1. WRITE YOUR JOURNAL ON EITHER "Thinking questions" OR "QHQ".
1) Compose your Journal/Homework on Microsoft Word document FIRST, and then
Copy and Paste it to the "Comment" Section of the Class WordPress blog. Post your first
Journal/Homework each week before each Monday's class. Your first
Journal/Homework should be about 250-400 words long.
2) Your Homework also includes your READING other students' posts and posting a
reply to at least THREE students before each Thursday's class. Each reply should be
about 150-300 words long.
OPTION 1: THINKING QUESTIONS:
 2-sentence Summary of the reading:
 5 Key points of the reading:
 What interesting points did you find in the reading (include page numbers for reference)?
 Are there any points/terms that you need more clarification on?
 How does the reading connect to your culture and/or life?
OPTION 2: QHQ (Question Hypothesis Question):
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 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 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 whose meanings were obscure or difficult to understand, connecting them to other novels
and/or cultural texts.
After carefully exploring your initial question (250-400 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.
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 our website the evening 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.