Here is an example of how to do the 'like' section of your book review. It is due Monday, February 10th, 2020.
Be sure to have about three pages:
a) a one page list of all the things you liked
b) a one page chart, using the S.E.E. method, that focuses on only three main likes
c) a final copy of your likes in paragraph format on one page
d) staple the pages together and include your name
List all the things that you liked in the book and make note in which chapter or page(s) the events occurred.
Likes
Chapter 1: The author uses metaphors such as “the message spread, faster than a winging bird.”
Chapter 3: We learn of the importance of Quakers and their opposition to slavery.
Chapter 4: Julilly’s character is developed by demonstrating that she is willing to help others by lifting their chains.
Chapter 5: The mood becomes very dark and sinister since it was absent of speech. The slaves did not communicate unless it was related to work and there was no evidence of singing or dancing.
Chapter 6: Julilly again demonstrates her willingness to help others.
Chapter 7: Rumours are circulated by anti-Abolitionists about cannibalism in Canada. This is meant to counter plans to escape by creating anti-propaganda.
Chapter 9: I learned what a whippoorwill is or that it is a bird. I learned about the trees found in the South.
Chapter 9: Adam is surprised that Mr. Ross does not have slaves. This demonstrates that Adam who is denied access to education, travel, and rights can accept an alternative to the only world that he knows.
Chapter 11: We learn about the Fugitive Slave Act.
Chapter 14: The Underground Railway was a series of safehouses or points that acted as stations. Those involved were like conductors. There was no train, but the girls walk along a set of railway tracks that are symbolic of the ‘Underground Railway.’ Underground is simply figurative for a secret network. Escaped slaves were referred to as ‘freight.’
Chapter 15: There was an Abolitionist, named Levi Coffin, and he was instrumental in the Underground Railway.
Chapter 16: Donnelly will return and this adds more tension.
Step 4: Try to place them into categories that apply to literature. Here are several things that make or break a book. DO NOT WRITE VAGUE STATEMENTS. EACH POINT MUST BE FOLLOWED BY A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE AND DETAILS.
Wrong: I liked the metaphors in the book.
Right: One of the strengths in the book includes the use of metaphors. For example, in chapter one, the author writes, “the message spread, faster than a winging bird.” This figure of speech is effective since it suggests that the news about the Underground Railway not only spread quickly, but it took flight. It even hints at the idea of freedom since it is connected to birds.
Step 5: After you have chosen 3 things that you liked. Decide on which category it falls into or how you would describe what you like in a statement. Order them from your weakest to strongest, so the reader remembers the last and most effective point.
Likes
Statement Example Details/Elaboration
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1.______________________________________________________
2.______________________________________________________
3.______________________________________________________
Step 6: Put together your paragraph using your chart. Add some transitional words (First, Second, Furthermore, Above all…). Edit your work. Submit.
Step 7: Repeat the same process, but find 3 things that you disliked. Once you complete the chart, write and edit your paragraph.
Statement Example Details/Elaboration
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1.______________________________________________________
2.______________________________________________________
3.______________________________________________________
*plot *character *conflict/struggle *theme/messages *setting details
*use of repetition or reoccurring words or phrases for emphasis or symbolism
*the types of struggle: person against person, persons against self, person against nature or person against the supernatural
*developed or undeveloped characters i.e. reasons for characters distinct motives or beliefs
*the level of background information/historical information or lack of background information/historical information
*how effective was the initial crisis which got the plot to develop
*the series of events that leads to the climax and how effective or possible were they
* the end should resolve initial conflict or initial crisis
*the most important chapter of the book and why
*the main character has a moment of self-realization or an ‘epiphany’ that the main character has in the story
*the level of suspension of disbelief or how the author was able to make something unbelievable rather believable
*the characters demonstrate their personalities through their actions
*the characters represented bigger ideas or abstract concepts such as love, hate, jealousy, bigotry or forgiveness
*the unique style or sense of humour of the author
*the writer’s distinctive voice or use of clichés (overused expressions, ideas, characters, or stories)
*the level of realism in terms of soliloquies (personal conversations to oneself made by a character) and the level of realism in terms of dialogue between characters
*the level of symbolism and imagery in the novel i.e. Aminata carried a copy of Gulliver’s Travels which symbolized or represented how her life like the main character lived in lands where one can be vulnerable.
*the level of cohesion or how it all stuck together
*the types of word or vocabulary choice being to simple or complexed
*the level of imagination and originality used by the author
*the number of oxymoronic/contradictory/illogical events (things that contradict or do not make things logical)
*anachronistic events i.e. these are historically inaccurate things such as the story using gunpowder when it was not widely used or invented when the story takes place
*the sense of mood developed i.e. gloomy or utopian
*the use of foreshadowing or how the author provides clues as to what was going to happen in the story i.e. a black raven appears before someone dies
*the use of metaphors, similes or personification in the story
*the chronology, narration or telling of the story and how easy or difficult it was to follow
*things that could have been done differently or what was lacking i.e. the closure or lack of closure to the novel
