Week 5 essay preparation

Below is the question for your practice essay. Construct a detailed plan which includes a thesis, main points, topic sentences for your body paragraphs and relevant quotations. I will email you a planning sheet on which you can base your plan. Post to your blog by 4.00pm Wednesday afternoon. You should then only need one lesson in class to write your practice essay. Othello is a play about good versus evil. Discuss with reference to at least one major character. Your answer should make mention of some of the positioning techniques used in the play besides characterisation and refer to at least one theme.

Week 4 homework

Why does Othello react so quickly and so strongly to Iago's manipulation? Does the problem lie within Othello? Is Iago just too good at what he does or is it a combination of the two? Argue your case and justify your point of view in a well-structured and detailed paragraph. Refer to at least one theme and one positioning technique. Incorporate a quotation, preferably within the sentence and referenced correctly. Post to your blog by 8.20 Thursday morning. I will be checking before the lesson.

Week 3 homework

Choose a theme in "Othello" and write a paragraph in which you discuss how the theme is introduced to the audience in Act 1 and the first few scenes of Act 2. Discuss at least one positioning technique by which the audience is positioned to understand the play's representation of the theme. Include at least one quotation, trying to incorporate it into a sentence, and punctuating and referencing correctly.

Term 4 Week 2 Homework

The character, Othello, is missing from much of the early part of the play. We hear about him and what he has done from discussions among/between other characters. (Iago & Roderigo; Brabantio & Iago and R.; Brabantio & the Senate). When he is discussed or referred to, it is using language that we would consider quite racist in modern terms. For example, he is variously referred to as; “the Moor” (I.i.57), “the thick-lips” (I.i.66), “an old black ram” (I.i.88), and “a Barbary horse” (I.i.113). Although Othello appears at the beginning of the second scene, we do not hear his name until well into Act I, scene iii (I.iii.48). Why has Shakespeare chosen to introduce the main character in this way? How are we, as the audience, being positioned to see Othello and to see other characters? Write a well-structured paragraph in response, using evidence from the play, including at least one quotation. Post to your blog by 8.20 Friday morning.

Term 4 Week 1

Othello Background Research From the Othello folder in Blackboard, go into the pre-reading research activities folder and do the pre-reading research questions. Write your responses to each question as a paragraph. You should also prodcue a Power-Point presentation with some visuals to support your answers. You might include a map, some pictures etc - nothing too detailed. We will use these to practise presentation skills in class. Upload the written answers to your blog before Friday morning's lesson. I also want you to print out a copy of your answers and bring it to class.

Friday Week 8

We have explored the ways in which Elizabeth Bennet challenges society's expectations. Are there any areas in which she conforms to them? Write a paragraph response to: "To what extent does Lizzie really challenge society's expectations?"

Thursday Week 8

Now write a paragraph comparing and contrasting your character with Mr Collins and the way the reader is positioned to respond through the use of the two characters. Compare and contrast – similarities and differences

Homework Week 8

How important a character is Mr Collins? Write a paragraph in response, clearly arguing your point of view. In developing your thesis, include a discussion of the way the reader is positioned to respond to him and the importance of this for dealing with at least one of the ideas underpinning the novel. Consider the work we have done in class on satire and irony as you plan your response. Due on your blog Thursday morning before class.

Pride and Prejudice homework - Week 7

How important a character is Charlotte? Write a paragraph in response, clearly arguing your point of view. In developing your thesis, compare her with Elizabeth and Jane. How is the reader positioned through this comparison?

Pride and Prejudice Homework Week 6

Write a character profile of Elizabeth Bennet, including a discussion of the way the reader is positioned to understand her and respond to her. You could begin by looking through your notes and considering what we know about her, how we know it (the positioning techniques through which we learn about Elizabeth) and whether we are positioned to see any changes in her character through the course of the novel.

Term 2 Week 3 Homework

My Daddy’s a Diver Use the following questions to write a coherent review of the short story, "My Daddy’s a Diver", in which you address its effectiveness as a short story, how it relates to the concept of journey and what ideas, attitudes and values underpin the story. Take notes in answer to the following questions and then use these to write an extended response. Finish for homework and post to your blog by Tuesday 8.20am. 1. Use the checklist of short story genre requirements to assess how well the story meets these. Give specific evidence in your response. 2. How well does the story connect with the reader? What emotions or thoughts does it elicit? How effectively does it use language to do this? Give evidence from the story in your response. 3. What ideas, attitudes and values underpin this text? You may have already identified some of these in Question 2. 4. What kinds of journeys do we see evidence of in this story? Explain your answer. 5. How effective is the story as a whole?

2012 Term 2 Week 1 Homework

In class, you read "Sky-high" which was written from the point of view of an adult looking back on a childhood experience and considering where she is now in her life journey. Write about a memory of a childhood event or object (like the experience with the clothes line in Sky-high). You should aim to use language effectively in your description and to incorporate an element of the idea of journey in your writing. Write about 200 words and post this on your blog by 4pm Wednesday April 19th. You should also continue reading "Unpolished Gem" for homework.