ENG 102—Writing in the Arts & Humanities
Spring 2008
L. Michelle Baker, Ph.D. (a.b.d.)
Office: Knutti G6
lbaker@shepherd.edu
Tues & Thurs: 3 - 5
lmichellebaker@yahoo.com
webpages.shepherd.edu/lbaker/eng102.htm
Literary criticism is a distinctive activity of the civilized mind. ~~T.S. Eliot.
Course Purpose & Objectives: In addition to being a valuable course of study,
enlightening and encouraging through all of life's stages and thus fulfilling one of the
purposes of a liberal arts education, Written English II is designed to develop and
improve the skills employed in critical analysis used in a wide variety of situations, both
personal and professional, through a close and thoughtful reading of literature and a
formal, structured pattern of various written responses. The course's core philosophy is
that knowledge does not consist of a mere accumulation of facts but has as a key
component the ability to sort, analyze and interpret those facts, an ability which can be
learned and which should be taught. In addition, our increasingly literate society
demands a clear written expression of ideas as a vital form of communication, a skill
which is developed by practice in both reading critically and writing analytically.
Essential Skills and Outcomes to be Acquired Through the Course Include:
1) an ability to render close textual analysis;
2) an ability to synthesize information from multiple texts;
3) an ability to render clear, cogent ideas;
4) an ability to structure well-developed essays, with thesis, textual support, and
analysis;
5) an ability to correctly employ standard written English usage;
6) an ability to utilize effective research methodology and research paper skills;
7) an understanding of ethnic/cultural diversity;
8) an aesthetic and critical judgment for literature;
9) an ability to utilize basic technology to improve writing and thinking skills.
Required Materials:
Hodges' Harbrace Handbook, 16th ed.
Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound & Sense, 9th ed.
Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 1986.
Shepherd University computer and email accounts
Grade Calculation:
15% Class Participation
15% Ungraded Writing Exercises
70% Major Papers, Calculated as Follows:
5% Diagnostic Essay (In-Class)
15% Poetry—Language
15% Drama—Theme
20% Drama—Production
15% Fiction—Technique (In-Class)
Paper Policy: All papers must be word-processed, formatted according to MLA
guidelines, and submitted in a two-pocket folder including a hard copy with
appropriate drafting materials. Standards for grading are those established by the
English Department. In general, 50% of the grade is accorded to content and 50% to
style. Papers containing mechanical errors including but not limited to typos,
misspellings, and faulty punctuation will be returned and the grade suspended until
corrections are made (except for the final paper of the semester). Serious grammatical
errors including comma splices or run-on sentences, sentence fragments, lack of subjectverb or pronoun-antecedent agreement, or misplaced or dangling modifiers will require
correction with assistance from the instructor or a tutor in Academic Support Services
until the paper is free from error. In the event of the latter, late penalties may be
suspended to allow a reasonable time for correction, but the instructor reserves the right
to impose penalties if the student does not return to class to be notified in a timely
fashion.
Plagiarism: Academic dishonesty of any sort, including plagiarism, will NOT BE
TOLERATED! Such an offense will result in an F for the course and appropriate
disciplinary action. The Student Handbook outlines the plagiarism policy (see pp 95100), but here are some general guidelines as to what constitutes this offense:
§
Turning in material you did not write
§
Turning in papers written for another class (whether at this school or another)
§
Turning in papers drafted by you but revised/edited by another
§
Failing to properly paraphrase, summarize, or quote sources
§
Collaborating in a way that places a substantial burden of the work upon
other
students, so much so that the individual student can claim little
responsibility
for the final product
Late Assignments: Assignments, including major papers, are due at the beginning of
class on the dates noted. Anytime after that, they are late. Ungraded writing
assignments will not be accepted late. Grades for major papers will be lowered onethird of a letter grade for each day including the first day, weekends and holidays. For
example, you have class at 10:10 a.m. You meet me at 11:00 after class and turn in your
paper, one day late. You had a B+; now you have a B. You have class at 10:10 a.m. on
Friday. You turn your paper in on Monday morning, three days late. You had a B+;
now you have a C+. The instructor reserves the right to refuse to accept papers after a
reasonable time has elapsed.
Interim Deadlines: This course focuses on writing as a process, not an end result.
Therefore, interim deadlines for each paper, including thesis statements, outlines,
annotated bibliographies, drafts (including sections of drafts), and attendance at
workshops, must be met according to the deadlines set for each paper assignment.
Failure to perform any of these requirements can result in an automatic lowering of the
paper grade or in the instructor’s refusal to accept the paper, regardless of the quality of
the final product.
Class Participation: Class time will consist of a combination of lecture, small group
work, individual work, and discussion. Your active involvement is a necessary element
to both your learning and the learning of your classmates. Therefore, a portion of your
grade will depend upon your participation. At a minimum, students are expected to be
prepared to answer discussion questions, to attempt to do so as fully as possible, to
respect the opinions of other students, and to follow directions given in class including
assisting other students in group workshopping sessions. Additional consideration will
be given to those students who contribute original and intelligent commentary to the
discussion, who ask penetrating questions about the readings, and who demonstrate a
willingness to learn and do for the sake of knowledge and self-betterment.
Personal Conduct:
a) Attendance: This course is conducted under the assumption that students enrolled
in the University voluntarily; that they are willing to learn; and that they only miss
class due to unavoidable, unforeseen circumstances. While the instructor can
apprise students of missed assignments (which must be turned in on-time, see late
policy), only other students can share lecture notes and explain in-class activities.
Students are strongly encouraged to maintain contact information for classmates
including telephone numbers and email addresses.
b) Timeliness: Please display the courtesy appropriate to both your instructor and
your fellow students by being seated, having your materials out and ready, and
being prepared to participate at the start of class.
c) Distractions: Turn off all digital devices, including phones, pagers, watch alarms,
etc., before entering the classroom as they are a distraction to others.
Communication with others outside the classroom environment, including email,
text messaging, and cell phone use indicates a callous disregard of the learning
environment and will not be tolerated. (Neither will spitting on the floor, leaning
out of the window, or hollering at friends in the hallway.)
d) Materials: Students are expected to bring the literature scheduled to be discussed as
well as their Harbrace handbook to each class session.
Email: Important course announcements are frequently made through email and
students are encouraged to communicate with the instructor electronically. Papers or
other assignments are not accepted via email without prior approval by the instructor
and will be considered late and/or refused.
Academic Support Services: Students are strongly encouraged to use the FREE tutors,
available in Knutti 114, telephone 876-5221, online at
http://www.shepherd.edu/ascweb. Tutors are thoroughly trained to assist in all
aspects of the writing process from brainstorming and drafting to revising and editing.
Sessions can be conducted in person or online.
Course Schedule: The following schedule is tentative and subject to change. Changes
may be announced in class or via email. It is the student’s responsibility to keep track of
all changes. Unless otherwise noted, page numbers refer to the Perrine’s anthology. CO
= A Clockwork Orange. H = Harbrace (numbers and letters refer to chapters and
sections).
R Jan 10
Syllabus and Introductions.
T Jan 15
Diagnostic. Review parts of speech.
Poetry—Rhythm and rhyme, 838-853. Frost “The Road Not Taken”
734.
R Jan 17
T Jan 22
R Jan 24
T Jan 29
R Jan 31
T Feb 5
R Feb 7
Poetry—Diction, 686-692. Hardy “The Man He Killed” 670.
Review types of sentence structure.
Poetry—sentence structure in poetry.
Ferlinghetti “Constantly risking absurdity” 860.
Brooks “We Real Cool” 831.
Review diagnostics and standards for grading.
Assign Poetry—Language Analysis.
Poetry—simile and metaphor, 714-724.
Bottoms “Sign for my Father, Who Stressed the Bunt” 948.
Conference on poem selection.
Poetry—symbol and imagery, 700-703, 734-745.
Updike “Telephone Poles” 1013. Thesis statements.
Poetry—Allusion, 778-781.
Machan “Hazel Tells LaVerne” 784-785.
Yeats “Leda and the Swan” 788.
Paragraph structure.
Poetry—Form: Sonnet and Villanelle, 883-891.
Donne “Batter my heart, three-personed God” 766.
Plath “Mad Girl’s Love Song” 986-987.
Explication.
**Snow Day** Class Canceled
Introduction to Drama—Tragedy, 1027-1032, 1209-1216.
R Feb 14 Final Workshop—Poetry.
T Feb 12
Reconciling the Visual: Word and Scene.
T Feb 19 *****Poetry—Language Analysis Due*****
R Feb 21 Oedipus Rex 1216-1230. Transitions.
Oedipus Rex 1230-1242. Introductions and Conclusions.
T Feb 26 Assign Drama—Theme Analysis.
R Feb 28 Oedipus Rex 1242-1252. Research— Finding Sources.
T Mar 4
R Mar 6
Oedipus Rex 1252-1262. Research— Evaluating Sources.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1538-1549.
Research— Integrating Sources.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1549-1561.
T Mar 11 Research—Documenting Sources.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1561-1587.
R Mar 13 Drama—Theme Analysis—Outline paper. Workshop and conference.
T Mar 18 Spring Recess—Class Cancelled
R Mar 20 Spring Recess—Class Cancelled
A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1587-1600.
Watch Hoffman.
T Mar 25 *****Drama—Theme Analysis Due*****
Watch Hoffman.
Assign Drama—Production Analysis.
R Mar 27 Give handout—Williams reading.
T Apr 1
R Apr 3
Finish watching Hoffman.
Discuss Williams reading.
Construct possible outlines for drama—production analysis.
Intro to CO—Diction.
Introduction to Fiction. CO 1- 47 (Part 1 Chs. 1-4). Diction cont’d.
(Friday, April 4—Last Day to Withdraw--by NOON)
CO 48-85 (Part 1 Chs. 5-7, Part 2 Ch. 1).
Phrases vs. Clauses.
T Apr 8 Restrictive and Non-restrictive elements.
CO 86 – 121 (Part 2 Chs. 2-6).
R Apr 10 Sentence Structure.
CO 122-157 (Part 2 Ch. 7, Part 3 Chs. 1-4).
T Apr 15 Comma rules.
R Apr 17 CO 158-191 (Part 3 Chs. 5-7),
Introduction and Publisher’s Note v-xiii.
Comma rules.
Fiction—Setting. 61-67, 103-110. Updike, “A & P” 619-625.
Fiction—Point of View. 227-233. Porter, “The Jilting of Granny
Weatherall” 260-268.
T Apr 22 *****Drama—Production Analysis Due*****
R Apr 24 Makeup MWF Classes—Class Cancelled
Fiction—Character, 161-166. Joyce “Eveline” 442-447.
Fiction—Symbol 274-285. Lawrence “The Rocking Horse Winner”
T Apr 29 (P?)
R May 1 Fiction—Theme, 371-374. Workshop: Prep for final exam.
Final Exam--See Registrar's Schedule
ENG 102—Baker
Grading Standards for Major Papers
A: This paper demonstrates independence, originality, and intellectual maturity in
stating and developing a central thesis. Its ideas and observations are clear, logical, and
thought-provoking. The essay is free of irrelevant digressions, needless repetition, and
mere summary. The paper avoids triteness and generalizations; the language is fresh
and vivid. The paper is tight, not wordy. The A essay contains all of the following
characteristics of good formal writing: (1) concentration on a central purpose,
demonstrated by coherent analysis, adequate development, and valid textual support
(as necessary); (2) careful construction of sentences and paragraphs; (3) careful choice of
effective words and phrases; (4) full understanding of the concepts central to the
assignment; and (5) mechanical and grammatical correctness.
B: This paper has a central thesis that is logically argued and supported. Its ideas are
clear because it contains most of the characteristics described in the A paper, but may
lack creativity and originality. It is free of most grammar and diction errors. Paragraph
structure may sometimes be disjointed. There may be a few awkward passages. The
language may be too general or lack the freshness or the precision of the A paper;
however, these errors are not highly distracting. Although interesting and competent,
the B paper lacks the stylistic maturity and critical insight that characterize the A paper.
C: The average paper receives this grade. The essay has a central purpose and is
organized clearly enough to convey its thesis to the reader. It demonstrates adequate
familiarity with the concepts and material in question. It avoids serious errors in
grammar, spelling, punctuation, and usage. The writing is competent but wordy,
general, imprecise, or trite. Sentences may be awkwardly constructed, but the meaning
is clear. It may in fact require few correction marks, but it lacks the vigor and complexity
of thought and expression that would entitle it to a superior grade.
D: This paper is poorly organized, but there is a recognizable thesis. However, the thesis
is not developed sufficiently. Some sentences may be so confused that their meaning
does not clearly emerge. Words may be imprecise, incorrect, trite, or vague.
F: This paper lacks a clear thesis, failing to state or develop a main idea. The language is
so muddled as to be unclear in several spots. It may also indicate serious errors in
grammar, spelling, or punctuation. These errors are highly distracting.
Grade-Point Conversion Scale:
A+ 98
B+ 88
C+ 78
A 95
B 85
C 75
A- 92
B- 82
C- 72
D 65
F 59
NOTE: Split grades constitute an average. Therefore, a B-/C+ = (82 +78)/2, or 80.