1. write a brief (1 paragraph) summary of the book (or story);

2. analyze the point of view (first or third person): who tells the story; what are the techniques employed by the author in order to reveal the main character’s personality (or plot), etc.

3. theme: write a sentence or two about the gist (the central meaning) of the book (or story);

4. analyze the plot structure, that is, summarize how the author organizes the book (or story); think of the plot structure as a text, in which each chapter is a paragraph and try to explain how one chapter leads to another; in text linguistics, this is called “cohesion/coherence”;

5. style: underline the author’s unique way of telling his/her story; for example, how he/she builds up the climax; his/her use of words, etc.

6. character analysis: choose one character (main or secondary) that you think stands out in the narrative and explain why.