Select two significant passages from i know why the caged bird sings to which you will respond. a significant passage should be approximately two to four paragraphs in length. it can come from anywhere in the book, but the two passages should come from different parts of the book. when choosing a passage, you should look for a small passage in the book that you feel is very important to the novel as a whole. it might be a passage that explains the title, or illustrates an important theme of the novel, or describes an important turning point. the passage may even show mood or character. 2. after the two passages have been chosen, you need to reproduce each passage. you can type the passage or make a photo copy of the actual page from the novel. again, you will selfselect two significant passages from i know why the caged bird sings. 3. write a response for each of the passages that you have selected. the response should be in essay form and should be your own, original work. students may not borrow any material from the internet or any other source; doing so will result in a zero for the assignment. the response should explain why that particular passage was chosen. for example, if one passage from a novel was chosen because you felt that it explained the title well, then your essay response for that passage should focus on that topic. 4. each response should be approximately two to four paragraphs in length and typed. paragraphs should be five to seven well-developed sentences. the responses need to be thoughtful and analytical. they should not be summaries of the selected passages.