Paper #2

For Paper #2 you have the option of a paper, an exam, or a critical review.  The paper would be similar to the last one, the exam (well, you know what those are like), and the critical review is spelled out below.

Many of the books we've read this semester are contemporary.  In some cases, such as Janisse Ray, they're brand-new.  When books come out, they're reviewed to determine their suitability.  One of the things a genre course should teach you is to become a good reader of books that are written in the same way, or on the same theme.  It should force you to think about your own preferences and the criteria you use evaluate books of a related ilk. You should know enough about them to consider their relative strengths and weakness, not only based on your personal preferences but on criteria we can agree on. 

Every day it seems we make evaluations and judgments, sometimes spontaneously, in response to events, people and things. "Oh, I don’t know, I just like it." Rarely do we think out a reasoned, careful argument based on appropriate criteria, although we constantly give reasons for our evaluations in a casual way. Once you study a genre, you begin to cultivate judgement, making it more sound, more discriminating, less reckless, and not merely "judgmental" or opinionated.

To do a critical review, re-ead the book carefully, take notes, and do some background research on the author and the work (Contemporary Authors, Amazon). Then, write a 3-5 page critical review of your findings. Remember, different than a paper, in critical reviews your audience may not know the author or title in question. Your responsibility is to become the explainer and evaluator of the text, and to make a persuasive case for your reading.

A critical review may contain the following: a concise summary of contents; an evaluation of themes, narrative form, use of language and imagery; suggestion of a larger framing context, and estimate of the quality of the project. 

Critical reviews should be critical, but they should also be fun to read, and have a certain flair.  For samples, see this student's review of Edith Wharton's Custom of the Country; or see these of Beloved, The Woman Warrior; or see my own of  Robert Morgan's Gap Creek, or Scott Russell Sanders's Hunting for Hope (though the periodicals in which they were placed had severe word count restrictions, so they're shorter and probably quote less than your own).