TOPICS
You will select one of the stories to focus on, and then select an excerpt from the chosen short story to be the focus of your paper.
For example, from “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the following may be found: “The officers were satisfied. My manner had convinced them. I was singularly at ease.
… But, ere long, I felt myself getting pale and wished them gone.”
This line serve–s as an example only. Do not use it as the focus for your paper. After you have selected an excerpt from the story, you are then to think about
what your selected text contributes to the story as a whole and then plan a paper according to the instructions that follow.
PAPER ORGANIZATION
Your paper will be organized in the following manner:
This part of the paper will provide the focus of your reader-response paper. You must include one sentence that presents your short story’s author and title, the selected text and its page number.
You will discuss what the selected text contributes to one element of a short story-plot, character, setting, point of view, style or theme-as you determine. This will be in two parts as shown in the model paper.
You will discuss what the selected text contributes to another element of a short story-plot, character, setting, point of view, style or theme-as you determine. Again, this will be in two parts as shown in the model paper.
You will discuss the selected text’s relevance to the reader. In other words, you will discuss what the selection means to you as the reader, why you as the reader chose it, etc. You will use third-person point of view here.
