Duy+P--Sum+Reading

Home Summer Reading Assignment Students

Given the nature of the 2011 summer reading program, you had significant autonomy in selecting the books you would read. While you were responsible for completing a proposal, you were not given other assignments to complete over the summer. As indicated on your proposal form, you are required to write a letter to your 2011-12 Language Arts teacher that demonstrates your thoughtful reading of your book. We have chosen to break this down further into three focused "Power Paragraphs" for two reasons, one, to introduce you to the idea of a power paragraph, and two, to assist you in covering all aspects of the assignment.

__ Prompt for Paragraph One - A Reflection of Your Choice __ My motive behind picking The Time Machine by HG Wells was a result of my childhood fascination: time traveling. I proposed to read this science fiction novel because "ever since I was little, I've always been fascinated by time traveling" (Phan Summer Reading Proposal). I always wondered about "what is going to happen in the future" and the "faith of mankind" ( Phan Summer Reading Proposal). In Wells novel, a British inventor travels into the future to find mankind living in "a social paradise" with "no signs of struggle", but at the cost of human intelligence and other qualities of humanity (Wells 46). Wells vivid picture of the future world and his frightening prediction made it impossible for me to put the book down, and thoroughly satisfied my expectations. Please review the power paragraph guidelines. This type of writing, while challenging, will help you to write clear, focused responses to a prompt.
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Wednesday, 8/24 **

__ Prompt for Paragraph Two - A Discussion of What You Gained by Reading Your Book __ Reading The Time Machine by HG Wells has led me to challenge the advancement of technology and how mankind is becoming dependent on outside help to resolve problems. Without outside help, "humanity had been strong, energetic, and intelligent" in order to resolve problems and struggles in society (Wells 47). However in the novel, the Elois depended entirely on the Morlocks to run society for them, and as a result the Elois have the intelligence of a "five-year-old [child]" and are eaten by the Morlocks (Wells 35). Wells seem to suggest that as humans depend on outside help to resolve problems, their intelligence will be weakened and this weakening will allow other species to take over mankind. Wells's prediction has led me to challenge the advancement of technology, as I wonder whether the technologies are helping us to accomplish tasks more efficiently, or are we becoming too dependent on outside help and loosing our intelligence. You have raised a good point, but as with your first paragraph, structure and mechanics issues lessen the overall impact of your work.

__ Prompt for Paragraph Three - What to do With it... __ The perfect reader for this science fiction novel would be anyone that wants their thoughts challenged and provoked. Through Wells's realistic picture of the future world, I found myself thinking and questioning the advancement of technology even after I finished the book. After the time traveler retrieves his time machine, he travels further into the future to find that "all the sounds of man, the bleating of sheep, the cries of birds, the hum of insects, the stir that makes the background of our lives - all that was over" (Wells 135). Wells's story suggests that if mankind depends on outside help to resolve problems at an excessive level, then mankind will lead itself into a dark future due to the lost of curiosity and intelligence. Wells prediction of the future frightened me, and will frighten other readers as well after they finish the book. You set up a great focus in your first sentence. Try to stick to the idea that this book would appeal to readers who enjoy being challenged by their reading.
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Sunday, 8/28 **


 * Scoring: Your three paragraphs will be given one overall grade, and the timeliness of your posts will be reflected in your "timeliness" grade. **

// An outstanding response to the prompts will include the following: Good start, keep working on structure and editing. //
 * A strong topic sentence that clearly establishes the focus on the prompt
 * Evidence that clearly supports the topic sentence
 * Correct use of internal citations and a properly formatted MLA citation for your book (put this citation at the end of paragraph one) Be sure to follow instructions!
 * Strict adherence to the Power Paragraph format
 * Mechanics are clean and do not detract from meaning