Worksheet: Developing Literary Criticism Skills

It is likely that you began this course with a  notion of what literature is, perhaps based on previous education,  family or cultural appreciation, or media and/or popular culture. This  course aims to expand your definition of literature through diverse  examples. Another aim of this course is to help you critically analyze  literature and discuss it beyond stating whether or not you liked it.  One way to help you expand your literary analysis skills is by applying a  paradigm of literary criticism, which helps you focus your reading. In  this week’s Assignment, you do just that.
To prepare for completion of this worksheet:

• Think about how you currently examine literature. What do you notice? What do you remember?
• Review “How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay” (located in this  week’s Learning Resources) for challenges and strategies that a critical  reader should consider when writing a literary analysis essay.
• Review the Ensler and Stanton and Mott Required Readings for this week in the light of “How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay.”
• Examine the diverse pieces of literature this week—Ensler, Stanton  and Mott, and the song lyric selections from this week’s Discussion—for  literary techniques as described in the “Glossary of Terms and  Techniques for Literature and Creative Writing” document.

Download the Week 1 Worksheet document from this week’s Learning Resources.

• Save the worksheet to your computer.
• Follow the instructions on the worksheet as you complete the three required written responses.
• Write your responses directly on the worksheet. This is the document that will be submitted.