Essay- Literature- Reading ResponseStyle: MLA
Number of pages: 1 pages/double spaced (275 words)
PowerPoint slides: 0
Additional: None
Number of source/references: 1
Order instructions:
Bi-Weekly Reading Response Assignment Guidelines Each response will consist of two parts: observation/analysis and questions. For the first part, choose one passage of text you find particularly interesting and quote it using proper MLA citation. Be sure to introduce your quote by mentioning which text (poem, story, or article) it is from. Then, explain, in about 200 words, what you find interesting or worthy of attention in this passage. Try to avoid simple description of what you read and focus instead on providing commentary, or analysis of the text. Why is it interesting to you? How does it relate to the broader themes of the course? For the second part, write two discussion questions. These questions should not be easily answered with a “yes” or “no,” nor should they be about the basic plot (i.e. “What did X do after Y?”). Your questions are intended to help generate discussion in class. When writing your post, treat it like what might be a supporting paragraph in a future essay. In other words, use the kind of formal academic tone and serious analysis that you would use in an analytic paper. Writing these posts is meant to help your analytic writing skills in support of your final paper. In order to receive full points for the assignment, each of your weekly reading response must contain the following elements: 1) A quote from the reading that encapsulates what you found interesting about the story (including a proper introduction and MLA citation). 2) An analysis of the passage (which should be no less than 200 words; it may be longer) in which you clearly articulate what you found interesting about this passage, and how you think it might be representative of some broader theme/idea in relation to the overall text/ideas in the course. 3) Two focused and thought-provoking questions that are aimed at prompting further discussion of the issues you raise in your analysis. Note: You are welcome to refer to any of the theoretical readings we’ve encountered so far in class; you are also welcome to talk about the passage you selected in reference to another text we’ve read. As long as your post contains the three primary requirements listed above, you may expand further. Some questions to help you while writing: How does the passage you selected relate to what else is going on in the text? How might it relate to the theoretical readings we’ve done so far in the class? How is gender being represented in this text? How might it relate to the discussions we’ve had in class in regards to constructions of identity? What literary genre is the text? How does it either conform to, or subvert aspects of that particular genre? Is there anything markedly queer about the text—if so, what elements?
