EWRT 1bCLASS 3

PRESENTATION: TERMSTHE QHQREVIEW: IN-CLASS ESSAY ONE

IN-CLASS ESSAY EXAM ONE

AGENDA

TERMS11. Power: The ability or official capacity to exercise control, authority,

and to define key values and concepts that define the “center”—what is accepted and considered “normal.”

12. Prejudice: An adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts.

13. Privilege: An unearned advantage, immunity, permission, right, or benefit granted to or enjoyed by an individual because they are members of a category of people that is accorded higher societal status.

14. Racism: Discrimination or prejudice based on race; the belief that race accounts for differences on human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.

15. White Privilege: Benefiting from being a member of the dominant culture, from lack of continuous surveillance, from the status accorded “whiteness” in the larger society.

16. Ambiguity: a doubtfulness or uncertainty about the intention or meaning of something. It usually refers to a statement that is subject to more than one interpretation. The term is used for words that suggest two or more appropriate meanings or that convey both a basic meaning and complex overtones of that meaning. Sometimes, authors make deliberate choices of words that simultaneously cause several different streams of thought in the reader’s mind. Ambiguity is also used to mean confusion between the denotation and connotation of a literary work. A simple kind of ambiguity is the use of homophones to promote a multiplicity of possible meanings. In Sonnet 135, Shakespeare puns on the word “Will,” invoking its sense as one’s wish, as well as its sense as a nickname for “William”: “whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy Will” (line 1).

17. Antagonist: the character who strives against another main character. This character opposes the hero or protagonist in drama. The term is also used to describe one who contends with or opposes another in a fight, conflict, or battle of wills. In literature, this is the principal opponent or foil of the main character and is considered the villain unless the protagonist is a villain; in that case, the antagonist is the hero.

18. Character: a combination of traits and features that form the nature of some person or animal. It also refers to moral qualities and ethical standards and principles. In literature, character refers to a person represented in a story, novel, or play.

 

THE QHQ

Thinking about writing

HOW DO I KNOW WHAT I THINK UNTIL I SEE WHAT I SAY?

--E.M. FORSTER

Each text we study will provide material for response writing called a QHQ (Question-Hypothesis-Question). The QHQ requires students to have second thoughts, that is, to think again about questions that arise during their reading and to write about questions that are meaningful to them. Begin your QHQ by formulating some question you have about some aspect of the reading. The first question in the QHQ may be one sentence or longer, but its function is to frame your QHQ writing. A student might start with a question like, “Why is the house in this story haunted? Or, “Why do I suspect the murdered child has come back to life?” A student might even write, “Why am I having so much trouble understanding this story?”

After you pose your initial question, focus on a close reading of the text in search of a hypothesis. This hypothesis section comprises the body of your text. The student who asked about the haunted house might refer to multiple passages (citing the textual evidence, of course) about haunting in the text, comparing and contrasting them to other instances of haunting with which he or she is familiar. The student who asked about the dead child might connect passages (reproduced and cited) associated with the death to sections about a new child who abruptly appears in the text. The student who struggled to understand the text might explore those passages (include the cited text) whose meanings were obscure or difficult to understand, connecting them to other novels and/or cultural texts.

After carefully exploring your initial question (200-300 words), put forward another question, one that has sprung from your hypothesis. This will be the final sentence of your QHQ and will provide a base for further reflection into the text.

The QHQ is designed to help you formulate your response to the texts we study into clearly defined questions and hypotheses that can be used as a basis for both class discussion and longer papers. The QHQ can be relatively informal but should demonstrate a thoughtful approach to the material. While the papers need to be organized and coherent, because you will sharing them in class, the ideas they present may be preliminary and exploratory. Always include cited, quoted or summarized text so we can follow your discussion.

Remember, a QHQ is not a summary or a report—it is an original, thoughtful response to what you have read. All QHQs should be posted on the website the evening (before 7 is best) before the class for which they are due. This will give both me and other students time to ponder your ideas and think about appropriate responses. Moreover, this sharing of material should provide plenty of fodder for essays. Even though you have posted your QHQ, you should bring a copy of it to class in order to share your thoughts and insights and to stimulate class discussion.

HOMEWORK

Read: Hughes: "Passing" and "Passing."

Post #3: QHQ: Either the poem or the short story.

Continue reading Larsen’s Passing

Study: Terms

• A Well-Told Story• Write an introduction that sets the stage for your tale• Prepare your readers to understand the significance of

your event.• A Vivid Presentation of Places and People• Recreate the time and place of the event• Descriptive details of behaviors or actions• Use dialogue• Describe the person’s appearance

• An Indication of the Event’s Significance• Show that the event was important• Tell us that the event was important

BASIC FEATURES OF A NARRATIVE ESSAY

In a narrative essay of 500-1000 words, respond to one of the following prompts:

1. Tell about an experience when you were unfairly judged based on concrete identity characteristics.2. Tell about an experience when you passed as someone or something you were not. The passing can be either purposeful or inadvertent.

IN-CLASS ESSAY #1