ENGL 3308: Writing Textual Analysis
Section 001
Fall 2015, MW 2:30-3:50
BUS 258
Instructor: Dr. Stephanie Odom
Email: sodom@uttyler.edu (preferred method of communication)
Office: BUS 243
Office phone: 903-566-7349
Course website: https://blackboard.uttyler.edu
Office Hours: M and Th 10-11:30 and by appointment
Course Description and Objectives
This course requires intensive practice in reading and writing about literary, critical, and argumentative
texts, with an emphasis on close reading and critical theory. The course emphasizes the process of
writing critical essays. Required of English majors/minors and recommended for others who wish to
develop advanced reading and writing skills.
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
 Write in-depth analytical papers using a variety of analytical approaches
 Read closely a variety of texts, including literature and non-literature
 Use textual and other evidence to support a strong thesis-driven argument
 Evaluate their reading and writing habits to improve those habits
English 3308 is a multi-disciplinary course. Because we have student from several majors, readings will
come from a variety of disciplines. We will analyze these readings from several perspectives. Initially,
some of the texts may seem odd to you. For example, history or political science majors may wonder
why they have to read a poem. Similarly, English majors may wonder why they have to use analytical
approaches that are rhetorical instead of literary. But keep in mind that the texts are a means to an end.
The end is improving your critical thinking skills. Common readings allow for small group and whole class
discussions. These discussions are crucial to enhancing critical thinking skills.
Required Texts
 Texts and Contexts: Writing about Literature with Critical Theory, 5th Edition by Steven Lynn.
ISBN: 978-0321449078 (6th edition is also acceptable)
 Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking, 9th Edition by M. Neil Browne and
Stuart M. Keeley. ISBN: 978-0205506682 (10th or 11th editions also acceptable)
 Style: The Basics of Clarity and Grace, 5th Edition by Joseph Williams. ISBN: 978-0321953308 (3rd
or 4th editions also acceptable)
 Digital readings provided via Blackboard
You will also need
 paper and pen in class to take notes on and complete in-class writing
 the book or hard copy of each day’s reading; electronic copies are not acceptable
 access to a dictionary while you are reading for homework
 access to a computer for researching, typing, saving, and electronically submitting your papers
Grading Policy
Assignment
Weight
Words
Due Date
Summary of a poem
10%
250500
W, 9/2
New Critical Analysis of a short story
15%
500750
W, 9/23
Literary Theory Analysis of a short story
15%
7501000
M, 10/5
Logical analysis using Asking the Right Questions of scholarly article in
your major
15%
10001250
M, 10/26
Stylistic analysis of scholarly article in your major
15%
10001250
M, 11/16
Final Analysis using a previous analytical approach of your choice
15%
10001250
Final
exam
time
Reading quizzes, other short assignments
15%
Ongoing
A = 90-100
B = 80-89
C = 70-79
D = 60-69
F = 59 and below
Peer Reviews
You must bring a draft of your forthcoming paper to peer review sessions or you will be asked to leave
and will be counted absent. When peer review is required of an assignment, you must show evidence
that you completed a peer review with one of your classmates outside of class before I accept the
paper. Each day that you cannot turn in your paper due to missing the peer review session will count like
a late paper (5 points off per day), up to a maximum of 20 points. To avoid this penalty, find a classmate
you can swap papers with outside of class if you miss peer review day.
Revision
You will have the opportunity to revise your papers according to peer feedback. Additionally, you may
submit any writing assignment (except for your final paper) for revision. You must let me know that you
plan to revise within two days of receiving the grade and then I will take up to one week to provide you
with substantial feedback. You will then have an additional week to substantially revise the assignment
for a new grade. I will devote a lot of time and energy into giving you comments on how to revise your
writing. If you turn in the same assignment without substantial revision, you will receive a lower grade
on the revised assignment than you did on the original. The original paper grade and the revised paper
grade will be averaged.
The Writing Center
The UT Tyler Writing Center is a free service available to you for working with a trained writing tutor on
your writing. They can help you one-on-one, in person or online, at any stage of the writing process.
They are located in BUS 202 and you can look up their hours and other information at
http://www.uttyler.edu/writingcenter/.
**Students who provide a note from the writing center documenting your work with a writing
consultant will receive 5 bonus points on that paper.**
Late Assignments
All papers will be submitted to me via Blackboard and due by class time unless otherwise noted. Each
day that a paper is late, 5 points will be detracted.
For example, for papers due at 11 a.m. on Thursday:
-5 if turned in after 11 a.m. on Thursday but before 10:59 a.m. on Friday
-10 if turned in before 11 a.m. on Saturday, and so on.
Attendance Policy
You are expected to attend class, to arrive on time, to remain awake, to have prepared assigned reading
and writing, and to participate in all in-class editing, revising, and discussion sessions. You may miss four
classes without any penalty to your grade, though an absence for any reason counts against this total. If
you are the type of person who sometimes gets sick, has important appointments or family obligations,
or goes out of town, you should probably save your allowed absences for those times. Should you miss
the equivalent of five or more class meetings, you may fail the course.
When you must miss a class, you are responsible for getting notes and assignments from a classmate.
Do not email me to ask if you missed anything; the answer will always be “Yes!” and “Ask a friend for a
recap.”
Special consideration for absences due to religious observance or university-sponsored events and
activities is described in the UT Tyler policies below. If you have a documented medical condition that
prevents you from attending classes occasionally, I will need to see the documentation from the Student
Accessibility and Resources Office. You can reach them at 903-566-7079.
Tardies
If you arrive after I have taken attendance at the beginning of class, you will be counted tardy. Three
tardies will count as one absence. If you miss more than 15 minutes of class either at the beginning or
end, you will be counted absent.
Computers and Other Devices
You will not need to bring a computer or other device to this class. If you would like to use one to take
notes on, you may use it for class purposes only. If I see that you are using your electronic device,
including cell phone, for non-class purposes, I will ask you to put it away. If such behavior continues to
be a problem, your privilege to use electronic devices may be revoked or I may ask you to surrender
your phone at the beginning of each class.
Blackboard and Email
My official means of communicating with the class will be via your Patriots email account registered on
Blackboard. It is your responsibility to ensure that you receive these emails and announcements. It is
University policy that I email you at your Patriots email, but let me know ASAP if you have experiencing
technical problems with it.
Scholastic Honesty
UT Tyler’s definitions of scholastic dishonesty are located at
http://www.uttyler.edu/judicialaffairs/scholasticdishonesty.php. Learning how to quote, paraphrase,
and summarize responsibly is one of the main goals of this class, so we will be working on how to stay
within academic expectations about using source material. Egregious instances of scholastic dishonesty
may result in a failing grade for the assignment or the entire course.
University Policies:
See attached, or go to http://www.uttyler.edu/academicaffairs/syllabuspolicies.pdf
Course Schedule
Bb = Blackboard, T&C = Texts and Context, ARQ = Asking the Right Questions
Reminder: bring the assigned book or hard copy of each day’s reading; electronic copies are not
acceptable. Quiz grades may be recorded randomly for having the hard copy of the reading.
Wk
Date
1
M,
8/24
W,
8/26
Reading for Class
Bb: “Tips for
Writing about
Literature,” “On
Being Brought”
Assignment Due
(by class time)
On Bb, submit a
definition of a word in
“On Being Brought”
you found in the OED
Paper
Returned
Topic
Explanation of class;
introductions; read example
poem, “On Being Brought,” in
class and demonstrate OED
Discuss citing textual evidence
using MLA style; use “On Being
Brought”; Introduce Poem
Summary Assignment
2
3
4
5
M,
8/31
Bb: “To the
University in
Cambridge, in
New England”
W,
9/2
T&C ch. 1 and 3
7
8
Technology presentation; discuss
citing textual evidence using MLA
style; work on Poem Summary
discuss literary criticism, esp.
New Criticism
F, 9/4
End of Add/Drop period
M,
9/7
W,
9/9
Labor Day Holiday
M,
9/14
Bb: “The
Columbus School
for Girls”
Bb: “How I
Contemplated the
World…”
W,
9/16
M,
9/21
Bring 2 copies of your
draft or be counted
absent
New Criticism
Analysis Paper
M,
9/28
T&C ch. 2; skim
chapters 6 and 8
W,
9/30
“How I
Contemplated the
World…” and your
T&C
chapter/section
F,
10/2
M,
10/5
W,
10/7
M,
10/12
W,
10/14
Poem
Summary
Discuss short story; Introduce
New Criticism Analysis
assignment
Short answer quiz over plot and
characters; discuss short story
Work on NC Paper
W,
9/23
6
On Bb, submit a
definition of a word in
“To the University”
you found in the OED;
quiz over “Tips”
Poem Summary; quiz
over literary and New
Criticism terms
Peer Review of NC Paper
New
Criticism
Analysis
MLA style clinic; lesson on
emailing professor, in-class
writing
Discuss chapter 2; skim chapters
6 and 8 and decide on your next
theoretical approach
Work in groups to analyze “How I
Contemplated” according to your
chosen literary theory
ONLINE PEER REVIEW
Asking the Right
Questions ch. 1, 3
Asking the Right
Questions ch. 7
Asking the Right
Questions ch. 8, 9
Literary Theory
Analysis Paper
Quiz over ARQ terms
Asking the Right Questions
Quiz over ARQ terms
ARQ; introduce Logical Analysis
assignment
Library session on finding
scholarly article in your discipline;
bring ARQ to library
Asking the Right Questions
9
M,
10/19
Bring scholarly
article and ARQ to
class
W,
10/21
10
M,
10/26
W,
10/28
11
12
13
--
14
M,
11/2
W,
11/4
M,
11/9
W,
11/11
M,
11/16
W,
11/18
F,
11/20
M,
11/23
W,
11/25
M,
11/30
W,
12/2
Style ch. 1
(“Understanding
Style”) and PDF
(“Correctness”)
Style ch. 2-3
(“Actions” and
“Characters”)
Style ch. 4 and 8
(“Cohesion and
Coherence” and
“Concision”)
Bring Style and
scholarly article
Readings questions
applying ARQ to
scholarly article
Bring 2 copies of your
draft or be counted
absent
Logical Analysis
Paper
Discuss development of claims
and evidence; work on Logical
Analysis paper
Peer Review
Last Day to Withdraw from
Classes; Style
Style
Logical
Analysis
Style; introduce Stylistic Analysis
assignment
Work on Stylistic Analysis paper
Peer Review Stylistic Analysis;
Introduce Final Analysis
assignment
Individual conferences
Stylistic Analysis
Paper
Individual conferences
Work on Final Analysis paper
All remaining revised
papers by midnight
Thanksgiving Holiday
Thanksgiving Holiday
Stylistic
Analysis
Final Analysis Paper
(optional early
submission for 5
bonus pts)
Final exam time: Final Analysis Due
Peer review Final Analysis paper
Last day of class; in-class
reflective writing for bonus
points on lowest paper grade;
bring electronic device to
complete course evaluations