10Th Grade Summer English Homework

10 th Grade Summer English Homework

Step 1: Read The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood in its entirety. You can find the book at the Public Library or purchase it from a Barnes and Noble, a used book store, or on websites like Amazon.com or Half.com.

Step 2: Choose one of the prompts below and write a three page literary essay. Do not consult outside sources for this essay. Stay off the internet. Remember the plagiarism will result in a zero.

Requirements:

 Three Full Typed Pages  MLA Format  At Least Three Quotes 1. Sexism and misogyny exist when women are not granted the same rights as men, when women are restricted to the domestic sphere, and when women are valued primarily for their functionality rather than their humanness. Consider the way sexism and misogyny share the culture of Gilead as well as societies that precede and follow it. 2. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood presents a first person narrator who chronicles her experiences under an extremely oppressive, misogynistic regime. Explore the development of this character during the course of her narrative. Does she move from fear and intimidation to the liberation of her will, or is the character formation more complicated in this text? 3. How does The Handmaid’s Tale depict the intersection between politics and sexual reproduction? How is Gilead’s political order defined by this intersection, and how does it affect the lives of women? 4. Throughout The Handmaid's Tale Offred considers the multiple meanings and connotations of specific words. What might Atwood be suggesting about the flexibility or lack of specificity of language? What does this obsession with words convey about Offred's character or situation? 5. The Handmaid's Tale is set in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and most of the buildings and landmarks mentioned throughout the novel are parts of Harvard University. Why might Atwood have chosen a major university as the headquarters of this new regime? In your answer, consider the relationship between knowledge and control.

WRITING REMINDERS:

1. Don’t tell your reader what you’re going to tell him or her--just tell em! In other words, do not say: “In my essay, I am going to tell you about…”

2. Write formal papers in third person. Use he, she, it, they, one--but not I, we, or you.

3. Write literary papers in the present tense. Thus, George leaves Bob, not George left Bob.

4. Make pertinent references to the work itself. Be specific. Saying that Linda disappoints her teammates is too vague. Saying that Linda is ostracized by the volleyball team because she lost all the equipment is specific.

5. Quote appropriately by integrating phrases within your own sentences. Include the page number in parentheses as shown. The best way to avoid a QUOTE LUMP is to quote phrases. The following examples illustrate the differences.

Sentence exactly as it appears in the novel: “What I was really hanging around for, I was trying to feel some kind of a good-by, I mean I’ve left schools and places I didn’t even know I was leaving them”(4).

Sentence with a QUOTE LUMP: Holden says, “I was trying to feel some kind of a good-by” (4).

Sentence explaining quote’s importance but LUMPY with unneeded words: Even though he has been expelled from Pencey, Holden can’t leave immediately because he says, “I was trying to feel some kind of a good-by” (4).

Sentence integrating & explaining quote with no unneeded words: Expelled from Pencey, Holden can’t leave immediately because he is “trying to feel some kind of a good-by” (4).

6. Limit your quotes to one or two sentences.

7. Use transitional words to relate ideas and events to each other and to introduce some of your examples. For instance, to illustrate, consequently, in addition, on the other hand and other such “glue words” help your paper “fit together.”

8. Italicize or underline the title.

9. Pay very careful attention to the spelling of any words in quoted passages, the names of characters and places, and common homonyms. To confuse its and it’s are careless error’s which show a lack of respect for your own work.

10. The majority of your essay should be your ideas, not summary.

MLA Formatting Reminders (Your paper should look like the below example!)

Your Name

Mr./Ms. Teacher

English I

Month Date, Year

In MLA format, the whole paper is double spaced, including the heading. The title is centered below the heading. You do not add italics, underlining, or bold fonts to your words in a title. Notice that there are no extra spaces before or after the title. Your thesis should be at the end of the first paragraph.

When you’re ready to start the second paragraph, begin with an indent right below the first paragraph. Notice that there are no extra spaces. Your paper should be written in Times New Roman size

12. Use the standard 1 inch margin settings that usually come up automatically.

OR whatever that indicates the direction your paper will follow.