1. Begin with a paragraph that describes the main conflict or problem
in the story and that expresses some personal response to or attitude
toward the story and it’s problem/conflict .
2. Deepen your exploration of the story (and of your response to it)
in a second and third paragraph that analyze the exposition and rising
action of the story or poem. Pay particular attention to the way that
the author establishes the main conflict or problem that the story or
poem addresses. Please note that this is different than providing a mere
synopsis of the story or poem (by which I mean a summary of its plot).
Rather, in order to describe the main conflict or problem you will need
to interpret and analyze the text. In so doing, make sure to support
your claims with detailed quotations from the text, focusing on the use
of imagery and figurative language in particular.
3. Culminate your exploration of the story (and of your response) in a
fourth paragraph that analyzes the climax of the story, making sure to
support your claims with detailed quotations. Where is the climax (or
turn, in the case of a poem) located? Why do you think it is the climax,
or the moment of peak drama and intensity? How do the characters of the
story (or speaker of the poem) emerge on the other side of the climax
with an altered understanding of their circumstances and condition?
