Rules for Responding to Literature - Arcanum
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Transcript Rules for Responding to Literature - Arcanum
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Rules for Responding to
Literature
English 10
Second Quarter 2014
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Titles and Authors
Titles are always in title case
Short stories, chapter titles, song titles, etc. are in quotes
Ex: “To Build a Fire”
Books, movies, albums, etc. are in italics OR underlined
Ex: As Simple as Snow / As Simple as Snow
Ex: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
Author names are always capitalized
Use the author’s full name first, then just use the LAST name
Ex: In the novel by Gregory Galloway…Galloway’s characters…
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Verb Tense and Point of View
When responding to literature, always use PRESENT tense
Ex: In the novel, the narrator MEETS one of the girls from the
“Goth” clique in the library. She IS new to town, and IS a bit
mysterious.
NEVER use first person point of view (“I”) when referring to
yourself, the author of the paper.
NEVER use second person point of view (“you”) to refer to
your reader.
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The introductory paragraph
Hook
Use something creative and original – NOT a cliché
DO:
Start with a compelling quote
Begin with a vivid description
Offer interesting information or anecdotes
DO NOT:
Ask a hypothetical question of your reader
Use a clichéd phrase or statement
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The introductory paragraph
Background information
Include the title or titles of the literature you are responding to
Give the name of the author
Give a brief synopsis of the piece or pieces – tell briefly what the
novel is about
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Writing a Thesis/Claim Statement
Be SPECIFIC about what you are claiming
Include your REASONS within your claim statement
Structure your essay based on the order of your reasons in
your thesis statement
Avoid using the “be” verbs in your thesis
be, am, is, are, was, were, will
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Including Evidence
When you include direct evidence from the novel, you must:
I ntroduce your quote. Explain what is happening in the
story, who is talking, etc. before you include the quote. Make
sure you lead into the quote with your own words so it doesn’t
just hang there along.
Ex: According to the narrator, he was boring and “bland, like
milk. Worse, water” (56).
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Including Evidence
When you include direct evidence from the novel, you must:
Cite your source. In this instance, you do not need to
include the author’s name, as I know which source you are
using. However, you must include the page number.
Include the page number…NUMBER ONLY in parenthesis.
Make sure the parenthesis comes after/outside the quotes.
Put the punctuation AFTER the parenthetical citation.
Ex:
According to the narrator, he was boring and “bland, like milk.
Worse, water” (56).
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Including Evidence
When you include direct evidence from the novel, you must:
Explain your evidence and how it supports your argument.
You can do this by using a warrant or common sense
conclusion drawn by the evidence.
Ex:
According to the narrator, he was boring and “bland, like milk.
Worse, water” (56). The narrator does not have many friends, and
does not think he is interesting or that his life is interesting.