Summarize BRIEFLY the action taking place in your section:
No more than a few sentences;
Select the most important events;
Do not retell the story in all its details;
Do try to finish the following sentence: In this section, the main course of action is that ...
Situate your section within the whole text:
Identify the placement of the section (beginning, end, middle, in between, etc.);
Ask yourself whether as a reader you carry expectations about such a placement, and whether or not you find them fulfilled by the text;
BRIEFLY recall what happened in the previous section if necessary;
Does the action in this section build upon the last one? If yes, how? If no, what are the effects of this lack of continuity on the reader? What do you find yourself wishing for? Can you find any way of making sense of this lack of continuity?
Identify the characters and their development (or lack thereof):
If we have already encountered them, what do we learn about them this time? Is there a progression in their psychological development? Describe it as best you can.
Attempt a physical and psychological portrait of the characters appearing for the first time in this section, using evidence (relevant adjectives, expressions, or quotes) from the text. How do they relate to the characters we already know? What does the main character learn, or fails to learn at their contact?
Identify and question interesting motifs, images, and other stylistic devices:
Are there, in this section, repetitions (action, behavior, images, expressions, etc.)? What do they insist upon? What connections do they invite us to follow between sections, characters, events?
Articulate questions raised by the text:
Are there aspects of the story that puzzle you, or make you feel confused?
If you could talk to the author, what questions would you ask him?
Select two interesting quotes from your section, and be prepared to justify our choice if asked in class.