NOVEL STUDY

1. WRITE A SUBMISSION
If you would like to choose your own novel to study, you need to
write a submission that convinces me to accept your choice.
You need to write about these aspects of your proposed novel:

• factual information (author, title, publisher, year, series, number

of pages)
• the main character/s (the protagonist and the antagonist)
• the ‘driving force’ (motivation) behind the
behaviour of the protagonist
• the personal growth of the protagonist during the course of the novel
• issues faced by the main character/s that are also faced by people in
our society
• the setting of the novel
• the story arc of the novel (beginning, problem, resolution, ending)
• issues or themes in the story that can apply to your life
• the overall ‘message’ of the novel
You can include any other information that you think will persuade me to
agree with you. For example, reviews of the novel.

Your submission must be presented without errors – spelling, grammar, punctuation,

capitalisation, sentences, paragraphs and layout must all be perfect.

2. NEGOTIATE YOUR TASKS

Once your choice has been approved, you will negotiate how many tasks, and which ones,
you will complete for your novel study.

These are the possible tasks:

• Summarise the novel in poem form with rhyme (minimum 20 lines).
• Write an essay discussing the relevance of the title (minimum 200 words).
• Write a letter to the author.
• Use 2 sources (1 electronic, 1 print) to research and write a
report on an issue from the book (include a bibliography).
• Write a 1 minute radio advertisement persuading the public why
they should buy and read this novel.
• Research the author and write a report. Use 1 print source and 1
non-print source of information (include a bibliography).

continued over …
• Pretend you are interviewing a character from the novel. Write your interview in ‘Q &
A’ (Question And Answer) format.
• Compare and contrast this novel with another you have read.
• Write about a cause-and-effect relationship you found in the novel (minimum
200 words).
• Design a time-line for events in the novel.
• Write a letter to one of the characters in the novel.
• As a literary agent, write a letter to a publishing company to try to persuade them to
publish this novel.
• Create a glossary of unfamiliar words and phrases. Include
page numbers and definitions.
• Choose your favourite passage in the novel. Copy it down and
explain why you found it appealing.
• List 10 things you learned about life from this novel.
• Write a front-page news story about an event from the novel.
• Write your own test – a combination of matching, multiple
choice, true/false and short answer. Provide the correct
answers.
• Journal as you go. As you read the novel, keep a two-sided
reading journal. The left side should have quotes from the
book and page numbers. The right side should have your
questions, thoughts, observations, reflections, etc.
• Suggest a task of your own to negotiate with your teacher.

3. HAND IN YOUR WORK

Your LA work will consist of
• your original submission
• the tasks you complete
• a reflection task.

It is due on..............................