Instructions for the Notes & Questions Assignments
1.) For the Notes & Questions assignments, you will submit your notes from the readings and videos earlier in this unit.
2.) Then, you also will write any questions you have on the specific readings, the literary genre, and/or the course itself.
If you do not have any questions, you’ll need to explain why. In your response, briefly explain your understanding of the readings and literary genre.
Taking Notes
In order to ensure a solid grade on your notes, please take detailed notes.
In your notes, you should include two things:
- First, a basic outline of the storyline and the work’s major ideas.
- Second, you should take notes using at least three of the concepts listed below.
Basic Concepts for Interpreting Fictional Short Stories
When interpreting short stories, students should consider taking notes on the following elements:
- Plot: Outline the sequence of events and identify the key moments in the story’s narrative.
- Characters: Analyze the main characters’ traits, motivations, and relationships with others.
- Setting: Take note of the time, place, and atmosphere in which the story unfolds.
- Point of View: Determine the perspective from which the story is narrated and its impact on the reader’s understanding.
- Theme: Identify the underlying message or central idea explored in the story.
- Symbolism: Note any symbolic elements or objects that carry deeper meaning within the story.
- Conflict: Identify the main conflicts, whether they are internal (within a character) or external (between characters or with the environment).
- Foreshadowing: Pay attention to hints or clues that suggest future events or outcomes in the story.
- Irony: Identify instances of verbal, situational, or dramatic irony that add depth or create contrasts within the story.
- Writing Style: Take note of the author’s choice of language, sentence structure, and literary techniques employed.
These elements provide a foundation for analyzing and interpreting short stories, but it’s important to adapt and expand based on the unique characteristics and themes present in each story. Additional elements such as tone, mood, characterization techniques, and narrative structure may also come into play depending on the specific story being studied.
Attaching Your Notes
Perhaps the easiest way to take and submit detailed notes is to take your notes digitally, by typing them into a document offline.
To that end, it may be easiest to take, save, and submit your notes digitally, in another document that you can upload later.
However, since studies show that handwriting your notes may aid in learning retention, you may also submit photos of your hand-written notes, instead. However, they will need to be photographed and written clearly enough for me to read. To upload those photos, click the “Attach Files” button below, as when uploading .PDF files.
A Reminder about Daily Reviews of Your Notes
There are several reasons for taking careful notes in the course, beyond the challenges of keeping track of the readings for your essays later in the course.
One of the best ways to learn and retain what you study is to flip or scroll through your notes each day. It only takes a minute or two, and you needn’t read them in any detail. However, simply refreshing your mind each day — just by looking at them, however briefly — will help you in several ways:
- Reviewing your notes daily will help you remember your studies later on, including for your quizzes, essays, and final exam.
- These one- or two-minute-long reviews will also help clarify your thoughts and ideas about the readings and the course itself.
- Ideas and concepts that once seemed complicated will become clear, as if by magic.
- Plus, it’s a positive way to remember all that you’ve accomplished so far!
- In these ways, and more, brief daily reviews help you see the big picture and direction of the course, preparing you to move forward into new territory.
I highly recommend briefly reviewing your notes daily.
