Honors English II Summer 2017 Assignment Due Monday, August 7, 11:59 pm Turnitin.com—Class ID: 15277294 Password: gocards1

Emerson Work

Read “An American Scholar” by Ralph Waldo Emerson (available at www.emersoncentral.com/amscholar.htm).

Write a brief essay (2-3 pages) about your status as an American scholar. How do you meet Emerson’s criteria? On what aspect of scholarship do you most need to work?

Purposes:  For your instructor to learn more about you, how you think, what you value, your hopes and expectations  For your instructor to appraise your gifts of written expression and to begin to assess areas of focus for honing your skills  For you to think about, formulate, and express ideas about both content and the writing process  For you to engage in intellectual conversation with peers

Format:  Word-process in 12 pt Times New Roman, double-spaced  Name in upper right corner of page one—no cover page  Additional specific instructions for full submission may be given the first week of school

Choice Novel

Read an independent novel of literary merit that you have not read before. Minimum of 300 pages (may be two books to total over 300 pages). The TWHS English Department recommends that you actually read about 200 pages a week of challenging material to continue growth in reading over the summer; however, we’re just requiring 300 pages for the entire summer. The Scarlet Letter, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, or The Great Gatsby will NOT count for credit for this project. You will need access to the books during that first week or so of school. Must be one of the following approved authors . Any American winner of one of the following major literary prizes o Pulitzer Prize for fiction o Nobel Prize for literature o National Book Award for adult fiction

-over, please-

. One of the following other major American writers o Amy Tan Willa Cather o James Baldwin Ralph Ellison o Edith Wharton Zora Neale Hurston o Pearl Buck Eudora Welty o Truman Capote Elizabeth Strout o James Fenimore Cooper Herman Melville o Stephen Crane Kurt Vonnegut o Tim O’Brien Richard Wright o Geraldine Brooks Washington Irving o Louisa May Alcott Barbara Kingsolver o Anne Tyler Julia Alvarez

Write an 800-word literary analysis to the following prompt:

Choose a character in the novel whose mind is torn in separate directions by two compelling desires, ambitions, obligations, or influences. In a well-organized essay, describe each of the two conflicting forces and explain how this internal conflict illuminates the overall meaning of the novel. Do NOT summarize the book.

Do not use supplementary materials to understand the text. Ditch it and pick a new book if it’s that hard. Your use of supplemental materials will earn you a zero for this grade.

Rubric: An A essay includes  an engaging introduction with arguable thesis statement at the end of the first paragraph  title and author included in the introduction, spelled and identified correctly  paragraphs clearly ordered to build a strong argument about internal conflict and its role in the meaning of the work as a whole, showing insight into the literary work  paragraphs organized with claim as topic sentence, supported by evidence from the text, and concluded with a warrant that explains how the evidence supports the claim and the thesis  present tense maintained throughout  quotations from the work embedded into sentences of analysis rather than “floating” within the essay; all quotations introduced effectively and punctuated correctly  satisfying conclusion that does not simply summarize previous points  formal, scholarly tone throughout analysis (NO first person references, no contractions, no slang)  style shows mature language use through varied and mature syntax and precise diction  demonstration of control of conventions including grammar, mechanics, and spelling

QUESTIONS?  Email Mrs. Gledhill at [email protected] (try [email protected] if you have trouble with that one) if you have any questions about your summer assignment. Please allow up to one week for a response, but chances are that you will have an answer within 48 hours.