How to study Literature for good grades

Explication is the best method of fully understanding a work of literature.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A notebook or journal

1. Explication is the process of going through a short story or poem, line for line or word by word for closer examination. Explication is usually used to analyze a certain part of a literary work but can be used to describe a work as a whole.

2. In fiction, authors have the tendency to use hidden meanings. These hidden meanings usually show up in people's names and titles of streets such as Tombsboro Avenue. All these are signs that may help you make a connection as to the direction a story is headed.

3. Remember to make entries in a notebook of all key people in a story. Write down things about each character. Is the character shy, angry, nervous? What is the theme and how does it involve each character? These are all things that can help you study for a better grade. As mid-term and finals roles around you can always look back at your detailed notes to brush up on characters, etc. This saves much more time than having to re-read a bunch of stories.

Tips & Warnings

• Use explication after reading through a story for the first time. This makes the important things stand out and you know where to focus your attention.

[tuneyfish]

on 10/27/2009 Great tips, one of my favorite subjects in college. 5*