I will evaluate essays that are shared on Google Docs with the FOLLOWING NAME:
Last Name Independent Reading Essay
Freshmen Honors English—Independent Reading Prompts
Billimack/Sullivan
Perfectly Polished
Essays are due on
Friday, November 8th!
There is so much to read and
reflect on, and so little time.
Much like the summer reading assignment, upon completing your chosen independent novel, you
will write a well-developed essay response; the following topics are general and should allow
you to adapt your outside reading to one of them. There are several purposes to this essay: to
give you an opportunity to make a range of personal and intellectual connections between the
books you read, to determine that you read them, and to assess how well you actually understood
what you read by having you communicate that understanding to me. You may write about any
one of the following topics. My expectations are higher than with the summer reading
assignment, as we’ve discussed effective introductions, clear thesis statements,
TEA, quotation integration, MLA citation, critical thinking, and depth of analysis in
class.
NOTE: Be sure to include the author and title of your chosen novel within the essay.
1. “You cannot open a book without learning something”—Irish proverb
◘ Using the Irish proverb, write an essay about what you learned—about yourself, about
others, about the world, or about something else—in the course of reading your book.
(See the rubric below)
2. “There are three rules for writing a good book. Unfortunately no one knows what
they are”—W. Somerset Maugham
◘ Using your book as the basis for an essay, come up with the “rules for a good book.”
In your essay you should use examples from the book you read to illustrate your points;
thus, if you say that “a good book must be exciting,” you should draw examples from the
novel you read to show what you mean and how it makes it a good book. (See the rubric
below)
3. “We read to know we’re not alone”—C.S. Lewis
◘ Explain what you think Lewis means, taking examples from your book to illustrate
your thoughts and why you feel this way. Consider this: the man in solitary confinement
for murder finds, reads, and relishes Shakespeare’s 29th sonnet, “When in disgrace with
man’s eyes, I trouble deaf heaven…”, because the jilted lover feels the same way as the
man in prison. As the Roman slave Terrance said a couple thousand years ago, “Because
I am a man nothing is alien to me.” (See the rubric below)
4. “The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it”—
James Bryce
◘ What have you carried away from your independent novel? Use examples from the
novel to show whatever it was that you are left with after having completed your journey
through the book; be sure to comment on your assessment of the worth of the book. (See
the rubric below)
5. “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of
the main”—John Donne
◘ Explain what this quote means in relation to the independent novel you have chosen.
Use examples from the book to illustrate how Donne’s words apply to both the novel and
your reactions to it. (See the rubric below)
6. “Every book teaches a lesson, even if the lesson is only that one has chosen the
wrong book”—Unknown
◘ What is the lesson which your independent novel teaches? Be sure to explain and
elaborate using examples from the book and your own opinions/reactions to it. (See the
rubric below)
Great question, but no need to fret when
you’re with the Frizzle! Remember that the
magic is inside of you, and you just need to
include a clear thesis statement that opens
your oyster to reveal the pearl inside as seen
in your claims, integrated examples, and
critical analysis.
As your helpful friend Helen, I also think it is a good idea to provide 1-2
sentences of relevant background information after the topic sentence
and leading up to the integrated quotations you provide to support
your argument since Miss Frizzle may not have read your book.
Miss Frizzle, I’m nervous
about my writing. How do I
make sure that I don’t get
schooled on this assignment
and instead school you on my
magical world of the book I
read?