J. Phay / 2014 HCI/IHE LIT/2014
IHE LITERATURE: BSP
TERM 2 CA: A JURY OF HER PEERS
Name: __________________________________ Class: _____ ( ) Date: _________________
A Jury of Her Peers: Essay Questions
Objectives:
 Apply literary terms and theories to analyse a text
 Synthesise ideas to form a clear, coherent, and possibly contestable thesis
 Organise ideas coherently and clearly
Tasks:
 Answer ONE question from Section A and ONE question from Section B.
 Your answer for Section A need NOT be an essay, but should still show clear organisation: there should be clear paragraphs, and in each paragraph there must be a clear and unified topic statement, evidence to support that topic statement, and logical and coherent explanation of the evidence. There should be no irrelevant information!
 Your answer for Section A should be no more than 400 words.
 Your answer for Section B should be a “mini essay”—i.e. have an introduction with a clear thesis statement, clearly defined paragraphs, and a conclusion.
 Answers for Section B should be no more than 700 words—so select your points, evidence, etc. carefully!
Deadline:
 T2W7
Specifications:
 Individual work
 Answers must be typed: 12 point Arial, double spaced.
 No background reading is necessary: the word limit doesn’t allow much room for ideas other than your own!
1

J. Phay / 2014 HCI/IHE LIT/2014
Section A
1.
What message(s) is/are being conveyed through the setting?
2.
What do you think the quilt symbolizes?
3.
What do you think birds symbolize in this short story?
4.
This short story was adapted from an earlier play by Susan Glaspell, titled “Trifles.”
Comment on the title, “Trifles.” (If you’re not sure of the meaning of this word, look it up in a dictionary.)
5.
At the end of the story Mrs. Peters and Martha Hale decide to “cover up” Mrs. Wright’s guilt. Paying close attention to the text, discuss how Glaspell presents this decision.
Section B
1.
What do you think is being conveyed by the title, “A Jury of Her Peers”?
2.
What does the short story show about gender relations in nineteenth-century America?
Select examples to support your point.
3.
What message(s) do you think Glaspell is conveying about justice? Select examples to support your point.
4.
What message(s) do you think Glaspell is conveying about binary worldviews? Select examples to support your point.
5.
What does the short story show about the relationship between authority/power and interpretation? Your answer must be supported by close analysis of the text.
Rubrics
Note: These are also the rubrics we’ll be using for the Semestral Assessment essay!
Marks
35 - 40
Content
Discriminating selection of textual detail with close attention to the terms of the question.
Conscientious answers that demonstrate good understanding of the text and question. Better answers reveal some insights into the text’s main concerns and the effects achieved by the author.
Response demonstrates a consistent viewpoint with appropriate substantiation.
Clear, coherent and contestable thesis.
Structure
Clear, organised and coherent ideas.
Minimal spelling and grammar mistakes.
Citations present and appropriately formatted. [Not applicable for this task but will be for final essay!]
2

J. Phay / 2014
28 - 34
24 – 27
20 – 23
HCI/IHE LIT/2014
Relevant and apt selection of textual detail. Answers are generally well focused.
Answers demonstrate understanding of the text’s main concerns and some knowledge of how the author conveys these.
Substantiation of response is relevant and developed.
Clear and competent work, generally well supported by textual evidence but laboured arguments may be present.
Minimal lapses into narrative.
Clear and coherent thesis.
Answer is relevant to the main thrust of the question. Appropriate selection of textual detail, though not consistently done.
Answers may reveal some understanding of the more obvious features of the text but fail to note the wider implications.
Attempts to analyse and evaluate are often not successfully done.
Demonstrates an attempt to respond to appropriate material in the text. Such a response should be substantiated.
Generally coherent work, with evidence of the development of an argument with tracts of narrative.
Thesis may not be coherent/clear.
Selection of textual detail is generally relevant to the question though the link may not be made.
Clear and largely coherent organization of ideas.
Minimal spelling and grammar mistakes.
Citations present and appropriately formatted. [Not applicable for this task but will be for final essay!]
Effort made to organize ideas but not successfully.
Some spelling and grammar mistakes but meaning not obscured.
Citations present. [Not applicable for this task but will be for final essay!]
Little effort made to organize ideas.
Serious spelling and grammar mistakes.
3

J. Phay / 2014
0 – 19
HCI/IHE LIT/2014
Answers reveal some understanding of the basic features of the text but do not show any attempt at interpretation.
There is evidence of personal engagement but in the form of generalisations.
Largely narrative in approach and sketchy in development, but a sense of a very basic argument can be discerned.
No thesis statement/garbled thesis statement.
Peripheral bearing on the question only.
Often includes large tracts of information from the text without perceiving their significance.
Shows limited understanding of the text.
Answer is marred by incoherence and lacks direction or focus. It may also be extremely brief.
No thesis statement.
Citations present. [Not applicable for this task but will be for final essay!]
END
4