American Literature II Author/Work Paper and Presentation
A.choose an author from the list provided in Google Classroom. recommend you do
some research on the author and topic before you choose one. Each is unique and is from a different genre and time period. Once you have decided type your name by the one you chose. If it is gone, you must choose another. Only one person per author and story
B. You will write a paper on both the author and work, and then you will present your work to the class as if you were teaching it to us. You will become the expert on both.
C.When writing your paper, it will be done in MLA style. All sources used throughout the paper must be cited within the paper and in a Works Cited page. This includes the textbook. There is no set amount of sources you must use.
D. You will be writing a 2-3 page paper on both the author and their work. Make sure to include important facts/details about the author that may show why they wrote the work.
Your paper should be written in the following format:
Please write a small bio/background on the author for the first paragraph of your paper. This
should include any important information or life experiences that your author went through.
Paragraph two needs to include a breakdown of the author’s story/poem. This is where you will
want to do some outside research. Explore ideas such as What are important themes or ideas
or social issues within the text? What tone does the author portray? How are characters used?
Is there a particular style this work is written in?
Paragraph three is your personal opinion. You may use you or I in this section. You will now
analyze the work personally. Do not simply summarize the text. Think about such questions as
“How does the information presented to you influence what you thought you knew? “How has it
made you think about life on a deeper level and has it changed your thinking on a certain topic?”
“Is there something or someone in the text that you can make a personal connection to?” “What
did you find good about this story/poem and what was not so good?” “What flaws if any do you
see in this specific piece of literature?” Do not feel limited to these questions, please add
whatever you think is appropriate.
The second part of the project will be presenting this information. You will act as if you are
teaching it to the class. Using Power Point you will present this information and inform and
educate your classmates. Please keep your presentation time to 5-7 minutes.
The total project is a 100 point test grade. 75 points for the paper, and 25 for the presenta
