: making a topic or lifestyle look ridiculous through presentation and hyperbole (the daily show, the colbert report, SNL while it was good)
• Shadow: represents the hidden qualities (inner demons) of the hero; represents the suppressed elements of the other characters – things that seem like weaknesses (can be the polar opposite or a doppleganger)
• Shapeshifter: can change form, but usually appears to change from good to evil, mean to kind, friend to lover, etc. (werewolves, some vampires, vessen, coyote)
• Soliloquy: the act of talking while or as if alone (when the character breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience)
• Sonnet: 14-line poem (three quatrains, one couplet); means “little song” in Italian
• Style: how a speaker or writer uses words to convey a  point or message
• Stanza: a group of lines in a poem separated by an extra space from other groups of lines Subjective: the author incorporates personal experiences or ideas into the information or story (versus objective which is distant and without bias)
• Symbol: a word or phrase that signifies something or has a range of reference (black: death, darkness, long loneliness, all the colors ever)