王淦昌中学

沈 莉

Task Writing a literary review

Skills building1:listening for key words

Key words are the most ___________ words in a sentence or paragraph.

Teachers often use key words to__________________ about homework or tests.

important give useful hints

Keys words are often __________,__________,or _____________ with a __________ before them

stressed repeatedsummarizedpause

Step 1: recognizing key words

Paragraph 1

Paragraph 2

Paragraph 3

Paragraph 4

author, title, genre, setting

plot, characters, character development

themes, symbols

personal opinion, rate of the story

Title

Author

Genre

Characters

Plot

Theme

Symbols

Your opinion

Star rating

The home-made ballJerry Johnson

short story

Kevin, Mike, StevenKevin and Mike are good friends and play soccer with their home-made ball every day. However, when Kevin gets new sneakers and a new soccer ball, things change .

friendshipThe old home-made soccer ball and the new soccer ball, the old bench and the new sneakers.

three out of fiveOkay

Skill building 2: asking for and giving opinions

Giving opinions: •I feel that …•If you ask me, I would say …•In my opinion …

Asking for opinions:

•Do you think that…?•How do you feel about …?•What’s your opinion of …?

Showing agreement: •Exactly!

•I think so, too.•I feel the same way.

Showing disagreement:

•I disagree.•I beg to differ.•I don’t feel the same way.

Step2: giving your opinion on a literary review

1. Do you think the plot of “The Attic” sounds interesting?

2. What do you think about the way colours are used to describe Cindy’s moods?

3.Why do you think Virginia Fox uses chocolate as a symbol of happiness?

4.Which character in “The Attic” do you think is the most interesting?

5.Do you think “the beauty of freedom” is a good theme for a short story?

Skills building3: writing a literary review

Tense: • simple present• present perfect

Structure:•P1

•P2

•P3

•P4

•title, author, genre, setting

•brief outline of the plot•important characters•character development

•themes, symbols

•your own opinion•a rating of 1 to 5

Step3: writing your review

Sample:

‘The home-made ball’ is a short story written by Jerry Johnson. The story is set in modern-day America. The main character of ‘The home-made ball’ is a boy called Kevin. Kevin and Mike are good friends who play soccer with their home-made ball every day, but when Kevin gets new sneakers and a soccer ball, things change.

Friendship is an important theme in this short story. The author, Jerry Johnson, uses the old and new things, like the old home-made ball and the new soccer ball, and the old bench and the new sneakers as symbols. The old things symbolize the most valuable thing, friendship, which needs to be cherished. I think this story is really good and I give it a rating of three out of five.

Thank you!