Theory paper #1

Fall 2007

Marlow

Theory Paper #1; draft 1

Due: Wednesday, February 20th in class or by 11 a.m. Friday, February 22nd in my mailbox – Marcelle Hall

Choose one of the following approaches for a paper on The Giver.

WRITING A FORMALIST REPONSE

–Be on the lookout for structure, irony, themes, diction, tension, unity, motifs, figures of speech, symbols, repetition, allusion.

–Ideas for introduction: summarize the way certain elements of the work come together to make meaning; begin by making direct reference to the text itself (working from a passage/quote and explain its relation to text as a whole); give one possible reading, then offer your reading and defend it throughout the essay.

–Focus on the most significant element in the work, and explain how meaning is created in the text.

–Draw examples and quote from the text. Remember, formalists do not like the original text to be altered.

–Conclusion: state or reiterate connection between form and content, form and meaning.

WRITING A READER-RESPONSE ESSAY

–Use the bulleted lists on the bottom of pg. 129 – 130 to guide you in a little pre-writing/brainstorming.

–Introduction: Provoke a response from your reader by beginning with a powerful or memorable scene from the text.

–Explain both how the text controls you, the reader, through its use of elements — patterns, images, connotations, symbols, allusions, metaphors, foreshadowing, etc. — and how you add personal material to your reading of the text. Describe how the two interact to create the meaning of the text. Include these observations backed up by significant and relevant citations from the text.

–Conclusion: major effects of text on reader and how it achieved those effects.

**All papers must have a unifying thesis statement. Remember: a thesis is a claim, an argument, a stance you are taking. It is not something that is already settled, but something you explore and develop throughout the course of your paper.

**Don’t try to do too much. In other words, say more about less. Keep a tight focus in these essays.