Based on
the Diagnostic Exam in 5 Steps to a 5,
strengths that I have include: time management and knowledge of literary
devices. Time management is important because it helps me to pace myself and be
able to get through the questions quickly while still understanding the
passages and the questions. The faster that you are able to understand the
passage, the more time is available to focus on the questions. In addition, I
know most of the literary devices. For instance, in question 26, it asks, “Line
12 is an example of” what type of literary device. I knew that the answer to
this particular question was that the line is a paradox because not only do I
know what a paradox is, but I know what the other options are in order to
eliminate them. Having a broad base of knowledge of literary devices is
important because, if you are unsure of a particular question, being able to
eliminate blatantly wrong answers is a good test taking strategy.
A weakness
that I have in literary analysis, on the other hand would be that sometimes I
get carried away. What I mean to say is that after I read a passage, I go to
the questions, excited that I totally understood what the author meant in the
story or the poem, and I actually don’t. And then I answer a few questions
totally wrong because I was too carried away in my own interpretation without
delving deeper into what might be a more complex meaning. Certain types of
questions are also more challenging to me. For instance, the questions that
give you something to find (i.e. a device, a plot point, etc.) and then ask
what line it can be found in are questions that I consider more difficult. For
me, it’s more difficult to go in reverse and do it this way. Another type of
question that I consider more difficult is the more abstract questions, such as
coming up with a title for a passage. They are not as straightforward and
therefore definitely require more consideration.
I plan to
improve by setting certain goals for myself. For instance, something that the
Chapter 1 in the book mentions is to become more “attentive” to the text and to
“become more comfortable with the ambiguity and contradiction “ presented in
the passage. I believe that this will give my interpretations of literature to
become more nuanced because it will force me to focus more on specific analysis
and why the author made certain decisions rather than simply trying to
understand what is supposed to be happening. Another goal that I have made for
myself is to close read the passages more effectively. Close reading and
annotating is one of the most important things that you can do because it helps
to highlight what elements of the text are the most important to analyze.
Therefore, it can provide a narrower focus that emphasizes literary technique
versus literary plot. By improving my close reading skills, this can help with
interpretations of the passage.
One last
goal that I plan to enact would be to incorporate more literature into my life.
I never read poetry, so some of my poetry skills have faded. So if I can take
some spare time once a week just to read a poem it would help me to familiarize
myself with the structure and techniques used in poems. Therefore, when I get
to a test, I won’t be worried about it and can focus more on analysis instead
of plot points.
I completely understand what you mean when you say you think you understand the meaning of poem and then you see the questions and what you think is off base. I felt the same way with the Shakespearian sonnet in the Practice Test. It completely went over my head. But I think I had such a problem with the sonnet because I'm too focused on my annotating, circling the right words, and picking out the literary devices, I forget to sit back and figure out the purpose or main point of the poem. I think doing that at the end of each work would really help with understanding what message the author is trying to convey. But you already seemed to understand this needs to be done because one of your plans is to focus on your close reading. I could also use some practice there so I'll stop focusing so heavily on certain words or phrases in the poem, but rather see it as a whole piece of writing, and understand the big picture. Also, incorporating more literature into your life is a great idea because I too have stopped reading poetry for a while, so I'm not used to the different poetic forms and the way you have to read through and analyze poetry to completely understand it, since it’s usually fairly complex, possibly with an extended metaphor that you must unravel to grasp the meaning of the poem. Overall, the plans you’ve fleshed out all seem attainable and should have the effect of making you a better test taker and a better literary admirer in the end.
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