For this report, you are to read a novel with a Chicano or Chicana-based theme. Your selection can be from any time period in Chicano history. You are free to choose from one of a multitude of authors, such as: Rudolfo Anaya, Sandra Cisneros, T.C. Boyle, Jose Antonio Villareal, Julia Alvarez, Victor Villasenor, or any other author whose story contains a Chicano or Chicana-based theme. After you have selected your author, please consult with me about your selection.The due date for this report is Thursday, October 6. Please send your report through the Blackboard assignment section as a Microsoft Word or Apple Pages file. Please do not submit your review as a WordPerfect or Microsoft Works document, as I do not have that software on my computer. Late submissions will be accepted for one week, but a one-grade deduction will be assessed.
The report is to be 5-7 pages in length. Any reports that are copied from Internet sources will be assigned a failing grade. Please use a title page and a works cited page. (Note: the title and works cited pages do not count as pages of text). This report will count as 15% toward your final grade. And on your works cited page, please list your book selection in the following format:
Allende, Isabel (1999) Daughter of Fortune. New York: Harper Collins.
In terms of the content of the report, I am looking for two main points of discussion. First, you should devote the first half of the report to a summary of the main points that the author is trying to convey to the reader. To help you to address this issue, consider some of these questions: What is the authors main purpose for writing the book? What type of background is he/she writing from? What is the setting and the tone of the story?As for the second point of discussion, this is where you provide your opinion or perceptions of the book. And for this section of your review, you are strongly encouraged to provide a historical background to help you understand the themes presented in the story. You are welcome to rely on any of the class material for supporting information. As you write your commentary, consider these following questions: What did you think about the story? How did the book relate to the class? Did the story provide a good background of Chicano/Chicana history? Is this a good book for use in a community college class? You are definitely encouraged to write in first person singular (I feel that, I think..) as you provide your opinions.