LITERARY RESPONSE QUESTIONAIRE

1. Has the writer referred to the work and its author in the opening paragraph? Has the title of the work been punctuated correctly?

2. Underline the sentence you believe to be the thesis statement. If you do not find one, state what you believe to be the main idea.

3. Does the introduction narrow the focus of the paper, yet adequately relate the major ideas to be discussed? List them

4. How many body paragraphs has the writer used to develop his essay? What idea does each body paragraph develop? Is each body paragraph limited to only

one main point?

5. How does each body paragraph illuminate the thesis? (a) explains, (b) analyzes, (c) compares and/or contrasts.

6. Has the writer supported each paragraph with material from the work (short story, poem, song, work of art, film)?

7. Does the body have unity and continuity, i. e. does it flow logically from one point to another with effective transitions? List at least 5 quality transitions that have

been used.

8. Has the writer used the present tense (HISTORICAL PRESENT) in reference to all events within the work?

9. Has the writer concluded with the general idea of his thesis? How has he done so or failed to do so?

10. from what literary stance has the reader approached his critique? (plot, theme, characterization, conflicts, symbolism, point of view, etc.)

11. Has the writer included a Works Cited to his paper?

12. Are all sentences complete? (no run-ons, fragments or comma splices) Has the writer used a variety of sentence structures? (simple, compound, complex)

13. Explain any part of the text that caused you, or may cause a reader to have problems understanding the paper’s meaning. (Be specific—give exact words,

sentences, paragraphs, etc.)

14. Has the writer avoided giving a mere summary of the movie?

15. What other suggestions do you have that will help the writer to improve the quality of his paper?