Evaluating Literature :Evaluating Literature What’s good? What’s not? How can I decide?


College-level Evaluation :College-level Evaluation When you evaluate a piece of literature as a college student, you should say more than “this is boring” or “I didn’t like the story” or “This is a great story!” by substantiating your assertion.


Argument :Argument Remember that presenting your opinion in college is considered argument an interpretation/opinion supported by logical, structured evidence. The text will provide most of the evidence you need to support your evaluation.


Evaluating Literature Relies on Analysis :Evaluating Literature Relies on Analysis The following slides present criteria to use when evaluating literature, including: Use of Literary Conventions Challenging the reader with thought-provoking ideas Presenting an intellectual challenge without being obscure Providing satisfaction or pleasure to readers


Evaluation Criteria: :Evaluation Criteria: #1: Use of Literary Conventions


Use of Literary Conventions :Use of Literary Conventions Break down the work by literary elements: plot, character, setting, point of view, theme, symbols and ask questions: Character: believable? Symbolic? Representative? Plot: Arrangement enhances/detracts from meaning? Setting: does it contribute to the meaning? What if the setting were different?


Evaluation Criteria: :Evaluation Criteria: #2: Challenging the reader with thought-provoking ideas


Does the work challenge ideas, beliefs? :Does the work challenge ideas, beliefs? Good literature does not reinforce what one already believes, but pushes one to explore different avenues of thinking. Good literature moves beyond the trite, obvious, predictable —it sometimes pushes boundaries and moves people out of their “safe zones” by making them think.


Evaluation Criteria: :Evaluation Criteria: #3: Presenting an intellectual challenge without being obscure


Is the work intellectually challenging without being obscure? :Is the work intellectually challenging without being obscure? Intellectually challenging literature requires reader effort to unlock the complex meanings – it may be like a challenging puzzle that offers reward in completion Obscure literature exists to serve the author’s need to show off his/her specialized academic knowledge – it may seem more like a private code than an invitation/challenge to share meaning


Is the work intellectually challenging without being obscure? :Is the work intellectually challenging without being obscure? Complex works are not necessarily obscure; they require more effort and time Not all “accessible” works are trivial “Difficult” does not necessarily mean “great” in literature


Evaluation Criteria: :Evaluation Criteria: #4: Providing satisfaction or pleasure to readers


Does the work give you satisfaction or pleasure? :Does the work give you satisfaction or pleasure? Of course, you will not like everything you read. Sometimes, the ideas presented seem opposite of your own; sometimes, the ideas seem irrelevant to your life; sometimes, you may be tired of reading about a certain topic… BUT - try to see the value in using your thinking process to gain understanding of—or even to conquer—the literature.


Guess what? :Guess what? You can use many of these criteria to help you write your own fiction, poetry, screenplays etc… Instead of asking a reader, “What do you think?” help guide the reader’s evaluation by asking questions based upon these evaluation criteria. You can also apply many of these criteria to other genres, including movies, live performances, songs, speeches, etc…


Go forth and evaluate… :Go forth and evaluate… with an informed, analytical approach. (End of presentation)