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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 __ ** I read //The Choice// by Nicholas Sparks, and my expectations on my proposal of it being a realistic, fantastic book were met. All of the five books I have read by Nicholas Sparks have all been superior because I am able to "relate them back to my life, and I find myself unable to put the book down until I have finished" (Summer Reading Proposal). Sparks does an amazing job when it comes to creating real life situations in his stories, for example, "...Gabby became an expert in making covert entry and exit...She had no other choice. What on earth could she say to Travis? She'd made a fool of herself..." (Sparks 65). We all have situations in our lives where we become nervous around a person we like, and //The Choice//, like many other Sparks' books is great at relating back to real life. Overall, my proposal statement that I wanted to read another Nicholas Sparks book due to the real life view, was confirmed when I read //The Choice//. **
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Wednesday, 8/24 **

** Sparks, Nicholas. The Choice. New York & Boston: Hachette Book Group, 2007 ** Good use of evidence.

__ Prompt for Paragraph Two - A Discussion of What You Gained by Reading Your Book __ ** The Choice by Nicholas Sparks taught me that you should not ignore what your heart is telling you because many complications will then occur in your life. Gabby, the main character, has a long time boyfriend who is always traveling, but then she meets her next door neighbor Travis and constantly tells herself that she feels nothing for him when really he is all she wants. Yet she continues to ignore her true feelings and decides, "She was making too big a deal about it...people flirted all the time...Besides, it probably didn't mean anything" (Sparks 81). Gabby's once peaceful world turns into a stressed environment, which teaches me to not ignore my feelings and listen to my heart more often, unless I want a complicated situation. **
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Thursday, 8/25 **

Does this paragraph address the prompt? You mention it at the beginning, but do not support it throughout.

__ Prompt for Paragraph Three - What to do With it... __ ** I made the personal decision to read //The Choice// by Nicholas Sparks because I have read about five of his books in the past and enjoyed every single one. Sparks does a fantastic job at making the reader think they understand what is going on in the plot, but then he throws several surprises in that makes the reader go "whoa" and want to desperately continue reading. In addition, Nicholas Sparks creates characters that are so dynamic and grab the reader's attention right away. In The Choice, Gabby, the main character, starts out as a grumpy, rude person towards her next door neighbor, Travis, especially when she accuses his dog of impregnating her dog. "[Travis wanted to tell her that it wasn't [his dog], but she was on such a roll, he thought it best to let her finish before protesting" (Sparks 31). But, throughout the book she starts to lighten up and in fact grows feelings towards Travis. The two go on quite an adventure together. I believe that teenage girls would enjoy this book more than boys would because it is a love story, but not too sappy of one. Teenage girls can relate best to the character Gabby due to the fact that many teen girls hide their true feelings towards guys. I also believe that many girls would be able to learn from Gabby and her mistakes when it comes to boys. When Travis ask Gabby to join him on a motorcycle ride she first wants to reject him "to keep her life from getting complicated" (Sparks 160), like most teen girls want to do, yet instead Gabby goes along with Travis. After reading The Choice many teenage girls will feel more confident in their true feelings towards guys. **
 * *Must be posted to the WIKI by midnight on Sunday, 8/28 **

You have strayed from both the prompt and the power paragraph here. Please review the guidelines for power paragraphs, especially regarding the thesis.


 * 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: //
 * 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)
 * Strict adherence to the Power Paragraph format
 * Mechanics are clean and do not detract from meaning