1. How to Write a Response to Literature Essay
Explore how, what, and why a piece of writing communicates to you……
How to Write a Response to Literature Essay

2. Essay Criteria:
An analysis of the work's content, its related ideas, or its effect on the reader
A thesis statement that characterizes your response
A focus on a single aspect or an overall view of the work
Evidence from the literary work or other texts to support the opinions you present

3. 1st Pre-Write Brainstorm ideas through graphic organizers
Organize by an outline
**Be sure to provide lots of details and examples. **
**Support ideas with quotations from the text**

4. Understand Your Purpose
To Praise- include concrete details about what you liked
To analyze- back up your ideas with evidence from the text
To explain a personal response- show how the work connects to your own experiences or ideas

5. When Drafting
Identify your thesis, organize your ideas, & elaborate to prove your interpretations.
Include citations from the literary work to support the points you are making.
How to Elaborate:
Use Quotations, Examples, & Paraphrases

6. [continued…] “Proving Your Interpretations”
Quotations can illustrate a character’s attitude, a writer’s word choice, or an essay’s argument.
Examples of a character's actions or of a specific literary element can enhance your analysis of literature.
Paraphrases can help you interpret a writer’s theme, discuss the conflict, analyze the character, or restate key ideas from the literature.

7. Revising…… Eliminate unnecessary information
Highlight sentences that do not support your thesis.
Consider revising details to make a tighter connection to your main idea.
Eliminate any paragraphs or details that do not clearly contribute to your analysis
**see p.886 **

8. Bottom Line…….
Your introduction should grab attention with an opening.
Identify the author and title
Offer brief summary of the work
Present a thesis

9. Your Conclusion should……
Restate thesis
Make a final point or present a final question or insight

10. Again an Intro. Paragraph
Uses an attention grabber
Names the author and the story
Provided a thesis statement that does not merely list traits (establishes position AND
character traits)

11. Introductory Model
What lies at the heart of a refined man? In Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game,” the deranged, yet cunning and elegant General Zaroff shares his tastes for hunting with an unsuspecting visitor. Although he is civilized in his choice of lifestyle, Zaroff’s beliefs reveal the murderous mind behind the illusion of a charming, charismatic man.

12. Body Paragraphs Format
TS (Topic Sentence)
CD (Concrete Detail)
CM (Commentary)
CS (Concluding Sentence)

13. Model Body Paragraph……
Zaroff’s extreme beliefs lead him to conclude that only the intelligent mind of a human being can provide him with the dangerous game he desires. Rationalizing that “the weak were created to please the strong,” he chooses to hunt humans instead of animals. Unfortunately, Rainsford steps into this situation. The major conflicts in “The Most Dangerous Game” demonstrate what happens during such an inhumane hunt.
[Direct quotations provide evidence for this characterization of Zaroff]

14. Model Conclusion
However, the general’s arrogance and disregard for human life blind him to the fear and desperation of his prey. His attitude leads to his own demise at the hands of Rainford, his prey. The characterization of Zaroff as a murderer hiding behind a mask of civility shows that beneath even the most beautiful rose can lie a sharp and deadly thorn.
[the last sentence concludes a response with an analogy that neatly summarizes the analysis]

15. TIPS and HINTS for Success:
First reference to the author his/her by FULL name; subsequent references are by LAST name only
Use an original title for your essay
Be consistent: Write about literature in the present tense