Page 88 - The Language of Composition 4e Teacher Edition Sample.indd

5. Research. Willard was a founder and head of the WCTU, a women’s political action group
4
that opposed alcohol consumption. Research the temperance movement, including its history
TRM ELL Essential Guide Handout and basic tenets, and write a synthesis essay in which you examine the extent to which the
An ELL Essential Guide for this reading Identity movement helped protect women and children. Use at least three sources to support your
response.
can be found in the Teacher’s Resource
Materials. 6. Connections. Write an essay in which you examine the process by which you learned a new
skill. Make sure to write about both the steps you took and the effect on your life of learning
the skill.
TRM Vocabulary Handout
Vocabulary in Context exercises based on
Copyright (c) 2023 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Uncorrected proofs have been used for this sample chapter.
challenging words from this reading can be
found in the Teacher’s Resource Materials.
Professions for Women
Virginia Woolf
A prolific novelist, critic, and essayist, Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Strictly for use with its products. Not for redistribution.
was born in London. Her novels, particularly Mrs. Dalloway (1925)
and To the Lighthouse (1927), are renowned for their penetrating
psychological insight. Her novels are known for their use of interior
monologue or stream of consciousness. Woolf is also noted for
her nonfiction, especially for such works as The Common Reader AP Images
(1925), A Room of One’s Own (1929), and Three Guineas (1938).
Having struggled with depression for much of her life, she drowned
herself in 1941.
KEY CONTEXT “Professions for Women,” delivered as a talk in 1931 to the
Women’s Service League, was included in The Death of the Moth and Other
Essays (1942).

o
ur s
hen your secretary invited me to come m an y mor e unkno w n and for g ot t en, h a v e
hen y
e
vit
d me t
many more unknown and forgotten, have
o come
y in
e
cr
etar
been before me, making the path smooth,
W here, she told me that your Society is
W here, she told me that your Society is been before me, making the path smooth,
concerned with the employment of women and regulating my steps. Thus, when I came
concerned with the employment of women
and regulating my steps. Thus, when I came
and she suggested that I might tell you some- to write, there were very few material obstacles
and she suggested that I might tell you some-
to write, there were very few material obstacles
thing about my own professional experiences.
thing about my own professional experiences. in my way. Writing was a reputable and
in my way. Writing was a reputable and
It is true I am a woman; it is true I am employed; harmless occupation. The family peace was
harmless occupation. The family peace was
It is true I am a woman; it is true I am employed;
not broken by the scratching of a pen. No
but what professional experiences have I had? not broken by the scratching of a pen. No
but what professional experiences have I had?
It is difficult to say. My profession is literature;
It is difficult to say. My profession is literature; demand was made upon the family purse.
demand was made upon the family purse.
For ten and sixpence one can buy paper
and in that profession there are fewer experi- For ten and sixpence one can buy paper
and in that profession there are fewer experi-
enough to write all the plays of Shakespeare —
ences for women than in any other, with the
ences for women than in any other, with the enough to write all the plays of Shakespeare —
if one has a mind that way. Pianos and
exception of the stage —fewer, I mean, that if one has a mind that way. Pianos and
exception of the stage — fewer, I mean, that
models, Paris, Vienna and Berlin, masters and
are peculiar to women. For the road was cut
are peculiar to women. For the road was cut models, Paris, Vienna and Berlin, masters and
many years ago —by Fanny Burney, by Aphra mistresses, are not needed by a writer. The
mistresses, are not needed by a writer. The
many years ago — by Fanny Burney, by Aphra
cheapness of writing paper is, of course, the
Behn, by Harriet Martineau, by Jane Austen,
Behn, by Harriet Martineau, by Jane Austen, cheapness of writing paper is, of course, the
reason why women have succeeded as writers
by George Eliot —many famous women, and reason why women have succeeded as writers
by George Eliot — many famous women, and
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BUILDING CONTEXT DIFFERENTIATION CLOSE READING
Woolf’s essay may be a bit of a hard sell for Scaffolding Key Passage. The highlighted text is a rich
students who might assume that women Since this is a speech with a specific audi- passage suited for close reading. Students
now freely enter any and all professions. ence, it works well in class as an interrupted can annotate this key passage in the book’s
Perhaps questioning that point is the place reading. You could read the first paragraph digital platform, or you can print it to be
to start: Why are there so few women in aloud (using your inflection to highlight the annotated by hand.
Congress? Why did it take until 2007 for humor and other shifts in tone), and then lead
the purse at Wimbledon to be the same for the class in a discussion. You could then cover
women as for men? What are current sta- the rest of the essay in two-paragraph incre-
tistics about pay equity? Has the glass ceil- ments (pars. 2–3, 4–5, 6–7), with either yourself
ing truly been broken? In what ways does or students as readers. You could also use this
ethnicity or race affect gender equity? Is approach to discuss the varying tone, the
the country ready for a woman president? shifts and the line of reasoning in the essay.
Students might research women who are
heads of state in other countries. TRM Instructional Strategies
Interrupted Reading. For advice on con-
ducting an effective Interrupted Reading
activity, see the Teacher’s Resource Materials.
194 chapter 4 / Identity
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