Independent Reading Assignment (IRA)

APE - Independent Reading Assignments (IRA)

Through the course of the academic school year, you will be assigned to turn in four IRA papers, one for each grading period. The IRA papers are analysis and personal response to a text you choose from the list below. The grade for the IRA includes the essays, dialectical notes for the novel, as well as proof that the paper was turned in to www.turnitin.com. The essays must be turned in, as one file, to turnitin.com by 10:00pm the night before the hard copies are due in class.

The essays must consist of 2 pages of analysis of the text as a whole, and 2 pages of personal response to the book. The analysis should be written in a formal style, whereas the response may be less formal, utilizing the “I” pronouns. It is expected that your analysis will reflect original, developed and organized thought and reflection on the text, and that it will reflect your knowledge of literary terms and devices (i.e. use your literary terms within the structure of the essay; also remember How to Read Literature…).

Due dates for the assignment are as follows:

IRA #1: October 14, 2013 IRA #2: December 9, 2013 IRA #3: February 17, 2014

The texts that you may choose from are:

Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises* Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury* Bronte. Wuthering Heights* Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale* Joyce, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man* Miller, “Death of a Salesman”* - in your text book Guest, Ordinary People* Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin Ellison, Invisible Man* Chopin, The Awakening Austin, Pride and Prejudice Husseni, The Kite Runner Penn, All the King’s Men Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment Coehlo, The Alchemist Morrison, Beloved Capote, In Cold Blood Beah, A Long Way Gone

* indicates that the books are in the bag of books you have already received.

In short, on the specific days you have IRAs due, you must submit in hard copy form two essays, approximately 4 pages, 30 dialectical notes, and hardcopy proof of turnitin.com. The night before these are due, you must turn in the essays (in one file) – both analysis and response – to www.turnitin.com by 10:00pm.