Prof. Michael Gavin
English 102 office hours: 8-9, 12-1 pm MWF and by appointment, Office M3069
(301) 322-0577 email: gavinmh@pgcc.edu
Writing about Literature
We will examine literature by looking both at the literary periods and the political, social, and technological changes that occurred in the time surrounding the eras in which it was written. Through the study of different texts and literary themes, we will attempt to define how literature affects society, and vice versa. In the process we will seek to answer the following questions:
How does literature help us to understand the concept of culture, race, and history?
How does our identity become formed? Does it relate to the era in which we live, things we read, watch or do?
What is the function of literature? Does it have value beyond itself? Does literature shape our society or sense of history, or vise versa?
What is the “real world” and how do authors attempt to render that real world through their use of rhetorical strategy or characterization?
Course Outcomes for English 102
Upon successful completions of the course students will be able to:
1.
Write analytical essays about literary texts by

Formulating restricted, unified and precise thesis statements

Organizing essay content into introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs

Composing restricted, unified, and precise topic sentences for paragraphs

Writing unified and coherent paragraphs that are well-developed with supporting materials drawn from the literary text

Applying grammar and usage rules correctly

Choosing appropriate diction

Writing clear, precise sentences
2.
Explain basic literary terms in the genre of poetry, fiction, and drama (for example, theme, imagery, rhythm, figurative language, tone, character, plot, etc.)
3.
Write research-based essays using secondary sources to:

Demonstrate their understanding of plagiarism

Synthesize several different sources into an essay to support its thesis

Quote, summarize, and paraphrase responsibly within that paper
Document sources according to the MLA format

Required Texts
Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama.
Kennedy/Gioia. Ninth
Edition. (There are four small books sold in a single packet).
Wolff, Tobias (ed). The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories.
Vintage
Contemporaries (1994).
Class Format and Grading Criterion:
Class participation, which encompasses writing, reading, and discussion is 15% of your final grade. You are required to share your insights from the readings with us. If you do not, you are robbing the class of potential ideas and thereby limiting classmates’ progression in writing and critical thinking. Therefore, you must come to class prepared to discuss and/or write about each assignment.
A note about all participation:
One of the hardest things to do is to learn how to stay within the bounds of academic discussion--and not resort to personal attacks--when you disagree strongly with a member of a classroom. However, this is a skill we all must learn. You don’t have to agree with a member of our classroom, but you must respect that individual. Personal attacks will not be tolerated, in the classroom or through peer response. Additionally, please do not mistake quantity of participation with quality. Lastly, any extra-curricular discussion in class will not be tolerated.
Attendance: The Department of English stipulates that absence from one fourth of the classes, for whatever reason, is grounds for failure. Tardiness or leaving early will be counted as absences. If you miss class or if you are late, you did not participate in the fullest capacity. Hence, absences will directly affect your participation grade. Beyond that, any absence over two will result in a lowering of the grade by one-third (A to an A-
). Five absences, despite the reason behind them, will result in failure of the class. You are responsible for material covered and disseminated in class. Therefore, it may be helpful to exchange phone numbers with members in the class to insure you can get the information you missed. If you know you will be late or absent for a class, please let me know ahead of time.
Academic Integrity Code/Plagiarism: The college is an institution of higher learning that holds academic integrity as its highest principle. In the pursuit of knowledge, the college community expects that all students, faculty, and staff will share responsibility for adhering to the values of honesty and unquestionable integrity. To support a community committed to academic achievement and scholarship, the Code of Academic Integrity advances the principle of honest representation in the work that is produced by students seeking to engage fully in the learning process. The complete text of the Code of

Academic Integrity is in the 2004-2005 Student Handbook (pages 41-43) and posted on the college's website.
Code of Conduct: The Prince George's Community College Code of Conduct defines the rights and responsibilities of students and establishes a system of procedures for dealing with students charged with violations of the code and other rules and regulations of the college. A student enrolling in the college assumes an obligation to conduct himself/herself in a manner compatible with the college's function as an educational institution. Refer to the 2004-2005 Student Handbook, beginning on page 39, for a complete explanation of the code of conduct, including the Code of Academic Integrity and the procedure for dealing with disruptive student behavior.
Late Papers and assignments: The pace of this course is fast. To keep up, you must turn all papers and assignments on the date they are listed on the syllabus. Papers are due the minute class begins, no exceptions. You should be sure to turn all papers in, no matter how late, because a completed assignment--even an F--receives some points where as an assignment that is never completed receives a zero. You may not e-mail your final paper to me.
You may hand in a first draft of any or all papers prior to handing in a final draft. I will make comments accordingly. However, the final papers may not be rewritten.
Typing: All final drafts of essays must be typed. One-inch margins are required, in a font that is reasonable--Times, Helvetica, or Geneva, 12 point--and double-spaced.
Disabilities: If you have a diagnosed physical or learning disability that requires accommodation, please see me after class or during my office hours to discuss arrangements.
List of Assignments
All of the assignments will be explained in-depth through the use of an assignment sheet.
Name of Assignment
In-Class Discussion
Paper #1, straight argument of text
Paper #2
Paper #3 Comparison/Research paper
Short Paper
Final Exam
Presentation
Min. Length
4 pages
5 pages
6 pages
1 page
Grade Weight
10%
10%
15%
20%
15%
15%
15%
Final notes: All grades in this course are non-negotiable. All assignments must be completed and turned in for you to pass the class.

Please, please, please, come to my office hours, feel free to approach me about this class or any other topic, and be kind enough to disable all cell phones and pagers before entering the class.

January 23:
January 25:
January 30:
February 1:
February 6:
February 8:
February 13:
February 15:
February 20:
February 22:
February 27:
Introduction to class and classmates
Introduction to Literature
“Greasy Lake” TC Boyle (124)
“Cathedral” Raymond Carver (Vintage 108-125)
Joyce Carol Oates; “Where Are You Going…” (Vintage 347)
Flannery O’Connor “A Good Man is Hard to Find” (254)
Read pages 2119-2129 in the Writing Book
Andre Dubus “The Fat Girl” (Vintage 125)
Jamiaca Kincaid; “Girl” (Vintage 306)
Kate Chopin “The Story of an Hour (322)
Charoltte Perkins Gilman “The Yellow Wallpaper” (331)
Tim O’Brien; “The Things They Carried” (Vintage 366)
Wilfred Owen; “Dulce et Decorum Est” (470)
“Anthem for Doomed Youth” (828)
“War Poetry” (471)
By now have turned in a draft of the short paper; not turning it in results in a zero for the entire paper, no exceptions
Yusef Komunyakaa
“Facing It” (681)
Billy Collins
“Names” (494)
Richard Eberhart
“The Fury of Aerial Bombardment” (491)
Howard Nemerov
“The War in the Air” (824)
Paper #1 Due
Research Booker T. Washington and WEB DuBois
Read 2135-2142; 2147-2163 in Writing
Lesson on Form
Shakespeare; “My Mistress’ Eyes Are…” (841)
Percy Bysshe Shelley; “Ozymandias” (723)

March 1:
Elizabeth Barrett Browning “How Do I Love Thee?” (782)
Paul Laurence Dunbar; “We Wear the Mask” Handout
“Ante-Bellum…”
“Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” (759)
By now have turned in a second draft of the short paper; not turning it in results in a zero for the entire paper, no exceptions
March 6: Countee Cullen; “From the Dark Tower” Handout
“Yet Do I Marvel” Handout
Langston Hughes; “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” (752)
“Mother to Son” (752)
“Harlem” (758)
March 8: Arthur Miller
“Death of a Salesman” Act I (1194-1227)
***For each day we read the play, please come in with a passage from each character that you find significant and an explanation for why it is significant
March 13:
“Death of a Salesman” (1227-1226)
March 15:
March 20:
March 22:
March 27:
March 29:
Finish “Death of a Salesman”
Lesson on Modernism
William Butler Yeats; “The Second Coming” (661)
Ee cummings “anyone lived in a pretty how town” (492)
Paper #2 Due
TS Eliot; “Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (791)
William Carlos Williams “Red Wheel Barrow” (462)
Robert Frost
“The Road Not Taken” (648)
“Stopping By the Woods on a Snowing Evening” (798)
Mid-term exam
Film
Read 2142-2143, 2145-2146
By now have turned in a third draft of the short paper; not turning it in results in a zero for the entire paper, no exceptions
April 3: Film

April 5:
April 7-13:
April 17:
April 19:
April 24:
April 26:
May 1:
May 3:
May 8:
May 10:
Film
Spring Break
William Faulkner
“A Rose for Emily” (29)
Shirley Jackson “The Lottery (262)
Mona Simpson
“Lawns” (Vintage 445)
Final Draft of Short Paper Due
John Keats; “Ode on A Grecian Urn” (812)
Richard Ford
“Rock Springs” (Vintage 162)
By now have read “Writing a Research Paper” (1484)
Alice Walker
“Everyday Use” (92)
Chinua Achebe; “Dead Men’s Path” (187)
Philip Larkin
“Aubade” (815)
“Home is So Sad” (815)
John Updike; “Ex-Basketball Player” (850)
AE Housman; “To an Athlete Dying Young” (809)
In Class Final Exam
TBA
Presentations Given

For your presentation, please analyze a song, piece of art, scene from a movie or television show and tell us how it relates to a theme that we have studied in class. To do this, you must articulate three things:
1) Which text(s) does this piece you have chose most closely resemble.
2) How, specifically does your selection resemble the text we studied. In order to answer this question, you will need to quote from the text we read in class and draw our attention to similar materials that are present in the piece you have chosen.
3) Explain to us the significance of the connection(s) you have made.
4) Related to #3, how does what you have found help us to understand the world better?
5) You will have to bring the song, art piece, or scene into class. As well, please let me know well in advance what AV equipment we will have to have in the class
(VCR, radio, CD player).
6) The presentation must last at least ten minutes and be well-prepared. Index cards are fine, but reading from your notes is not. For each minute under ten that the presentation lasts, the grade will be knocked down a full letter. Also, lack of preparation will directly affect your grade.
Some tips:
Be sure to state your argument about how the issues you are highlighting are similar to one another. Then, for each point you want to make, just as you would in a paper, explain how textual support is present in both the text we read and the one you have.

Writing Objectives:
1) To demonstrate mastery of the textual analysis genre
2) To learn to distinguish between evidence and summary
3) To think critically about a text
4) To examine an author’s purpose and to develop an argument about that purpose
The Assignment:
Please write a textual analysis of one of the texts we have read. A textual analysis makes an argument about what the author’s purpose was in writing the novel, story, or play. Thus, early in your essay, state your thesis about what you think the author’s goal was in writing his/her story.
Use the remainder of the paper to prove your point. Remember, a textual analysis does not summarize the text.
In writing your textual analysis you will need to do three things:
1) Identify and describe what you think the author wrote the text you are examining for. The way to do this is to focus on one or a few elements of the text, as we have done in class: irony, symbols, character, form, rhyme scheme, setting, theme, etc.
2) Explain in detail that (or those) element’s function(s) in the text.
3) Make your argument give us a better understanding of the text--what is the text saying about reality? In short, you are giving your reading of the story through the lens of a single element.
Paper Requirements & Criteria:

At least four full pages; any amount below that is not completing the assignment.

This paper will have an assertive thesis. You will need to hold that thesis throughout the entire paper and prove it through evidence you use from the text.

You will also need to analyze and explain the textual evidence you offer so that your reader understands why you have included it.

Pay attention to the placement and purpose of all paragraphs. Make sure each paragraph has a strong topic sentence and that you prove that topic sentence.
 ‘A’ papers will say something true and interesting about the story; be well-organized; and conform to the genre.
**Along with your final draft please turn in a final page that summarizes 1) the strategy you used in writing this paper 2) the things you’ve changed in your essay since the day you began formulating the argument 3) why you made those changes.
Feel free to contact me at any time! Good luck!

Writing Objectives:
1) To demonstrate mastery of the textual analysis genre
2) To make connections between and among texts of different authors and eras
3) To integrate research seamlessly into the argument of a text
The Assignment:
In writing this final paper, please create an argument about how two texts we have read in this class are similar or dissimilar. The argument ought to go beyond observing (dis)similarities by explaining how your observations tell us something true and interesting about the world beyond the text. It may even be helpful to explain how two texts are both similar and dissimilar. One may want to make an argument about how two authors approach the topic of family different or similarly. An argument may be about the use of the sonnet being different for different authors.
Either way, the goal would be to explain something about family or something about appropriate/inappropriate/meaning of the sonnet.
In addition to or in support of your argument, four in-text citations are required. Depending on your argument, you may want to research the theme you have selected; the different time periods or literary eras in which the texts were written; etc. Any help you need I will be glad to assist with.
Please be certain that two of your resources are textually based, meaning not from the internet.
Please also be certain that all resources (especially the internet resources) are reliable.
Paper Requirements & Criteria:

Six pages.

This paper will have an assertive thesis. You will need to hold that thesis throughout the entire paper and prove it through evidence you use from the texts and research.

You will also need to analyze and explain the textual evidence you offer so that your reader understands why you have included it.

Pay attention to the placement and purpose of all paragraphs. Make sure each paragraph has a strong topic sentence and that you prove that topic sentence.
 ‘A’ papers will say something true and interesting about the story; be well-organized; and conform to the genre.
Feel free to contact me at any time! Good luck!

This It is an exercise in honing writing mechanics, thesis development, and revision strategy. Please read the assignment sheet and contact me with any questions.
Please write a short paper on one of the short stories that we have read in this class.
Like the other papers, you are expected critically analyze the piece of literature you select. A well-developed thesis, quotations from the text, and transitions from paragraph to paragraph are all required.
There are a few rules to this assignment that are unique, however:
1) You may submit this paper four times to me.
2) It can be a minimum of one page, a maximum of two pages.
3) I will read the paper until an error is located, at which time I will circle the error and define what sort of error it is. Your job is then to study that error, learn how to fix it, revise the paper, and re-submit it.
4) The process will be repeated twice. The fourth submission is the final submission.
5) There are only three grades for the paper: A, C, and F. An A has zero errors and a well-developed thesis. A C has only two different kinds of errors and a well developed thesis. An F has more errors than two and/or a thesis that still needs work.
6) ***In order for your paper to be read, you must submit it with older versions of the paper as well, all stapled together.