You must keep a reading journal over your summer reading that will be handed in on the first day of school.  This must be in a contained notebook of some sort that you keep and use throughout the year. Length? Let’s say a minimum of about two single-sided pages per chapter.  Your reading journal will include the following:

1.        Personal reactions to the text with regard to characters, conflicts, setting, surprises, questions, overall style, humor, romance, and your own feelings of sympathy, empathy, concern, fear, sadness, elation, boredom, confusion, or any emotion you experience throughout the novel.

2.        Literary analysis of elements such as plot, setting, theme, character, point of view, elements of style, form, syntax, and figures of speech (see the Literary Terms handout).

3.        A list of questions to bring to discussion the first week of class in the fall.  These may include personal responses as well as more literary-based questions

4.        Quotes from the works (including page numbers) in order to provide textual evidence to buttress all above assertions.