Book Report Guidelines (From the Syllabus)

 Book Report Rubric

Formatting:

• 12-point (5)                                                                                                                                        

• Times New Roman font (5)                                                                                                               

• Double-spaced (5)           

• Title in bold (5)     

• MLA (20) 

• 2 integrated quotes from the text, please see guidelines on the following page (30)        

• Word Count between 800 and 1200. (30)   

• Subtotal: (100)   

Content:  7 paragraphs as listed below

• Introduction:  Title, author background, and central purpose of the book identified, including author's thesis (shows his opinion).  Statement of student thesis related to the impact the book had on the individual student and the student's opinion of its importance as a historical text. (20)

• Note how the author organized his text and summarize the main topics the book deals with. Do not list chapter titles! (20)

• Identify the main points the author uses to support the thesis.  Use quotes here! (20)

• Discuss book reviews, what did reviewers say about the author, his thesis, the importance of the text?  Another good place for quotes! (20) 

• Discuss your opinion of the importance of the text.  Be specific!  Give 3-4 points supporting your thesis. The reader does not care if you liked the book or not. (20) 

• Discuss how this book has impacted your view of the time period and your thinking about historical events. (10)

• Conclusion:  Review your thesis and support.  Commend or condemn the author! (20) 

• Subtotal: (100) 

TOTAL: (200 points)       

                        Integrating a Quote Guidelines

It is important to make a smooth transition from your own words to those of another source. Never simply drop a quotation into a paragraph. A quotation can never stand in a sentence by itself without an introduction. For example: WRONG: T.S. Eliot, in his "Talent and the Individual," uses gender-specific language. "No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists" (Eliot 29). In this example, the reader is not prepared for the quote and will become confused as a result.  To avoid dropping quotes in, use signal phrases. These are phrases which precede the quotation. They may include the author’s name and a verb (argues, compares, suggests, demonstrates, points out, etc.). An example is the following: RIGHT: T.S. Eliot, in his "Talent and the Individual," uses gender-specific language. He argues, for instance, that "no poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists" (Eliot 29).  One could also incorporate a colon into the sentence to integrate the quote properly. ALSO RIGHT: T.S. Eliot, in his "Talent and the Individual," uses gender-specific language: "No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists" (Eliot 29). The above examples will be easier for the reader to understand as you are making it clear that the quotation is coming from that specific source. It may not always be necessary to use an entire passage to prove your point. To use only a phrase you must weave the quote into your own sentence. RIGHT: I find it striking that though "women novelists have probably dominated American literature since the middle of the nineteenth century," our literary tradition is still incredibly gender specific (Schweickart 201).                                                                     (Source: http://academics.smcvt.edu/writingctr/Quotes.htm)

Book Report Reminder

Please be sure to exchange your book reports with your partner sometime this week. Also, as a reminder Lost to the West book reports are now due to me after Christmas Break. Here is the peer editor sheet.

 Book Report Peer Editing Checklist          

Basics

• I read the author’s piece aloud to see where to stop or pause for periods, question marks, exclamation marks, and commas.

• I checked for quotation marks and indicated if they were missing. 

• I checked for capitals at the beginning of sentences and marked errors.

• I checked that every proper noun begins with a capital letter and marked errors.

• I checked sentences to ensure that they are complete thoughts that contain a noun and a verb. If they did not I marked the error. 

• I checked that every paragraph had a topic sentence and remained on one topic. 

• I checked for run-on sentences and marked if they occurred. 

• I checked for spelling errors.

Advanced

Formatting:

• 12-point?                                                                                                                                        

• Times New Roman font?                                                                                                                

• Double-spaced?           

• Title in bold?      

• Did the paper follow MLA? 

• Did it include 2 integrated quotes, from the text, that followed the guidelines?        

• Was the word count between 800 and 1200?   

Content:  

• Did the introduction include:  Title, author background, and central purpose of the book identified, including author's thesis (shows his opinion).  Statement of student thesis related to the impact the book had on the individual student and the student's opinion of its importance as a historical text?

• Did the paper note how the author organized his text (chronological, topical, etc.) and summarize the main topics the book deals with?

• Did the student identify the main points the author uses to support the thesis?

• Did the paper discuss book reviews and what reviewers have said about the author, his thesis, the importance of the text?  

• Did they specifically discuss their opinion of the importance of the text and provide evidence? 

• Did the paper address how this book has impacted their view of the time period? 

• Did the student include a conclusion that reviewed their thesis? 

Peer Editor Comments: