|
|
Getting & Giving Help
Unit Completion Date: End of Week 6
|
| [ Previous ][ 7 ][ Next ] |
In providing a critique of a fellow student's story, please select the two fictional elements of the four we have studied (point of view, character, plot, and description) that you believe the author should concentrate on in the next draft. The two you choose need not be the most problematic elements of the story--you could choose strong elements that present many opportunities--but you should choose those areas where you believe the writer's energies will be best used in rewriting.
Your critique should be about one page in length, so please spend at least a half a page on each element you have chosen. For each, follow the steps listed below in providing your critique:
- First, summarize your reading of the story with respect to the fictional element. For instance, if you have chosen to address character, then identify the main characters, what their wants are, what realizations they come to or changes they undergo during the story. Identify as many specific techniques as you can that the writer has used to develop character, and refer back to specific parts of the previous discussion unit as reference. For description, you might identify descriptions that are central to the story; for point of view, perhaps a breakdown of the components; in addressing plot, you might list the dramatic questions, or give a summary of the story phases. Your summary should not use any evaluative language ("good," "bad," "I liked...," etc.), but should be a straight report of your understanding of that element of the story. Very often, the difference between this kind of report and the author's intent will be sufficient to point the author toward rewriting goals.
- Second, once you have completed your summary of the chosen element, ask the writer any questions you might have regarding that aspect. If you are unsure of some part of the character development, or--if you chose to address plot--if you did not understand what happened in a particular part of the story, you might ask about that. Your questions should be focused on clarifying your understanding of the text, not on questioning the writer's choices.
- Third, identify opportunities you see in the story for the writer to build upon what they have already done. In doing this, take care to think carefully about what the writer has intended to do in the story, and how that writer--with his or her skills--might make the story better. Try to avoid giving advice that is what you, with your own particular strengths, might do with the piece, unless you happen to share that strength with the writer.
For a critique to count as submitted, you must BOTH e-mail it to me, and post it in the appropriate workshop forum. As with all other course assignments, this must be done by midnight on the due date.
|
| [ Previous ][ 7 ][ Next ] |
|
