It does not take long for the action to pick up and pull you into the story. It starts out with Harry being attacked by dementors (horrific creatures that suck out your soul) while in his non-magical (muggle) home for the summer. He performs a spell to protect himself even though it is illegal to do magic anywhere besides school. He immediately receives a letter saying that he may be expelled from the only place he feels at home, Hogwarts, and that there will be a hearing to decide the verdict soon. Such an exciting beginning forces the reader to want to read further to find out why dementors were in the muggle world and if he will be expelled from school [this is a run-on].
Curiosity is a sure fire way to keep the reader interested in the story. Readers like to try to put the pieces of the story together and figure out the mysteries before they are revealed. [this doesn't add anything to my understanding of the book, you should, perhaps, try to make this sentence more about the novel] One way Rowling does this is through Harry’s mysterious dreams. He is constantly having strange dreams where he is a snake and is looking for something in the Ministry of Magic. Each time he dreams about this, he gets a little closer to what he is looking for. He ends up having an incredibly realistic dream where he injures his best friend’s dad (Mr. Weasly). Harry finds out that a large snake actually did critically injure Mr. Weasly. This event makes the reader’s mind race, trying to figure out why everything is happening. It is hard to tear the reader away until they discover the reasons behind what is going on.
Another way to keep readers interested in the story is allowing them to put themselves into the character’s place. They are able to immerse themselves in the story and become completely absorbed in it. This can be achieved through permitting them to feel the same emotions that character is feeling. Rowling easily extracts a wide array of emotions from the reader throughout this book. [how does she do this?]
One emotion that the reader is introduced to early is anger [what does this sentence mean?]. A new character, Professor Umbridge, elicits most of the anger the reader feels throughout the book. Umbridge seems to have developed a strange hatred for Harry before the school year even started. She put Harry in detention for stating something that he knows to be true but she just did not want to believe it. While in detention, she makes him write with a bewitched pen, “I will not tell lies.” Immediately after writing it, Harry feels searing pain and watches as his hand begins to bleed. Upon a closer look, he sees the line he wrote a second ago carved into his hand. At this point, the reader is outraged that a teacher can get away with physically hurting a student, especially for an unjust reason. Umbridge goes on to do numerous things that make the reader hate her, thus connecting them with the main character’s emotions.
Excitement is another important emotion that the reader experiences throughout the book. For example, at the end of the book there is a battle between Lord Voldemort’s followers and Harry’s crew. The excitement builds as the good characters try to fight off the bad until Dumbledore comes [who is Dumbledore?]. As one of the most powerful wizards, he is able to subdue all of the bad guys. Right before the fight ends, a new emotion is experienced by both Harry and the reader. [This sounds like you are talking about a specific event in the book, but you don't set the stage at all]
Rowling’s ability to grab the reader’s attention and hold it for the entire story is what makes the Harry Potter series so popular. She takes you into an appealing fantasy world of magic and spells, witches and wizards, and excitement and adventure that make you wish you were there at Hogwarts. USA Today says, “Rowling has regained the ability to create an enchanting parallel world where witches and wizards live. And we Muggles (ordinary people) can only dream of joining.” Children aren't the only ones who enjoy being thrown into Harry's world. This book appeals to adults also because it goes deeper than just dragons and magic spells. Rowling interacts and connects with the reader. People of any age end up forming a relationship with the characters. Because of these things, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is not only impossible to put down but makes you eager to read the following book to find out what happens next.

It does not take long for the action to pick up and pull you into the story. It starts out with Harry being attacked by dementors (horrific creatures that suck out your soul) while in his non-magical (muggle) home for the summer. He performs a spell to protect himself even though it is illegal to do magic anywhere besides school. He immediately receives a letter saying that he may be expelled from the only place he feels at home, Hogwarts, and that there will be a hearing to decide the verdict soon. Such an exciting beginning forces the reader to want to read further to find out why dementors were in the muggle world and if he will be expelled from school.

Another way to keep readers interested in the story is allowing them to put themselves into the character’s place. They are able to immerse themselves in the story and become completely absorbed in it. This can be achieved through permitting them to feel the same emotions that character is feeling. Rowling easily extracts a wide array of emotions from the reader throughout this book.

The reader also learns more about Harry and his past, which clears up some questions from the previous books. The item that he was searching for in the Ministry of Magic was a prophecy. The prophecy released information relating to Harry and Voldemort and explained why Harry is the only one who can defeat him. Learning about the prophecy makes the reader wonder how this new information will contribute to the next book.

Deletions:
When people need to escape from reality and the struggles of everyday life what do they usually turn to? Many reach for the closest book. A good book can take you into an intriguing and unfamiliar world… but how do you pick out a good one? Believe it or not, you may not have to travel farther that the children’s section in the library. Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix by J.K. Rowling will allow you to dive into a fantasy world full of adventure, making it impossible to put down.
It does not take long for the action to pick up in this book and pull you into the story. It starts out with Harry being attacked by dementors (horrific creatures that suck out your soul) while in his non-magical (muggle) home for the summer. He performs a spell to protect himself even though it is illegal to do magic anywhere besides school. He immediately receives a letter saying that he may be expelled from the only place he feels at home, Hogwarts, and that there will be a hearing to decide the verdict soon. Such an exciting beginning forces the reader to want to read further to find out why dementors were in the muggle world and whether he will be expelled or not.
Curiosity is a sure fire way to keep the reader interested in the story. People like to try to put the pieces of the story together and figure out the mysteries before they are revealed. One way Rowling does this is through Harry’s mysterious dreams. He is constantly having strange dreams where he is a snake and is looking for something in the Ministry of Magic. Each time he dreams about this, he gets a little closer to what he is looking for. He ends up having an incredibly realistic dream where he injures his best friend’s dad (Mr. Weasly). Harry finds out that a large snake actually did critically injure Mr. Weasly. This makes the reader’s mind race, trying to figure out why all this is happening. From this point on, there is almost non-stop exciting action and it is nearly impossible to put the book down.
Another way to keep readers interested in the story is allowing them to put themselves character’s place. They are able to immerse themselves in the story and become completely absorbed in it. The reader can put themselves in the character’s shoes through feeling the same emotions that character is feeling. Rowling easily extracts a wide array of emotions from the reader throughout this book.
One emotion that the reader is introduced to early is anger. The main new character, Professor Umbridge, introduced elicits most of the anger the reader feels throughout the book. Umbridge seems to have developed a strange hatred for Harry before the school year even started. She put Harry in detention for stating something that he knows to be true but she just did not want to believe it. While in detention, she makes him write with a bewitched pen, “I will not tell lies.” Immediately after writing it, Harry feels searing pain and watches as his hand begins to bleed. Upon a closer look, he sees the line he wrote a second ago carved into his hand. At this point, the reader is outraged that a teacher can get away with physically hurting a student, especially for an unjust reason. Umbridge goes on to do numerous things that make the reader hate her, thus connecting them with the main character’s emotions.
Excitement is another important emotion that the reader experiences throughout the book. For example, at the end of the book there is a battle between Lord Voldemort’s followers and Harry’s crew. The excitement builds as the good characters try to fight off the bad until Dumbledore comes. As one of the most powerful wizards, he is able to subdue all of the bad guys. Right before the fight ends, a new emotion is experienced by both Harry and the reader.
The reader also learns more about Harry and his past in this book, which clears up some questions from the previous books. The item that he was searching for in the Ministry of Magic was a prophecy. The prophecy told Harry information relating to him and Voldemort and explained why he can defeat him. Learning about the prophecy makes the reader wonder how this new information will contribute to the next book.

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Oldest known version of this page was edited on 2005-11-01 22:41:11 by StarBurst []
Evaluation Argument

When people need to escape from reality and the struggles of everyday life what do they usually turn to? Many reach for the closest book. A good book can take you into an intriguing and unfamiliar world… but how do you pick out a good one? Believe it or not, you may not have to travel farther that the children’s section in the library. Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix by J.K. Rowling will allow you to dive into a fantasy world full of adventure, making it impossible to put down.

It does not take long for the action to pick up in this book and pull you into the story. It starts out with Harry being attacked by dementors (horrific creatures that suck out your soul) while in his non-magical (muggle) home for the summer. He performs a spell to protect himself even though it is illegal to do magic anywhere besides school. He immediately receives a letter saying that he may be expelled from the only place he feels at home, Hogwarts, and that there will be a hearing to decide the verdict soon. Such an exciting beginning forces the reader to want to read further to find out why dementors were in the muggle world and whether he will be expelled or not.

Curiosity is a sure fire way to keep the reader interested in the story. People like to try to put the pieces of the story together and figure out the mysteries before they are revealed. One way Rowling does this is through Harry’s mysterious dreams. He is constantly having strange dreams where he is a snake and is looking for something in the Ministry of Magic. Each time he dreams about this, he gets a little closer to what he is looking for. He ends up having an incredibly realistic dream where he injures his best friend’s dad (Mr. Weasly). Harry finds out that a large snake actually did critically injure Mr. Weasly. This makes the reader’s mind race, trying to figure out why all this is happening. From this point on, there is almost non-stop exciting action and it is nearly impossible to put the book down.

Another way to keep readers interested in the story is allowing them to put themselves character’s place. They are able to immerse themselves in the story and become completely absorbed in it. The reader can put themselves in the character’s shoes through feeling the same emotions that character is feeling. Rowling easily extracts a wide array of emotions from the reader throughout this book.

One emotion that the reader is introduced to early is anger. The main new character, Professor Umbridge, introduced elicits most of the anger the reader feels throughout the book. Umbridge seems to have developed a strange hatred for Harry before the school year even started. She put Harry in detention for stating something that he knows to be true but she just did not want to believe it. While in detention, she makes him write with a bewitched pen, “I will not tell lies.” Immediately after writing it, Harry feels searing pain and watches as his hand begins to bleed. Upon a closer look, he sees the line he wrote a second ago carved into his hand. At this point, the reader is outraged that a teacher can get away with physically hurting a student, especially for an unjust reason. Umbridge goes on to do numerous things that make the reader hate her, thus connecting them with the main character’s emotions.

Excitement is another important emotion that the reader experiences throughout the book. For example, at the end of the book there is a battle between Lord Voldemort’s followers and Harry’s crew. The excitement builds as the good characters try to fight off the bad until Dumbledore comes. As one of the most powerful wizards, he is able to subdue all of the bad guys. Right before the fight ends, a new emotion is experienced by both Harry and the reader.

Harry sees that his godfather, Sirius, was killed by one of Voldemort’s followers. Since Sirius was Harry’s closest connection to his dead parents, the reader feels sorrow and sympathy for Harry. It is a very emotional scene because Harry is now back to having no live family that cares about him.

The reader also learns more about Harry and his past in this book, which clears up some questions from the previous books. The item that he was searching for in the Ministry of Magic was a prophecy. The prophecy told Harry information relating to him and Voldemort and explained why he can defeat him. Learning about the prophecy makes the reader wonder how this new information will contribute to the next book.

Rowling’s ability to grab the reader’s attention and hold it for the entire story is what makes the Harry Potter series so popular. She takes you into an appealing fantasy world of magic and spells, witches and wizards, and excitement and adventure that make you wish you were there. Because of this, Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix is not only impossible to put down but makes you eager to read the following book to find out what happens next.