Different Types of Essays - PDF

Different types of essays narrative essay -​ Tells a story (has plot and characters) -​ Very descriptive in verbs and adjectives -​ Vivid precise details -​ Usually contains purpose (thesis) in the beginning or end -​ Usually from a first person point of view -​ May use dialogue...

Different types of essays narrative essay -​ Tells a story (has plot and characters) -​ Very descriptive in verbs and adjectives -​ Vivid precise details -​ Usually contains purpose (thesis) in the beginning or end -​ Usually from a first person point of view -​ May use dialogue -​ May include conflict as does any other story Argumentative -​ Thesis-opinion -​ Usually explains both sides of the argument before ending with a position -​ Usually follows a logical structure – main argument last -​ Uses effective word choices, irony, the element of surprise or shock, hyperbole, or imperative voice -​ Uses examples such as facts, statistics, events in real life or quotations -​ A type of argumentative is a persuasive essay Expository essay -​ The writer gives information, explains the topic or defines something -​ Use of facts and statistical information, cause-effect relationships, or examples -​ Development methods could be definition, example, compare-contrast, cause and effects, classification, process analysis -​ Written without emotion and usually in third person -​ Could describe a process, analyze, explain a historical event -​ Present, completely and fairly, other people’s views or to report an event or situation Descriptive essay -​ Use sensory details to describe your subject; often follows a spatial order -​ Describes a person, place, memory or object -​ Will have a thesis stated at the beginning or the end -​ Tries to include readers’ emotions or feelings -​ Uses bright examples, comparison language (similes, metaphors, personification) -​ Tries to describe beyond the ordinary Photo essay -​ A collection of pictures with or without captions -​ To convey one particular theme  -​ Plays on the emotions (pathos) of the viewer – promotes a certain feeling on a subject -​ Often very clear, descriptive Analyzing an essay: 1.​ What is the thesis or controlling idea? Can you locate the sentence or paragraph that best states the main idea 2.​ Who is the audience for this article? Does the author use the appropriate language, sentence structure, and style for this audience 3.​ Look for shifts in subject, scope or focus. These are places where the author discontinued one thing and took up another. Ask why. In good writing, there is always a reason for them. However, such a change or shift may only be an apparent discontinuity. In fact the author may be expanding or developing on the ideas already stated. In either case, the changes are important. 4.​ How about the conclusion? Where in the essay does it begin? How effective is the conclusion? Did it simply restate the thesis? Or did it end on some note of finality that let the reader know that he or she was at the end? 5.​ What are the main supporting arguments for the writer’s thesis? Block paragraphs together that discuss the same argument. List the arguments. Very often you can see immediately how a writer digresses for three or four paragraphs to use an example or tell a story to illustrate some point. When you have the larger blocks of the essay, it might be easier to grasp what the writer is saying. 6.​ Look for figurative language. How does the writer employ simile, metaphor and personification? Often the judicious use of figurative language can lend great power to a piece of writing. 7.​ Find the reason for the title. Often it is from an expression or sentence in the essay. If the reason for the title is not immediately clear to you, ponder the material in the essay until you understand it. 8.​ Make connections. Look for things that are repeated. If you find them, that’s a clue that the author is emphasizing them. What is the purpose? Does the meaning lurk here? Sometimes the connections are subtle. Is something that was introduced at the beginning related to something in the middle or at the end of the essay? These are ways the writer develops the ideas in the piece. 9.​ Strong statements. Strong language is always a clue that the author is saying something important. Try to relate these to other things in the essay. 10.​Confusing statements. If you are going to understand a piece completely, it is important to be able to reconcile statements that appear to be confusing or contradictory. You may not be able to do so immediately, but it’s crucial that you come back to these and try to understand them. When you arrive at statements you don’t understand, you are at the boundaries of your knowledge, you are confronting your ignorance. Don’t be afraid to do this! It simply means that you have the opportunity to grow in your understanding. Unless the essay is poorly written, you will be able to make sense of the apparent contradictions. So, don’t give up until you can.  11.​Did the style of the essay add or hinder your reading of it? 12.​What did you like best about the article? What did you like least about the article? Address your position on the essay. Letter to the editor 1.​ Full name, address, contact information 2.​ Refer to previous article by using title 3.​ Keep it short and focused, with good taste. 4.​ Make it original to the publisher you send it to 5.​ Straight to the point. One or two points 6.​ No personal attacks 7.​ Personal twist 8.​ Short, punchy sentences, 2 or 3 paragraphs. Short paragraphs 9.​ Be witty 10.​No cliches or puns 11.​ State thesis early 12.​ End with a big, related thought 13.​ Further the debate so someone can respond to your argument 14.​ Right tone of voice 15.​ Fits audience Informal vs formal essays informal formal Authors view point Usually uses first person Third person Directly addresses reader subject/context: Frequently drawn from life of More commonly drawn from source of evidence the writer and everyday shared historical literature of events other forms of knowledge tone Frequently more personal and Tends to be removed from subjective the subject and appears to be May be ironic, amusing, objective thoughtful, serious, or angry May be ironic, thoughtful, angry or serious, but tends to hold emotions in check and express concern through strong argument and powerful rhetorical devices structure Can be more loosely structured Follows a fairly rigid structure that focuses on the development of one clear argument at a time to support a clearly stated thesis  informal formal Location of thesis May appear anywhere in the Stated explicitly essay Generally located in the first May not be explicitly stated (short essay) or second (long essay) paragraph. style A number of stylistic devices A number of stylistic devices likely used to engage the reader likely used to engage the reader Vocabulary tends to be drawn Vocabulary tends to be more from everyday usage academic and may contain unfamiliar words and jargon purpose To entertain To provoke thought To reflect To provoke action To persuade or influence To share a new idea readers on political issues To teach To raise awareness To raise awareness Reading it Can be understood in one Often requires rereading to reading understand fully Argumentative vs persuasive argumentative persuasive objective Not necessarily attempting to Always seeks to reach out to persuade readers to the the other side in order to writer’s opinion, but perhaps persuade readers to join only to present the the essay writers' stance reasons why the writer holds the position he or she does and deems it superior. Starting point Identify your topic, research Identify your topic and your topic and decide which choose your side side to support techniques Offers facts, reasons, and Combines facts with evidence to show the author emotions to convince the has valid points reader that the author is Logic based “right” Acknowledges the Emotion-based opposing claims Ignores counter claims May compare ideas to Presents only ideas that establish a position help establish a position Present multiple sides but Only presents one side: it is clear which is the the author’s side  argumentative persuasive author’s side Makes claims without Always provides evidence evidence with claims tone There is a calmer tone of The tone is emotionally just trying to get the reader charged and more to acknowledge the aggressive author’s side is worthy of consideration Pathos: refers to the reader’s emotions. Engaging the emotional side of the reader. Pointing out the ways in which the subject of the essay relates to and affects individuals and communities. An effective way to include pathos can often be through inclusion of a hypothetical scenario. Logos: refers to the reader’s logic. Includes the writer’s display of reasoning and evidence that support the writer’s position. Consists not only of pointing out the rational or practical reasons for the writer’s opinion but also of including testimony and facts from authoritative sources. Any use of secondary source material is an appeal to logos. Ethos: refers to the authority of the writer. Developed through demonstration of intelligent thoughtfulness displayed when the essay writer acknowledges the opinions of his or her opposition and demonstrates that he or she is familiar with those opinions and the reasoning behind them. A New Perspective: Contents: snapshots of her childhood.1 Her mom walks her to kindergarten, the only time she ever did. She remembers every detail. 2 her mom in her hospital bed. She has rheumatoid arthritis and she can’t be active. She had been ashamed and felt cheated. She did not let her friends see her mom. 3 her friend connie’s house. She had a wonderful playroom. She had wonderful homemade warm meals, made by her mother, that she could never have. She goes home for her supper and prepares her own supper and her mom despairs of the situation, as does she. 4 childhood: her mom couldn’t volunteer or chaperone, couldn’t pick her up. Conclusion: her perspective has changed as she had children. She understands that she was not cheated, but her mother was. Type: expository. Informal Proof: explains and uncovers what her childhood was like. The whole story is showing that she was not cheated, but really her mother was. Thesis: “I may never understand why some of us are cheated in life. I only know, from this perspective, that I am not the one who was.” Water, Canada’s most valuable resource Content: canada has a huge amount of drinking water while many, many other countries are in dire need of water. Some are calling Canada to start trading water. corporations/some people would definitely abuse this and not do the right thing with the water - only do it for money. Thankfully, the action of some groups has not allowed this to happen yet. The water is needed for the ecological cycle Type: Informal. argumentative Proof: he’s showing his position makes sense: that Canada should not use its water as a trading resource. He shows the other side, why people would want Canada's water, what people have done. He shows why he is right and that Canada needs to keep its water. Thesis: “bulk water deals have nothing to do with global need and everything to do with global greed.” Forget prince charming Content: the author is advising how to find a good spouse. Her tips: 1.​ Don’t expect perfection. Won’t agree on everything 2.​ The infatuation and oceanic feeling at the beginning can make you think the partnership will be effortless. This is a flaw. Moving in together will not fix things 3.​ Mutual ability to compromise. The exchange is rarely 50-50. Collaboration effort 4.​ Seek integrity first 5.​ Punctuality 6.​ Compassion 7.​ Humour. Put matters into perspective Type: persuasive (a bit expository). Informal Proof: she is trying to convince us that there is no prince charming who is a perfect mate. Doesn’t explain the other side. Emotionally charged tone. Uses proof: shows what her friends’ lives were like. Thesis: “I don't believe for a moment that a perfect mate exists and if such a freak nature did occur that person would not be a heavenly match for me because I am imperfect and we would clash.” My old newcastle Content: the author’s hometown is changing and he wants people to remember what it used to be like. He uses description a lot and appeals to the reader’s senses. He describes the past: the working men and women, how they played, saw movies, the frozen river, schools, winter, spring, summer, sailors, taste of the air, autumn. Present: the town is three times as big, fast food, malls, new process at the mill, trees cut down, river opened in winter, trains gone, theatre gone Type: descriptive  Proof: it uses lots of sensory and descriptive details. He’s not really trying to prove a point but to show what his old town was like. Thesis: “neither bad or good, I suppose—but away from what it was.” Science and beauty Content: the author shows that science (and the study of it) does not suck the beauty and enjoyment out of everything, but that science is beauty. He describes planets, suns, stars, galaxies, galaxy clusters, galactic centers, with great detail, showing their beauty. Type: argumentative, informal Proof: he explains the other side and sympathizes with it. He’s trying to prove his position. Thesis: “But what i see - those quiet, twinkling points of light - is not all the beauty there is.” OR “nor can we know or imagine now the limitless beauty yet to be revealed in the future - by science.” Criteria for good literature: -​ Relatable -​ Well-written -​ Plotted out well -​ Good flow -​ Plot twists -​ Complexity -​ Character depth/development Able to picture characters -​ Should pull us in, including our emotions -​ Makes you think -​ Strong applicable message -​ Good moral, virtue, or spiritual value/Clear themes -​ Focus on human experience and give a deeper understanding of it -​ Remind of old experience and introduce new -​ Deals with issues relevant to all humans What literature can a christian not read? -​ Appropriate: discern. We should not withdraw from fiction, but read it and use discernment. (Zylstra) -​ If it causes you to sin: makes you think of things you shouldn’t think of; if it justifies things explicitly against God’s will (these things can creep into your brain and make you think these things are okay); -​ Language used: if the author promotes using curse words or taking god’s name in vain there is no reason for you to be reading that -​ Inappropriate scenes: these are not pure for our minds and should be avoided at all costs Annotated bibliography Structure & Content: bibliographic entry of source (in MLA style). List useful points found from the source in your own words and quotes. Your analysis of its authoritativeness and reliability. Purpose: to organize and evaluate your research Good literary research essay -​ Includes indirect and direct quotes from sources -​ Appropriate vocab -​ Uses a variety of reliable sources -​ Well written etc -​ Clearly argue your thesis Flying machine and the media unit: New technology can look wonderful, but it can also be dangerous. is this new technology worth the risk? A man learned how to fly with a kite. The emperor was afraid that if the enemy saw it , they would figure out how to fly and drop stones on the great wall of china. He killed the flying man and his kite. tech/media has broken down the wall (of simple inaccessibility) and now there is nothing to protect us from sinful content on media. We have to put up our own walls. ​ We can’t just kill it like the emperor did to the man, it’s too late. There is always a measure of fear when new tech is introduced ​ The emperor is scared of stones being dropped on the great wall. The piece of string and media: Who do they believe? The high or low class? The main character is framed as stealing something by a rich man. No one believes that he’s innocent but they believe the other man instead. How much do others’ opinions of you matter? You need to let it go The man in the story was so distressed b/c people believed the lie about him that he wasted away, became bedridden, and died. It is important to have real life relationships, not over technology; these friends can tell us not to worry about what others think; you will instead focus on your friends He was alone–no one to tell him not to worry about it; he wasted away in his agitation Reliable sources: a man told a lie (that he had picked up the pocketbook), and everyone believed it. ​ Check your sources: don’t believe everyone and everybody online My six weeks at CBC “HOwever, what stood out the most was the organization’s unwavering commitment to fostering the illusion of impartiality, sometimes at the expense of genuine objectivity.” “The definition of impartiality used here often leaned heavily in one direction - a progressive one.” “Rather than genuinely embracing diversity of thought, the focus was on manipulating the narrative by selecting sources that reinforced preconceived notions…in the past, the organization would interview individuals with opposing views on climate change…but inlight what they perceived as a consensus ‘now that 99 per cent of scientists believe climate change is true,’ such interviews were no longer deemed necessary.” “She assumed that diversity could be ascertained solely based on the color of everyone’s skin…I couldn’t help but interject and spoke challenging the assumption that skin color inherently dictated one’s political, spiritual or religious beliefs. The program leader let me speak, but seemingly brushed off my statements and felt the need to continue to emphasize the importance of her definition of diversity.” “Instead of relying on the moral code entrusted to us by God, non-christians navigate the world based on emotions, making decisions that glorify the self.” “Their worldview makes them incapable of recognizing what true justice means.” “I couldn’t help but notice a prevailing sense of fear that gripped many of my colleagues” “As a Christian, these moments of fear were opportunities to find solace and strength in my unwavering assurance that Christ is sovereign over all things.” This limited understanding of Christianity was not unique to the intern but seemed to be a recurring theme within the newsroom.” Reporters with little or no context about the Church or christian beliefs are tasked with covering Christian issues…resulted in oversimplification or misinformed portrayals of christians and their faith.” “The importance of Christians being open to talking about our god in a way that reflects his complexity and depth. It's essential that we, as believers, continue to strive for humility and grace, recognizing our own imperfections while sharing the hope and transformative power of our Savior with those who don’t yet understand who he is.” Her main point: in the un-christian world, many have a misconstrued idea of objective truth, misunderstand justice, have misdirected fear, and are misinformed on the church. This is why christians need to share our hope and direct others to the truth. “Quit Facebook” Her problem with facebook is that it causes self obsession and narcissism. All the posts are about yourself, revealing and praising yourself. Not working as a community and upbuilding the group. Obsession with posting more and more. Wasting time on facebook just makes the need for community more. Dr Newport’s TedTalk: main arguments 1.​ “Rejecting social media = rejecting fundamental technology.” No, this is not fundamental important technology, it’s like a candy machine 2.​ “Social media = success in the 21st century.” the market values producing rare and valuable things. Anyone can replicate what’s on your social media, it’s not valuable. People will find you if you do deep work without social media. 3.​ “social media = fun, harmless.” social media is designed to be addictive - fragmented attention spans, unable to concentrate, irrelevant to economy, loneliness, depression, anxiety-inducing As a news consumer, how do i teel a good quality news story? Tell both sides, don’t hide facts, don’t twist the truth, don’t be biased Characteristics of a comedy: -​ Happy ever after ending -​ Wittiness (play on words) -​ Often role switching, disguises -​ Often romance included -​ Often entanglements in plot -​ Often the deeper understandings of human nature can be glossed over by the comedy of the situation Characters in twelfth night: Viola: protagonist. Dresses as Cesario to keep herself safe. Sebastian’s sister. Falls in love and marries Orsino. Most honest character. Olivia: countess. In mourning for her brother. Orsino loves her, she loves Cesario. A bit self-absorbed Orsino: count. Loves olivia, then viola. Sebastian: shipwrecked brother of Viola. Marries Olivia. They mistake him for Cesario Fool: is very wise. Provides comedic relief, wisdom and perspective. Captain: saves viola, keeps her secret and garments Priest: marries sebastian (cesario) and olivia Malvolio: servant in Olivia's house. Source of comedic relief. Loves olivia. The others make a plot against him. Toby: olivia’s uncle, drunkard, troublemaker, comedic relief Andrew: idiot friend of toby wanting to woo olivia. Comedic relief Maria: lady in waiting to olivia. Makes tricks with toby. Antonio: rescued sebastian, befriended him, wanted by orsino Fabian: a gentleman in olivia’s household Valentine and curio: orsino’s servants Role of the fool: Comedic relief, provides wisdom (he is very intelligent), tries to give advice to the characters although they usually don’t accept it, he likes to play the trick on malvolio. Reveals uncomfortable truths. Reveals things about the characters (acts as a mirror). Themes Master-servant relationships: are very plentiful in this play and are important for how the characters act Family relationships: deep or filled with conflict Isolation: many characters are isolated by their experiences or identity or role Madness: there is a lot of confusion in the play. What is reality? What is fake? Humour: it’s a comedy. Different types of humour. There is wisdom to be found in all the humour. There is dramatic irony, word play, trick on malvolio. Social class: viola and sebastian get moved into a different class. Malvolio wants higher status. People of all class are equal. Fool disrespects the high class. Love and desire: love triangle, comedy. Self love, plot twists. True love vs shallow love vs self love. Rejection, brotherly love, the power of love. Some characters don’t find love Deception and disguise. Physical disguise, disguise of emotions (Olivia, fool). Different motives Melancholy: pensive sadness. All the characters experience it at some point. Most resolves at the end but malvolio stays melancholy and has the most melancholy in the play Wisdom vs foolery: all the characters are fools. Witty fools, unintentional fools, malicious fools, true fools. Wisdom leads on the straight and narrow, etc. Dramatic irony -​ We know cesario is viola but nobody else does -​ We know that sebastian is actually alive -​ We know the letter is not from olivia -​ We know that antonio is acquainted with sebastian but viola doesn’t -​ We know that cesario is viola not sebastian but antonio doesn’t -​ We know sir topas is the fool, malvolio doesn’t -​ The characters mistake sebastian for cesario we know he’s sebastian -​ We know that cesario isn ot a good fighter but toby tells sir andrew that he is -​ We know malvolio is not mad, some characters don’t -​ We know that olivia is really marrying sebastian and sebastian doesn’t know that olivia thinks he’s cesario -​ The priest doesn’t know either Letter 1 Don’t let the patient have an argument. It will awaken his reason and cause him to search for/find the truth. Healthy dose of real life: keep the patient occupied/distracted with universal issues and physical tasks and events so that he does not ponder spiritual things Letter 2 Use the church as an ally -​ Book with things he can’t understand, psalter with bad/corrupt lyrics -​ Distract him by making him concerned with the church members he previously avioded -​ Eventually he won’t be enthusiastic about church -​ Make him beleive religion is ridiculous by the appearances of other church members Don’t let the patient get the concept of eternal chruch- make him bleive in church as the present building and people Make him feel uncomfortable Keep his mind hazy about church - don’t let him ask questions Make him beleive he has a credit balance with God because he converted; works=salvation Letter 3 Trying to ruin the relationship b/t the patient and his mother Keep in touch with glubose, the demon charge of the mother 1.​ Convince him that his religion is just about the insides and not the outside. Make it so he can self-examine without seeing his faults  2.​ Pray for her but don’t really help her. Make the prayers a recitation 3.​ Keep them fighting by making them sensitive to each others’ tone of voice and expression and over interpret words so they are offended 4.​ Make the old lady annoyed that he is making a fuss about something seh believed the whole time Letter 4 1.​ Stop his praying altogether 2.​ Make him think he can pray however he wants, so he doesn’t pray effectively 3.​ Turn his attention toward himself 4.​ Keep him praying to an object, avoid nakedness of the soul Letter 5 Wormwood is drunk on the anguish, bewilderment, despair, horror and astonishment of the human soul (wine). This is what the goal of demons is. If wormwood loses his prey, he will always be thirsting for the wine. If wormwood secures the soul, he will be his forever, he can drink the wine whenever he wants. Screwtape doesn’t like war: 1.​ Thousands may turn back to God or to good values 2.​ Weapon of contented worldliness is rendered useless. Soldiers who know they will die amend themselves to God. 3.​ God will save those who think they are doing the best thing but it is actually wrong. Letter 6 We want him to be in the maximum uncertainty, so that his mind will be filled with contradictory pictures of the future, every one of which arouses hope or fear. Barricading a human’s mind against the Enemy. Keep them thinking about what will happen to them. God wants us to be aware of our sins, not unselfconscious of what things are in the devil’s favour. Direct his malice to his immediate neighbours and acquaintances; his benevolence to those he doesn’t know. Man is like a series of concentric circles. Inner circle=will (heart), next circle=intellect, last circle=fantasy. Push virtues out to the fantasy and “desirable” qualities in to the will. Letter 7 Make him think of the devil as physical. Make him think of comic devils with horns - since that is fake, the real devil is fake. Pacifism vs patriotism: both extremes encouraged. Use them to distract him from God. make him think it is the most important part of his religion. Tools for division in the church. Letter 8 “Humans are amphibians” “revolting hybrid.” humans are half spirit and half animal. As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time. Spirit: directed to an external object. Body: in continual change. Law of undulation: interest in work, affection for friends, physical appetites. Natural phenomenon that is no good unless you make good use of it HE relies on the troughs than on the peaks To us, a human is primarily food: devils want to take souls to hell and feed on the, and drink the wine of their pain, anguish, horror, bewilderment etc Our father below wants to draw all other beings into himself. God wants a world of beings united to Him but still distinct. Overriding human wills is for him useless. He cannot ravish; he can only woo. “He cannot ‘tempt’ to virtue.” “He is pleased even with their stumbles.” During the trough, God pulls away help and support and the human must decide to show faith and trust in God (or not to). The prayers offered in the state dryness are those which please him the best. Letter 9 How devils exploit troughs The trough periods provide excellent opportunity for sensual temptations (lowest powers of resistance)(sex, alcohol) “The attack has a much better chance of success when the man’s whole inner world is drab and empty.” God has made pleasure, we have to encourage the humans to take them in the ways/degrees which he has forbidden “An ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure is the formula.” Don’t let him suspect the law of undulation Despairing type: keep him out of the way of experienced Christians. Let him try to recover his old feelings by will-power. Hopeful type: make him content, a moderated religion for us is as good as no religion at all, and much more amusing. Convince him religion is just a phase, that this phase will die away like all the others Keep his mind off the plain antithesis between True and False Letter 10 Get the patient to act like his desirable friends. keep him silent about his beliefs. Make sure the word “Puritanism” has a bad connotation. Don’t let him hear the warnings of the danger of the world and choice of friends. Make him live 2 lives, act differently in his 2 circles. Get him to realize the character of his friends only when they are absent He is “doing his friends good by doing things with them.” Spend more than he can afford, neglect his work, neglect his mother. Exploit his vanity so he thinks he can with whoever he wants, both sides, and still do good, he can see around them all Letter 11 Human laughter: many reasons Joy: friends and lovers reunited on a holiday. Everything produces laughter. Caused by music. “No good” “disgusting” Fun: promotes charity, courage, contentment, etc. “little use to us.” divert humans from what God would like them to feel or do. Joke proper: some people joke about sex because it gives rise to many incongruities. Bawdy humour won’t help. Others cultivate incongruities because they afford a pretext talking about sex. Find out what group he’s in and don’t let him know. Jokes make bad things okay. Flippancy: people do not take anything of virtue seriously; this deadens intellect. Every serious subject has a ridiculous side found. How do screwtape and wormwood manipulate humans? -​ They cannot put thoughts in the patients head, only keep them out -​ Don’t let them think of God, praying, reading God’s Word, of loving others, of spiritual things -​ They can’t make them think about doing sin, but they keep out thoughts of doing good. The devils cannot create or invent; they can only twist -​ God made pleasure but devils need to make man use it in the wrong ways and reasons -​ Twist his vision of the church, make him believe religion is ridiculous -​ Twist his prayer practices How to analyze a short story 1.​ Begin by summarizing the story in five to six sentences. This summary usually covers the basic plot. 2.​ Setting: What is the setting (time, place, mood, atmosphere) of the story? Does the setting change? How does the author affect/create this mood/atmosphere? (types of sentences, descriptive words, etc.) 3.​ Plot: What are the steps in the plot (what is actually happening think of inciting action, anti-climatic events crisis, climax and ending-denouement, ironic twist, open-ended) 4.​ Character: Who are the characters in the story (antagonist, protagonist, foil, flat, static, dynamic, round, stock, anti-hero, symbolic, confidant). 5.​ Structure: Are there divisions (shifts) in the story’s physical lay-out? Why? 6.​ Conflict: what conflicts can you find in the story (man-man, man-self, man-nature, man-society/environment). Which conflict is dominant? Which conflicts are resolved? Why? 7.​ Techniques: Foreshadowing, flashbacks, symbolism, frames, point of view, stream of consciousness, different POVs, direct address (to reader), descriptive detail, conversations (or lack of it), etc. Why does the author use these? 8.​ Style: What is characteristic of this author’s writing style? Look at how the author uses a variety of sentence types, choice of vocabulary, language level, use of metaphors or similes, voice, etc. 9.​ Author: Who is (s)he? In what country or time period does (s)he live? What cultural values/philosophy/religion does (s)he espouse? How is this evident in the story? 10.​Theme: Spend time connecting your findings to share/develop the theme of the story. Connect the theme to the title. Types of Characters -​ Major or central characters are vital to the development and resolution of the conflict. In other words, the plot and resolution of conflict revolves around these characters. -​ Minor characters serve to complement the major characters and help move the plot events forward -​ Dynamic - a person who changes over time, usually as a result of resolving a central conflict or facing a major crisis. Most dynamic characters tend to be central rather than peripheral characters, because resolving the conflict is the major role of central characters. -​ Static - does not change over time; his or her personality does not transform or evolve. -​ Round - anyone who has a complex personality; he or she is often portrayed as a conflicted and contradictory person -​ Flat - opposite of a round character. This literary personality is notable for one kind of personality trait or characteristic​. -​ Stock - those types of characters who have become conventional or stereotypical through repeated use in particular types of stories. Stock characters are instantly recognizable to readers or audience members. Usually one-dimensional flat characters, but sometimes stock personalities are deeply conflicted, rounded characters (e.g. femme fatale, cynical moral private eye, mad scientist, geeky boy with glasses, faithful sidekick) -​ Protagonist - central person in the story, often referred to as the main character. Faced with a conflict that must be resolved. May not always be admirable (anti-hero), nevertheless s/he must command involvement on the part of the reader, or better yet, empathy. -​ Antagonist - represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend. An obstacle the protagonist must overcome. -​ Anti-hero - a major character, usually the protagonist, who lacks conventional nobility of mind, and who struggles for values not deemed universally admirable -​ Foil - any character (usually the antagonist or an important supporting character) whose personal qualities contrast with another character (usually the protagonist). By providing this contrast, we get to know more about the other character. -​ Symbolic - any minor or major character whose very existence represents some major idea or aspect of society -​ Direct characterization - what the speaker or narrator directly says or thinks about the character -​ Indirect characterization - refers to what the character says or does. The reader infers what the character is all about. The reader is obliged to figure out what the character is like  -​ Literary characters may embody more than one of these character types at the same time. -​ Round ≠ dynamic -​ flat ≠ static The secret life of walter mitty Form: episodic. Reality is juxtaposed with walter’s world of imagination. Reality and imagination are seamlessly connected - some detail leads to the next episode. Details in the imagination are over exaggerated Content: the story goes through walters imagination and reality. He runs errands with his wife. He has madeup episodes in his head. His wife wears the pants in the relationship The firing squad Form: goes through the hierarchy of the army, from top to bottom. It focuses on one character at a time. It is third person omniscient, seeing thoughts of many characters. Uses a fair amount of dialogue. Content: a young man is condemned to death by firing squad for deserting and joining some trouble makers. Each officer delegates the task to the right man. No one wants to be responsible for it. John adam is the main character. At the the end, he refuses to carry out the execution, and the punishment will go onto him for refusing to carry out the order. The execution had been going to be a way for him to not be disciplined for his own cowardice. Mr know all Form: 1st person. Makes us not like him before we even meet him. He is prejudiced. Dialogue sections, description sections. Detailed description Context: the narrator takes a voyage on a trip and he doesn’t like his foreign, wealthy cabin mate. He is never wrong. He debates with mr ramsay about mrs ramsay’s pearls. He lies so that he wouldn’t uncover mrs ramsays infidelity The young ravens that call upon him Form: description, no dialogue. Setting is crucial. Grabs our emotions with descriptions. Makes animals into characters. Sun links the settings. Content: eagles are starving. Ewe gives birth. Eagles eat lamb. Snow by julia alvarez Form: 3 parts. Background, cold war, plot (bomb!) Snow byann beattie Form: from 2 peoples views. Memory. Nostalgic, descriptions The door in the wall Form: frames. Narrator - narrator’s memory talking to wallace - wallace’s memory Mostly description