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Reading and Writing about Literature: A Portable Guide, 5th Edition
This book is a comprehensive and affordable guide designed to help students master the essentials of reading and writing about literature. It's a go-to resource for students and educators alike, offering a detailed exploration of strategies for reading literature, the writing process, and common writing assignments for literature courses.
Who Uses It?
Primarily, this book is used by students in high school and college literature classes. It's also a valuable resource for anyone interested in improving their reading and writing skills, including professionals looking to refresh their knowledge or expand their understanding of literary principles.
History and Editions
The 5th edition of "Reading and Writing about Literature: A Portable Guide" has been updated to address user feedback, incorporating the latest research and discussions on literary criticism and theory. This edition includes expanded coverage of essential topics such as thesis development and argumentation, as well as two new student essays on new literary selections. It provides a brief and very affordable package that introduces strategies for reading literature, explains the writing process, and covers common writing assignments for literature courses.
Author and Other Works
The authors of "Reading and Writing about Literature: A Portable Guide" are Janet E. Gardner and Joanne Diaz. Janet E. Gardner is known for her clear and concise writing style, which makes complex literary concepts accessible to students. Joanne Diaz brings her expertise in literary analysis to the text, ensuring that it remains current and relevant.
Key Features
ISBNs and Formats
Publication Details
Other Editions and Formats
This detailed information section provides a quick reference for all the available formats and sources for "Reading and Writing about Literature: A Portable Guide," making it easier to find and access the book in the preferred format.
[* Indicates sections or material new to this edition]
Preface for Instructors
Brief Contents
1. INTRODUCTION TO READING AND WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE
Why Read Literature?
Why Write about Literature?
What to Expect in a Literature Class
Literature and Enjoyment
2. THE ROLE OF GOOD READING
The Value of Rereading
Critical Reading
The Myth of "Hidden Meaning"
Active Reading
Annotating
*WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS, The Second Coming (Annotated Poem)
Note Taking
Journal Keeping
Using Reference Materials
Questions for Active Reading: Fiction
Questions for Active Reading: Poetry
Questions for Active Reading: Drama
Asking Critical Questions of Literature
BEN JONSON, On My First Son (Annotated Poem)
Checklist for Good Reading
3. THE WRITING PROCESS
Prewriting
Choosing a Topic
*Developing an Argument
*The Thesis
Gathering Support for Your Thesis
Organizing Your Paper
Drafting the Paper
Revising and Editing
Global Revision Checklist
Local Revision Checklist
Final Editing Checklist
Peer Editing and Workshops
Tips for Writing about Literature
Using Quotations Effectively
Quoting from Stories
Quoting from Poems
Quoting from Plays
Formatting Your Paper
4. COMMON WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
Summary
Response
*ZORA NEALE HURSTON, Sweat
*STUDENT ESSAY: Taylor Plantan, “A Response to ‘Sweat’”
*Explication
ROBERT HERRICK, Upon Julia's Clothes
STUDENT ESSAY: Jessica Barnes, "Poetry in Motion: Herrick's 'Upon Julia's Clothes'"
*Analysis
ROBERT BROWNING, My Last Duchess
STUDENT ESSAY: Adam Walker, “Possessed by the Need for
Possession: Browning's 'My Last Duchess'"
Comparison and Contrast
CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, After Death
STUDENT ESSAY: Todd Bowen, "Speakers for the Dead: Narrators in 'My Last Duchess' and 'After Death'"
Essay Exams
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Sonnet 73”
ROBERT HERRICK, To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time
STUDENT ESSAY EXAM: Midterm Essay
5. WRITING ABOUT STORIES
Elements of Fiction
Plot
Character
Point of View
Setting
Theme
Symbolism
Style
Stories for Analysis
CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN, The Yellow Wallpaper
KATE CHOPIN, The Story of an Hour (Annotated Story)
STUDENT ESSAY: An Essay that Compares and Contrasts: Melanie
Smith, "Good Husbands in Bad Marriages"
6. WRITING ABOUT POEMS
Elements of Poetry
The Speaker
The Listener
Imagery
Sound and Sense
Two Poems for Analysis
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Sonnet 116 (Annotated Poem)
T.S. ELIOT, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (Annotated Poem)
STUDENT ESSAY: An Explication: Patrick McCorkle, "Shakespeare Defines Love"
7. WRITING ABOUT PLAYS
Elements of Drama
Plot, Character, and Theme
Diction
Spectacle
Setting
How to Read a Play
Watching a Play
The Director’s Vision
SUSAN GLASPELL, Trifles
STUDENT ESSAY: An Analysis: Sarah Johnson, "Moral Ambiguity and Character Development in Trifles"
8. WRITING A LITERARY RESEARCH PAPER
Finding Sources
Evaluating Sources
Working with Sources
Quotations
*Paraphrases and Summaries
Commentaries
Keeping Track of Your Sources
Writing the Paper
Refine Your Thesis
Organize Your Evidence
Start Your Draft
Revise
Edit and Proofread
*Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism
What to Document and What Not to Document
Documenting Sources: MLA Format
In-Text Citations
Preparing Your Works Cited List
*STUDENT ESSAY: Research Paper: Rachel McCarthy, “The Widening Gyres of Chaos in Yeats’s ‘The Second Coming’”
9. LITERARY CRITICISM AND LITERARY THEORY
Formalism and New Criticism
Feminist and Gender Criticism
Queer Theory
Marxist Criticism
Cultural Studies
Postcolonial Criticism
Historical Criticism and New Historicism
Psychological Theories
Reader-Response Theories
Structuralism
Poststructuralism and Deconstruction
*Ecocriticism
Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms
Acknowledgments
Index of Terms
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