Date: April 29, 2024

READING AND WRITING

Note: Hi, Grade 11 learners! Please read the lessons below before completing the learning tasks. Your answers
must be written on a yellow sheet of paper. Include your name, grade, section, and the date when you completed
the task. Kindly take a picture of yourself as you do the task and send it to me via messenger. Thank you!

LESSON: COMPOSING ACADEMIC WRITING.

A book review describes and evaluates a work of fiction or nonfiction and offers the book’s overall purpose,
structure, and style of narration to the unknown readers. It tells not only what a book is about, but also how
successful it is at what it is trying to do. It is a sneak peek at a book, not a summary.
As a reviewer, you bring together the two strands of accurate, analytical reading and strong, personal response
when you indicate what the book is about and what it meant to readers.
Hence, in writing a book review, you combine your skills of describing the content of the pages, analyzing how
the book achieved its purpose, and expressing your most personal comments, reactions, and suggestions.
But before you start writing a book review, you have to read the book first and ask yourself these questions:
 What are the author’s viewpoint and purpose?
 What are the author’s main points?
 What kind of evidence does the author use to prove his or her points?
 How does this book relate to other books on the same topic?
 Does the author have the necessary expertise to write the book?
 What are the most appropriate criteria by which to judge the book?
 How successful do you think the author was in carrying out the overall purposes of the book?
If it is a short review, you may not be able to fulfill your purpose. If it is too long, it may stray too much of the
plot or of the content, you may lose the interest of your readers. Take this general guideline: the length of the
review depends upon the length of the book itself, and a review should not be less than 100 words. Longer
books usually ask for more than 500 words.
A book review title should be based on your total impression of a book. Like creating passwords, strong titles
might be “Drew girl power to new height”, “A night owl that seldom sleeps even during daytime,” “Beautiful
illustrations with a story to match,” “Perfect for a weekend getaway” while weak titles are: “State of the art
book,” “Five stars,” “A breath of fresh air,” “Fast and furious.”

Additional Information on Book Review:

Book Review
 A formal paper that works to describe, analyze, and evaluate a particular source as well as to provide
detailed evidence to support this analysis and evaluation.
 Explains how the book compares to other works on similar topics or illuminates the contribution the
book makes to our understanding of a historical topic.
How do you START writing a book review?
1. Identify the book by author, title, and sometimes publishing information.
2. Specify the type of book (for example: fiction, nonfiction, biography, and autobiography). Help
your readers to review with perspective.
3. Mention the book’s theme.
4. Include background, if necessary, to enable reader/s to place the book into a specific context.
5. You may also use an interesting quote, an interesting fact, or an explanation of a concept or
term.

What do you DO with the content?

1. For nonfiction books like biography, history, and the like: pay primary attention to the major points (the
argument) the author is putting forth and to the sources the author has drawn upon to back up his/her
point of view.
2. For fictional works such as novels, chick lit, graphic novels, manga: Pay attention primarily to the novel
or book’s setting, plot, style, characters, theme/s, use of language and voice. Caution: Do not give away
the story for no one appreciates a spoiler!
3. Provide your reactions to the book.
4. Describe the book.
5. Respond to the author’s opinions and analyze it.
6. Explore issues the book raises.
 How do you CONCLUDE?
1. Relate your argument to other books or authors.
2. Relate the book to larger issues.
3. Tie together issues raised in the review.
4. Briefly restate your main points and your thesis statement.
5. Indicate how well the book has achieved its goal, what possibilities are suggested by the book, what
the book has left out, how the book compares to others on the subject, what specific points are not
convincing, and what personal experiences you’ve had related to the subject.

How do you REVISE the draft?

1. Allow time to elapse, at least a day, before starting your revision.
2. Correct grammatical mistakes and punctuation as you find them.
3. Read your paper through again looking for unity, organization, and logical development.
4. If necessary, do not hesitate to make major revisions in your draft.
5. Verify quotations for accuracy and check the format and content of references.

---- If you have finished analyzing the lesson, you may proceed to Learning Tasks 1 and
2.---
 LEARNING TASK 1
Note: Please write your answer on a yellow sheet of paper. Before you begin writing, make sure to include the
code 'Learning Task 1' on your paper. This will help avoid any confusion about which learning task your
answer corresponds to.
Directions: Read the sample book review below and complete the matrix below with information about the
text.

‘’I Capture the Castle" is a novel written by Dodie Smith, published in 1948.
Below is the sample book review written by Lauren W., age 17, from Mensa in Georgia.
Dodie Smith's novel I Capture the Castle is a journey through the mind of a young writer
as she attempts to chronicle her daily life. Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain has recently
learned to speed-write, and she decides to work on her writing skills by describing the actions
and conversations of those around her.
Cassandra lives in a fourteenth-century English castle with an interesting cast of
characters: her beautiful older sister, Rose; her rather unsociable author father and his second
wife, artist-model Topaz; Stephen, the garden boy; a cat and a bull terrier; and sometimes her
brother Thomas when he is home from school. One fateful day they make the acquaintance of
the Cotton family, including the two sons, and a web of tangled relationships ensues.
While I definitely recommend this book to other readers, I would recommend it to older teenagers, mainly because it will
resonate better with them. The writing is tame enough that younger teens could also read it, but most of the characters are
adults or on the verge of adulthood. Older readers would take the most from it since they can not only relate, but they
may also better pick up on and appreciate Cassandra's sometimes subtle humor.
Over the course of the novel, Cassandra undergoes a definite transformation from child to mature young adult, even
though it is only over the course of several months. I love that I could see into her mindset and read exactly what she was
feeling when she thought out situations. Her thoughts flowed well and moved the book along very quickly.
Cassandra's narrative voice is wonderful. She is serious at times, but also very witty, which makes for an engaging read.
It feels real, as though I am reading someone's actual journal. Sometimes I forget that I am reading a story and not a real-
life account. Her emotions and the dialogue are so genuine, and they are spot-on for a seventeen-year-old girl in her
situation.
Cassandra has many wonderful insights on life, on topics ranging from writing to faith to matters of the heart. I
personally have had some of the same thoughts as Cassandra, except Ms. Smith was able to put them into words.
Capture the Castle should be essential reading for aspiring writers, those looking for historical fiction or romance, or
anyone who loves reading amazing classic books. Dodie Smith is an exceptional writer, and I Capture the Castle is a
book that will never become obsolete.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Learning Task 1: MATRIX

What is the main idea of the
book review above?
_____________________________________________________________

What is the purpose of the

book review above?
_____________________________________________________________

What are your thoughts on the

book review written by
Lauren? _____________________________________________________________
 LEARNING TASK 2
PERFORMANCE TASK ON READING AND WRITING
Deadline : May 2, 2024 (Thursday)
Title: Short story Review of The Last Leaf by O. Henry
Directions: While our focus is on book reviews, I'm not requiring you to read the entire book. Instead, you will
be writing a 'Short Story Review.' Recollect the details of the summary of the story titled 'The Last Leaf’'
written by the American author O. Henry, who was born William Sydney Porter. Then, complete the table below
by providing the necessary details for reviewing the short story.
Note: If you do not have access to the summary of 'The Last Leaf,' I will provide it below, possibly at the end of
this document, for your reference.
The Last Leaf by O. Henry
Introduction: Write your answers in this part.
Include the ff:
 Title and author of the short story.
 A brief explanation of what the story is about,
using simple language.
 Your initial thoughts or feelings about the
story.

Summary:
Include the ff:
 A basic overview of the main events and
characters.
 Describe the beginning, middle, and end of
the story in simple terms.
 Avoid revealing too much detail to keep it ___________________________________________
engaging.

Analysis:
Include the ff:
 Describe what you liked or didn't like about
the story.
 Talk about the characters and what you think
they were like.
 Share any important lessons or messages you
learned from the story.
Personal Response:
Include the ff:
 Share your feelings about the story and
explain why you felt that way.
 Talk about any parts of the story that made
you happy, sad, scared, or excited.
 Mention if there were any parts of the story
you didn't understand.
Conclusion:
Include the ff:
 Summarize your main points briefly.
 Recommend whether you think other kids
your age would enjoy the story.
 Mention if you would want to read more
stories like this one in the future.
 ( Optional)Rating – how many stars will you
give?
Summary:

THE LAST LEAF

By O. HENRY

In a small Greenwich Village apartment, two young artists, Johnsy and Sue, lived at the top of a building. They
were close friends and liked art a lot. Autumn arrived, bringing with it a sudden and severe sickness outbreak.
Johnsy, unfortunately, got really sick.

As Johnsy lay in bed, her health getting worse, she became really worried about the ivy vine outside her
window. The vine, once full of green leaves, was now losing them because of the changing seasons. Convinced
that she would get worse when the last leaf fell, Johnsy's hope faded away, leaving her feeling very sad.

Sue, deeply concerned for her friend, did everything she could to make Johnsy feel better. One day, a doctor
visited and said things didn't look good. The situation seemed very serious, and Johnsy's thoughts were focused
on the falling leaves, showing her will to live was going down.

Next door lived an old artist, Mr. Behrman, whose own artistic dreams had never come true. Despite his
failures, he cared for Johnsy and Sue in his own not very friendly way. Hearing about Johnsy's condition, he
became interested in the idea that the falling leaves affected her spirit.

One night, Sue noticed Mr. Behrman sneaking out into the cold and stormy weather. Worried, she asked him
why. He told her he painted a leaf on the wall to look like the real ivy leaf that was bravely holding on despite
the harsh weather. He wanted to give Johnsy a reason to keep fighting and live.

Sadly, Mr. Behrman got sick from being in the cold, and despite the doctor's best efforts, he couldn't fight the
sickness and passed away. Johnsy didn't know about Mr. Behrman's sacrifice and kept watching the last leaf,
which was holding on strongly to the vine.

When Sue found the painted leaf and understood what Mr. Behrman did, she felt very touched. The last leaf,
even though it was just a painting, became a sign of hope and determination for Johnsy. Amazingly, Johnsy
started feeling better, and eventually, she got well again.