Diagnostic (50 points): Reading Builds Empathy

Literary fiction, by contrast, focuses more on the psychology of characters and their relationships. “Often those characters’ minds are depicted vaguely, without many details, and we’re forced to fill in the gaps to understand their intentions and motivations,” Kidd says. This genre prompts the reader to imagine the characters’ introspective dialogues. This psychological awareness carries over into the real world, which is full of complicated individuals whose inner lives are usually difficult to fathom. Although literary fiction tends to be more realistic than popular fiction, the characters disrupt reader expectations, undermining prejudices and stereotypes. They support and teach us values about social behavior, such as the importance of understanding those who are different from ourselves.

The results suggest that reading fiction is a valuable socializing influence (Chiaet). 

Diagnostic Paragraph Prompt: 

• For the next 20 minutes, write the best unified paragraph you can demonstrating to me where your skills currently stand:

• What is a specific book, story, poem that has helped you develop some understanding of humanity? If not a book, story, or poem—what is an event in your life that helped you changed the way you look at people?  What was it you came to understand? (Try to make a topic sentence that combines both the subject and what you learned from it)