Quote Response Instructions

On days indicated on the calendar, you should come to class with a typed quote response on an assigned work. The goal is to think about a story or novel we are reading and write short paragraph responses to three different quotes. The exercise, therefore, has three sections. To maximize your grade, follow the requirements and guidelines.

1. Character: Choose a phrase, sentence, or short passage from the work that reveals the ethics* of a character or the narrator (for fiction) or the speaker (for poetry). After writing the quote, identify the value held by that person that you think is revealed and explain how you can tell. What evidence in the language justifies your interpretation?
2. Conflict: Choose ANOTHER phrase, sentence, or short passage that underscores a central conflict** in the work. After writing the quote, identify the conflict you see and explain how it is related to the value you identified above. Why does the conflict exist?
3. Craft: Choose a THIRD phrase, sentence, or short passage that showcases a feature of the author’s unique craft*** in the work. After writing the quote, describe the feature that attracted your attention and explain the effect it creates for the story being told to us.

  *ethics: The values, attitudes, or point of view that guides an individual’s behavior, desires, and choices. Ethics define right and wrong, helpful and hurtful, etc. There is always a value system in or behind a work, and one way to make sense of a story or poem is to identify the shape and size of that system. Even if we happen to disagree with the values held by a character (not always the same as the author, remember), we can benefit from literature that helps us see another point of view more clearly.

 **conflict: Any clash between one attitude and another, one behavior and another, one desire and another, or one choice and another that leads to crisis. If you have ever asked yourself the question “What should I do now?” you might know something about crisis. In literature, conflicts between characters or conflicts within the mind of a character or speaker allow us to observe crisis from a distance, but we can still be affected.

***craft: The way an author uses words should matter in a work of literature, and most of the time it does matter. So we must pay attention to the author’s language. Word choice, tone of voice, the rhythm of phrases, the level of detail, etc. all contribute to our impression of an author's craft, or style. Style is important to analyze in literature because in the end, we are reading words crafted to create a memorable effect.

Scoring

• For each section of the quote response, your answer will be accepted (1 pt), partially accepted (1/2 pt) or considered unacceptable (0 pt).
• If your quote response has an answer earning a full point, it will also earn a bonus point for being turned in.
• So each quote response can earn up to 4 points.
• To earn full credit, your three quotes must be unique and carefully chosen, your responses must be professional and edited carefully, and all parts of the quote response must be filled in, including (a) the name of the work at the top, (b) the page numbers of your quotes (and other blanks where appropriate), and (c) your name at the bottom.
• If a quote response is filled out improperly or written in an unprofessional manner, no bonus point will be given. Quote sheets are collected at the beginning of class on the days indicated on the calendar. Please use the quote response template to type your work. Leave the formatting in the quote response template as is. Be sure to use Microsoft Word on campus if your version does not properly print your work.
• When you are done typing this assignment, be sure that it fills up at least one page and does not exceed two pages. If your finished assignment exceeds one page, I would prefer that you print front-back.