Project Overview

Link to full project packet

Overview

You will select an author and study their background/life, works, and criticisms. Basically, you will become an expert on this author and their contributions to American literature. You will read several pieces by the author so you can identify patterns within their work. The product of your research will be a website and visual display that will include multiple pages of your analysis, research, and your own writing. Your analysis will show how the author demonstrates the AP Literature Enduring Understandings listed below, as well as reflecting on the author’s worldview and connecting their work to our Christian worldview. 

AP Literature Enduring Understandings

• CHARACTER: Characters in literature allow readers to study and explore a range of values, beliefs, assumptions, biases, and cultural norms represented by those characters. 

• SETTING: The setting and the details associated with it not only depict a time and place but also convey values associated with that setting. 

• STRUCTURE: The arrangement of the parts and sections of a text, the relationship of the parts to each other, and the sequence in which the text reveals information are all structural choices made by a writer that contribute to the reader’s interpretation of a text. 

• SPEAKER: A narrator’s or speaker’s perspective controls the details and emphases that affect how readers experience and interpret the text. 

Reading Requirements

• 1 novel or collection of poetry (REQUIRED)

• And at least one of the following: 

  • 2nd novel

  • Play

  • A variety of the following totaling at least 100 pages

    • Short stories 

    • Poems

Due Dates

• September 29th - Selection of author/works

• October 13th - Website Home Page

• November 3rd - Readings completed

• November 17th - Author’s life information

• December 1st - Enduring Understandings

• December 15th - Imitate the author’s style of writing

• January 26th - Book Bentos

• February 9th - What Critics have said

• February 23rd - FRQ3 #1

• March 8th - FRQ3 #2

• March 15th - Bibliography

• April 5th - Questions and Feedback form

• April 12th- Questions or Feedback to 5 classmates

• Week of April 15th - Gallery Walk Presentation / Completed Website

Project Components

1. Home Page (10 points) 

   1. Table of Contents

   2. Overview of author

   3. List of published works

   4. Link back to the class website

2. Author’s life information/background (50 points)

   1. 800-word minimum

   2. 4 source minimum with Works Cited

3. Enduring Understandings in the author’s works (20 points each; 100 points total)

   1. Characters

   2. Setting

   3. Plot/Structure

   4. Speaker

   5. Worldview

4. Imitate the author’s style of writing (40 points) 

   1. 650-word minimum

5. Book Bentos (20 points each; 40 points total)

   1. Visual analysis of two works you have read

6. What critics have said (50 points)

   1. 800-word minimum

   2. 4 source minimum

7. FRQ3 analysis of works you have read (40 points each; 80 points total)

   1. Analysis of two works you have read

   2. 500-word minimum

8. Works Cited page (15 points) 

   1. Minimum of 10 sources

   2. Must include images and any source information, even if not directly quoted

9. Questions and Feedback form (10 points) 

10. Questions or feedback to 5 classmates (25 points) 

11. Gallery Walk Presentation (30 points)

    1. Visual presentation of your research (poster, display, etc.)