Assessment Information

Summer Reading Assessment 2019-20 Holy Cross Core Value: Family

Expectations:

The entries are not to be written collaboratively. Each student must work independently and avoid any outside sources. All entries will be submitted to Turnitin.com to check for originality; duplication is unacceptable and will result in a zero. Students should use the MLA heading for their first journal. Modern Language Association (MLA) specifies a standard format for essays written in an academic setting:

  • One-inch page margins
  • Double-spaced paragraphs
  • 12-point font, Times New Roman
  • A right corner header with author's last name and page number one-half inch from the top of each page.
  • Name of author, name of teacher, title of course, date of paper on the left side of the first page of the paper. See the sample below:
example of summer reading report

Students should save the digital copy of their journals on their iPads. These should be brought to school to submit to Schoology to check for originality. Expect teachers to require students to print a paper copy of the journals to class. Freshmen should refer to the video sent to them by Enrollment Management with specific details.

Due Date: Friday, August 9, 2019. If students move classes, they will have to resubmit upon transferring.

Each journal entry must contain at least ONE piece of textual evidence (quotation from the book). Place quotation marks around the quoted material, then add an in-text citation. Quotations must be cited using the following format: Author’s last name page number (Lee 21)

Journal Requirements for Each Book as Required by Grade/Academic Level:

- MLA format
- Two entries/text--student choice for each book
- While students may use first person, these journal entries should reflect their best writing and should consider the text as a whole, not just one section or chapter.
- Standards of mechanics, spelling, and grammar apply.
- Length: At least 250 words per entry. Please indicate (word count) at the end of each entry. 

Topics:

  1. How does this text reflect the Holy Cross core value of Family?
  2. Connect the work to another idea/book/current event. How are they similar? How are they different?
  3. Choose a character. What is the significance of that particular character?
  4. Setting is essential to any text. How does the setting(s) influence the events in the text?
  5. What did you learn from your reading of this book? How did this book change or affect your thinking?
  6. Every work—fiction or nonfiction—has a turning point. What do you think is the turning point or climax of this work?
  7. Choose a passage that you find memorable. Maybe it involves the events of the story, maybe it involves really fine writing—provide the passage (doesn’t count toward the 250+ words requirement), and explain why it is memorable.
  8. Everything ends—fiction or nonfiction. Did you find the conclusion satisfying? Would you change anything?

Rubric:

Each entry will contain one piece of textual evidence to be cited using MLA and should not come from only one section of the book. The journals should reflect your understanding of the work as a whole.

summer reading grading rubric

All questions about summer reading should be directed to the Humanities Co-chairs:
Lizabeth Bradshaw: lbradshaw@gocathedral.com
Mark Matthews: mmatthews@gocathedral.com