Book Review on THE UNDOCUMENTED AMERICANS

Students will write a 4-5 page evaluative review (double-spaced, 12-point type) of The Undocumented Americans. Due February 9. Students will…

• place the book in context in a paragraph or twowho is the author, what audience is she trying to reach and why, and what circumstances prompted her to write;
• offer a summaryno more than two pagesof what you take to be the authors main message across the entire text, and show how she communicates that, giving specific examples (possibly even quotations) from across the entire book. If you are not sure, think about what the different stories she tells have in common and what purpose she might have in telling them. This is not meant to be an exhaustive enumerating of the points made by the author in every single chapter, or a list of the most relevant or interesting topics, but rather what you see as what the author wants us to take away from the book with specific examples;
• some evaluative (and possibly constructive) commentary (1-2 pp) on the book. Students will want to consider questions such as:

1. whether or not (and why) the book succeeds in accurately evoking the experience of undocumented immigrants in the United States today in their daily lives;
2. some commentary on what feelings the author has inspired and to what purpose;
3. whether the authors tone, rhetorical style, and invocation of personal experiences are effective for her purposes and why or why not;
4. whether there are problems with the argument or reasoning the author uses.

• The student concludes the paper with a summary judgment. Did this book work for you or for other types of readers? Why? Is the work relevant for today?