Rules for Responding to Literature

1. Rules for Responding to Literature English 10 Second Quarter 2014

2. Titles and Authors • Titles are always in title case • Short stories, chapter titles, song titles, etc. are in quotes • Ex: “To Build a Fire” • Books, movies, albums, etc. are in italics OR underlined • Ex: As Simple as Snow / As Simple as Snow • Ex: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime • Author names are always capitalized • Use the author’s full name first, then just use the LAST name • Ex: In the novel by Gregory Galloway…Galloway’s characters…

3. Verb Tense and Point of View • When responding to literature, always use PRESENT tense • Ex: In the novel, the narrator MEETS one of the girls from the “Goth” clique in the library. She IS new to town, and IS a bit mysterious. • NEVER use first person point of view (“I”) when referring to yourself, the author of the paper. • NEVER use second person point of view (“you”) to refer to your reader.

4. The introductory paragraph • Hook • Use something creative and original – NOT a cliché • DO: • Start with a compelling quote • Begin with a vivid description • Offer interesting information or anecdotes • DO NOT: • Ask a hypothetical question of your reader • Use a clichéd phrase or statement

5. The introductory paragraph • Background information • Include the title or titles of the literature you are responding to • Give the name of the author • Give a brief synopsis of the piece or pieces – tell briefly what the novel is about

6. Writing a Thesis/Claim Statement • Be SPECIFIC about what you are claiming • Include your REASONS within your claim statement • Structure your essay based on the order of your reasons in your thesis statement • Avoid using the “be” verbs in your thesis • be, am, is, are, was, were, will

7. Including Evidence • When you include direct evidence from the novel, you must: • Introduce your quote. Explain what is happening in the story, who is talking, etc. before you include the quote. Make sure you lead into the quote with your own words so it doesn’t just hang there along. • Ex: According to the narrator, he was boring and “bland, like milk. Worse, water” (56).

8. Including Evidence • When you include direct evidence from the novel, you must: • Cite your source. In this instance, you do not need to include the author’s name, as I know which source you are using. However, you must include the page number. • Include the page number…NUMBER ONLY in parenthesis. • Make sure the parenthesis comes after/outside the quotes. • Put the punctuation AFTER the parenthetical citation. • Ex: According to the narrator, he was boring and “bland, like milk. Worse, water” (56).

9. Including Evidence • When you include direct evidence from the novel, you must: • Explain your evidence and how it supports your argument. You can do this by using a warrant or common sense conclusion drawn by the evidence. • Ex: According to the narrator, he was boring and “bland, like milk. Worse, water” (56). The narrator does not have many friends, and does not think he is interesting or that his life is interesting.