AMERIC AN AUTHOR PR OJE CT // E NGLISH 1 1 HON OR S

RA TIONAL E:
There is a huge amount of American literature that we will never cover due to time
constraints. Therefore, I will allow each of you to pick an author and study him or
her, presenting the results to the class. This way, everyone can have an exposure to
more of literature in America.

RE QUIREM ENT S:
1. Read at least one complete work by the author you select—on average the
book should be 300+ pages. If the book you choose does not fit this page
requirement, you can read other works by the same author. For example, you
could read a series of poems, short stories, or a shorter novel.
2. By Wednesday, February 25th, select your author and turn into me a reading
plan on the calendar paper provided by me. This reading plan MUST include
the works you are reading, and the reading you plan to do on those works
every night, using page numbers in the book.
3. By March 27th, you must tell me what connection project you are doing.
4. WRITE AN EXPERT P ACKET ON THE A UTHOR, IN CL UDING:
a. A three-page, theme-based analysis about your novel. In this paper,
you will analyze the author’s work you read, discussing: the time
period in which the author is writing, the genre of the work (fantasy,
sci-fi, etc.), the author’s other works, and the popularity of the work.
b. A one-page summary of two criticisms that you have researched of
the author’s works that you read.
c. A dated, three-page reflection journal that you write as you read the
book.
d. A one-page comparison essay.
1. If the book you are reading has been adapted to film you can
watch the film and provide a one-page comparison essay.
2. If you know of a film with similar themes you can watch the
movie and provide a one-page comparison essay.
3. You can compare one of the books that we have already read
with the book that you read and provide a one-page essay.
4. Select a character and compare his/her life to your life in a
one-page essay.
5. CONNECTION PROJECT—This is meant to allow you to delve deeper into the
content of the book by analyzing it using your own style of learning. THE
DESCRIPTION FOR THIS PORTION IS ON THE BACK OF THIS SHEET.
6. Produce and deliver a well-done presentation on your author to the class.
Your presentation will need to be between 5-7 minutes. The use of
PowerPoint, video, and other visual aids is encouraged.

Note: The varying essays and reflective journals must all be typed, double-spaced,
Times New Roman or Arial, follow correct MLA guidelines, and have one-inch
margins. Staple all writings together in the order above and include tabs denoting
the varying sections (writings) of your project.

THIS PR OJEC T IS DUE ON MON DAY, A PRIL 1 3 TH

 AMERIC AN AUTHOR PR OJE CT // E NGLISH 1 1 HON OR S

CON NECT ION PR OJECT DE SCRIP TION

YOUR OPT ION S F OR TH IS P OR TI ON :
CREA TE A TR ACK F OR THE MO VIE’S S OUND TR ACK
In this option, you will act as if the book had a movie made based on it. You
will write and—sing in class/record to be played in class—the opening song for that
movie. I will assess how the song connects to the book more than I will assess
musical quality, although I expect the music to be adequate. The song must connect
to the story on multiple levels. You will write a one-page paper detailing how the
song connects to the author’s work.

DRA W/P AINT/ MOLD A KEY SCENE FR OM T HE NO VEL

Draw, paint using any kind of paints, or mold using clay a key scene from the
novel. Your creation MUST be aesthetically pleasing and incorporate numerous
details from the author’s work. DRAWINGS OR PAINTINGS MUST BE DONE ON
PAPER AT LEAST 24”X17”. You will write a one-page paper detailing how the
creation connects to the author’s work, and you must include the page numbers
from your book that describe the scene.

DRESS UP AS A CHARA CTER OR THE A UTHOR AND T ALK T O THE CLA SS

Dress up, and present yourself to the class as a character from the author’s
work or as the author himself. You will do a 5-7 minute talk in front of the class as
this person, with these options: you can be interviewed by me, with you acting as
this person, act as the author and try to sell your book to us, or accept an award as
the author, doing an acceptance speech. You will write a one-page paper describing
how your dress and presentation connect to the author’s work or the author himself
or herself.

CONNE CT T O MA THEMA TIC S

This one requires you to present your idea to me for approval. For math-
minded people: connect the author’s work in some way to math by implementing
math into the novel or bringing the story into the real world. For example. for a sci-fi
space book, you could relate space travel in the book to the mathematical
impossibility of infinity. For an adventure novel, you could design a vehicle w/
schematics that could be integrated into the novel. Write a one-page paper
integrating your choice into the novel.

WRITE A C HAR ACTER JOURNAL

For this option, you will write two, two-page journal entries as if a character in
the book wrote them. The first entry will be written from the character’s perspective
at the beginning of your book, and the second entry will be written from the
character’s perspective at the end of the book. You will also write a one-page paper
detailing how the character changed throughout the story.

RATIONALE: This project integrates multiple intelligences, which are the different ways
people learn, so that they can better understand the novel and dig deeper using their own
personality.