Response to Literature

1. Response to Literature • There is a MAJOR difference between a book report and a response to literature. • Book report = summarize • Response to literature = analyze

2. There IS a difference…Definitions from http://dictionary.reference.com Summarize = to present briefly; state or express in a concise form Analyze = to examine critically, so as to bring out the essential elements; to examine carefully and in detail

3. Your task when writing a response to literature: • Present an argument about a literary aspect of the text • Provide specific examples to prove to your reader that your argument is credible and solid

4. Step 1: Introduction • Attention getter – Get your reader’s attention with one of the following methods: • Rhetorical question • Relevant quote from the story • Relevant quote from an outside source

5. Step 1: Introduction • Necessary information: • Author’s name • Title of work (book titles should be underlined, short stories, plays and poems go in quotation marks) • Brief, very brief, summary of plot that leads up to your thesis – Only summarize information that will be needed for the remainder of the paper

6. STEP 1: INTRODUCTION • Thesis – The argument of the paper that will be supported in the body through specific examples from the literature

7. Examples of poor thesis statements: • Very weak, no focus, leads to a summary: Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” is a great play. • Better, but still lacking analysis: In “The Crucible,” Arthur Miller tells about the Salem Witch Trials.

8. Example of a strong thesis statement: • It is better to fail with honor than succeed as a fraud is the theme in The Crucible by Arthur Miller because John Proctor proves his honor by dying for a lie, admitting to his affair with Abigail, and continuing to stay true to Elizabeth Proctor. • Thesis statements must include: • A literary element you are arguing • Author/Text • The proof (the main reasons why the literary element you are arguing exists)

9. Step 2: Body • Construct body paragraphs that have a consistent topic and strive to support your thesis • Present specific quotes and examples from the text to help explain your argument

10. Step 2: Body A formula to consider… • Topic sentence • Introduce quote/support from literature • Quote/support • Analyze the quote/support

11. Quotes “Quoting involves taking a word, phrase, or passage directly from the story, novel, or essay and working it grammatically into your discussion.” (OWL at Purdue) Example: When John Proctor says, “God is dead,” he means that everything within the proceedings is false pretences (Miller 10).

12. Quotes • Notice the citation at the end of the following example: Example: When John Proctor says, “God is dead,” he means that everything within the proceedings is false pretences (Miller 10). • Your paper MUST include page citations! Failure to use these citations will result in a failing grade.

13. Step 3: Conclusion Respect the 4 Rs… • Review, or briefly summarize, your main points. This should only take 1-2 sentences. 2. Restate your thesis. Restate, not rewrite, the original point you were trying to make.

14. Step 3: Conclusion 3.Relate all of your sentences back to your original thesis. 4.Round offyour paper with a clincher. Your last sentence should be strong and powerful. This is the final chance you have to convince your reader of your idea.

15. Final thoughts: • You are providing an analysis, not a summary. However, you still need accuracy when discussing the plot. • Poor grammar/spelling attacks your credibility with your reader. • Formal papers of this nature require a 3rd person point-of-view (No “I”) unless you are in the This I Believe section. • Must be written in present tense.