Author Analysis Report

Reading is a life-long skill that will take us anywhere we wish to go and at any point in history. The people who write these books have a true gift. Often students like to read a particular genre or they have a favorite author in which they read everything that person has ever written. To enhance our knowledge of authors and the material they write, students will be creating an Author Analysis (or an author report). There are several components to this analysis. The first is to choose an author they would like to learn more about. The report should be typed with size 14. The font can be either Times New Roman or Comic Sans.

Book cover

Design and draw a book cover of the author. This is an original creation. The cover may include symbols or characters from any of the books the author has written. For example: The cover for C.S. Lewis may include a lion, wardrobe, sled or beaver. Remember as this will be the cover to the Author Analysis, the author’s name should be typed boldly across the front. Don’t forget to type your name also.

Letter to a Librarian

The students will write a letter to the librarian explaining why this author should have books on display in our school library. The students will wish to include detailed reasons why this author’s work would appeal to students. This requires students to have an understanding and knowledge of the author’s work. They will need to follow the proper components for writing a formal letter. Heading, greeting, body of letter, closing, and signature are all parts that need to be included in the letter.

Possible details to put in the Letter to the Librarian:

  • Introduce yourself.
  • Variety of books written
  • Awards won and the description of the award
  • Different age’s books would apply to or interest
  • First and last book published
  • New work in progress not yet published
  • List of popular books written

Timeline of books written

The students will need to create a list of all the books the author has written to date. This can be displayed in a timeline format including the year the books were written. This will be completed in computer class.

Book Review

The students will write a formal book review of one of the books the author has written. This review will include: a summary of the book, 3 explanations of why this is a good book and who this book would appeal to. Don’t forget to indent each paragraph. The title: Book Review should be centered and typed on the page at the top.

Fact Sheet

Pretend you are a book editor who is interviewing the author. Your article will include basic facts about the various stages of the author’s life. This can be written in a question answer format not in paragraph format. There should be a minimum of 10 questions andEach answer needs to be at least 3-4 sentences.

For example:

Question: Where did you go to college and did you take any writing classes in college to prepare yourself for writing books.

Answer: I went to college at WashingtonStateUniversity. I took a creative writing class in college and got hooked on writing. I have been writing ever since. You will need to have about 10 questions.

Author Poem

Poems can be in various forms: cinquain, haiku, or rhyming. Write a poem about your author that reflects the type of stories the author likes write. For example: create a humorous poem for an author that writes funny stories. The format for the poem needs to be centered on the page.

Important Dates:

Letter to the Librarian due:Jan 8th

Author Poem:Jan 10th

Book Cover due:Jan 12th

Book Review due: Jan 17th

Timeline of Books due:Jan 19th

Fact sheet due:Jan 23rd

BibliographyJan 25th

Students will put all the components together to turn in

a Final Author Analysis Report due January 26th

Bibliography

  • The Bibliography page is double spaced.
  • List sources alphabetically by author or by first word if no author is listed.(minimum of 3 sources)
  • Most entries include the author, title, and publication information
  • Each part of the entry is separated by a period and followed by two spaces.
  • Book titles are underlined and article titles are “Quoted”.
  • The first line of the entry is at the left margin and all the other lines are indented. (Reverse Indent)

The Following is an Example of a Bibliography

Bibliography Formats:

Book by a single Author:

Author’s last name, first name middle initial. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher’s

Name, Year of publication.

Book by two or more Authors:

Write the names in the order they appear on the book’s title page. Reverse only the first

author’s first and last names. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher’s Name, Year of publication.

Article in an Encyclopedia:

“Word looked up”. Title of Encyclopedia. Edition.

Article in an online Encyclopedia:

“Word looked up”. Title of Encyclopedia. Edition. Day month year accessed. <URL>.

Online Professional or Personal Website:

Creator’s last name, first name middle initial. Title of Web site. Day month year of

publication. Name of Sponsoring Institution or Organization. Day month year information was accessed. <URL>.

Personal Interview:

Creator’s last name, first name, middle initial. Name of Person Interviewed. Personal Interview.

Date of Interview.