Lit Craft & Structure Checklist (b)

Identify The Author's Purpose

First read the book/chapter title and first paragraph. Ask yourself what you will learn and what the author is trying to tell you.
Is the author telling a story? Describing an event or sequence of events? Trying to convince you of something? Or giving you factual information?
Jot down what you think the author's purpose is and what you might expect to read in the book/chapter.

Pause on words that are in bold, italics, underlined or have any unusual symbols such as an asterisk. Authors use these formats for emphasis, so ask yourself why they are important.
Pause on descriptions, words you do not recognize or phrases that surprise you while reading. These are carefully chosen by the author to communicate deeper meaning and detail. Underline these parts to help you find them again.

After you read, write down the main point(s) of what you learned.
Compare it to what you first jotted down and reflect on why if it differed.
Consider what you learned that surprised you. Think about how the author conveyed those surprises. Did you have clues that the surprise might have been coming? How did the author provide those clues and were they effective?