BOOK REVIEW Guidelines

1. Identify a favorite book or piece of literature that is relevant to the history of English.

2. Read, review, and explore that text in terms of various aspects of the history of the English language: phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, diachronic, and so forth.

3. Choose a focus that engages your interests, purposes, goals, and learning style. Some possible approaches include:

• Use the Advanced Search functions of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) to explore how the text you selected has contributed new words and/or new meanings to the lexicon of the English language.
• Use the Advanced Search functions of the OED to explore how the author of that text has contributed new words and/or new meanings to the lexicon of the English language.
• Explore how the text relates to or represents a period in the history of English: Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, Present-Day English, and World English.
• Explore the English language features of a character or characters in the text.
• Use a family history website (http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp) to identify the geographical and genealogical language roots of the author or characters in the text.
• Using the internet, the library, or other resources, create your own strategy for exploring the text through its English language features, or for exploring the history of English through the features of the text.

4. Use your reading and research notes to write a 5-7 page double-spaced paper.

5. Post a copy of the book review on the class blog site by 10:00 a.m., and give a paper copy to Dr. Hallen by 11:00 a.m. in class on Wednesday, December 2nd.


Content: text selection; review strategy; language insights 5%
Expression: organization; clarity; standard academic usage 5%
Format: your name; book citation; page numbers; proof-read 5%