How to Read Literature Like a Professor Project

This book is designed to help you delve into literature and explore multiple meanings when reading literary works. You will learn to see and understand symbols, archetypes, and patterns in literature. The skills you learn from the book will help you both this year and in college.

This project has three parts:

  1. There will be a quiz over the book on Tuesday, September 7. Taking notes as you read will help you prepare for this quiz, and help you with the rest of the project.
  1. Each student will write written responses to FIVE of the attached prompts. Each response should be a minimum of one page, double spaced. More specific details about this portion of the project will be discussed later in this handout. All five written responses are due on Tuesday, September 7. The written responses count as 50% of your first test grade this six weeks. Your written responses must be submitted to
  1. A student-led Socratic Seminar on Wednesday, September 8. Students are expected to type up at least 8 to 10 questions or leading statements that are supported by textual evidence. A leading statement is an observation that generates further discussion. Questions/leading statements must be submitted to prior to the start of the seminar. In addition, students will take notes and write a reflection piece after the seminar. Questions, participation in the discussion, and reflection count as 50% of your first test grade this six weeks.

I. The Written Responses

Your five responses must span the ENTIRE book. In other words, you should not turn in responses for chapters 1-5. Make sure your responses reflect an understanding of the ideas presented in the other chapters, not just the chapter you are writing about.

You will have a separate COVER PAGE that has your MLA heading on it. Since this is GT, you are free to make it a creative cover—just make sure your MLA heading is clear.

Your five written responses should have the HEADER in the upper right hand corner. DO NOT PUT THE MLA HEADING ON EACH RESPONSE! You will lose points if you do so!

Each response should begin on a new page; the title of each response should be the title of the chapter.

Ex.: Chapter 4—If It’s Square, It’s a Sonnet

These short writing assignments will let you practice your literary analysis. Whenever I ask for an example from literature, you may use short stories, novels, plays, or films, but do not limit yourself to one genre. The overall tone of your responses should be formal and analytical.

Even though this is analytical writing, you may use “I” if you deem it appropriate to do so; remember, however, that most uses of “I” are just padding. For example, “I think the wolf is the most important character in Little Red Riding Hood” is padded.

The Socratic Seminar

You must create 8-10 questions or leading statements prior to the discussion. All of your questions/leading statements must be tied to the book using textual evidence.

Questions/leading statements must be typed and submitted to Bring a copy of your questions/leading statements on September 8.

On the day of the discussion, you and your classmates are responsible for keeping the discussion focused on analyzing the book and drawing comparisons between the content of the book and works you have read. Grade deductions will occur if the student repeatedly brings up off-topic information, jokes around, sleeps, or does not help move the conversation forward.

Written Responses Rubric

Each of the five responses is worth a total of 10 points. Responses will be graded on the following criteria: content (maximum four points), examples (maximum four points), and conventions/MLA (maximum two points).

RUBRIC

Category/Point Value / 4 points / 3 points / 2 points / 1 point / 0 points
Content / Response shows a full understanding of the topic/chapter. / Shows a good understanding of the topic/chapter. / Shows a good understanding of parts of the topic. / Does not seem to understand the topic very well. / No response or off topic.
Examples / Examples are valid, relevant, and fully analyzed. Examples are NOT summarized. / Examples are, for the most part, valid, relevant and analyzed, although there may be some gaps in understanding or explanation. / Examples are valid and relevant, but the response lacks analysis. Plot summary detracts from the level of analysis. / Examples are not completely valid or relevant, and the response lacks analysis. There is too much plot summary. / No response, off topic, or all summary.
Conventions/MLA / N/A / N/A / MLA errors are nonexistent or minor. Response demonstrates careful workmanship and self-editing and is free from glaring spelling or grammatical mistakes. / There are some MLA formatting errors. Proofread your work more carefully to avoid grammatical and spelling mistakes. / Major MLA formatting mistakes affect the overall look of the paper. Spelling and grammatical mistakes seriously detract from the quality of the writing and suggest a lack of forethought and proofreading.