Some students keep a reading journal or diary as they read through their text for the first time. The journal is written for your aid and it allows you to get down your personal responses to the story and the characters before you start into the in-depth analysis and evaluation: this comes more with your second reading. A Reading Journal can be a useful starting point and reference when you come back to develop and plan your personal study essay. Your final essay will need to balance your personal response and your more objective analysis and evaluation.
Below is an extract from a student’s reading journal for “Cal”. This student was studying this novel in class. However, you could adopt the same idea for your personal study text. It would also give you some valuable writing practice.
Example of Reading Diary entry for Chapter One of Cal
I’ve just finished reading the first chapter. It all seems a bit dark but despite that (or maybe because of that) I like it. Maybe “like” is not the right word but I find it kind of interesting all the same. I have to admit that I don’t really know much about the politics of Northern Ireland. I’ll need to look up some stuff on the internet about it. There is mention of Gerry Fit and the UVF. However, I think that, as someone in class said, it’s not really a political story.
I’m not sure whether I’m going to like Cal. At times I feel sorry for him. He’s clearly a sensitive soul because he can’t stand to work in the abattoir. In fact he obviously has something approaching a phobia about blood – his stomach turns at the sight of black pudding. But at the same time he has obviously got involved in something nasty – possibly a killing. I wonder how someone who can’t stand looking at black pudding can get involved in murder?
I thought at first that his relationship with his dad was going to be a very bad one – but I think that his father felt ashamed of his son turning up at the job they shared for a while. His father can’t seem to understand Cal’s problem.
Other characters have been mentioned – Marcella – it seems clear that she’ll come into it more. Cal seems to be attracted to the fact that she has a foreign-sounding name – maybe he likes her name because it’s not a name associated with Northern Ireland – maybe it makes him think of other things.
We were also introduced to Crilly (Cal’s pal – who, by the sounds of the school stories, is a bit psycho) and Skeffington who is very polite and is their superior in the IRA (although the IRA is not mentioned directly – just “the movement”).
I might be a bit weird but I like the first line of the novel: “He stood at the back gateway of the abattoir, his hands thrust into his pockets, his stomach rigid with the ache of want.” There’s something about the sense of violent death and desire which is disturbing but, all the same, grabs your attention from the start.
Critical reading guidelines
As you read through your chosen prose text you should take some notes to help you develop ideas that will eventually form the basis of an essay for the Personal Study Unit.
Make sure you are clear about the story. Once you have finished the story you should summarise the text in a paragraph. It is more difficult to write a short accurate summary than a very long summary. However, if you can do this, it shows that you have a good understanding of the story.
Where and when does the story take place? This is called the setting. Take notes on some of the passages where the writer tries to describe the setting (time and place). Think about how well they recreate the time and place of the story for the reader.
Who tells the story (this person is called the narrator)? If it isn’t a character within the story then it is the God-like narrator that knows everything that is going on. In literature this type of narrator is called the “omniscient narrator”.
Take notes on the main and minor characters. Look out for how they are described – both in terms of physical appearance and personality. When looking at characters it is also important to note down how they treat others and how others react to them. Finally, take some notes on what they say and importantly how they say it (eg. The difference between “Hello” he said and “Hello” he sneered. The word “hello” doesn’t tell us much about the character. However, the word “sneered” does. It suggests that the character may be bitter or unpleasant). The way a writer creates a sense of a character for the reader through these various methods is called characterisation.
What do you think is the theme of the text? This is the issue, idea or aspect of life that the writer is exploring through the novel. For example, in “Cal”, we might argue that MacLaverty is exploring, amongst many things, class tension. We often use the phrase “this text explores …” when discussing themes.
What is the conflict or problem in the story? Most stories have some sort of conflict that needs to be resolved. How is this resolved in your chosen text? The conflict is often an internal one that the protagonist struggles with.
Is there anything unusual or interesting about the opening or ending of the story? If so, describe what it is.
What did you enjoy or find interesting about the novel? What aspect of life do you feel you know more about having read this story? This very important part of your response is called your evaluation and forms a major part of the assessment criteria throughout English. When writing about your response avoid using boring phrases like “I really liked this book”. Instead write about how the book affected you. For example, “This book really made me think about …” or “This novel is very powerful and often made me quite emotional” etc..
Remember that you will be studying other prose works in class. Try to apply some of the knowledge that you gain in class to your Personal Study text.