Study the following stages for writing a book review.

Activity 3 Study the following stages for writing a book review.

To Kill a M ockingbird

Identify the title,

by Harper Lee

the author and

W arner Books the publisher of

the book.

Reviewed by Rodman Philbrick

I’ve never been to Alabama, but novelist Harper Lee made me feel as if I had been there in the long, hot summer of 1935, when a lawyer named A tticus Finch decided to defend an

Summarise the

innocent black man accused of a horrible crime. main idea/

theme of the

The story of how the whole town reacted to the

book you are reviewing.

Introductory

trial is told by the lawyer’s daughter, Scout, who

Paragraphs

remembers exactly what it was like to be eight years old in 1935, in Maycomb, Alabama.

Scout is the reason I loved this book, because her voice rings so clear and true. Not only does she

Write your thesis (what

make me see the things she sees, she makes me feel

you think of the

the things she feels. There’s a lot more going on

book).

than just the trial, and Scout tells you all about it.

A man called Boo Radley lives next door. Very few people have ever seen Boo, and Scout and her friends have a lot of fun telling scary stories about him. The mystery about Boo Radley is just one of the reasons you want to keep turning the pages to À nd out what happens in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Summarise the important point

To Kill a Mockingbird is À lled with interesting

of the book. Body

characters like Dill, and Scout makes them all

Paragraphs

seem just as real as the people in your ow n hometown. Here’s how Scout describes Miss Caroline, who wore a red–striped dress: “ She looked and smelled like a peppermint drop.”

Explain the

The larger theme of the story is about racial

writer’s purpose

intolerance, but Scout never tries to make it for writing the

book. Give

a “ lesson,” it’s simply part of the w orld she

your opinion

describes. That’s why To Kill a Mockingbird on whether the

writer achieved

rings true, and why it all seems so real.

her/ his purpose in writing the book.

Developing English Compet encies f or Grade XII of Nat ural and Social Science Programmes

Even though the story took place many years ago, you get the idea that parts of it could happen today, in any town where people distrust and fear each other’s differences.

In a just world an innocent man should be

Conclusion

found not guilty. But if you want to know what this particular jury À nally decides and w hat happens to Scout and Jem and Dill and Boo Radley and the rest of the people who live and breathe in To Kill a Mockingbird, you’ll have to read the book..

Taken from http://www.indiana.edu/

Activity

4 Work in groups of four. Figure out what type of book

each of these.

Golden & Grey (An Unremarkable Boy and Rather Remarkable Ghost )

Louise Arnold The novel chronicles the friendship forged between Tom Golden, an 11-year-old English by and outcast at his new school, and an earnest ghost who has failed to À nd his calling in his centuries-long existence.

Summer Doorw ay s: A M emoir

W .S. M erwin In 34 brief, dreamy chapters, esteemed American poet and translator Merwin meanders back to the late 1940s and early 1950s summers of his youth and inexperience.

The Eternity Artifact

L.E. Modesitt Jr. The proli À c named Modesitt employs four different narrative perspectives in this slow-moving tale of far-future intergalactic human civilizations, with often compelling if sometimes repetitive results.

Source: www.amazon.com

The Book Is Amazing

Activity Read the book reviews once again and discuss the 5

questions in group.

1. Of the three books, which one would you probably

New Horizon

like the most? Why?

2. Of the three books, which one would you probably

Preliminary Mechanical

like the least? Why?

Steps to Write a Book Review

3. What types of books do you usually read?

1. Read the book with care.

4. What is the last book you read? What category was it

2. Note effective

in? Did you like it?

passages for quoting. 3. Note your

impressions as you

Grammar Review

read. 4. Allow yourself time to assimilate what

Adj ectives Ending in - ing and -ed

you have read so that Study these sentences. Pay attention to the word in bold the book can be seen

in perspective.

face.

5. Keep in mind the

To Kill a M ockingbird is À lled with interesting characters

need for achieving a single impression

like Dill, and Scout makes them all seem just as real as which must be made

the people in your own hometown. clear to the reader.

Dill and Boo and Jem are all fascinating, but the most

Taken from www.library.dal.ca

important character in the book is Scout’ s father, Atticus Finch.

If something or someone is - ing , it makes you - ed . Or someone is - ed if something (or someone) is - ing .

So: •I am interested in characters in To Kill a M ockingbird . •I am fascinated by Dill and Boo and Jem.

There are many pairs of adjective ending - ing and - ed .

For examples:

fascinating

fascinated

horrifying horrified

exciting

excited

terrifying terrified

amusing amused

frightening frightened

amazing

amazed