Reading+a+text-+Making+log+entries

= __**Keeping Logs:**__ = = = =**In your reading journal or notebook, write about your initial reaction to the text you are studying in class. Doing so will give you a place to begin further analysis of the work. When you write, don’t worry if your answers seem incomplete or insufficient; however, try to respond to these questions with as much detail as you can at this point. As you review your writing, though, and re-read the text, keep in mind the gaps in this crash-through writing. Those gaps will provide clues to particular points in the text that you will want to analyze further. Consider the following questions as points of departure for your crash-through journal writing:**=


 * =**What is my “gut reaction” to this text? Do I like the work? What, specifically, do I like or dislike about it?**=


 * =**Do I like the characters? Why? Are there any characters that I dislike? Why?**=


 * =**How are the experiences of this character (or these characters) like or unlike my own experiences? Does the difference in our experience make the work more difficult to understand? Does the similarity in our experience make me connect with the character(s) more closely?**=


 * =**What is the setting of the work? What do I know about this setting? How is it like or unlike my own experience?**=


 * =**What recurring images or objects did I notice in the work? What might they mean? Do those objects have any cultural significance?**=


 * =**What is the title of the work and why did the author choose that title?**=


 * =**What alternative titles might the author have chosen and why?**=


 * =**Who is “telling” the story? Why did the author select this character to tell the story? How would the story be different if told from someone** **else’s point of view?**=


 * =**Why might the author have written this work?**=