AS LL - READING JOURNAL INTRO & NOTES

AS ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
GENERAL READING JOURNAL NOTES

“A reading journal is a place where you should be noting your thoughts and impressions during your act of reading. It will help you to build up your own stock of ideas on a given text.”

You should reflect and comment on any aspect of the text that draws your attention and you should write as much as you like.  Treat the journal as an opportunity to jot down ideas about such things as plot, structure, characterisation, setting, themes and language - such as grammar, syntax, register and rhetoric etc.

Use the journal to experiment with ideas about the text. Test out your thoughts. Look for patterns like things that are similar or different. Observe where there is conflict in the text. Identify how that conflict is expressed.

Consider the narrative perspective of the text if it’s a novel. Who is telling the story? What do they focus on and what do they miss out?

Linked to this is another very important feature. Think about the way characters speak in the play or the novel. Think carefully about the words or phrases they would use when talking or writing. What words or phrases would they definitely not use? Why and why not?

Finally what are the attitudes and assumptions held by each character? What do they think about other characters or about key topics in the play or novel?

Spending a little time after each lesson going over notes, annotations and following up posts on the blog will really help you achieve a good grade in the exam. Start working for an A* now!

If you want to go further you could also think about and comment on

Genre – novel or play. What makes the novel a novel and what makes a play a play? In a play you must consider stage directions, dramatic techniques, dialogue, symbolism, contrasts, costumes etc 

Context – consider where and when the play or novel was first published. Consider the relevant political, economic, ideological, cultural influences of that period etc.

If you don’t know the meaning of any words or phrases highlighted, then ask me in class or click on the post Key Words. This will be updated regularly.