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This study guide is designed to help you prepare for a discussion potentially leading to writing a commentary paper.  You should follow the outline below and use the other students in this class to help you think about and write a commentary that will earn bonus points.

1. (5 minutes)

Write out a question that you think would produce an interesting discussion of "The Handmaid's Tale." You might want to think about what seems to characterize the relationships between the individual and society in Gilead, and about how these characteristics recapitulate and/or extend the issues explored by other dreamers of our dystopian dreams.

2. (5 minutes)
Write one sentence explaining why you think your question would help us to understand what "The Handmaid's Tale" suggests about "post-modern" nightmares about reality.

3. (15 minutes)
Introduce yourself to the students in your group and share your questions and explanations with the rest of the group. Spend a bit of time talking with each other about each of the questions to see where they lead you.

4. (10 minutes) 
Select questions you would like to have the instructor discuss that you think might produce good discussion and interesting commentaries. Then discuss that question with each other. You should make a few notes on a separate sheet about what you say to each other.

5. (5 minutes)
Report your groups question(s) to the rest of the class. Turn in this sheet with your groups question(s) and the names of the rest of your group written in the spaces provided.

OUR QUESTION IS:

The members of group #______were:

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