Introduction
Completing the Lessons
Study Sessions
Lessons 1 to 9 are each divided into study sessions, which contain the following parts:
- Reading assignment. Each study session begins with a reading assignment in one of the course’s five novels.
- Overview. The overview briefly prepares you for what’s ahead in the reading assignment.
- Study questions. The study questions are provided to guide you, without “lecturing,” to a deeper understanding of each novel’s important literary elements, such as setting, characters, plot, conflicts, mood, and themes. You do not need to submit the questions’ answers to your instructor, but you should carefully consider them as you read each novel in the course.
To ensure that you understand the important elements of each novel, read the study questions before doing each reading assignment to get an idea of what lies ahead. Then refer to the questions as you read the assignment. After completing the reading assignment, review the questions one more time.
Assignments
The last study session in lessons 1 through 9 is an assignment, which you must submit to your instructor for grading. In each assignment, you’ll be asked to respond thoughtfully to four essay questions that will test your understanding of each novel you read. In your essay answers, always be sure to support your opinions by referring to specific examples, preferably quotations, from the novels themselves.
Always be mindful, too, of organization, sentence structure, punctuation, and the other elements of effective writing when preparing your essay answers.
Assignments should be neatly word processed. Be sure that you’ve carefully and thoroughly answered all parts of each essay question before submitting an assignment for grading.
