Research Project 04: Reading the Novel

As you begin to read your selected novel for the research project, you will need to track evidence that connects your author’s life to their fiction. To do this, we will employ a new twist on an old familiar tool. Instead of the double entry journal, capturing quotes and comments, like you used while reading A Separate Peace, you will use a triple entry journal. The three entries will capture significant quotes and passages from the novel, comments that provide your explanation, and then connections to your ongoing author research.

Mini-Objective 7: Begin a triple entry journal while reading your selected novel, documenting at least 15 entries

You need to assemble no less than fifteen entries from your novel. However, more will be better. Remember, the focus of your project is exploring the connections between the author’s life experiences and elements in the author’s fiction. Ultimately, you will be writing a paper that will exceed five pages. This means that if you only have fifteen entries, you leave yourself very little room for error, something like three entries per page. This will work if all fifteen are strong and usable entries, which is not likely to be the case. Similar to the note cards process, you want to generate more material than you may actually need, because you will not be able to fully assess what you need until you begin the composing of the paper, which is a later step. So make sure that you are prepared well.

If you maintain the reading journal as you read, it will be far more helpful and less burdensome. The journals will be checked at least two times for test grades.

For those of you that want to use the Word template I developed for the triple entry journal, simply download it to your computer or network drive. Since this format is slightly more complicated you need to use this form, whether it completed via a computer or handwriting is up to you. Just make sure that you use the form.

Research Project Form

In order to easily track which students are researching which authors and what novels you will be reading, I would like to assemble all the information in one central place.

Please click this link and complete the form.

Thanks.