DISCOVERING MODERN FICTION:
MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS
List of major assignments:

Group presentation on a short story (from Unit One).

Several in-class essays on the novels you read.

Paper AND Presentation on a short story (actually, it is a group presentation about two
stories, but the paper is a solo assignment and only on one of the stories).

Paper on a novel (but which one? When will it be due? *Student choice)

Multi-media project at end of the semester (more information is on the way).
GROUP PRESENTATION ON A SHORT STORY FROM
UNIT ONE: 15 POINTS
DIRECTIONS:
In a group of THREE (NOTE: You cannot re-team-up with these people next time!), create a GOOD
power point presentation that analyzes one of the “big” stories we read in the first few weeks of class.
One group per story. First come, first serve.
Be sure to:
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Create a GOOD power point (see me for details).
Analyze the story in terms of at least one of the critical lenses we have discussed.
Make connections between the story and other things (stories, novels, movies, songs, poems,
current events, your own lives, etc.).
Include a Works Cited page if appropriate.
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GROUP PRESENTATION ABOUT TWO STORIES IN THE TEXTBOOK:
30 POINTS
PURPOSE OF THIS ASSIGNMENT: To help prepare you for the kind of presentations you will face in your
future careers. Most businesses have people work together to analyze something and then make a
presentation to explain it to others (or sell the idea). In analyzing and presenting/teaching a story, you
will utilize the same skills you will later employ in your careers. Writing the paper will force you to
analyze before you teach.
DIRECTIONS AND EXPLANATION:
On certain weeks (see syllabus) we will have two to four group presentations on stories we will all read.
You will have one class period to read the stories that week followed by presentations the next two-four
days. You should take notes/annotate each story. You must be prepared for a quiz and to participate
in the discussion.
Each group will present on TWO stories (the class will have to read four-eight very short stories each
week we have these presentations). Each group can decide how to allot their time between the two
stories. They may want to focus on one, or divide the time equally. Make sure your group devotes at
least 10 minutes to a story even if you hate it.
*Presenters should work TOGETHER: they should not divide up the presentation so that one person
does the first 15 minutes, person # 2 then takes over, etc.
The leaders/presenters must really explore the importance, significance, implications, issues, themes,
etc. You must critique the story in terms of all the literary elements you have learned throughout
your lifetime.
THE PAPER: 30 POINTS.
*See handout about paper assignment.
*Make sure you don’t chose the same thesis as your partner!
*The paper is due the week of your presentation!
READERS SHOULD:
1. Read and annotate/take notes on each story (two stories per day)
2. Take the quiz (worth about 10 points).
3. Participate in the presentation/discussion (you are graded on participation too).
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THE PRESENTATION: 30 POINTS.
LEADERS/PRESENTERS SHOULD:
1. Figure out what they want the class to understand and/or get out of the presentation/story.
Then decide how best to lead the class to these conclusions (do NOT just tell them!)
2. Relate this story to any other story we have read IN THIS CLASS. Make connections! You can
also make connections to films, other stories, etc. (the subject of the paper you will write).
3. Analyze the story using some form of literary criticism (see handouts/packet). *Explain your
view/interpretation of the story as seen “through this lens.”
4. Come up with a lesson plan that should last 35 minutes. Major points will be deducted if the
time falls short (or if you are just wasting time up there).
5. You may want to discuss an important issue/topic the story brings up.
6. Create a really cool and interesting lesson that will explore the main issues or themes in your
story. There is no “right way” to do this, it just depends on your story and what you find
interesting about it. Here are a few ideas to consider:
a. Tie it to current events.
b. Tie it to our lives/find a way to connect it to our lives or your own.
c. Have us do an activity that will lead us to what you want us to understand.
d. Use some other kind of medium:
 Movie or TV (5 minute film clip that ties in somehow and that we can discuss)
 Computer/Power Point/Internet
 Music
 A piece of art (show us an image or bring something in)
 Other?
e. Create discussion questions that will keep everyone’s attention and force them to dig
into the meat of the story. You can hand out a page of questions and let them work in
groups
7. You need to call on people! Do not just call on people who raise their hands! Call on everyone!
Don’t just accept the 1st answer! Keep asking the question, building on students’ answers until
you get what you’re looking for! Do not lecture!
8. Partners may or may not receive the same grade. If it appears that one person does most of the
talking or another is unprepared, the grades will differ. Try to share speaking time and prep time
equally.
*I can make copies of handouts if you give them to me 24 hours in advance.
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PAPER ON ONE OF THE STORIES YOU PRESENT: 30 POINTS.
Each member of your presentation group will write his/her own formal paper due the week of your
presentation. The group must talk with each other to guarantee members do not have the same thesis!
ESSAY TOPIC - OPTION A: The essay should compare/contrast the story (just one if you are presenting
two) with any other story you know. You do not have to compare it to another story we have read in this
class (though that is an option). In fact, you can compare it to a movie, television show, novel, short
story, play, comic book, cartoon, video game, or any other story that works. You get to choose what
aspect of the story you will compare. Maybe it is a theme or viewpoint. Maybe you will compare a
character or the setting of your story to a character or the setting of another story. It is up to you.
ESSAY TOPIC - OPTION B: If you do not want to write a comparison/contrast essay, you can choose to
do a detailed analysis of the story instead. This paper will need a controlling thesis, but should dig into
the “heart” of the story and explain what it is about, how it achieves this effect, and its overall value.
Just make sure of four things:
1. You and your partner are not comparing your story to the same other story/do not have the
same thesis.
2. The paper is a serious and thoughtful analytical critique/examination.
3. You include several quotations from the story to back up your claims.
4. It is written in MLA format.
PAPER ON NOVEL: 100 POINTS
*YOU MUST WRITE A PAPER ABOUT ONE OF THE TWO NOVELS WE READ. HOWEVER,
YOU GET TO CHOOSE WHICH ONE. THIS MEANS YOU WILL COMPLETE THIS
ASSIGNMENT EITHER IN OCTOBER OR DECEMBER.
TRY TO CREATE AN ORIGINAL THESIS BASED ON YOUR OWN ANALYSIS OF THE NOVEL!
YOU NEED TO TELL ME YOUR THESIS A WEEK BEFORE THE PAPER IS DUE. I JUST WANT
TO MAKE SURE YOUR THESIS WILL WORK FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT.
ASSIGNMENT: This paper is worth 60 points: 50 points for the content and style of the essay and 10
points strictly for how well you adhere to MLA Format (I am very harsh and strict with my grading
about MLA Format—follow the directions!).
Write a formal analytical paper about the novel. The paper needs a good controlling thesis, MANY
quotations from the novel, and a few from research. You should have the novel plus at least three
other sources quoted in the paper and listed on your Works Cited page. Your paper should be written
in MLA format (see my handouts, your student planner/handbook, or our library’s webpage for details).
Be sure to include a Works Cited page. As for length, it kind of depends on your topic/thesis, but the
best grades will be the papers with the most details, quotations, and explanation. You will have a hard
time convincing me that your thesis is valid if you have fewer than two-three quotations per body
paragraph (it is okay to have a supporting detail without a quotation some of the time, but quotations are
best).
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Media Review: Using new technology to help review for the
final exam.
*More information to follow!
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