Discussion Question

Instructions
Choose only ONE of the following options below and, in your post, write a paraphrase that avoids plagiarism of the paragraph you have chosen. Your paraphrase can be as long as the excerpt you have chosen, but should not duplicate any phrasing from the excerpt. If you must, you can quote up to three words in a phrase.

When you are done posting your paraphrase, reply to at least one classmate’s paraphrase, commenting on what s/he has done well and what s/he can improve with the wording. Your response should be written in no fewer than 75 words.

Choose to paraphrase ONE of the excerpts below:

Option 1

Morrison began writing Sula in 1969, a time of great activism among African Americans and others who were working toward equal civil rights and opportunities. The book addresses issues of racism, bigotry, and suppression of African Americans; it depicts the despair people feel when they can’t get decent jobs, and the determination of some to survive. Eva, for example, cuts off her leg in order to get money to raise her family. Morrison shows how, faced with racist situations, some people had to grovel to whites simply to get by, as Helene does on a train heading through the South. Others, however, fought back, as Sula does when she threatens some white boys who are harassing her and Nel.

or

Option 2

In 1993, Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature, and thus became the first African American and only the eighth woman ever to win the award. According to Maureen O’Brien in Publishers Weekly, Morrison said, “What is most wonderful for me personally is to know that the Prize has at last been awarded to an African American. I thank God that my mother is alive to see this day.” In 1996, she received the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

Your discussion post will be graded according to the following criteria:

80% – Clear paraphrase the selected text in your own words with minimal use of quotations
20% – Thoughtful response to a classmate’s post that comments on what was done well and what could be improved (at least 75 words)