English IV – Banned Books

Final Project
Spring, 2010

Wow! Your final project for your final English class at Agnes Irwin…

Thinking ahead to next year, you are very prepared to tackle your freshman English classes. You know
how to defend an argument, and you have written a variety of papers, from the traditional English paper
to the less formal discussion paper to a longer paper, in which you needed to bring in outside sources. So,
for this final, let’s make sure you can construct a PowerPoint presentation on a novel and, again, find
reputable outside sources to make your argument even more compelling.

Here’s how the project is going to work:

• You are to choose one banned/challenged book from the attached list. As you are reading the
book, closely examine why this book made this “hit list.” You also want to consider the value of
the book (like you did with Cut). Take notes or use sticky notes to write down your thoughts.
• You are to find two outside sources to complement your thesis statement.
• You are to think about how this book and your argument relate to this course as a whole. How
does it speak to freedom of the press or freedom of thought or the need to preserve intellectual
freedom? If applicable, is the subject matter obscene?
• You are to prepare a précis (see attached). Basically, a précis is a summary, or abstract, of a
formal paper. If you were to write a paper for this assignment, how would you summarize the gist
of your argument in one paper, double-spaced? You are not to include direct quotes in your
précis, only your thesis statement and the points you want to make in order to prove your thesis
statement.
• You are to prepare a PowerPoint slide show that begins with your précis and ends with your
bibliography. I expect this to be a total of 10 slides.
• You are permitted to use graphics and/or sound.
• Your PowerPoint is due by class time on Tuesday, May 11th. Please copy it onto a flash key; you
and your classmates will put your PowerPoints onto laptops so that everyone can view what you
have prepared.

You will be graded on your use of slides to substantiate your central argument as well as the organization
of the presentation. I want to see that you truly have an opinion on the value (or lack thereof) of your
Young Adult novel and can defend it in a thorough and insightful manner. I also want to see that you put
thought and effort into designing your presentation and integrating your outside sources. Your précis also
needs to be clearly written.

Have fun!!
The following is taken from Dr. Landis Barnhill at the University of Wisconsin – you can use this as a
guide to constructing your précis.
A précis is a brief summary of a larger work. The term “abstract” has the same meaning, but I prefer the
term précis because of its relation to the word “precise,” and because of the way the word is
pronounced: “pray-see.” A précis is a precise condensation of the basic thesis and major points of a
paper; it tells the reader the gist of what has been said. In other words, a précis answers the question:
“what’s this paper saying?”
Précises are difficult to write if you are not used to doing them because they require a real exactness in
your understanding of what is being said. But their difficulty is an indication of their importance. If you
are writing a paper, you need to be able to restate in one paragraph exactly what you are trying to say in
the paper. If you can’t, you don’t have a sure handle on what you are thinking and writing. The same is
true of an article you are reading: if you can’t restate the article’s thesis and major points in one efficient
and coherent paragraph, you don’t understand that article. How do you write a précis?
1. First, speak in direct, assertive language. You are not arguing your points or explaining them, just
stating them in simple declarative statement. Don’t refer to the author (“Snyder said that...”); just state
directly what the author said.
2. Second, identify the overall thesis of the paper and those points that are directly involved in
demonstrating that thesis; that is, distinguish secondary information from primary points.
Always ask yourself two questions: (1) Is this a major point of the paper, one that is directly related to
the main thesis? (2) How do I state the point in the most direct and simple way?
Keep in mind the goal: communicating to the reader (and yourself) the main thesis and the major points
in the most succinct form.

What I look for in a great précis:

1. Is it a correct summary of the key points?
2. Is it comprehensive, touching on all the key points?
3. Is it efficient, saying a lot in a brief way?
4. Is the presentation clear to the reader?
5. Is the writing, grammar, spelling, etc., correct?

AN EXAMPLE OF AN EFFECTIVE PRECIS OF A STUDENT PAPER ( ON THE FILM

RASHOMON)
The way in which a film is lighted can be crucial to an audience’s perception of the concepts and
characters. In Rashomon, Akira Kurosawa is particularly conscious of the effects of light as it strikes his
characters. Some critics and viewers, particularly Keiko McDonald, see light in the film as expressing
reason and good, and darkness as representing impulse and evil. A careful examination of the film’s
lighting proves this to be an overly simplistic and, at times, inaccurate assessment. The concept of
certainty can be expanded upon to help illuminate the way in which light works in the film. Certainty
deals with each character’s clarity of thought, purity of intent, and decisiveness. Throughout the film,
and particularly the scenes in the police station, differing degrees of light show differing degrees of
certainty. Each character who gives testimony can be judged in terms of his certainty based upon the
way in which the light falls upon him in this scene. Kurosawa has not intended to make any moral
judgments about the characters in this film. He wishes us to come to the realization that reality is a
subjective concept that can only be understood in context. For this reason it is invalid to discuss any
aspect of the film, including the juxtaposition of light and darkness, in terms of good and evil.
 Suggested Timeline

By April 23rd: Choose your book

Between April 23rd and April 29th: Read book

April 30th: Write précis

By May 5th: Complete research, reread packet, and tweak précis to include outside sources

May 5th-10th: Work on PowerPoint.

May 11th: Project due – time to be announced

Last updated: March 14, 2007