1. My Personal Study

2. What do I have to do?

3. Write an essay on a text of your own choice in an hour
on an agreed task

4. you select what you want to write about (your teacher must approve your choice)

5. you must set your own task (what you want to examine and discuss in your chosen text)

6. you will receive guidance from your teacher when you are preparing but will write your review without help

7. you will be given one hour to do your personal study essay

8. How do I go about choosing a text?

9. avoid anything you have studied in class
You can use the list of recommended books from the library website

10. sometimes you will be allowed to choose short stories, biographies/ autobiographies or travel literature as well as novels
- but not this time!

11. think about what sort of reading you enjoy

12. remember that the text needs to have enough ‘meatiness’ for you to write a good essay on it

13. make use of the school library, public library, bookstores

14. How do I prepare for my Personal Review?
Preparation
How do I prepare for my Personal Review?

15. quotations from the text
Make notes which can include
quotations from the text
the writer’s techniques
significant happenings
your personal reactions

16. What can I make notes on?
(The answers refer to novels and short stories.)

17. Characters their personalities Who are the main ones?
You should make notes on:
their personalities
their relationships

18. Setting where does the story take place?
when does the story take place?
what is the significance of the setting?

19. Narration who tells the story?
is the narrator involved in the events or an observer?
is the narrator the same person throughout or is the story told by a different characters?
from whose point of view is the story told and how does this affect your feelings?

20. Plot
what happens?
how does the writer grab your attention and then keep you involved?
what do you think of the ending - are there loose ends or has the writer left you thinking about issues?