Monograph Writing Assignments—Students are required to participate in the reading of one monograph readings; you will write a three page essay following the guidelines provided.
Monographs:
Hiroshima// Hershey, John// Random House//1989// ISBN 06679721037
Coming of Age in Mississippi// Moody// Laurel// ISBN 0-440-31488-7
The Way We Never Were// Coontz//Basic Books// ISBN 0465090974
What does the Internment of Japanese Americans Mean? // Murray, Alice Yang// 1st Edition//St. Martin Press//2000
A Peoples History of the United States//Zinn, Howard//ISBN 0-006-052-8427
The Jungle// Sinclair// ISBN 0451528042 (can be found online)
Too Heavy a Load//White, Deborah// ISBN 039331992x
• (The student will choose one of these monographs and you will write an essay over the book).
Format:
The paper should be no less than three pages in length. 12 point font (Times New Roman or Courier). Double spaced with all around 1 inch margins. Please be sure to italicize whenever you mention the title of the book in your paper, do not underline. When quoting directly from the book please be sure to put the page number from which you retrieved the quote in parentheses behind the quote after the quotation mark.
The following are standard procedures for writing book reviews:
1. Write a statement giving essential information about the book: title, author, first copyright date, type of book, general subject matter.
2. State the author’s purpose in writing the book. Sometimes authors state their purpose in the preface or the first chapter. When they do not, you may arrive at an understanding of the book’s purpose by asking yourself these questions:
a. Why did the author write on this subject rather than on some other subject?
b. From what point of view is the work written?
c. Was the author trying to give information, to explain something technical, to convince the reader of a belief’s validity by dramatizing it in action?
d. What is the general field or genre, and how does the book fit into it? (Use outside sources to familiarize yourself with the field, if necessary.) Knowledge of the genre means understanding the art form and how it functions.
e. Who is the intended audience?
f. What is the author’s style? Is it formal or informal? Evaluate the quality of the writing style by using some of the following standards: coherence, clarity, originality, forcefulness, correct use of technical words, conciseness, fullness of development, fluidity. Does it suit the intended audience?
g. Scan the Table of Contents, it can help understand how the book is organized and will aid in determining the author’s main ideas and how they are developed – chronologically, thematically.
g. How did the book affect you? Were any previous ideas you had on the subject changed, abandoned, or reinforced due to this book? How is the book related to your own course or personal agenda? What personal experiences you’ve had relate to the subject?
h. How well has the book achieved its goal?
i. Would you recommend this book to others? Why?
3. State the theme and the thesis of the book.
a. Theme: The theme is the subject or topic. It is not necessarily the title, and it is usually not expressed in a complete sentence. It expresses a specific phase of the general subject matter.
b. Thesis: The thesis is an author’s generalization about the theme, the author’s beliefs about something important, the book’s philosophical conclusion, or the proposition the author means to prove. Express it without metaphor or other figurative language, in one declarative sentence.
Example
Title: We Had it Made
General Subject Matter: Religious Intolerance
Theme: The effects of religious intolerance on a small town
Thesis: Religious intolerance, a sickness of individuals, contaminates an entire social group
4. Explain the method of development-the way the author supports the thesis. Illustrate your remarks with specific references and quotations.
5. Evaluate the book for interest, accuracy, objectivity, importance, thoroughness, and usefulness to its intended audience. Show whether the author’s main arguments are true. Respond to the author’s opinions. What do you agree or disagree with? And why? Illustrate whether or not any conclusions drawn are derived logically from the evidence. Explore issues the book raises. What possibilities does the book suggest? What has the author omitted or what problems were left unsolved? What specific points are not convincing? If you can, try to relate the book to larger issues.
6. Try to find further information about the author – reputation, qualifications, influences, biographical, etc. – any information that is relevant to the book being reviewed and that would help to establish the author’s authority. Can you discern any connections between the author’s philosophy, life experience and the reviewed book?
7. If relevant, make note of the book’s format – layout, binding, typography, etc. Are there maps, illustrations? Do they aid understanding?
8. Check the back matter. Is the index accurate? Check any end notes or footnotes as you read from chapter to chapter. Do they provide important additional information? Do they clarify or extend points made in the body of the text? Check any bibliography the author may provide. What kinds of sources, primary or secondary, appear in the bibliography? How does the author make use of them? Make note of important omissions.
9. Summarize (briefly), analyze, and comment on the book’s content. State your general conclusions. Pay particular attention to the author’s concluding chapter. Is the summary convincing? List the principal topics, and briefly summarize the author’s ideas about these topics, main points, and conclusions. Use specific references and quotations to support your statements. If your thesis has been well argued, the conclusion should follow naturally. It can include a final assessment or simply restate your thesis. Do not introduce new material at this point.

Order Management

Premium Service
- 100% Custom papers
- Any delivery date
- 100% Confidentiality
- 24/7 Customer support
- The finest writers & editors
- No hidden charges
- No resale promise
Format and Features
- Approx. 275 words / page
- All paper formats (APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago/Turabian)
- Font: 12 point Arial/Times New Roman
- Double and single spacing
- FREE bibliography page
- FREE title page
0% Plagiarism
We take all due measures in order to avoid plagiarisms in papers. We have strict fines policy towards those writers who use plagiarisms and members of QAD make sure that papers are original.