As UIL competition season approaches, literary criticism is in preparation for their district meet at Eaton High School on March 29.
UIL Literary Criticism is one of 30 contests offered in UIL Academics and is a 90-minute exam broken into four parts. The first section tests knowledge of literary terms and literary terms. This section covers important figures and topics from both American and British literature. The second section focuses on the annual UIL reading list, which consists of a novel, a drama and a selection of poems.
This year’s list contains “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” “Much Ado About Nothing” and “The Poems of Emily Dickinson.” The third part assesses students’ ability to critically analyze literary devices. If two or more students score the same on their multiple-choice sections, the contest ends with a tie-breaking essay where students show their ability to write and analyze a literary topic in-depth.
The preparation for competition is intensive and collaborative. Team members meet every other day to discuss the reading lists, review literary terms and practice with sample tests. Team meetings mainly consist of working together to learn new tools that will help them succeed in competition.
“We’ve focused a lot on the assigned reading lists and really understanding the themes and messages of each work,” senior Andrew Gao said. “Since these works are the only thing we know for sure will be on the test, we’re working hard to make sure all of us can truly understand and analyze the works.”
Team captain and senior Emily Maxwell believes the ability to quickly identify literary devices under pressure is critical for performing well at competition.
“We’ve been breaking down texts and analyzing them from all angles,” Maxwell said. “Over time, our discussions have definitely grown more sophisticated and our observations more insightful.”
Beyond the readings and analysis, the team is spending time preparing for the tie-breaking essay. Essays that fail to meet the standards of serious analysis are disqualified.
“The tie-breaking essay is a crucial part of the literary criticism exam,” senior Thomas Hall said. “To prepare we’ve been reviewing the literary terms we struggle with and practicing a lot on strengthening our writing.”
Teamwork is essential in competition preparation. Every practice session involves a mixture of self-study and group discussions where members can share their opinions and insights.
“We all bring something different to the table,” Maxwell said. “ We push one another to think deeper, read closer and articulate our ideas with clarity.”
As competition day approaches, the team is feeling a mix of both pressure and excitement. They know the competition will be challenging and their opponents will be tough but they are confident their preparation will pay off.
“We’re ready,” Gao said. “We’ve worked and studied hard and I believe we’ll do well. Either way, all of us have learned a lot from this process and it has been tons of fun.”
