Expressing reactions to a literary work . . .

Expressing reactions to a literary work . . .From Reading to Writing Which pieces of literature in this unit did you respond to most strongly? Perhaps you related to the teenage girl in “Checkouts,” or to Squeaky in “Raymond’s Run.”

Response to Literature

Expressing reactions to a literary work . . .

Response to Literature

Often in good literature, our emotions are stirred by certain characters and situations because they remind us of real things we have experienced. One way to better understand your reactions is to write a response to literature. You can include your thoughts about a story, its effects on you, and connections to your life.

B a s i c s i n a B o xResponse to Literature at a Glance

RUBRIC STANDARDS FOR WRITING

A successful response to literature should• include an introduction that identifies the literary work and clearly states your overall response to it

• tell enough about the literature so that readers can understand your response

• contain clearly described, specific reactions and responses to the literary work

• support your statements with quotations and details

• summarize the response in the conclusion

Introduces the title and author and a clear

statement of your response

Introduction

Summarizes the responseConclusion

BodySupports the response with evidence from the work Examples

from the storyQuotations

Connections to your own

life

Evidence

We must read not to understand others but to understand ourselves.

E. M. Cioran French philosopher

Writing Your Response to Literature1Prewriting

Note stories with scenes you can relate to.

Write down names of characters that have traits that you admire or dislike.

Review the stories that make you laugh or cry or that stay burned into your memory for some other reason.

Make a list of ideas for your personal response essay.

Writing Your Response to Literature1Prewriting

Planning Your Response to Literature

1. Carefully reread the short story. Read the selection again, paying attention to what you are thinking or feeling as you read. What are your responses to the characters, the events, and the writer’s message? Creating a chart can help you keep track of the information.

Planning Your Response to Literature

CharactersDescription Response Quote from Story

Events Description Response Quote from Story

Theme Description Response Quote from Story

Terry sensitive I understand and admire him.

“. . . and I thought if I could help or maybe understand it better . . .”

Scene in hardware store

Terry’s father squirming along the floor

sympathy; horror at his father’s behavior

Planning Your Response to Literature

2. Freewrite about your responses. How would you describe your overall response to the piece? What life experiences have you had that helped you connect to the story?

3. Choose a focus. Once you have done a freewrite, decide which parts of the story you will include in your response.

Planning Your Response to Literature

4. Identify your audience. How familiar is your audience with the work? What background information will they need to know in order to understand your response?

Writing Your Response to Literature

You can begin writing even if you have not yet decided on everything you want to say. As you draft your response, think about how to organize your ideas.

2Drafting

Write an introduction that identifies the title and author of the work, gives your overall response, and explains the connections to your own life.

Writing Your Response to Literature2Drafting

Begin the body by explaining why you felt as you did. Elaborate with specific examples from the literature. This includes quotes and descriptions of scenes, among other things. Then describe how these relate to your own life.

Finish with a conclusion that summarizes your response.

TARGET SKILL A STRONG INTRODUCTIONThe introduction of your personal response must include the title and author of the work and must introduce a statement of response. It should focus on creating a single impression. Perhaps begin with an image from the story or an attention-grabbing quote.

Writing Your Response to Literature3Revising

TARGET SKILL RUN-ON SENTENCESA sentence expresses a complete thought. A run-on sentence is two or more sentences written incorrectly as one; for example, Many veterans have bad memories of the war and this story is about a man who cannot forget what he saw in Vietnam.

4Editing and ProofreadingWriting Your Response to Literature

FOR YOUR WORKING PORTFOLIOHow did writing about the story add to your understanding of the literature and the world around you? What did you learn about the process of writing a personal response essay?

5ReflectingWriting Your Response to Literature