Project #2: Literary Analysis

Once you have chosen your text, you will need to read the literature multiple times. You want to pay attention to literary elements we have discussed in class throughout your readings and take notes to help with your presentation. Remember to employ close reading techniques to really study the text.

In addition, you will need to research your text. You might want to research questions like:

• When and where was this text released?

• Who was the target audience for this text?

• What was the culture like when this text was released and how does this literature represnt the culture at that time?

• Was there ever any controversy surrounding the text? If so, what and why?

• Has the author discussed this text? If so, what do they say about it?

• What are other scholars saying about this text?

Instead of writing an essay, you will choose a creative mode to present your research. Here are some ideas on how you might organize your research. You are welcome to choose another method not listed here as well.

• • Video - you can create a video of your talking through each aspect of your research. You are welcome to use a PowerPoint Presentation to guide you through you video.

  • Podcast - You could record a podcast discussion of your presentation. If you do this, please include some kind of slide deck so your lister can follow along (sometimes it's hard to follow lengthy podcasts).

  • Brochure - Using Canva.com or another program, you could create a tri-fold brochure with your information and visuals.

  • Infographic - Canva.com also provide infographic templates you could use to organize your information. While infographics are typically more visual heavy, you might need to have extra text in this to convey all the information needed.

  • Prezi - This program is like an interactive PowerPoint Presentation and can be customized creatively. 

  • Padlet - A Padlet is a digital thinking board where you can add sticky notes, columns of information, and visuals. 

  • Website - Another option would be to create a website using Google Sites like this where you can organize your information using headings and enhance your presentation through visuals, videos, and hyperlinks. 

Here's an example of a presentation that could be submitted for this project. I didn't fill in the info in case someone happend to choose this movie, although this is on our reading list and I prefer you choose an outside text. Here's how this might be organized though. I used canva.com and selected a pink brochure template, made sure to include all the required elements of this project, and then customized with images from the internet. 

**If you want to use Canvas, please send me an inbox message. I can give you student access to the pro version for free so you can use the templates and extra features. 😁

Once you choose your format, you can piece your presentation together. There are several categories of information I expect you to cover in your presentation. If there are additional aspects of your text you would like to add to your presentation, you are welcome to.

Your presentation must include the following components:

• • Summary - Develop a brief summary of your text. Remember, you do not include opinions in your summary, just restate the text. (1 paragraph)

  • Personal reflection - Include a brief personal response to the text. You can use the guiding questions from project 1 to help develop this section if that's helpful. (1 paragraph)

  • Importance/relevance of text on current society and society it was released into - Research when this literature was published and discuss it's relevance to that society and our currently society (if different). Look at the specific culture this literature came from as well and how this text may have influenced groups of people. (1-2 paragraph discussion)

  • Intended audience - Consider who the intended audience was of this text. Who do you feel the author was trying to communicate with? You could also take this a step further and consider who the real audience was, as in the grater audience that was exposed to this literature. (1 brief paragraph)

  • Themes observed - Look for themes within the literature. Try to identify a few different themes that arise with the text. For each theme, bring in an example from the text (direct or paraphrased quote) and include a brief discussion of those themes in your presentation. (1 paragraph discussion with textual evidence)

  • Genre of literature - What genre(s) do you feel this literature can be categorized in? Remember that frequently, texts can be identified by various genres. Be sure to explain why you feel this text can be categorized by that genre. (1 paragraph discussion of genre in general, even if you identify more than one genre)

  • Apply one literary theory to your piece of literature - We have looked at several types of literary criticism and still have more to go. Look at the criticisms we have discussed so far and try to apply ONE type of criticism to the literature. Make sure you clearly identify the type of criticism and discuss the application to the text. There is not a set required word count for this but you might include 2-3 paragraphs where you determine an argument that the author made and discuss a few themes applying the criticism to the text.

When providing peer feedback, please comment on the following aspects of your partners project:

• Identify the text the student chose and what form of literature it is.

• Can you easily identify a summary of the literature? Is the summary free of personal opinions and thoughts?

• Can you easily identify the student's reflection on the literature? Does their reflection share their thoughts and feeling about the text? Is the reflection well-thought out and developed?

• What does the student say about the cultural relevance to the literature? Do they discuss culture in regards to origin, language, socio-economics, politics, etc?

• Who did the student identify as the intended audience and real audience? 

• What themes did the student identify? Did they discuss the themes or just state them? Do you agree with their theme observations based on their discussion and textual evidence? 

• What genre(s) did the student classify this piece of literature? Did they explain why they categorized this text into this genre?

• What literary criticism did they apply to this text? Do they bring in a few examples to apply this criticism to the literature? Is there anything else you feel they can add to their application of the criticism? 

Once you view the feedback your peer provided you, make any needed edits and revisions to your project. Be sure to look through the rubric on Canvas before submitting. 

Don't forget to submit your close reading notes on your literature when you submit your final presentation. 

And some good news! Our next project is a final showcase where you will be doing a similar analysis for various texts. You will be able to use the work you completed on this project within your final showcase! More on that when we start project 3.  😁