Suraya

GEOG 201 – 060 Final Book Report Due Date: May 2nd (midnight)

I. Report Format - 5 Paragraph Essay

 

Heading, Title, and General Format

Identify student, class, assignment, due date, and page number as illustrated in the grading paradigm below. Put the last name and page number in the header function of your computer. Create an original title, uniquely relevant to this essay (not the book's title). Center it on the page, not underlined, below the heading and above the first paragraph. Double space and use a legible 12-point font and one-inch margins throughout. Staple multiple pages together.

 

Introduction (first paragraph)

Begin with a catchy opening statement. Go on to identify the book's title (underlined or italicized), author, type of work (eg. historical novel, not "fictional novel" or just "book"—all novels are fictional, all novels are books), genre (look it up!), and major themes. Briefly introduce the main themes and (characters) and describe the setting (time and place). If you wish, you may also mention other titles by the author and /or pertinent details of the author's background. The last sentence of the introduction MUST be a thesis statement that previews the ideas you will explore in paragraphs 2, 3, and 4. Be certain that there is a direct connection between this statement and the topic sentence of each of the two body paragraphs (below).

 

Synopsis (second paragraph)

Begin this paragraph with the book's main idea in a single topic sentence. Go on to present a complete but concise synopsis of the book in one paragraph. This is a brief sketch of what happens: the beginning, the middle, and the end. Think about the major conflict, the rising action, the climax of the story, and the resolution. Keep it brief.

 

Observations (third and fourth paragraphs)

In each of these two paragraphs, narrow the discussion to a significant topic. Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence that makes an observation about a particular aspect of the book: a character, a feature of the plot, an element of style, or a theme. Go on to support and expand upon your idea with specific examples, incidents, details, and at least one relevant quote from the book. Write in flowing sentences, weaving these elements from the book into your writing, not simply listing them. (Cite the page number for each quote used.) End each paragraph with a wrap-up sentence that ties your examples and details together in support of your topic sentence; show how they add up to your main point, what they have in common. The paragraph that makes the most important point should be the fourth one, right before your conclusion.

  

Conclusion (fifth paragraph)

Begin this paragraph with your reaction to this piece of literature, your response to it as a reader. Avoid writing, "I think," "I feel," "I believe," or "In my opinion," but do try to express how the work has affected you, deepened your understanding, alerted or enlightened you (or even a wider audience) in some way. Go on to integrate the themes of your three body paragraphs and your essay's unique title, revealing how they relate to one another. End with a thoughtful closing statement: a concluding remark for the whole report. This could be your most important evaluative point, an intriguing twist on your title, a fitting quote, or a compelling question.

  

II. Book Report Grading Paradigm

 

Last Name – Page Number in header

Student Name

Course Name & Section

Teacher Name

Day Month Year

 

Book _________________________________________

 

Contents (3 points each): 60%

I. Introduction

____ A. Opening Statement

____ B. Title, author, genre, theme

____ C. Main characters, setting

____ D. Thesis statement

  

II. Synopsis

____ A. Complete

____ B. Concise (a paragraph, not a lengthy summary)

 

 

III. Observation #1

____ A. Topic sentence

____ B. Support for topic

____ C. Supporting quote(s)

____ D. Wrap-up sentence

 

 

IV. Observation #2

____ A. Topic sentence

____ B. Support for topic

____ C. Supporting quote(s)

____ D. Wrap-up sentence

 

 

V. Conclusion

____ A. Writer’s reaction

____ B. Integration of themes

____ C. Closing statement

  

VI. Style

____ A. Transitions

____ B. Language (not too informal; no jargon or colloquialisms)

____ C. Voice (it sounds like you, not somebody else, wrote it)

Mechanics (4 points each) 40%:

____ A. Heading and header (see top of page) (1)

____ B. Title (1)

____ C. Format (5 paragraph essay) (2)

____ D. Spelling (5)

____ E. Tenses (don’t switch tenses!) (5)

____ F. Person (avoid “you”) (1)

____ G. Grammar (agreement, parallel structure, etc) (10)

____ H. Punctuation (avoid comma splices, etc.), capitals (10)

____ I. Clarity (straightforward sentences!) (5)

____ J. Extra: Exceptional grace and style in writing and thinking. (5)

 

 

III. Things to be Careful of with Book Reports  

 

1 – Always double space. The teacher needs room to make comments.

 

2 – Always italicize titles. Book titles never, never, never go in quotation marks. Other things that are underlined are the names of newspapers, magazines, movies, operas, record albums, etc.

 

3 – Don’t switch tenses in the middle of a report. Stick with either the present or the past. Too many students switch tenses within the same sentence; e.g. “The girl fell down but Ms. Horie comes and helps her.”

 

4 – Watch out for run-on sentences that just go on and on and even if your idea changes to something else that might be in another paragraph, such as a story about climate change, you just can’t stop that sentence from running all up and down the page, which, by the way, should always be double spaced.

 

5 – Fragments. Don’t. Writing in fragments, which don’t have a subject and a verb. Causing much confusion in the reader. Because your sentences need to breathe, and have a beginning, middle, and end.

 

or

 

Don’t write in fragments. Be sure that every sentence has a subject and a verb. In addition, a sentence will only under special circumstances begin with “because.”

 

6 – Always proofread everything you have written. Expect to write a first draft. Then expect to read it and edit it – cutting out unnecessary words, fixing spelling, etc. Then write the new draft and proofread it. If you find more errors, or areas that need fine-tuning, rewrite the paper again. DON’T EXPECT YOUR FIRST DRAFT TO BE THE FINAL DRAFT – IT NEVER IS!

IV. Oral Presentation – Presentations begin May 5

You will be expected to present your report in class. Know your report well enough to present and NOT READ. Share overview, highlights, themes and your opinion.

V. Book Assignments

1. Adeleye A – Hell and High Water by Joseph Romm

2. Allen H – The Clean Tech Revolution by Clint Wilder

3. Ambrose C – Greenhouse Solutions by Mark Diesendorf

4. Andrews-Roberts L - Living in the Hothouse – Ian Lowe

5. Eager R – The Real Global Warming Disaster by Christopher Booker

6. Felix S – Climate Code Red by Phillip Sutton

7. Gould-Steele J – Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan

8. Grant K – The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

9. Jack S – The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman

10. Jiminez P – Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman

11. Johnson S – An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore

12. Johnson P – Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet by Mark Lynas

13. Jordan S – Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

14. Joseph P – Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall

15. King Scott K – The Power of Place by Harm de Blij

16. Lawrence A – The Geography of Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler

17. Lindsay B – Why Geography Matters More than Ever by Harm de Blij

18. Marshall V – Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change & the New Geography of Violence by Christian Parenti

19. McFarlane T – Half- Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life by Edward O. Wilson

20. Nicolas R – The Water will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities and the Remaking of the Civilized World by Jeff Goodell

21. Peters A– In the Beginning: Creation Stories from around the world by Virginia Hamilton

22. Pluas J – Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Monzel

23. Pope D – Factfulness: 10 reasons we’re wrong about the world by Hans Rosling

24. Reid L – Soil not Oil: Environmental Justice in an age of Climate Crisis by Vandana Shiva

25.Slone D – Clean and White: A history of Environmental Racism in the US by Carl A. Zimring

26. St Hill S – Diamond: The Struggle for Environmental Justice in Louisana’s Chemical Corridor by Robert Bullard

27. Stephenson N – Garbage Wars: The Struggle for Environmental Justice in Chicago by David Naguib Pellow

28. Stinson Sa-deera – Ironwood: Appalachian Women and the Fight for Environmental Justice by Shannon Elizabeth Bell

29. Strachan C – The Price of Nuclear Power by Stephanie A. Malin

30. Theodore V – Heroes of the Environment: True Stories of People who are helping to protect our Planet by Harriet Rohmer

31. – The Sixth Extinction: An unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert

32. – The Boiler Plate Rhino by David Quammen

33. – Noxious New York: The Racial Politics of Urban by Julie Sze