Office of the Provost
Bucknell University
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania 17837
Phone: 570-577-1561
Fax: 570-577-1826
ESSAY ASSIGNMENT FOR FIRST-YEAR COMMON READING:
Hamlet’s BlackBerry: Building a Good Life in the Digital Age, by W. Powers
Length: Approximately 750 words (two to three pages)
Layout: Double spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font. Provide your first and last name in
the upper left corner of every page. No title is necessary.
Prompt: Imagine you are writing to your discussion group, which includes your fellow incoming Bucknell students and your discussion leaders. Begin by briefly summarizing your understanding of Mr. Powers’ argument and the lessons he believes we can learn from the historical figures profiled in the book. Next, describe the extent to which his
argument does or does not resonate with you. Support your position with one or more
examples from your own experience, illustrating how your relationship with digital technology, or lack thereof, affects your personal and/or academic pursuits. Which of the ideas presented in the book do you feel may be useful to you as you begin college?
Due Date: August 20, 2013
File Format: MS Word (.doc or .docx) or Adobe PDF (.pdf)
Submission Instructions:
1. Launch your internet browser on your computer, and navigate to http://moodle.bucknell.edu.
We recommend that you use Firefox when working with Moodle.
2. You will need to enter your Bucknell Username and Password in the appropriate fields, and then click
on the “LOGIN” button to log in to Moodle.
3. You will see the Current Courses List block on the far-right side of the screen. Click on the link for
“First-Year Common Reading Fall 2013 – Hamlet’s BlackBerry”.
4. Within that course, you will find a topic area called “First-Year Common Reading Essay Upload.”
You will find instructions there on how to upload your essay into Moodle, along with a link you can
use to submit your essay.
Note: We anticipate that the Moodle essay submission portal will be launched during the month of
July, 2013. You will be notified by email when the portal is available for your use. Once the portal is
operational, please contact us at [email protected] if you experience any difficulties uploading your essay.