Author Research Project
For this project, you will need to choose an author from the list below. You need to research important facts and fun information about that person. Use the checklist below when doing your research. You must turn in a written report and be prepared to present your research to the class on Thursday, May 14. The report should be typed and should include graphics of some kind. There is no specific length I expect the report to be, but make sure it includes all of the information on the checklist and any other important facts. Remember, DO NOT copy the information verbatim from your reference source. That is considered plagiarism and is against the law. Make sure you cite your sources. We will have a lesson in class about creating a properly cited bibliography. You may work with a partner on this-BUT you both will be required to turn in a paper. I will assign partners in class. Please fill out the attached contract and return it to be by Thursday, April 23. Turning in the contract will be a grade, if you don’t turn it in, you will get a 0 for a homework grade.
In addition to doing this research project, you will be required to read a book by the author you chose and do a book review on that novel. That book review will be due May 21. If you need another copy of the requirements of a book review, see me.
Authors:
John Steinbeck
Sylvia Plath
Kate Chopin
George Orwell
Ernest Hemingway
Stephen Crane
Kurt Vonnegut
J.D. Salinger
Jane Austen
Emily Bronte
Charlotte Bronte
Carson McCullers
Charles Dickens
Edgar Allan Poe
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Thomas Hardy
Mark Twain
Harper Lee
Henry James
Louisa May Alcott
Willa Cather
Mary Shelley
John Donne
Checklist:
___ Place and Date of Birth
___ Childhood Facts
___ Adult Family Life (Married? Kids?)
___ Places He/She Lived Throughout Life
___ Schools Attended
___ Influences
___ Famous/Not-so-Famous Works
___ Reason for writing the kind of work he/she did
___ Place and Date of Death (or is he/she still alive?)
___ Interesting facts or events in his/her life
___ Excerpt(s) from one of his/her works
Author Research Project Rubric
- Your paper is neatly typed and printed. Pictures are electronically insteared and placed logically throughout the report. In general, the paper is neat in appearance. ____/5
- Place and Date of Birth ____/5
- Childhood Facts ____/5
- Adult Family Life (Married? Kids?) ____/5
- Places He/She Live Throughout Life ____/5
- Schools Attended ____/5
- Influences ____/5
- Famous/Not-so-Famous Works ____/10
- Reason for writing the kind of work he/she did ____/10
- Place and Date of Death (or is he/she still alive?) ____/5
- Interesting facts of events in his/her life ____/10
- Excerpt(s) from one of his/her works ____/5
- Your paper is in paragraph form and is not simply a listing of the above information. ____/10
- You included relebant pictures/graphics in your paper. ____/10
- You included a bibliography stating all of the web sites and books you used for your research. It is in proper MLA format. ____/10
- Your paper is written in your own words. It does not appear to be plagiarized in any way. ____/10
- When presenting your paper, you spoke loudly and clearly ____/5
- When presenting your paper you maintained eye contact with the audience and you were not fidgeting, etc. ____/5
- Your presentation was well rehearsed. You did not stumble over words, you understood what you were saying, etc. ____/10
- When presenting, you truly knew your information about your author. You were able to answer relevant questions about your author when necessary. ____/15
TOTAL: ________/150 |