Assess and identify your personal response/s to the text as a whole (*see below for other "ways in")

§ Emotional, intellectual, physical (sensory, visceral), spiritual, moral, etc.

§ Meaning, interpretation, significance (includes and synthesizes above)

§ Be precise and specific in defining your response/interp

Reread WHOLE text through the "lens" or "filter" of that response: what in the text makes you respond this way?

§ Pay special attention to significant aspects of the text you missed the first time--modify your response/interpretation accordingly

§ Notice nuance! Our task is detailed study, not just literal comprehension.

Collect text evidence (direct quotes relevant to your response/interpretation)

§ Record page numbers (always) and chapter numbers (this project)

Look for patterns in the interplay between text and meaning (character? setting? plot? close reading features?)

Think outside the book as well as deeply into it: bring your human experience to the text to notice what is unique about the WAY this is presented, and what it says about life...this may help you assess significance.

Perform close reading on the most relevant text evidence, especially

§ quotations key to character/plot/setting/theme/meaning

§ ambiguous/contradictory evidence

Close reading:

§ What is actually SAID in so many words -- literal meaning

§ What is unstated but INFERRED -- reading between the lines, any logical reader would reach the same conclusion

§ What is unstated or ARGUABLE and must be INTERPRETED--varies from reader to reader, based on his/her values, viewpoint, experiences, etc.

§ How the information is presented in text: LITERARY FEATURES

§ WHAT IF the information had been presented in a different way?

§ EFFECT of that text, presented in THIS way, on the reader's personal response/interp

§ FORM + CONTENT

Form = features, Content = meaning (literal + interpreted)

Develop thesis statement (a.k.a. central claim) about HOW this work (form) produces WHAT meaning (content), and WHY it matters (significance to the work as a whole, and to life).

Categorize your findings for body paragraphs (unless you are nonlinear, in which case just plunge in and write a passionate rant of a draft—organize into categories when done)

§ break central claim into subclaims and select text for each OR

§ break text evidence into logical categories and write subclaim for each

Write.

§ Intro (attention-getter, preview, thesis/claim)

§ Body paragraphs (minimum three, but more as needed!)

o Subclaim

o Text evidence, literary feature/s, effect on meaning

o All woven together with logical DISCUSSION of evidence, feature/s, effect

§ Conclusion (restated thesis, review, significance to book and life, clincher)

READ your final paper, not just once but repeatedly.

§ Be sure you mean what you say, and say what you mean.

§ Do you give a hoot? Does it show?

§ Make corrections. Do NOT trust spellcheck/grammar check.

§ Have a friendly audience read and make suggestions. (You won't be able to do this on World Lits OR Paper 1 OR Paper 2 OR IOC...)

§ Note...MsB will stop reading at 3^rd typo or careless error.

REMINDER: "Direct quote" or "quotation" means reporting the text word-for-word. When quoting dialogue, it is a quote-within-a-quote (and in writing must be punctuated accordingly). Depending on your focus, quoting narration or dialogue is equally valid.

Alternatives for finding your "way in" to the analytic process:

*Alternative B:

What jumps out at you from the story? Which characters or events or quotes are most unforgettable? Whom would you most like to marry and/or murder? What attitude/s are most compelling and/or unfathomable? Which scenes are most appealing/appalling?

*Alternative C:

Consult scholarly criticism, Pink Monkey (etc.), your 7th grade sister, or the Ouija board, and choose a topic/assertion/quotation from others' viewpoints that evokes a response ("gets" or "bugs" you, see C above). Argue with OR elaborate on the other's idea, using your own text evidence and logic, and ultimately arriving at your own independent conclusions. BE ABSOLUTELY SCRUPULOUS ABOUT CITING ANY AND ALL SOURCES OF IDEAS!

*Alternative E:

Sit down with a bottle of energy drink, the book, a fresh writing tablet or computer file, and rant without stopping for 15 minutes in response to the text. Pro, con, or both, but BE SPECIFIC about what you are responding to. Step away from the desk. Go back in an hour or a day and see what comes into focus.

*Alternative F:

Randomly choose one from each column (lit feature large + lit feature close + interp). Proceed.