The Plan Notes

Exemplar IO Plan

Global Issue: The commodification of women and how it distorts personal identity and reinforces harmful societal expectations

Texts: The Handmaid’s Tale (literary) and Killing Us Softly (non-literary)

Introduction (1 to 1.5 mins)

1. Introduce the global issue: Commodification of women negatively affects identity and reinforces unrealistic social expectations.
2. Present the two texts: Atwood's dystopian fiction and Kilbourne's media critique.
3. State how the texts differ in form but both expose the systemic reduction of women to objects.

Literary Text: The Handmaid’s Tale

1. Close Analysis 1
   1. Quote: “We are two-legged wombs, that’s all: sacred vessels, ambulatory chalices.”
   2. Technique: Metaphor and irony
   3. Insight: Language strips identity, women are reduced to reproductive functions.
   4. Link to GI: Shows how commodification dehumanises women by defining them through use.
2. Close Analysis 2
   1. Feature: Color symbolism (Handmaids in red, Wives in blue)
   2. Technique: Visual motif as ideology
   3. Insight: Clothing marks function and reinforces division.
   4. Link to GI: Commodification is institutionalised through appearance and hierarchy.
3. Wide Analysis 1
   1. Feature: Naming system (“Offred”)
   2. Technique: Symbolic language
   3. Insight: Language becomes a tool for ownership and erasure.
   4. Link to GI: Reflects real-world practices like women taking men’s surnames, echoing commodification.
4. Wide Analysis 2
   1. Feature: Historical allusions and speculative framing
   2. Technique: Intertextuality and exaggeration
   3. Insight: Atwood’s dystopia mirrors real-world systems (Puritanism, anti-feminist backlash).