websites.rcc.eduwebsites.rcc.edu/douglass/files/2015/08/Book-Club-As… · Web viewIndependent Reading Assignment (or the “Book Club” Project) You will work on this project from

ENG 80 – Fall 2015Professor Douglass

Independent Reading Assignment(or the “Book Club” Project)

You will work on this project from now until week 14. Each student will be responsible for finishing one of the following three books:

The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande; All three of the choices here are personal memoirs, but this book is the one that most fits this category. The author tells the very personal story of her life as a child in Mexico where she is left by her parents to be raised by her grandmother, and then the story of her arrival in the United States at age nine and the adjustments she had to make to pursue her education. Some readers might want to know that the story does depict neglect, poverty, alcoholism, and physical abuse as well. The book is 322 pages and was a National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee.

The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore; Also a memoir, this book is the most journalistic in style. It tells the story of the childhoods and arrival into adult life of two men named Wes Moore from Baltimore, the author who became a successful scholar and professional and the other Wes Moore who is a convicted murderer. The author tries to figure out who two boys with similar beginnings could have such different fates and what the various turning points were (or if there were any). Some readers may want to know that this book does depict violence. This book is 239 pages.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed; Also a memoir, this book is the most literary of the three. Strayed is an artful writer and storyteller. She tells the story of her hike, alone, of the Pacific Crest Trail from Southern California to the Oregon-Washington border. Some readers may want to know that this book includes brief depictions of sexuality, abortion, and drug use. This book is 311 pages.

You will all be in groups, based on the book you have chosen to read. The first thing you must do is decide which book you will be reading. Once in your groups, you will decide how much you will read by each reading discussion day listed in the schedule of assignments. Then, you are each responsible for reading that amount by that class day (I strongly recommend dividing up the sections by classes with some exceptions for when a paper is due). Also, as preparation for class discussion for each section, each group member must contribute a different activity to the group discussion (see below). Each student should come to class with copies of their reading activity for their group members. The project culminates in a paper that you will write independently, not with your group members, that will be due at the end of week 14.

Reading Activities


For your book clubs, you will be responsible for creating the assignments you and your group members will work on each day. As a group, you will be responsible for deciding which pages your group will read and discuss each day and assigning jobs to group members.

Each day, you will complete one of the following jobs. You need to rotate jobs, so you are not doing the same job each day. You should NOT do the same job each time.

You will be required to turn in completed Reading Activities with your essay.


Here are the job descriptions:

Discussion Director: Your job is to write a list of questions that your group might want to discuss about this section of the book. The best questions will come from your own thoughts, feelings, and ideas about this section of the book and will make connections to both the rest of the book and the other texts we have read. You should aim for about 5 strong, open-ended discussion questions.

Golden Line Finder: Your job is to find important passages in the section you are reading. You should highlight these passages and make notes in the margin that discuss their importance. Aim for 5 important passages per reading assignment.

Summarizer: Your job is to summarize the reading for your group. Your summary should focus on the important parts of that section. Aim for about a one-page summary.

Translator: Your job is to identify areas in the text that might be confusing to the group and to clarify these areas. You should create a document for your group that clearly identifies where to find the passage in the text and a brief, clear translation of the confusing passage. Your job as translator may also include identifying unfamiliar words and defining them for the group. Aim for 2-3 passages for each reading assignment.

I will be trying very hard to form groups of four, but if your group has more than four members, each person can take one book club meeting “off” from a job description duty, but not from the section question below. If you have more than five or less than four, I will make a modified assignment packet for your group.

In addition to the job you are assigned to complete above, each person should answer the following question each day. If you would like, you could use an evidence chart to answer the question.

Section Question: How do the ideas in the section you read connect to the other texts we have read this semester? Be sure to respond by discussing the section you read both generally and by connecting to specific passages. You should write a fully-developed paragraph in response to this question for each reading assignment your group completes.

You should complete your job and your answer to the daily question above in writing each day. Please date the daily assignment and clearly note the pages you read and the job you were completing. Each meeting day, I will check your assignment for completion, and you will turn in all the written assignments with your essay in Week 14.


The essay is a grade of its own. The job writing and section question for meeting days will be individual class participation grades, and turning in a complete Book Club Packet with your final will be equivalent to one track-it packet in your resource uses grade.


Book Club Master Assignment Sheet

Thursday, October 22, 5 p.m.: Book club selection is due to Prof. Douglass via email. Purchase your book from the bookstore – you need it in class to do your planning!

Friday, October 23, in class: Meet with your book club; assign reading pages for meeting days and jobs for each meeting day – everyone should do each job at least once. You are being asked to meet and have new reading done five times over four weeks (you meet twice in the last week). So you could divide the book into four sections and the last section again in half to match the amount of time you are reading it in, or you could divide it into five sections to each person doing a job has to cover roughly the same amount. If it helps to decide what you want to do, you should know that the reading for class in the week of Nov. 16-20 when you meet on Monday and Friday is much lighter (so maybe dividing your reading into five roughly equal sections would work out fine) but you also have CRC #3 due that Friday, November 20. However you divide your sections, do your best to stop with each day at a logical place like a chapter break.

Friday, October 30:Reading Assignment: _____________________________________

Discussion Director: ______________________________________Golden Line Finder: _______________________________________Summarizer: _______________________________________Translator: _______________________________________

Friday, November 6:Reading Assignment: _____________________________________



Wednesday, November 11:Reading Assignment: _____________________________________


Monday, November 16:Reading Assignment: _____________________________________


Friday, November 20:Reading Assignment: _____________________________________


Monday, November 23: Thesis / Argument workshop

Wednesday, November 25:First Draft of Book Club CRC Due (at least 600 words) – workshop with Book ClubQuestions for Book Club Quiz prep game due

Monday, November 30: Check-in and trouble-shooting / Book Club related Quiz #6 in class

Wednesday, December 2::Final Draft of Book Club CRC Due (full length 1000 word minimum due) – workshop with Book Club


Book Club CRC due: Friday, December 4; 1000 word minimum; 15% of final grade


Book Club Meeting Prep Notes

Friday, October 30:

Reading Assignment: _____________________________________My job: _____________________________________My prep notes for my job: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (write on the back, attach a dated sheet to the back of your packet, or unstaple and restaple your note pages in order if you need more room – whatever method keeps things neat for you and to turn in later.)

Section Question: How do the ideas in the section you read connect to the other texts we have read this semester? Be sure to respond by discussing the section you read both generally and by connecting to specific passages. You should write a fully-developed paragraph in response to this question for each reading assignment your group completes. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________(write on the back, attach a dated sheet to the back of your packet, or unstaple and restaple your note pages in order if you need more room – whatever method keeps things neat for you and to turn in later.)


Friday, November 6:


Section Question: How do the ideas in the section you read connect to the other texts we have read this semester? Be sure to respond by discussing the section you read both generally and by connecting to specific passages. You should write a fully-developed paragraph in response to this question for each reading assignment your group completes. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________(write on the back, attach a dated sheet to the back of your packet, or unstaple and restaple your note pages in order if you need more room – whatever method keeps things neat for you and to turn in later.)


Wednesday, November 11:







Monday, November 16:






Friday, November 20:







Independent Reading Assignment Final EssayDue: Friday, December 4

For your final essay assignment, you will be analyzing the book you chose through the lens of all of the readings we have done this semester. Your essay should focus on how the author’s success at understanding (something about themselves, about their community, about their own ambitions, about their opportunities) leads them to a place of understanding success. What was it in the author-speaker’s life that made him/her successful and how did he/she explain and understand that over the course of the memoir? Make a specific claim about one or two specific traits or behaviors or practices or opportunities that you think are crucial in the author-speakers success (and ability to understand and explain his/her success in the memoir). Note that how you are defining and identifying success should also be clarified, probably in your intro; it is measured and defined differently in each text. You must link your essay to at least one other text we’ve read this semester, pointing to a specific quote in your secondary text that illustrates a point or concept or other support of your main claim about the memoir.

I encourage you to think about all that you’ve learned in the texts we’ve read this semester. You are not required to write about all of the ideas and the different ways they relate to ideas of success, and while you are required to refer specifically to one, feel free to reference any of the other texts we read this semester; just make sure your voice remains your voice:

“Life Stories” by Jonathan Gottschall Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell “Brainology” by Carol Dweck “Creating Thoughtful Readers Through Habits of Mind” by Rachel

Billmeyer excerpts from Drive by Daniel Pink “Conclusion” from Walden by Henry David Thoreau excerpt from Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl The California Master Plan for Higher Education documents

*1000 words is the minimum; there is no maximum.

In your essay, be sure to include: Support for your argument with relevant ideas, information, and

quotations from your book Support for your argument with relevant ideas, information, and

quotations from at least one of the other texts we have read this semester

Monday, November 23: Thesis / Argument workshopWednesday, November 25: First Draft of Book Club CRC Due(at least 500 words)workshop


Monday, November 30: Check-in and trouble-shooting Wednesday, December 2: Final Draft Due(full length 1000 word minimum)workshop

Book Club CRC due: Friday, December 4; 1000 word minimum; 15% of final grade


Things to Shoot For: Show that you have carefully read your book and the other texts this

semester, and that you have fully digested and considered the different viewpoints and evidence. I expect you to draw from the whole book, not just a few pages.

Show you are really thinking about the topic—these are complex ideas, so don’t settle for easy answers.

Support your ideas with rich detailed examples, scenarios, reasoning; Every paper should include specific references (quotes, summaries, paraphrases, examples, ideas, information) from your chosen book and from at least one of our other readings for the course.

Write so that someone not in our class could understand it. Assume your audience has not read these texts. That means you’ll need to briefly summarize key ideas/information and explain any unfamiliar terms.

Summarize, paraphrase, and quote skillfully. This means: Introduce the readings and the quotes; explain who the “players” are and why they are worth listening to. When you put something in your own words, you stay true to the author’s meaning, but your sentences and words are your own. As we’ve practiced, you write summaries and paraphrases without looking at your source. Then you can double check the source to see if you’re on track, and you can add quotes as necessary. Give page numbers for all quotations and paraphrases and for summaries of selected sections. For summaries of large chunks, say chapters and whole books, you don’t always need to give page numbers, but make sure the reader knows you are summarizing (eg. Pink argues . . . Or, Strayed and Gottschall explain the problem with . . . etc.) . Use the parenthetical reference system (##). Even if you don’t use the exact words, but you are paraphrasing specific information from anything you have read, be sure to give credit to the author(s) of the source you are paraphrasing.

Use your critical voice after quotes, putting the idea in your own words and explaining how it connects to your point, or illustrating it with an example.

Write at least 1000 words, typed, 12 point font, double-spaced, 1 inch margins.

Include an MLA format “Works Cited” page at the end of your essay. Follow the guidelines at the Owl Purdue MLA site for what information to include and how to format it properly, with hanging indents, proper punctuation, etc. You can also consult my videos for any formatting review.


General Grading Rubric for Formal Paper Assignments in English 80 This rubric provides a general description of papers that fall in each of the five grade categories. You should use it to prepare your papers and to understand your grades once papers have been returned.A level paper (Final Grade Range: 100-90%) (Actual Paper Grades: A+ 100-98; A 95; A- 92)This paper is outstanding; that is, it “stands out” as a response to the assignment. In an A paper, a significant, thoughtful thesis or controlling idea is clearly defined. The essay addresses all aspects of the assignment and is supported with concrete, substantial, and consistently relevant detail. The essay progresses in clearly ordered stages with original development. Transitions between paragraphs are clear and effective. Sentences are unified, coherent, articulate and effectively varied. Language use is distinctive, fresh, precise, and economical. The essay has an appropriate and consistent level of formality and point-of-view. Clarity and effectiveness of expression are supported by consistent and correct use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling. In all regards, this paper is an excellent response to the assignment.

B level paper (Final Grade Range: 89-80%) (Actual Paper Grades: B+ 88; B 85; B- 82)In a B paper, the writer has in some way moved beyond the basics of the assignment expectations, offering some thoughtful observations and insights. There is a clearly defined thesis or controlling idea that is supported with concrete and mostly relevant detail. The essay has a clear organization structure and good development and does not veer off topic in significant ways. Transitions between paragraphs are usually effective. There are no major problems with sentence level clarity, though the level of sentence variety may show occasional weaknesses. Language use is precise and clear. Clarity and effectiveness of expression are supported by mostly consistent and correct use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling, though there may be occasional errors that don’t distract from the content. Overall, this paper is a very good response to the assignment.

C level paper (Final Grade Range: 79-70%) (Actual Paper Grades: C+ 78; C 75; C- 72)A paper in this category will complete at least the basic tasks and requirements of the assignment – it is competent, adequate, and satisfactory. The thesis or controlling is apparent but trivial or too general; it may also be generally implied but not strongly or directly enough stated. The details developing the argument may be occasionally repetitive, irrelevant, or underdeveloped. Plan and method of thesis or controlling idea is apparent but not consistently fulfilled. Main argument may be developed unevenly, but paragraphs are still unified, coherent and usually effective. Transitions may be abrupt, mechanical or monotonous, but generally effective at a simplistic level. Some sentences may be skillfully composed, but most lack variety. Sentences are correctly constructed without a distracting number of fragments and run-ons. Language is clear and has an appropriate level of formality, point-of-view, and awareness of audience, with only occasional deviation. Clarity and effectiveness of expression is weakened by errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling, but the point of the discussion is still knowable. Overall, this paper is an adequate response to the assignment.

D level paper (Final Grade Range: 69-60%) (Actual Paper Grades: D 65)A paper will fall into this category if it shows serious difficulty completing or satisfying the tasks of the assignment; if it lacks an overall plan with a beginning, middle, and end; or if errors in word choice, sentence structure, and mechanics seriously interfere with readability. The “D” paper may contain one or more of the following defects: no thesis or controlling idea or a severely confused controlling idea; thesis or controlling idea is not supported with concrete and relevant detail and may be undeveloped or developed with consistently irrelevant, redundant or inconsistent ideas. Sentences may be incoherent, confused, incomplete or monotonous; sentence construction is frequently marred by fragments and/or run-ons. The essay may contain errors in mechanics, usage, and sentence structure that continually distract the reader from the content. Overall, this paper is just not quite at passing level because one or more of the areas listed here gets in the way of the writer effectively communicating a clear unified point. A D grade may also be assigned to passing level written papers but that are incomplete by a small amount. Remember: word limits are absolute minimums; if the minimum is 1000 words, a well-written 1000 word essay passes, and a well-written 999 word essay does not.

F level paper and no credit grades (59-0%)An F (usually 55%-50%) paper simply does not exhibit any of the basic requirements of composition writing: it has no clear thesis or controlling idea; the paragraph structure may be missing or extremely chaotic; the organization is unclear or non-existent to the point that argument of the paper are unknowable or extremely confusing. Serious and frequent errors in word choice, sentence structure, or mechanics interfere with basic readability. Some papers receive an F because though they are well-written, they do not relate to the question in the prompt (they don’t follow the assignment) or if they are incomplete by more than 25% of the required length. A O% F is given for any paper not turned in, or if it is an unapproved essay on entirely other subject matter than what was assigned.

Feedback Sheet and Rubric


On the day the paper is due, attach this sheet to the back of your paper so that THIS SIDE is what is visible. When I return your papers, I will have highlighted the parts of the rubric that apply to your grade (either what you are missing or what you have done or both) and your grade will be highlighted as well. With THIS SIDE showing on the back of your paper, your grade will not be visible as I pass papers back.

In the blank space here, I will provide you with comments that give an overall summary of the main areas to work on and that you have achieved in the paper. This sheet, with the summary comments on the

outside and the rubric highlights on the inside, along with my margin comments throughout the paper, are what you will use

to learn from for the next paper (and/or for a revision if that is applicable).

Documents

websites.rcc.eduwebsites.rcc.edu/douglass/files/2015/08/Book-Club-As… · Web viewIndependent Reading Assignment (or the “Book Club” Project) You will work on this project from