In Elizabeth A. Dagrosa Harris' high school English classroom, the writing assignment that inspires the most dread in her students is the literary criticism paper, a common assessment usually assigned in the second semester of the British literature curriculum. This assignment is grounded in solid and time-tested standards that describe research…

Offers a list of questions for teachers to ask their literature classes, including questions on the author, the style, the theme, the setting, and the plot. Notes how sequencing these questions can prepare students for other activities in literature appreciation. (RL)

Offers a set of principles for constructing questions that compel rereading and proposes a set of principles by which literature teachers can construct significant questions--ones which compel rereading and textual constraint while encouraging independent interpretation, response, and hypothesizing. Provides examples illustrating the applications…