Response to Literature Essay

Response to Literature (47L) Purpose: To show your understanding about a character’s traits, the setting, plot, or theme. Support your ideas by referring to the story (use direct quotations) Written in 3 rd person (No I or You in essay) Written in present tense

Response to Literature Organization 5-paragraph essay –Introduction –3 Body Paragraphs –Conclusion We will use an outline to help us organize our thoughts

Response to Literature Outline Intro Paragraph Hook – quote or one-liner to capture attention Connection – connects hook to topic of essay Brief Summary – 1-3 sentences that provide background information to your topic—assume that your reader knows nothing about the subject. Also must include the title and author of the piece if this is a response to literature essay. Thesis statement – 3 part statement that tells the topic of your essay

Hook The first sentence in your introduction that captures the reader’s attention (attention grabbers): Types of hooks: –Quote –Question (no yes/no questions) –Personal Anecdote Sentence starters (3 rd person, present tense) –Imagine… –How would life be if…

(page)Summarizing “I, Juan De Pareja” Somebody – Juan De Pareja Wanted – To paint But – Juan is a slave, and it is against the law for slaves to paint So – Juan paints secretly Then – Diego writes a letter that frees Juan.

Thesis Statement Sentence starters: –Though born a slave, Juan experiences freedom… –Though born a slave, Juan experiences many freedoms… Complete the sentence with three examples of Juan’s freedom.

Body Paragraph Body Paragraph #1 –Reason #1 Topic Sentence –Quotation from the novel that supports or gives an example of the topic sentence –Commentary (2-3 sentences) explains the importance of the quote. –Transition Sentence

(51R) Reason #1 Topic Sentence 1.Let’s look back at our thesis statement: 1.Though born a slave, Juan experiences freedom when he paints, runs errands alone, and loves. 2.How can I restate my first reason in a complete topic sentence? 1. One way Juan experiences freedom is by painting.

(51R) Quotation Hmmm, now I have to find a quotation to support my topic sentence. I went back to the book and found this quote: –“But I gloried in my disobedience” (87).

(51R) Commentary I have a quotation: “But I gloried in my disobedience” (87). How does the quote support the topic sentence? One way Juan experiences freedom is by painting. 1.Juan takes glory in his painting and to feel glory is to feel free. 2.Juan feels glory, because he is able to freely express himself. 3.He later expresses himself when he paints a negro Madonna.

Commentary Cont’d. Sentence starters: –This quote shows… –This quote is an example of… The commentary will be three sentences explaining how the quote supports the topic sentence.

(51R) Transition Wrap up the current paragraph. Give a glimpse of the next paragraph. Example: Painting is one way that Juan experiences freedom, but there are other examples.

Let’s put it all together: One way Juan experiences freedom is by painting. “But I gloried in my disobedience” (87). This quote shows that Juan takes glory in his painting and to feel glory is to feel free. Juan feels glory, because he is able to freely express himself. He later expresses himself when he paints a negro Madonna. Painting is one way that Juan experiences freedom, but there are other examples.

(52L) Plagiarism What is it? –Plagiarism is “the act of taking the writings of another person and passing them off as your own” (Encyclopedia Britannica). Why is it bad? –In school (middle and high school) that means a ZERO on the assignment, even in this class. –In college that means a ZERO on the assignment, possibly getting kicked out, and other punishments. –In some cases it means being penalized, possibly serving jail time, and/or being sued. Plagiarism is SERIOUS. DO NOT DO IT!!!!

(52L) Avoiding Plagiarism When using words that are not your own, give credit to the source. When quoting directly, paraphrasing, or summarizing the words and/or thoughts of another author, give that person credit. We are using Elizabeth Borton De Trevino’s words in this essay. How can we give her credit?

(52L) Embedding Quotations copy this diagram exactly as it is: “But I gloried in my disobedience” (87). Open quotation marks Closed quotation marks Parenthesis Page number Punctuation AFTER, AFTER parenthesis 1.Use quotation marks around the exact words you take from the story. 2.Show the page number you got the quote from.