This dissertation presents a method for teaching secondary students many recognized critical approaches to the study of literature, so that they may choose the methods that function best for them with a given work. The novels of a contemporary American author, Jack Matthews, are used to show how the method operates. The investigator reports many different procedures that were employed in the development of the teaching method. The procedures include: examination of the writings of a small sample of high school juniors, in order to identify the concerns of late adolescents; interviews with Matthews, which provided background for an exploration of the function of biography in examining an author's work and for an investigation of aesthetic theory; the use of writing samples from a college-level creative writing class, to aid in the analysis of aesthetic theory; and the review of responses of professional critics and college students to Matthews's novels. The investigator uses the collected data to identify thirteen approaches to literary criticism; she then indicates their advantages and disadvantages and gives examples of their uses for each of Matthews's novels. The investigator uses the collected data to identify thirteen approaches to literary criticism; she then indicates their advantages and disadvantages and gives examples of their uses for each of Matthews's novels. (Author/GW)