What is it? A reduction is to reduced or distilled the essence of a literary work. Upon completion of a work, you will individually create your own reduction, including all the information you deem is necessary in order to fully understand the work. A sample of a reduction for “A Raisin in the Sun”

It is a way to condense and organize important information and thoughts regarding a particular work. It is not meant to represent all you know about a work; rather each item is a link or spark meant to elicit further chains of thought. Your reduction will manifest how you have internalized the work.

How do I construct one?  A reduction is created on a sidle horizontal sheet of 81/2 x 11” or 8 ½ x 14” paper.  Individual selection is key to the final product-- no two reductions are alike.  Organize information on the page in whatever way that makes sense to you.  Your reduction may contain groups of lists of important facts and insights. You might use dashes, bullets, arrows, boxes, brackets, underlining or shading in creating a graphic organizer to highlight items and make connections.  You might use acts or chapters as organizing tools.

The format is open-ended and creative. You will draw on many sources: reading class discussion, other writing assignments, or working with other classmates at times. Literary terms will probably play an important role in your reduction. For example, you might include a phrase that suggests foreshadowing, a note about an object that seems to be symbolic, or specific examples of figurative language or irony and their significance. You might include a list of adjectives frequently used to describe a particular character, analysis of the setting and its effect, quotations from or about different characters that reveal their motivations, a list of themes or images, or any detail that is important to understanding the work.

Why would I want to construct one?  Reductions help you organize your thoughts about a work, not only summarizing them, but synthesizing them. They thus allow for a deeper understanding and the ability to see relationships and patterns in works. They aid in seeing the work as a whole rather than just focusing on its parts. They also serve as excellent study tools, helping you to remember salient aspects of a work and emphasizing its patterns and connections.

Sample of Literary Reduction Their Eyes Were Watching God

Sample of a reduction This is a sample of a reduction for the novel The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolveris A bestselling novel about a missionary family, the Prices, who in 1959 move from Georgiato the village of Kilanga in the Belgian Congo.

Creating a reduction of literature provides you with the opportunity to think both analytically and comprehensively (parts and whole). Here are some guidelines: Use one side of an8 ½ x 11 or 8 ½ x 14 inch unlined paper only. Include the following information:  Title of work with picture  Author- give author’s name  Characters- List the characters and identify who each is in the novel- choose a person (famous or not) to play each character- pictures and some creative representation of the character(s)  Outline of significant events in plot (similar to a plot outline)

 Setting- when and where (time, place, date)  Quotations (3)- list three major quotations, identify the speaker and explain the meaning.  Symbols (3)- pictures of the symbols and explain what they symbolize.  Themes (3)- pictures of the themes and a brief explanation of how each theme is developed in the text.  Point of view- who tells the story and is it told in 1 st person, 2 nd, 3 rd point of view? Limited or omniscient? (narrator or no narrator) Place your name and date on back of your Literary Reduction. Be Creative!!!