Week 1 Explanation

This week’s blog topic asks you to reflect on one of the most influential books in your life. It can be difficult to pin down a favorite from the many you may have read, but please do so for this assignment. There may also be some difficulty defining what “influential” means, but I’ll leave that up to you.

You may choose a children’s book, a piece from the literary canon, or even -- God forbid! -- a comic book. There are no holds barred and no reason to be ashamed of your reading history. Just be honest. Have fun. It’s okay…as long as you write and think intellectually. For this assignment alone, you can choose a book outside your AP summer reading list. This assignment is meant as a warm-up and gives you some room to actually start your summer reading if you haven’t done so already. I’ve managed to read three books so far! I’m so proud of me. (I know, that last sentence isn’t grammatically correct. That’s okay for this section.)

When you write for this assignment (and most of the others) keep the following general guidelines and possibilities in mind: 1). DO NOT SUMMARIZE. I don’t care if I haven’t read your book; I’m not asking for the plot. Just stick to why it was influential to you. 2). Pay attention to your content, ideas, and organization as you structure your post. 3). Certainly mention the book title (use italics to set it off) and author. The title of the post should contain the title of the book and your last name, like in the example that follows these directions. 4). Explain why you chose that book and how it influenced you. 5). Reflect on the book’s literary merit in terms of literary technique (plot, characterization, symbolism, allusion, setting, figurative language, author’s style, themes, etc.). 6). Deal with other issues that are interesting, novel, and intellectual yet still relate to the general topic of the post.

Try to have a good time. Remember internet safety protocols: don’t use your entire name or give away identifying information. You should probably change your display name if you’re using your real name. Be tactful and don’t disparage anyone. You are graded on the quality of thought and expression in your post, its length (between 700 - 1000 words), and on using quoted material properly (if you use any). Because the topic is personal, you may use the first-person point of view. I suggest writing the post in a word processing program and then pasting it into the post window. Contact me if you have any questions and I’ll answer ASAP. The following example is not a strict template of what you should do but only a possibility, and a poor one at that. Off we go then…