What is the purpose of an author study?
To introduce your classmates and other high-school readers to the distinctive voice of the author whose works you have read.

How much do I read and when?
A minimum of three major works (of a minimum of about 200 pages each) by the writer you’ve selected as well as photocopied materials (reviews, interviews, biographies, and the like) that I give you or help you find. (If you choose a young adult/children’s author, you will probably be required to read more than three works.) To ensure that you have enough time for serious thinking and composing, your reading will have been completed by April 1. (See your class calendar for specific reading due dates.) Warning: The author study is not a search for information about the author or about critics’ responses to the author’s work. You are researching primary sources (the author’s own words) as well as a few selected secondary resources I’ll give you or recommend to you. (You are not permitted to roam the Internet.) The author study should present what you think, not what the experts think.)

How do I respond to my reading?
On each of the reading due dates, you will submit a response, following distributed guidelines.

What’s my final product?
Instead of a traditional research paper summarizing others’ ideas, you will compose various works of literature of your own that, together, serve to introduce the reader to your selected writer’s unique voice. Your project will include pieces in different genres that, when read as a whole, provide thoughtful insight into the elements distinctive to the author’s voice and work. You will compose a minimum of five pieces of writing in different genres, one required and four self-determined. Required is an original piece in imitation of the writer’s style. Other works should be crafted in genres suggested by the author’s works and voice and by your thoughtful responses to the author’s works and voice. Each composition must contribute to the reader’s understanding of the author’s voice. (We’ll brainstorm possible genres as a class, you’ll work with each other, and I’ll help each of you individually.) Finally, because the project is composed of a collection of different pieces of writing, you must consider your reader’s need for some kind of organizing device to connect the various segments. In other words, the pieces must work together to create a coherent whole with a beginning, middle, and end. (Note: A complete bibliography in MLA format of all works read and consulted must accompany the project. You must maintain your bibliography on NoodleTools as you work through the assignment. You will submit an updated bibliography with each reading response.)

What should my final project look like?
That’s up to you, with your classmates’ and my advice and support. In class, you’ve already seen several successful products composed by former students, and online you will find author studies composed by members of previous classes. Read these, and reread these for inspiration. They represent superior and unique solutions to the challenges posed by the assignment.

When do I compose the author study pieces?
We’ll have in-class writers’ workshops beginning in the spring, though you should, of course, begin brainstorming, note-taking, planning, and perhaps even drafting before those workshops begin.

Links
To read author studies composed by Webb students, go to the class website and choose "Exemplars" under "Author Study" on the menu.