Compact Literature Reading, Reacting, Writing

by Kirszner, Laurie G.; Mandell, Stephen R.

• ISBN13: 9781428262959
• ISBN10: 1428262954
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-01-22
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Summary

This compact edition retains all the features that have made the full edition so successful within a smaller, affordable volume. Combining the broadest selection of readings with time-proven and class-tested instruction, LITERATURE: READING, REACTING, WRITING, Compact Seventh Edition, remains the most useful and student-friendly introduction to literature text available. The text includes a comprehensive guide to writing about literature, with full coverage of critical thinking, argument, and the writing process. Teachers themselves, authors Kirszner and Mandell take students through each step of the research and writing process, helping them to craft literary analyses and arguments and to understand that writing about literature is a process of discovery, examination, and debate.

Table of Contents

Preface

A Guide to Writing About Literature

Understanding Literature

Imaginative Literature

Conventional Themes

The Literary Canon

Luisa Valenzuela, All about Suicide

Wole Soyinka, Telephone Conversation

Interpreting Literature

Evaluating Literature

The Function of Literary Criticism

Checklist: Evaluating Literary Criticism

Reading and Writing about Literature

Reading Literature

Previewing

Highlighting

Checklist: Using Highlighting Symbols

Maya Angelou, My Arkansas

Annotating

Writing about Literature

Planning an Essay

Drafting an Essay

Revising and Editing an Essay

Checklist: Using Sources

Checklist: Conventions of Writing about Literature

Exercise: Two Student Papers

Student Paper: Initiation into Adulthood

Student Paper: Hard Choices

Writing Special Kinds of Papers

Writing a Response Paper

Checklist: Writing a Response Paper

Responding to a Short Story

Student Paper: Response Paper on Tim O+Brien+s "The Things They Carried"

Writing a Comparison-Contrast

Checklist: Writing a Comparison-Contrast

Comparing a Story and a Film

Student Paper: Two Cathedrals

Writing an Explication

Checklist: Writing an Explication

Explicating a Poem

Student Paper: A Lingering Doubt

Writing a Character Analysis

Checklist: Writing a Character Analysis

Analyzing a Character in a Play

Student Paper: Linda Loman: Breaking the Mold

Writing about a Work+s Cultural Context

Checklist: Writing about a Work+s Cultural Context

Writing about a Poem+s Cultural Context

Student Paper: Dreaming of Home

Thinking Critically about Your Writing

Distinguishing Fact from Opinion

Evaluating Supporting Evidence

Detecting Bias in Your Writing

Understanding Logic

Inductive Reasoning

Deductive Reasoning

Toulmin Logic

Recognizing Logical Fallacies

Writing Literary Arguments

Planning a Literary Argument

Choosing a Debatable Topic

Developing an Argumentative Thesis

Checklist: Developing an Argumentative Thesis

Defining Your Terms

Considering Your Audience

Refuting Opposing Arguments

Using Evidence Effectively

Supporting Your Literary Argument

Establishing Credibility

Being Fair

Using Visuals as Evidence

Organizing a Literary Argument

Writing a Literary Argument

Student Paper: The Politics of "Everyday Use"

Using Sources in Your Writing

Choosing a Topic

Doing Exploratory Research

Narrowing Your Topic

Doing Focused Research

Library Research

Internet Research

Taking Notes

Integrating Sources

Exercise: Integrating Quotations

Drafting a Thesis Statement

Making an Outline

Drafting Your Paper

Sample Literature Paper with MLA Documentation

Student Paper: And Again She Makes the Journey: Character and Act in Eudora Welty+s "A Worn Path"

Documenting Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism

Avoiding Plagiarism

Document All Material That Requires Documentation

Enclose Borrowed Words in Quotation Marks

Do Not Imitate a Source+s Syntax and Phrasing

Differentiate Your Words from Those of Your Source

Checklist: Plagiarism and Internet Sources

Documenting Sources

Parenthetical References in the Text

Checklist: Guidelines for Punctuating Parenthetical References

The Works-Cited List

Content Notes

Writing Essay Exams about Literature

Planning an Essay Exam Answer

Review Your Material

Consider Your Audience and Purpose

Read through the Entire Exam

Read Each Question Carefully

Brainstorm to Find Ideas

Shaping an Essay Exam Answer

State Your Thesis

Make a Scratch Outline

Drafting and Revising an Essay Exam Answer

Sample Student Essay Exam Answer

Fiction

Understanding Fiction

Origins of Modern Fiction

The History of the Novel

The History of the Short Story

Defining the Short Story

Ernest Hemingway, Hills Like White Elephants

Recognizing Kinds of Fiction

Fiction Sampler: The Short-Short

Julia Alvarez, Snow

Aimee Bender, Jinx

Jorge Luis Borges, The Plot

Dave Eggers, Accident

Amanda Holzer, Love and Other Catastrophes: A Mix Tape

Jamaica Kinc

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