by Frances Svarda

Created on: August 02, 2010   Last Updated: August 03, 2010

Walking in a bookstore could be scary and intimidating in trying to decide what book to start reading before the start of College.  Many great books could be recommended to read before College begins.  Nobody can really be prepared or ahead in reading great works of Literature.  Reading lists and assignments vary according to courses taken, and the Professors personal decision in reading assignments.  If a person desires to acquire a good start on reading many works of Literature used in College, then my list will be beneficial and helpful.

Many majors at most Colleges and Universities require at least one year of English Composition to be completed in order to graduate.  English Composition helps to teach the fundamentals and rules in order to write research papers and essays.  Almost every class in College requires at least one research paper to be written throughout the class.  There are two books which will be used religiously throughout someones College career.  I recommend acquiring these two books, and closely read them before entering College.  The two books are: Elements of Style by Strunk and White, and the MLA Handbook for Writer's of Research Papers by Joesph Gibaldi.  These two books helps the writer become familiar with how papers are constructed, tells how to site various sources, explains plagiarism and unintentional plagiarism, the mechanics of writing, and how to document sources.  Plagiarism is a very serious offense in College, and could affect someones College education if caught.  Many beginning writer's don't really know how to use sources or cite sources throughout their writing, so the MLA handbook is useful for this information.  Many Professors require the use of MLA format in their essays and papers, and if the paper does not follow MLA format grades are affected because low grades are given to papers. 

Many Colleges require a core plan to many majors in College.  A core plan requires many classes to be taken outside someones major in order to have a well rounded education.  Most core plans require at least one Literature course to be taken and completed.  Please note, most English Literature Professors assume that some great works of Literature should have already been taught in High School, and are not often taught in College.  Some of these great works include some of Shakespeare's plays, some of Dickens works, Beowulf, Homer, some of Poe's

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