Informal writing assignments:
For each selection that we discuss, you will complete several informal writing assignments, which will help you hone your analytical skills while simultaneously giving you additional practice with writing in a less “threatening” context. These informal writing assignments will comprise 10% of your overall grade in the course, and they consist of brief in-class responses, response journals, and close readings.
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These informal writings will give you basic practice with writing in a more relaxed context (as opposed to writing your more formal out-of-class essays).
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Close readings will hone your analytical skills, as you will narrow your focus to a very small portion of the text (a scene in one of the films or a brief passage in the written texts), examining the subtle nuances of the scene to uncover its significance to the work as a whole.
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Response journals will ensure that you actively engage with the material (as opposed to experiencing it more passively, which is not conducive to a solid textual analysis). In your journal entries, you will respond to one of a few prompts about the work itself; these prompts will guide you toward an informed analysis of the text, as they will lead you to recognizing and considering some of the more significant aspects of the work, whether in terms of theme, characterization, setting, etc.
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Brief in-class response writings will either serve as a starting point for class discussions, or they will allow you to articulate your thoughts on a given discussion, offering your interpretation of the issues we have discussed.
NOTE: All informal writing assignments (with the exception of in-class responses) must be typed, double spaced, and formatted according to MLA style guidelines.
Your diagnostic essay will count as two of your informal writing grades.
Due dates for informal writing assignments are as follows:
M 6/12
W 6/14
F 6/23
F 6/30
M 7/3
F 7/14
W 7/19
Diagnostic essay due (*worth two informal writing grades)
In-class response writing ( W;t)
Response journal due ( Malcolm X)
Close reading ( Malcolm X)
Response journal due ( The 25 th Hour)
Response journal due ( The Awakening)
Close reading due ( The Awakening)
ENGL 1102 – Grading Rubric for Informal Writings
To earn an A (95), a student must:
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Adhere to all requirements specified on the assignment sheet (i.e. length, proper MLA style/documentation, inclusion of supporting evidence, etc.)
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Respond not only adequately to the assigned topic, but also offer particularly valuable insight(s) and/or analysis
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Have no distracting patterns of grammatical or mechanical error
To earn a B (85), a student must:
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Adhere to all requirements specified on the assignment sheet (as listed above)
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Respond adequately to the topic assigned
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Have few grammatical/mechanical errors
To earn a C (75), a student must:

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Adhere to most requirements specified on the assignment sheet
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Focus at least loosely on the topic assigned
A D (65) results from:
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Failure to adhere to most requirements specified on assignment sheet
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Inability to adequately respond to the topic assigned
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A lack of analysis or argument and/or offering only plot summary & factual details from the text(s)
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Grammatical/mechanical errors that interfere significantly with basic sentence level coherence
An F (55) results from:
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Two or more of the issues above