TPCASTT Quiz

T (the first letter)

Title: consider the title and make a prediction of what the poem/story will be about.

P

Paraphrase: write it in your own words of exactly what happened in the poem/story. Paraphrasing is NOT summarizing.

C

Connotation: refers to the emotional overtones of word choices, but actually means all/any poetic devices, focusing on how such devices contribute to the meaning, effect, or both. Should support the conclusions you draw about the poem/story.

A

Attitude/Tone: examine diction, images, and details that suggest the speaker’s attitude and contributes to your understanding.

S

Shifts: look for punctuation, stanza divisions, changes in sentence length, irony, changes in sound, change in diction, etc.

T (second T)

Title: look at the poem again and check to see if your initial guess on what the poem was about is right. What new insight do you learn?

T (last T)

Theme: What is the poem saying about the human experience? What did you learn? What did the author want us to take away?