Literary Response Writing Tips! Some tips on how to write better responses to literature...or literary responses. You choose what you want to call it.

Meaning paragraph Don’t forget to comment on theme, audience and purpose. Find a quote to back up each one and fully explain all three. This will take more than one sentence to do for every quote. Make the theme, audience and purpose slightly different so you can say lots about the meaning of the text. In other words, don’t keep repeating the same idea three times. Minimum of 2 direct quotes. You can include more

Connecting paragraph You may or may not get a second text. If you do, you must use that text for your two connections. If you don’t get a second text, the connections are up to you. The best connections are global/media issues. The weakest are personal connections Remember to always go back to the main text and show how the second text (or global example) connects. Be explicit here. Act as if the reader can’t make the connection without the help of your explanation(and sometimes I can’t).

Literary devices Paragraph Choose two literary devices that you are sure are present in the text and that you can explain. Remember that you are pointing out these devices to show how they work but more importantly how they help you to better understand the big ideas or themes of the text. Don’t be lazy, fully develop your ideas.

Judgement/opinion paragraph Don’t forget that this paragraph is not a conclusion. It should be as detailed and give as much evidence as the first 3 paragraphs. You should say one positive comment and one negative one about the text. Back each point you made with a clear reference to the text (yes, a quote) Don’t focus on your likes/dislikes. Focus on what worked for you. How did the theme(s) come alive for you? What did you feel was missing? Were the characters or plot believable? Why/Why not? Give 2 opinions. One positive and one negative are best.

Giving evidence (Quotes, paraphrased examples) Remember that you are to include a minimum of 2 quotes per paragraph. You can and should include more You can also paraphrase a third or forth example You should never repeat a quote in a response. For example if you used the quote, “Exploding ambassador of peace” to explain the theme, don’t use that quote again in another paragraph

Evidence cont’d Remember that you are giving this evidence to back up the point you are making. Quotes should be set up just like you did in literary essays. In other words, say who said it or when it occurs in the text. Say this before quoting. Never leave a quote unexplained. Be explicit, repeat what your quote just proved or backed up.

Finally... Always remind yourself that this is testing your reading skills. Prove to me that you understand the text. Don’t leave important parts of the text unexplained. Find a place in one of the 4 paragraphs to comment on all of the major important aspects of the piece of writing. Practice makes perfect but don’t keep repeating the same mistakes. Come to recoup! Look at the comments I put on your previous responses.