Writing For Assessment Response to Literature During a test, you may be asked to write a response to literature. Suppose you were given the writing prompt below: Think of a character about whom your feelings changed during the course of a novel or short story. Perhaps you empathized with the character in the beginning but were rooting against him or her by the end of the literary work. Write an essay to explain why your feelings about the character changed during the course of the work.

Studying the Prompt Read the prompt’s carefully to determine the exact nature of your task. Writing Prompt Information Type of Writing: response to literature Subject: analysis of why my feelings about a character changed within the course of a story or novel Text: your choice of text Spend no more than five minutes studying the prompt.

Planning Your Response Before you can begin your response, you must select a literary work. Choose a work that allows you to respond to the writing prompt—in this case, one that had a character about whom your feelings changed. You should also be extremely familiar with the work so you can include details in your response to the prompt.

Planning Your Response Next, write down details and observations about the story that may aid you in developing your response. A chart such as the one below may help you to recall details and plan your response. Writing Prompt My Notes My initial opinion or feelings about the character My opinion or feelings about the character at the end of the work What caused the change in my opinion or feelings?

Planning Your Response Using your notes, develop a thesis statement that communicates your focus and main idea to your reader. To convince readers of the validity of your thesis statement, you must support it with key points. These key points are observations and inferences about the literary work and the elements within it. Each key point should be based on direct evidence from the work. Reviewing your notes once more will help you develop solid key points. Make it so some of the middle text comes in with a click, so not so much onscreen at once. Spend about fifteen minutes planning your response.

Planning Your Response Here is an example of a thesis statement, a key point, and the support for the key point from the work: Thesis Statement: In the beginning of the story Bailey’s arrogance and lack of sensitivity make it difficult to like him. As the story unfolds, the author reveals Bailey’s weaknesses and vulnerability, which makes Bailey much more sympathetic. Key Point: Bailey displays vulnerability when he asks Tyra to the dance. Support: When Bailey approaches Tyra in the school hallway, his face reddens and his palms begin to sweat.

Responding to the Prompt As you write, keep in mind the following information regarding literary responses: Keep your tone somewhat formal. Loose, conversational language and slang terms are inappropriate for literary responses. Assume that your audience is familiar with the story. Therefore, general summaries of the plot are unnecessary. Present story details in the literary present tense. (Relate story events as if they are occurring in the present time.)

Responding to the Prompt In your introduction, state the title and author of your chosen literary work. Then, present your thesis statement to give your readers an idea of your your focus and main ideas.

Responding to the Prompt In each body paragraph, present a key point and then support this point with specific details from the story. Provide readers with a clear explanation of how the details support the point.

Responding to the Prompt In your conclusion, reinforce your ideas by restating your thesis and presenting a concise summary of your key points. Spend about twenty minutes writing your draft.

Improving Your Response While you are planning and writing your draft, be conscious of the amount of time you have remaining. You should save at least five or ten minutes for improving your response. Read back through the writing prompt to ensure that you have met all of its directives. Revise your response in accordance with any issues that you come across.

Improving Your Response First drafts often contain several errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics. A thorough proofread is necessary to catch and correct these mistakes. Maintain a polished look by keeping your edits neat and legible.

Improving Your Response Before turning in your response, read through it one more time to prevent any lingering errors from slipping through. Also look for ways to improve your word choice and transitions between ideas. Be sure that you have maintained formal language and that you have presented your ideas clearly.

The End