Literary Response Essay Checklist

**FINAL DAY TO TURN IN ESSAY is Monday! 

Literary Response Essay Assignment

Students are analyzing Out of the Dust, by Karen Hesse. See bottom of post for prompts. 

**NOTE: PARACHUTE Assignment added: If a student cannot complete the OOtD prompt (due to not reading the book, etc.), an alternate assignment is to analyze a theme, or big message about life, from one of our memorized poems, using the same analytic essay structure and checklist below. Students MAY NOT choose "Hope..." as that is the example shown in the body paragraph below. **

Here is a basic checklist for the essay.

1. Introduction Paragraph:

• Hook—engaging statement to grab reader’s attention (Optional)
• Thesis –statement you will prove that addresses the prompt, include author, title, and genre (book/poem/essay) **See Sample frames below for simple guides to thesis formation
• Short summary of the novel—important character, setting, conflict information—concise but precise
• Preview of points that will support your thesis (see below for specifics for each prompt)

Sample Thesis Frames:

THEME: In the novel ______________ by ____________, the author explores the theme of ___________________________[big message about life that can apply to anyone]

HISTORICAL REF.:In the novel ______________ by ____________, the author uses historical references to illuminate the main character’s journey.

POETIC ANALYSIS: In the novel ______________ by ____________, the author uses poems to tell the main characters story in order to…

2. Body Paragraphs: (use this structure for each)

P.E.E.L structure with transitions (ex. “In the beginning of the novel the theme is shown when…” “In the following quote…”:

• Point that supports your thesis
•  Evidence (quotation)
• Explanation of Evidence: Explain the context and the meaning of the quote in your own words
• Language and Link: Dig deeper into Language: Discuss the significance of specific words, language devices, poetic terms, repeated symbols, references to important events to support your point. Link ideas back to the point in a final sentence.

Here is an example of the P.E.E.L. strategy using “Hope is the Thing With Feathers,” by Emily Dickinson. 

[Point] In the poem, “Hope—“ by Emily Dickinson, the theme is to never give up even in hard times. [Evidence] In the opening stanza, Dickinson says, “Hope is the thing with feathers/that perches in the soul/and sings the tune without the words/and never stops at all.” [Explanation} In this stanza Dickinson says you must keep going, even when you don’t know what’s ahead. Even if things are unclear, like a song without words, hope is always possible. [Language and Link] Dickinson uses the metaphor of a songbird to explain the need for hope in dark times. The image of the songbird with "feathers/that perches in the soul," creates an inspiring symbol for the reader, which illustrates the theme of having resilience despite challenges you may encounter.

**For Literary analysis essays where you analyze theme, the points from your body paragraphs can come from:

a.  the beginning, middle, and end of the story or

b.  one to two significant struggles and a triumph that shows the theme.

**For Historical Analysis the points for your body paragraphs can come from:

a. specific historical references in the book that CONNECT to Billie Jo’s personal struggle.

**For Poetic analysis, the points for your body paragraphs can come from:

a.  Specific poems that illuminate Billie Jo’s struggle AND use strong poetic devices

3. Conclusion:

• Restate the thesis in a new way.
• Summarize main points of essay (characters' growth through the theme, connection between historical references and character's growth, poetic devices/why novel is written in poems)
• Why does this book/theme matter to the larger world? Why should we care?

Your conclusion should end strong, inspire your reader, and answer the question, “So What?”

Out of the Dust Essay Prompts: Due end of class, 1/22/14

For all prompts you are expected to form a thesis and use specific evidence and explanations in your essay. Your essay should be at least 4-5 paragraphs, with an introduction, analytic body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Choose one:

Poetic Analysis

Provide a rationale for writing the novel in poems. Pick three “luminous” chapters and explain why they are significant to the work as a whole, using poetry terms to analyze the author’s language and how it contributes to the story-telling.

Historical Analysis

Using specific examples, explain how the author uses historical references to enhance the story elements (setting, character, conflict). How is this historical time period significant to the story, and how does the author use details and fact to make it come to life?

Literary Analysis

Identify an important theme, or message about life, that is explored in the novel. Use specific examples to show how the theme develops over the course of the book, and how it is revealed through character, setting, or conflict.

Or…

Propose a prompt to Ms. Witham that you think would be interesting to use to analyze Out of the Dust.