1. Presentations As you know from the syllabus, for this class you need to read a book by a Latin American writer and write a formal paper. This is the information in the syllabus: Formal Paper → Choose a novel or a book of stories by an author from the list provided in this syllabus. In your paper: → Give a BRIEF summary of the book (for novels) or overview (for short stories). Discuss common themes, ideas, and/or characters and how the novel fits in the time/culture/society where it was written. → Research what two other critics (at least!) have said about this author’s work. Do you agree? Why/why not? → When you turn in your final copy, please include notes, outline, rough drafts, and photocopies of cited material, with your typed, double-spaced copy on top, an MLA style works cited, and MLA style in-text citations. → Your formal paper should be at least 4 pages.

2. → Your Class presentation You will give a presentation to the class about the book that you selected for your formal paper. The presentation can be individual or in groups (ideally, students would need to present different works by a common author). Plan to talk to the class for 10 minutes, or 15-20 minutes for groups of 2 (no reading!).

3. → Advice for your presentation - Do not spend your time giving a detailed summary of the plot. Explain the basic story, not the details only you need them to analyze the style or theme. - Use elements from your formal paper. These are ideas of topics you can talk about: - A BRIEF biography of the author, UNLESS someone else has given it before you or we have studied the author as part of our readings. - What critics say about the text you read.

4. - How it fits with the social/ historical context of the author. - The style of the text. - It helps to have something visual for the class. - You can be creative, especially if you present with a partner. You can act a part of the book, for example. - Ten minutes is a very short time. Rehearse your presentation and time it to make sure you have an adequate amount of information to present for that time (but have extras in case you speak fast as a result of nerves). - Think about your audience. How can you make it appealing and informative for them? - I will include the content of presentations in the final exam, so it is suggested that everybody takes notes and ask questions if something is not clear.

5. Sign-up - You can control the date and time of your presentation if you sign- up to present during the 8th and 9th week of classes. - If you do not sign up, we will take names of students AT RANDOM to present during the 10th week. If you miss class on one of those days you will lose 10% of your grade (no make-ups for this activity).