How to Use this OER Text
A Brief Overview for Students
This educational resource was designed for the first half of a two-course composition sequence, but it is also suitable for an undergraduate course focused on introducing students to the study of literature. It is provided free to ENGL 1302* students at Palo Alto College, in lieu of a traditional course textbook.
Responding to Literature contains instructional material and readings, as well as discussion questions designed to help you probe the reading selections more deeply before you begin writing about them in a formal essay. Your instructor may supplement these readings with additional texts and resources.
To get the most out of this virtual text, you should take notes as you read each selection. You can do this using a word-processing program (like Microsoft Word or Google Docs), or with an old-fashioned pen-and-paper notebook by your laptop or tablet.
The book is organized into three sections:
- How to Write about Literature – These chapters will introduce you to the types of writing that college students typically engage in, when reading literature. They will also help you review elements of the academic writing and research processes.
- Fiction and Drama Readings – This section of the book contains a variety of literary texts for you to use, to practice written analysis and reflection.
- Poetry Readings – This section of the book contains a sampling of poetry — from sonnets to free verse — that you can explicate, critique, and analyze.
When reading the first section of the book, write down important terms and concepts, along with their definitions and your questions about them. Some of the information may reinforce, deepen, or build upon what you’ve already learned in earlier composition courses.
When reading the literary selections in the subsequent sections, write down characters (if applicable), settings, major ideas, and your personal responses to what you’re reading. You should keep a list of unfamiliar words, people, places, or historical references, to research/define. This will help you better understand what the author is saying, as well as the world in which the author and audience lived. You may also use the discussion and research questions in the second section as a jumping-off point for personal journaling or discussions with your classmates.