AP English 4

Dr. Murphy

Assignment Prospectus: Critical Notes on an Author

20 points

A vital component to constructing excellent essays lies in preparation. Amassing a variety of well-researched critical notes will aid you both in understanding the material and in keeping your various streams of information straight.

Your Assignment: Compile a catalog of critical notes in seven sections. These notes are to be typed in single space mode and should be roughly three pages in length (i.e. a half to three quarters length of a page for each section except for your “Literary Critics” and “works cited” sections, which are shorter). Since these are notes, you can be more casual in your approach; you need not worry(too much) about the constraints of grammar, style, and mechanics (for example: feel free to bullet-point when you deem it appropriate, etc.) Still, clarity in language, as always, should be held as a value. After all, these notes are for you and being precise/thorough will help you in the long run.

Here Follows the Structural Guideline…

1. Preliminary Information: Besides your name (etc.), include the complete bibliographic citation for the work (i.e., the title in full, author, place, publisher, date of publication, and number of page). Example:

Updike, John. Rabbit is Rich. New York: Harper Collins, 1986.

Section 1: Content--

  • Write a general précis[1] of the book. (If your book is a compendium or an anthology, give a sense of what the pieces have in common. Are they all from the same period? Are they thematically similar? After that focus on summarizing one or two pieces.)
  • Give a sense of the setting of the book (Include a representative quote or two and cite).
  • Give a general sense of the plot of the book.

Section 2: Significance

  • Select two or three central themes in the text and briefly explicate on them. Comment on whether the theme is didactic, psychological, social, entertaining, escapist, etc. in purpose or intent. Generally speaking, the more complex the book, the more richly developed and interconnected the themes; speculate creatively and thoughtfully on this matter (Include a representative quotes and cite).

Section 3: Literary Elements, Form and Style

  • Consider the author’s choices in language and composition (tone, diction, syntax, structure, narrative POV, etc.)
  • What are the “intellectual qualities” of the writing (e.g., simplicity, clarity)?
  • What are the “emotional qualities” of the writing (e.g., humor, wit, satire)?
  • What are the “aesthetic qualities” of the writing (e.g., harmony, rhythm, vividness of language)?
  • What other stylistic devices are employed (e.g., symbolism, motifs, parody, allegory)?
  • How effective is the dialogue?
  • In this case, include a representative passage as an illustration of one aspect of the author’s style.

Section 4: Select one of the Following Categories as Your 4th Section

  • Character Sketch Select One Character and Address the Following
  • From what source(s) is the character drawn?
  • What is the author's attitude toward the character?
  • What motivates the character? Psychologically? Spiritually?
  • Is the character flat, round, stock, three-dimensional?
  • Does character development occur? What, if anything does the character learn?
  • A “Hard Analysis” of One Representative Scene from the Book
  • An Analysis of the Importance of an Intertextual Allusion. Sometimes authors allude to other “texts” in order to enrich the thematic content of their own work. The allusion is often to a piece (or pieces) of literature, music, painting, film, politics, etc. Allusions make for more of a multi-textured and interesting work of art.
  • Other? Your choice. Be thoughtful, original, and bold. Bold readers rule!

Section 5: Evaluation

  • Write a brief evaluation of the book. This section can be a bit more personal and subjective. Did you like the book? Are you looking forward to your next read? What intrigues you about the work or about the author? What annoys you? What else?

Section 6: Literary Critics/Criticism

  • Locate two different blurbs (short critiques/reviews) about your book from two different literary critics. The quotes should be thought provoking and the critics to whom the quotes are attributed should be reputable.
  • Through which critical lens (method of reading) will you read this book?

Section 7: Works Cited

  • A Works Cited section is mandatory. List bibliography for each of the works referenced.

Check out the link to the Writing Lab at Purdue for additional help/clarification when it comes to formatting: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/

[1] A précis is more precise than a summary.