Complete the following assignments for this module. All assignments are due by the end of the module unless otherwise noted. Be aware that this module has portions of assignments due at different time throughout the week. Please double check those due dates.
- Read Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, pp. 76 – 255 (sections VI to XII)
- These pages cover the next several sections of the book. Use your active reading strategies to ruminate and annotate the important scenes and parts of the story as you read. Makes notes and references will help you return to those scenes and sections as you write about them and discuss them over the coming days and weeks.
- Watch video interview “Margaret Atwood on The Handmaid’s Tale” (embedded below)
- In this video PBS’ Bill Moyers interviews Margaret Atwood as she discusses her book and its roots in world social and political events.
- Complete all parts of the Module 13 The Handmaid’s Tale Q&A Writing Circle
- This discussion board prompt is broken into multiple parts with different due dates.
- The first part is the individual response. The guidelines for this response are detailed in the prompt. Please note the mid-week due date for this portion of the assignment.
- The second part is the sharing circle. This portion will continue throughout the week. Again, detailed guidelines are available in the prompt. Please ask immediately if you have questions as this is group work and others in the class are counting on the full participation of their peers within the groups.
- Continue working on VRP draft
- During this module, you should be completing a first draft of the presentation for evaluation and discussion with me. The assignment bullet explains the presentation in detail.
- Contact Professor Kenyon for VRP Check-in/Conferencing Appointment
- A face-to-face or online discussion of the progress of your VRP including an ungraded evaluation of your progress will take place this week. Please visit me during my office hours if you are available on campus. If you do not live on campus, an online meeting will work fine.
- I will be available this week during regular office hours during the day. As well, in the afternoon online office hours, I’ll be in my office. I will make myself available for a time on Tuesday or Thursday which is mutually convenient.
- Review Online Librarian Research Subject Guide
- Kathleen Kroll, our online class librarian, has prepared a subject guide to help you with your research, complete with examples, links, and tutorials. Review all the pages and links provided. Bring any research questions to her via chat, email, or in person at the research desk on the first floor of the Zahnow Library. NOTE: The tools, guides, and tutorials provided should be your first stop as you search for sources for your secondary research
- Review Essay 2 Assignment Sheet
- In particular, please review the “Primary and Secondary Research” section to refamiliarize yourself with the research requirements of the assignment. If you have questions about the sources, please contact me
- Conduct E2 primary and secondary research
- Secondary research will require accessing the library database and website. Use the Research Subject Guide to help you.
- Primary research will require you to revisit the readings. You may consider revisiting your responses to the previous writing circles and response journals that detail your ideas about your chosen sources
- Begin composing E2 first draft
- Begin working on the first draft of your essay. Be sure to rely on the freewriting and other topic/argument exercises you wrote in the previous module. Engage with your sources. Use evidence from your primary sources. The draft submission for feedback and conferencing as well as peer workshop will take place in the next module.
(Note: You will need to complete all the assignments in each module before access will be given to the next module.)
Writing Circle Guidelines and Instructions
Individual Response
Complete your Individual Response using the prompt given below. Your IR should be written in a separate document then cut/pasted into a new thread on the discussion board. Be sure your IR follows these guidelines:
- Will focus on the specific prompt provided below
- Will be a minimum of 200 words in length to be considered “acceptable”
- “Superior/Exceptional” responses will go above and beyond in detail, clarity, complexity, and thoughtfulness
- Will directly reference the reading(s)/lecture(s) (use at least one citation from each source)
- Will include proper MLA citation and Works Cited listing at the end
- Will be posted by Friday at 11:59 p.m. by starting a new thread on discussion board
Sharing Circle
After the due date/time for the individual response, return to the discussion board to begin the Sharing Circle. You’ll begin this by taking the time to carefully read and consider each of your peers’ Individual Responses. The specific questions and guidelines for participating in the SC are listed below. The SC is an on-going discussion that will continue from Friday night to Sunday night when the week is over. All SC posts must follow these guidelines:
- Create one SC post for each peer in your group
- Will focus on the specific questions provided
- Will be about 100 words in length
- Will be a response that is thoughtful, respectful, but challenging
- Upload the reaction posts by replying to each peer’s Individual Response
As a classroom courtesy and to work toward earning full credit for the Writing Circle, take some time at the very end of the week to give short replies of acknowledgement and thanks to your peers who have posted to your individual response and joined you in conversation.
Module 13 Writing Circle Prompt
Individual Response
After completing the assigned pages from the assigned novel, consider and write about the following:
Record your reactions and responses to the text so far. Look through your “active reading” notes and write about what you found memorable, noteworthy, or otherwise striking in the text. Where did you experience to strongest of emotional reactions? How do you account for those?
In your response, include details and expanded notes on characters, situations, and actions that you find important or vital to the story and our class theme. Why are these important and worth mentioning in your response?
Also, include your reaction to the PBS interview with Margaret Atwood. Be specific about how you feel Atwood’s discussion and responses connect in some way to the ideas discussed.
Sharing Circle
- Read the Individual Responses of those in your peer group.
- Reading others’ writing often leads us to ask questions. What point does your peer make that raises a question for you? Address that question with your peer. As part of your conversation, discuss possible answers to the question that may lead to a better understanding of the topic of the assigned material.
- Discuss briefly in your conversation one idea in your individual response that differs from the ideas of your peer.
