Next week we will begin writing our “state of YAL criticism” papers. Your assignment this weekend in preparation for this is to read and annotate (at least) three articles beyond the one you synopsized last weekend. To be clear: this paper should not include your definition of YAL, but a synopsis of the current criticism you’ve come across. To that end you will argue that “_____ is the current definition/view of the genre.” This will serve at least two purposes:

1. It will give you a better fluency with articles and research (including the ongoing discussion amongst them).
2. It will give us a solid starting point of comparison as we build our own definition/explanation.

As you read it would be a good idea to keep a running explanation of YAL in your notes. Begin with the explanation given in the source you synopsized then read another, changing the explanation as you go, marking the reason for the change either in your journal or on the article itself. In addition to marking changes, you should mark points of agreement. These notes will become the major points of your writing. Do this with each article and you’ll end up with a (disorganized) outline. We’ll assemble these in class next week.

Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy is in! For those who asked for a copy, head to B&N at 41st. Stay tuned for The Hunger Games…