Writing a review is one way that you can share ideas about literature. In a review, you state your opinion about a novel, play, short story, etc. You then support this opinion with examples from the reading.

Before you write your review, you must have a clear understanding of the reading. You will have to revisit what you have read while writing the review unless you have taken notes while reading, which you have in your reading logs. Your goal is to share something important or interesting that you learned.

The following is a list of the components of a literature review according to the four main elements of literature: plot, characterization, setting and theme.

A) Plot: The action of the story

Sample topic sentences for your plot paragraph:

The story includes a number of important or surprising events.

Certain parts of the story are confusing or hard to believe.

The climax (the most important event) happens when...

The ending is surprising...predictable...unbelievable, etc.

B) Characterization: The people or animals in a story

Sample topic sentences for your characterization paragraph:

The main character changes from _______ to ____________ by the end of the story.

Certain forces-people, setting, events, or ideas-make the main character or characters act as they do.

A certain character acts believably/unbelievably when...

____________ is the main character's most important trait.

I can identify with the character when...

C) Setting: The time and place of the action

Sample topic sentences for your setting paragraph:

The setting helps make the story ___________. (exciting, enthralling, believable...)

The setting has an important effect on the plot or action.

The setting (in a historical novel) helped me to understand a certain time in history.

The setting (in a science-fiction story) creates a new and exciting world.

D) Theme: The author's statement or lesson about life

Sample topic sentences for your theme paragraph:

Courage...peer pressure...growing up...happiness...greed... jealousy... is a theme in (title of book).

A certain moral, "Don't judge a book by its cover"..."Haste makes waste"..."Hard work pays off,"...is developed in (title of the piece of literature).

This piece of literature showed me what it is like to be...

Writing the Literature Review

Your literature review must consist of at least four distinct paragraphs, each containing at least four sentences, since you�re in fourth grade (a little humor there).

Paragraph 1: Plot

Paragraph 2: Characterization

Paragraph 3: Setting

Paragraph 4: Theme

Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence and end with a concluding sentence. The two sentences in the middle should support the opening, topic sentence using details from the piece of literature.

Your literature review will also include two extra paragraphs that will make it very sophisticated. It will contain an introductory paragraph and a concluding paragraph.

Paragraph 1: Introduction

Paragraph 2: Plot

Paragraph 3: Characterization

Paragraph 4: Setting

Paragraph 5: Theme

Paragraph 6: Conclusion

[Note: the following section is for your general knowledge. You did not keep collection sheets, you kept reading logs.]

While reading the piece of literature that you've selected for the review, you should keep a collection sheet on which you can record details for each component of the review: details about the plot, characterization, setting and theme. This will save you from having to go back into the literature to find something to write about. Always provide an example when taking notes on the collection sheet and include a page number. See example from The Miracle Worker, a play by William Gibson:

Sample Collection Sheet

The climax happens when Helen understands that words have meaning.

Main points:

Helen is deaf, blind and mute.

Annie Sullivan tries to help Helen understand by using sign language (p. 42).

Near the end, Annie has Helen fill a pitcher with water (p. 134).

The opening paragraph of your review must name the title and author of the reading. The title should be underlined if it is a book, italicized if it is a play and enclosed in quotation marks if it is a short story or poem. For example: In The Miracle Worker, by William Gibson, ....

Revising

Did I mention the title and author in the introduction?

Do the sentences in each paragraph support or explain the topic of each paragraph?

Does each paragraph contain specific examples from the reading to support each component of the review?

Are the sentences arranged in the best order?

Do I have a concluding paragraph, or is my review dangling?

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws