English 202
Homework Policies and Calendar
Turn in homework at the end of class on the day it is due. Don’t wait for me to ask—just make a habit of dropping it
off before you leave. You may jot notes and make corrections before you hand it in.
How I Use Homework Assignments
Homework is your first try at understanding the material. I do not expect it to be perfect. In fact, I expect mistakes,
confusion, uncertainty, questions. I ask you to try certain things as a way to begin understanding. Then we go over
what the homework was about in class. (We may not go over the exact assignment, but we usually cover the same
material, the same ideas.) Because you’ve already tried it on your own, you’re ready to learn from talking and
listening to others.
You may revise your work in class based on the work we do on it together. I’m fine with corrections, additions,
changes, comments in the margin, etc. This is part of the learning process. But you must start on it ahead of time,
even if you’re not clear on what to do. Research shows that that first effort is crucial to genuine learning.
The Rules
Scored homework assignments are numbered (1 – 25) in the calendar. They are due in hard copy (typed), in class,
on the date shown. I do not accept late work, handwritten work, or work in electronic form (disks, flash drives,
email, etc.). No exceptions.
Why no exceptions?
Homework is built into the structure of the class. The idea is that you do it to prepare for the day’s lesson. Credit
represents both the work done the night before and your participation in class on the day it is due. If it is late, or not
available for others to see (for example, submitted by email), it cannot be used in class. This is my way of grading
for participation while avoiding problems with participation grading, such as subjective judgments about whose
comments were “better” or favoring students who talk a lot. If I accepted late work I’d be giving credit for
participation that was not earned. Also, of course, it’s not fair to those who did the work in the required time to give
some people extra time.
If you are unable to hand in your homework on time but would still like my feedback on it (no credit), I will try to
look at it, time permitting.
What’s it worth?
Don’t worry: each individual homework assignment is not worth very much. Missing one assignment will have a
very small effect on your grade, which can easily be offset by bonus points on other assignments. Don’t get hung up
on a single assignment. Instead, recognize that sometimes missing an assignment is unavoidable and concentrate on
getting the next one done. The thing to do is to avoid a pattern of missed work. That’s what will hurt your grade, not
a single missed assignment.
If you’re curious about how much each individual assignment is worth, here are the numbers.
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All homework combined is worth 10% of the final grade.
There are 25 scored homework assignments throughout the quarter.
So each one is worth 10/25, or 0.4% (four-tenths of one percent) of the final grade: not worth getting too
worked up about.
Again, the thing to avoid is a pattern of missed work, because it does add up.
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English 202 Homework Calendar
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Why typed?
1. For your protection, to make sure you have a saved copy that you can refer to even after you’ve handed in the
work to me.
2. To ensure that you make your first attempt outside of class, and don’t just do the assignment during the period
when it’s due (because I collect work at the end of class, not at the beginning, and give you the opportunity to
correct it during class).
3. If you absolutely cannot type the homework ahead of time, hand write it, make a photocopy and hand in the
photocopy. This will protect you and prove that you did the assignment on time.
“Homework” vs. “Essays”
There is a difference between “homework” and the “essays.” “Homework” is the nightly work you do, usually a
page or less, such as response papers, essay drafts, etc. Instructions are included with this handout. “Essays” are the
long essay assignments that are each worth 25% of the final grade, for which I give detailed instructions in separate
handouts, and which we spend several days working on, looking at samples, doing peer review, and so on. My
policy on late essays is different, because they are worth more. I will consider late essays, but they must be
accompanied by a written explanation of the reason they are late. I reserve the right to refuse to accept a late essay,
or to take off points, at my discretion.
The due dates for the final drafts of the essays are noted on the calendar with this symbol: .
The Assignments
Scored homework assignments are scored on with either a minus, plus or check. A check is worth 0.4%. A minus is
worth half of that, 0.2%, and a plus is worth 1.5 times a check, or 0.6%. Pluses are bonus points. Most homework, if
it is a good-faith effort, will receive a check. Minuses are given for assignments that are incomplete or do not follow
instructions. Pluses are for especially thorough or well done work. I typically do not offer detailed comments on the
homework. I just check off that you’ve done it and return it.
Unscored assignments are mostly reading. Obviously if you don’t do the reading you can’t do the other work, and
you won’t do very well on the quizzes either.
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Instructions
Buy the books
Begin Sundiata (Preface and story to page 40—up to the end of “Soumaoro Kanté, the
Sorcerer King”)
Sundiata to page 78 (end of “Kouroukan Fougan or The Division of the World”
Finish Sundiata
 Re-read Sundiata
1) Response paper or reading journal: What can you learn about the social context of this
work from the work itself? What kind of society is this? What are the dominant
values? How do people live? How do they relate to each other? (1 page max, just list
as much as you can tell from the book itself)
 Read “Formal Properties”
2) What is “reality” in this book? In other words, what is considered to be real? Is it the
same as what we consider real? What differences do you notice? What is considered
important (another way of defining what is “real”)? (1 page)
3) Re-read “Formal Properties.” Identify/describe 3 formal properties in Sundiata (1 p).
4) Pick 2 formal properties, explain briefly how each relates to the main ideas in the
book. If not sure what ideas to discuss, focus on social context or idea of “reality.” 1
page max.
5) Read/write on Tutuola (1 page total)
i) What is the social context?
ii) What is included in “reality” in this text?
iii) What is notable about the way the story is told?
 Arrow of God (AoG) to page 75—through chapter 7.
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English 202 Homework Calendar
Instructions
 Extra credit for attending MLK Day celebration (written report required, 1 – 2
paragraphs)
AoG to 100 (end of Chapter 9)
 AoG to 121 (through chapter 11)
6) Write (1 p. max): Where is he going with this story (make some predictions)? Why is
he shifting the point of view (POV)?
AoG to 158 (through chapter 13)
7) Write: How do all the different stories being told in the novel relate to each other? 1
page max.
 Finish AoG
8) Write on social context (1 p.): What are some things you can infer about the way
people live, about their material conditions, about the issues they were dealing with,
etc.
9) Write 1 page max on “reality” in AoG. Consider: the supernatural, gender, social
hierarchy (whose stories are important), British vs. Igbo, etc.
10) Write 1 pg: What is interesting or noteworthy about the way Achebe tells this story?
Might look at things already discussed (e.g. shifting POV, use of language) or
something we haven’t already (e.g. use of characters to bring out different ideas)
11) Draft Essay I
Revise Essay I
Revise Essay I
 Essay I due
 Nervous Conditions (NC) to page 102 (through chapter 5)
12) 1 – 2 pages: Who are the main characters, and what are the major conflicts in the story
so far?
NC to 148 (end of chapter 7)
NC to 175 (end of chapter 8)
NC to 190 (end of chapter 9)
NC to 204 (end of book)
 Finish NC, including interview with author and preface.
13) Write 1 page on characters and relations among them, and the big ideas (what the
book is about in a broader sense).
14) Write 1 – 2 pages on “reality” in NC.
15) Write 1 p max on how social context affects or is reflected in NC.
16) Write 1 p max on formal properties in NC. Can include ones already discussed (plot,
character) or others (e.g. setting, symbol, motif).
 Read all short stories in packet: “War of the Ears,” “Thought Tracks in the Snow,”
“Handful of Dates,” “Minutes of Glory,” “Bossy,” “The Advance” and “Waiting for a
Turn”
17) Write on the first two stories only (“War of the Ears” and “Thought Tracks”)—1 – 2
pages total:
i) What’s the main feeling of each story?
ii) How does the author make us feel that way?
iii) What are these stories about?
iv) What is one interesting or unusual feature about the way they are told?
18) What is “Thought Tracks” about? Why does he tell it this way? (1 page)
19) What are some important formal properties of “War of the Ears,” and how do they
reinforce the author’s ideas about reality? (1 page)
 Read the assigned poetry: Malawi, Brutus, Yambo. Then re-read.
20) Pick two poems and write 2 paragraphs per poem:
i) First paragraph:
(1) What is the poem about?
(2) What’s the main feeling of the poem?
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English 202 Homework Calendar
Instructions
(3) How does the author make us feel that?
ii) Second paragraph:
(1) What would be different about the way it sounds if it were written as
prose instead of poetry (no line breaks)? How would that difference in
sound change the feeling of the poem?
21) Read “Smiller’s Bar Revisited” and look for places where the line breaks seem to
interrupt the flow of the sentence (the syntax). What feeling does this create as you
read? Why does the flow get interrupted in these places? In other words, relate the
feeling to the ideas, to what the poem is “about.”
22) Write 1 page on the idea of “reality” in one of the poems
23) Write 1 page on the social context of one of the poems
24) (This exercise works better with a partner.) Pick three poems. Read each one aloud,
three times. Each time, write down one thing you notice about the sound. These might
include
 rhyme (same ending sounds, like bite and kite),
 alliteration (same starting sound, like sing and sorrow),
 assonance (similar vowel sounds, like fat and ban),
 consonance (different vowels surrounded by the same consonants, like leaf and
loaf), and
 rhythm (the pattern of beats, or stressed and unstressed syllables).
25) Draft Essay II
Revise Essay I
Revise Essay I
Revise Essay I
 Essay II
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