In the following poem [or excerpt] by [author, date of publication], the speaker [comment on what is being addressed in the poem]. Read the poem carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how [author] uses [poetic or literary]elements and techniques to convey/portray/develop a thematic, topical, or structural aspect of the poem that is complex and specific to the passage of the poem provided.]
Example
2021. In Ai's poem "The Man with the Saxophone," published in 1985, the speaker encounters a man playing a saxophone. Read the poem carefully. Then in a well-written essay, analyze how Ai uses literary elements and techniques to convey the complexity of the speaker's encounter with the saxophone player at that particular time and place. |
The following excerpt is from [text, author, date of publication]. In this passage, [comment on what is being addressed in this passage]. Read the passage carefully. Then, in a well-writen essay, analyze how [author] uses literary elements and techniques to [convey/portray/develop a thematic, topical, or structural aspect of the passage that is complex and specific to the passage provided].
Example 2021. The following excerpt is from Tim Winton's novel Breath, published in 2008. In this passage, the main character, Bruce Pike, recalls an incident at a nearby river. Read the passage carefully. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how Winton uses literary elements and technique to represent the complex response of the narrator to the incident at the riverbank. |
[Lead that introduces some concept or idea students will be asked to apply to a text of their choosing.] Either from your own reading or from the list below, choose a work of fiction in which [some aspect of the lead is addressed.] Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how [that same aspect of the lead] contributes to an interpretation of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.
Example
2021. In many works of fiction, houses take on symbolic importance. Such houses may be literal houses or unconventional ones (e.g., hotels, hospitals, monasteries, or boats). Either from your own reading or from the list below, choose a work of fiction in which a literal or unconventional house serves as a significant symbol. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze how this house contributes to an interpretation of the work as a whole. Do not merely sumarize the plot. |