Literature Reading Response
Reading response for Cannery Row is due March 12.
Reading response for Like Water for Chocolate is due April 14.
Each reading response should be one page in length (no longer) and double spaced, using appropriate MLA format for a student essay and, if it includes quoted material, correct MLA format for quoting and citing sources. The one-page limit to the length, however, means quotations should be short and few, if any. Unless quotations refer to sources other than the course text, a "Works Cited" page is not required. The title of the reading response may simply be "A Reading Response to [insert title of novel, in italics]" or students may be more imaginative if they prefer (remember, the title is a writer's first chance to gain the reader's attention).
The content should focus on the student's response to the assigned reading. Some ideas students can think about and that might be included are:
- What was remarkable about this particular work?
- What caught the reader's [your] attention?
- Who/what was the writer's audience?
- Did the writer's audience affect the form of the writing?
- What was the writer trying to accomplish? Did he/she succeed?
- Did the writer use any effective symbols or symbolism?
- Are stylistic elements important in assessing this writer's work?
- Has the work historical importance?
- What general impressions might a reader have about this work?
Clearly, this list is neither exhaustive or inclusive. All these ideas could not possibly be covered in one page, so students should select one, or at the most two, to discuss. Additionally, students might have other ideas about the reading that would be equally as insightful and interesting. What the assignment requires is each student's brief but thoughtful response to the particular novel.
