Reader Response Journal—English 28
Dr. Leiby
Spring 2015
About every other week during the semester, you will write short journal entries (seven of them),
on Daisy Miller, A Doll’s House, and The Awakening, as well as on several other literary texts of
your choice. Think of your journal entries, not as just personal responses to the works of literature
that we read, but as rough drafts in which you explore the texts with the goal of formulating an
argumentative, interpretive thesis statement that you support with close reading of the texts. The
journal entries will be graded for the exploration you do of the literary text and the originality and
plausibility of the thesis you formulate, as well as for the quality of the evidence, the detailed close
analysis of the text that supports the thesis. Refer to the “Guidelines for Interpreting Literature”
handout for how to distinguish between summarizing and interpreting and for suggestions on
formulating argumentative, interpretive analyses of literature.
In your journal, first write about your initial reaction to the texts you have selected. Doing so will
give you a place to begin further analysis of the work; then you should add analysis of the text,
formulating an argumentative, interpretive thesis that identifies what you think the literary text is
arguing about a theme or themes related to images of women. When you write, don’t worry if
your answers seem incomplete or insufficient; however, try to respond to these questions with as
much detail as you can. Consider the following questions:
What is my “gut reaction” to this text? Do I like the work? What, specifically, do I like or
dislike about it?
Do I like the characters? Why? Are there any characters that I dislike? Why?
How are the experiences of this character (or these characters) like or unlike my own
experiences? Does the difference in our experience make the work more difficult to
understand? Does the similarity in our experience make me connect with the character(s)
more closely?
What is the setting of the work? What do I know about this setting? How is it like or unlike my
own experience?
What recurring images did I notice in the work? What might they mean? Do those
images have any cultural significance, especially to the construction of women?
What is the title of the work and why did the author choose that title? What alternative titles
might the author have chosen and why?
Who is “telling” the story? Why did the author select this character to tell the story? How
would the story (or poem) be different if told from someone else’s point of view?
Why might the author have written this work?
What argument does the text make about a theme or themes and how does it do so? What
specific passages from the text are used to make the argument?
Requirements:
1) Each journal entry must be at least 1-2 typed pages, double-spaced (at least 250 words).
2) Use MLA style of documentation for in-text citations; no works cited page is necessary.
3) Submit the journal in a two-pocket folder and clearly label both the journal and the folder
as required in the syllabus; also submit the journal (Parts I and II) to Turnitin.com.
4) Part I (on Units 1-2, four entries) is due on March 26 and Part II (on Units 3-5, three
entries) is due on May 5.
Alternate Assignment: Instead of doing the Reader Response Journal throughout the semester you
may choose instead to write a 6-8 page term paper on several literary works related to one or more
images of women, incorporating at least two secondary sources of literary criticism into your
analysis. See me for approval and assignment guidelines.