Collaborative+Commentary+The+First

Now that you've gotten to know your partner, it's time to sink your collective teeth into a prose passage for commentary. Each of you have individually had a look at this passage, and have been given a similar charge: to respond to each of the guiding questions in short answer form. You can find the entire passage, along with the guiding questions here, which you will want to copy and paste onto each of your group sites!

For simplicity's sake, here are the guiding questions, plus the open-ended question I added.

How is the personality of Juliet conveyed?

How does the story told in the letter reveal the character of Rob?

Comment on the use of the listing of details in this passage.

In what ways does the fact that this passage is a letter affect its style?

Note anything else in the passage that you find distinctive.

(NB: because this last question allows you and your partner to go in many directions, it's probably the one that will generate the most interesting discussion. Really think about this one!)

So, again, each partnership needs to copy the passage and questions on to its page (links below), and, as soon as possible, each of you should post your **individual** response to each question. Next, sometime between now and next Wednesday (January 26), set up a Skype date to discuss your answers to the questions. You should read your partner's (or partners') responses as well. Once you come up with some kind of consensus, log this on your site as well. You can do this a variety of ways, but I would suggest having sections: Emmy's thoughts, Un-Ji's thoughts, and Jonathans thoughts. Then, after your conversation, add another section: Consensus Updates.

We're expecting paragraph-length answers, with references to the text, and clear claims--the things you all know good writers do. This doesn't mean, however, that you shouldn't take risks with your ideas. Also, if you and your partner come up with multiple answers to a question, it doesn't mean that one of you is wrong! By all means, include both (or all) opinions in your consensus section.

We'll be debriefing all this in about a week, and we look forward to seeing what you all think!