Sample+Starters

**Writing About Reading: Some Openers**

 * I was surprised when/angry about/satisfied with/moved by/incredulous at/puzzled by/…
 * I like the way the author…
 * I noticed how the author…
 * I don’t get why the author…
 * If I were the author I would have…
 * I’d compare this author to…
 * This book [character, place, event] reminded me of…because...
 * The main character…
 * The character development…
 * The narrative voice…
 * The structure of this book…
 * The climax of the plot…
 * The resolution of the main character’s problem…
 * The character I [like best, admire, dislike the most] is....because...
 * The genre of this book…
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">I’d say a theme of this book is…
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">I like/dislike...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">I wish that...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">I didn’t agree with…
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">I understood…
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">I couldn’t understand…
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">A question I have about this book is....because...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">Why did…
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">This is how I read this book...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">When I read this, I felt…
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">The book makes me think about [an important social issue, a problem, and so on]...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">I rated this one because…
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">If I could talk to one of the book's characters I would (ask or say)....
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">If I were this character, I would...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">[Character] reminds me of [myself, a friend, a family member, etc.] because...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">I predict that.....because....
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">Some important details I noticed were....They were important because...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">The author got me interested when...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">The book is really about....
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">After the book ends, I predict....
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">I learned...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">After reading the first [paragraph, page, chapter] of this book, I felt....
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">This book makes me want to [action, further reading]....
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">What I want to remember from this book is...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">The most important [word, phrase, idea] in this book is...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">My feelings about the [book, characters] changed when...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">This book was an effective piece of writing because....
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">As compared to other books [by this author, on the same topic], I think this book is....
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">If I were the author, I would have changed...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">This book helped me to...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">I thought this book was [realistic, unrealistic] because...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">I noticed that the author...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">The big ideas in this book were....
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 80%;">I think this author wrote this book to....