Extra Credit:Writing about fiction

In the Purdue OWL it explains on how writing about fictions can be very difficult and gives a person 3 major steps that will aid them when taking on the task. The first step is closely reading the text and avoiding pitfalls. When reading one should highlight key points without over highlighting and missing the points. One should also write notes in the margins like asking questions about the text, comments and dialogue. In this step you should then after you have finished reading it comment on what the Author meant about the story and the characters in it.

How to avoid pitfalls doesn’t just know the plot, but refers to specific text when discussing it. Another area is to avoid focusing on just the text and not what you get out of reading it. The people wants to read what you think about the text and just pull key points to support what you are saying. Developing a thesis is the next step. This is where your closely reading pays off. If you done this right you should be able to draw from your notes a pretty good idea of what thesis and supporting evidence you have to write about.

That brings us to our last step and that is pre-writing and drafting your essay. Out of your notes see what intrigues you and write on it for five to ten minutes. When you have done that go over your notes and evaluate what evidence you have to support what you have written. Then research outside sources that will aid you thesis and views of the fiction. When drafting your easy give examples and provide quotes from the literature. Be sure to put quotes in quotations and state the page you read it on.

I have found out the hard way that skimming something doesn’t aid you at all it just creates more frustrating steps of going back and rereading parts of the story that would have only taken once if you had closely read it. I never really thought about how your notes and highlighting should aid you in creating you thesis and supporting evidence. I always just thought of notes as an aid in remembering what you have already written. I will take that part and the next time I read something I will closely read it and take my thesis from the notes that I have written.