A UNIVERSAL REVISION CHECKLIST
For a Novel Reaction Paper
INTRODUCTION:
- State fully the title and author (check all words and spelling)
- When was it published? Where? Why?
- What other novels by the same author rank with it?
- Name and spell correctly the chief characters.
- State what you consider to be its chief themes.
PLOT:
- What conflict drove the story on?
- Identify the climax.
- Was it the resolution of this conflict?
- How do sub-plots relate to the main one?
- Do they amplify, detail, enhance it?
- Do these sub-plots parallel or foreshadow the main action?
POINT OF VIEW
- How is the novel presented? Who narrates it?
- Rate its success.
CHARACTER
- How well developed are the principals?
- List adjectives to describe them.
- What do you recognise as the driving force, the motivation of these
principal characters?
SETTING
- Give historical, geographical, social details.
- Is the setting an important feature even a player in the action?
How/Why?
STYLE
- Identify and evaluate this novel for its prose, method of narration,
ease of reading.
THEMES/ PURPOSE/ CRITIQUE
- Is it relevant to our lives today? How?
- List principal scenes and show how they reveal character, or are
turning points in the action.
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