Obrist 118

Reading Log Promptsfor the '11-’12 School Year

You are required to do a minimum of three hours of reading outside of class per week. The reading material can be anything that is interesting to you. Pick one question every week from the questions that follow, and answer it in a full paragraph to be turned in every Friday. Included with the entry should be the title(s) of the item or items you read during the week and the approximate amount of time you spent reading. Your goal should be to read at least 1,000,000 words by the end of this school year. This will be a weekly homework grade. Questions appropriate for fiction are on this side of this handout, and questions appropriate for nonfiction are on the other side.

Reading Log Prompts for Fiction

1. Is the main character similar to a character you found in another book? What are the similarities?

2. Would you like to acquire a personality trait of a particular character? What is the trait and why do you like it?

3. What are your favorite lines or quotes? Copy them and tell why you like them.

4. What do you predict will happen next in your book? Why?

5. What character do you like the best or the least? Why?

6. How does the author create suspense?

7. What is the mood or tone of the book? How does the author create that mood?

8. What other important characters are there in the book besides the main character(s)? How are they important to the plot?

9. What clues did the author use to help you predict what was going to happen later in the book? Did the author use foreshadowing?

10. What do you think of a particular character's actions? Are they right or wrong? Why?

11. What are some of the events that created conflict in your book? What made these things happen? What type of conflict occurs in this story?

Reading Log Prompts for Expository Texts (Nonfiction)

Logos

1. What are the major claims and assertions made in this reading? Do you agree with the author’s claim?

2. Is there any claim that appears to be weak or unsupported? Which one, and why do you think so?

3. Can you think of counterarguments the author does not consider?

4. Do you think the author has left something out on purpose? Why?

Ethos

5. Does the author have appropriate background to speak with authority on this subject?

6. Is the author knowledgeable? Support your belief with evidence from the text.

7. Does the author seem trustworthy? Why or why not?

8. Does the author seem deceptive? Why or why not?

9. Does the author appear to be serious? Support your belief with evidence from the text.

Pathos

10. Does this piece affect you emotionally? Which parts?

11. Do you think the author is trying to manipulate the reader’s emotions? In what ways? Point to specific examples from the text.

12. Do your emotions conflict with your logical interpretation of the arguments?

13. Does the author use humor or irony? How does that affect your acceptance of his or her ideas?

Example Reading Log

Saturday / The Magician’s Nephew, by C.S. Lewis / 1 hour, 15 minutes
Tuesday / “Cool Down the Kenyan Way” (article in Running Times magazine) / 45 minutes
Wednesday / The Magician’s Nephew, by C.S. Lewis / 30 minutes
Thursday / The Magician’s Nephew, by C.S. Lewis / 45 minutes
Weekly Total / 3 hours, 15 minutes

Paragraph

5. What character do you like the best or the least? Why? (Fiction)

In the Magician’s Nephew, I like the character of the cabby the best. He is a London cab driver who suddenly ends up in another world, but does not seem too upset by it. He is portrayed as a truly good person. He is kind to animals, unselfish toward others, and is curious about everything around him. He is in sharp contrast to Uncle Andrew who only thinks of his own needs and tries to manipulate the other characters to get what he wants.