Stevensville High School
Reading Incentive 2014 - Semester 1
Win a Kindle !
The following are the rules and deadlines for entering the competition to win a Kindle. You
must agree to all the rules in order to be entered in the drawing.
1. Read a minimum of two books from SHS library (yes, they need to be read now – no, they are
not to be books you read in the past). For now, only one review may be written for each
book. If you are the first to read a book AND write the review, no one else will be allowed
to review that same book.
2. After reading each book, write a review of the book. Other students will be reading these
reviews, so you will need to do a decent job writing the review.
The reviews will be posted in at least one of three places: 1. in the book you reviewed,
2. on the school web site, 3. in a location in the library – other than the book – where
other students can access the review.
3. You must follow the guidelines (see “Guidelines” below for writing the review), and you must
be willing to have Mr. Brooks read and edit the review. Bring the typed rough draft to Mr.
Brooks for editing (digital format all right). I will be checking for original work – DO
NOT PLAGIARIZE! A digital version will be required as the final version for Mr.
Brooks.
4. You must agree to allow the reviews you write to be posted and used by other students. Your
name will be attached to the review!
5. Your name will be entered in the drawing for the Kindle for EACH review you write (after the
review has been approved). If you read more than two books and write more than two
reviews, you will improve your chances of winning!
6. All reviews must be turned in by Friday, January 22, 2016. Please submit it in digital
format.
7. See the back of this sheet for review-writing rules.
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Guidelines For Writing a Book Review
1. “Grade” the book. Using the following two areas, determine the popularity of the book and
the quality of the book. Popularity is your opinion of how popular the book will be with
high school students. Quality is how well you think the book is written. (A book can be
popular without being well written, or it may be well written without being popular.)
Popularity – 5 = wildly popular (with at least one segment of the student population)
4 = broad or general appeal to readers
3 = fairly popular
2 = students may like it, but that is not very likely (maybe in a special interest
area)
1 = really not worth reading – FOR ANYONE!
Quality –
5 = difficult to imagine it being written any better
4 = better than most books – only occasional “holes”
3 = readable with no serious defects, but it’s not great
2 = better writing and editing would improve the book – sort of readable
1 = poorly written and should not have been published
{Your review, then, will include a P and a Q rating. Example: 4Q 3P}
2. Paragraph one should give a brief summary of the IDEA of the book without giving away the
climax or the ending. Offer a few major conflicts and introduce one or two main characters.
This is also the place to tell potential readers if this book belongs to a series or if it is a good
partner to another book (similar in some fashion).
Paragraph two should offer ideas of why the book is rated as it is – “the author creates realistic
characters who find themselves in impossible situations.” You may also want to suggest
what kinds of students might enjoy the book – “students who love a good mystery…,” or
“people looking for a fun fantasy with no deep thinking …” This is the why paragraph.
Why will it be popular? Why will people love it/hate it? This is the who paragraph. Who
do you think will like it? This is the real review section of the review; this is where you
get to evaluate the book.
3. Include the title, the author’s name, and the number of pages, and series name (if there is one).
4. This must all be short enough to fit in a book, so keep it short (about 2.5” x 4.5”).
Mr. Brooks will have an example or two for you to study. Come to the library to see the
example.
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