English 102: Writing About Literature
Location:
Online
Time: Spring I, 2008
Instructor:
Carl Nery
Title: Adjunct Instructor
Office:
N/A
Phone:
(919)971-8944
Fax:
N/A
Email: neryc@campbell.edu
Office hours
: N/A
Please contact me by email. If necessary, we can make an appointment to speak by phone.
Course web page
: https://www.blackboard.campbell.edu
Official Course Description
A course designed to enhance reading, writing, research, and critical thinking skills directed toward literary analysis.
Course Prerequisites
English 101 or exemption.
Required course materials
:
Meyer, Michael, ed. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 8 th edition. Boston: Bedford/St.
- A dictionary (free online dictionaries are fine)
Course Learning Outcomes
The purpose of this course is:
-to help students think about literature as a valuable and useful means of thinking about
the world they live in.
-to help students think about literature critically.
-to give students an opportunity to familiarize themselves with new ways of looking at
the world that they might not have otherwise considered.
-to encourage students to read literature on their own.
After completing this course, students should be able to:
-identify the various genres of literature.
-correctly use literary terms to describe what they read.
-write critically about what they read.
-apply what they have learned about literature to the world outside the classroom.
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Expectations of Students
ƒ 1 Attend class regularly
ƒ 2 Give your best effort
ƒ 3 Ask questions when necessary
ƒ 4 Actively participate in discussions
Internet/Email Requirements:
This course utilizes email, and the Blackboard Learning system. Students are required to have and regularly monitor a valid email address and internet service provider. A Campbell University email account is preferred. Students will be contacted in most cases via the Blackboard platform. Students are directed to ensure that the email address entered in the Blackboard system is functional.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is any use of another person’s words or ideas without giving proper credit to the person from whom you borrowed the words or ideas. Plagiarism is the theft of intellectual property. Plagiarism includes the following:
Failing to cite properly any direct or indirect quotation(s) from professionally written materials (books, journal articles, etc.) student papers, projects, presentations, etc.
Submitting as your own work a paper, project, or presentation that you did not compose (that is, write, compile, draw, etc.)
Allowing another person to write your paper or develop your presentation or assignment.
Students who plagiarize will be subject to failing the assignment and/or failing the course.
Additional sanctions may be imposed by the Campus Director. See the Extended Campus
Student Handbook for further information.
Note:
Plagiarism is not only disrespectful to those that you steal ideas and information from; more significantly, it is disrespectful to you. If you don’t have faith in yourself and your own ideas, I don’t think that college will do you much good. Taking responsibility for our own actions is the very source of personal independence. Our freedom begins and ends with ourselves.
CAMPUS REQUIREMENTS
Campbell University’s Statement of Purpose:
Campbell University is a university of the liberal arts, sciences, and professions which is committed to helping students develop an integrated Christian personality characterized by a wholeness that includes: a method of critical judgment; an appreciation of our intellectual, cultural, and religious heritage; and a sensitive awareness of the world and society in which they live and work with persons.
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ADA Statement: Students with documented disabilities who desire modifications or accommodations should contact the Office of Student Support Services located in the
University’s Hight House. To contact this office, call (910) 814-4364 or email supportservices@campbell.edu
.
Attendance
: Campbell’s attendance policy states that regular attendance is mandatory.
Students may miss only 15% of classes. Any student missing more than 15% of classes may fail the course due to a lack of attendance. Students taking distance education classes need to meet the weekly timetables and due dates promulgated by the instructor. Failure to meet these deadlines may result in a failing grade.
For online classes, I define attendance as keeping up with the week’s assignments and participating in online discussions.
Excused Absences: School sponsored events that require you miss class because you are acting as a representative of the university, a death in your family and jury duty.
If for some reason you are unable to attend class, please let me know ahead of time via email if at all possible.
Late Work Policy:
Please turn assignments in on time. Respecting deadlines is a major part of professional behavior. More importantly, however, keeping up with the class schedule insures that you are on the same page as the rest of the class and are thus able to participate meaningfully in class activities (discussion, peer editing, etc.). Furthermore, I cannot always return late work to you in time for my feedback to help you on future assignments. I will not grade papers that are more than a day late without a properly documented excuse. Late papers are penalized a full letter grade. I do not accept other assignments after the due date as class discussion on them will likely have ended. Absence is not a compelling reason for not turning in an assignment.
While I will not grade papers that are more than a day late, I require that you complete all writing assignments, including all individual steps, to pass this class.
Grading
Basic Overview
-Papers: 60%
-Quizzes and
Daily Assignments: 10%
-Participation: 15%
-Final Exam 15%
Details
Papers: We will write three major papers for this class, one for each genre that we study (fiction, poetry, and drama). Each paper is 20% of your grade.
Quizzes: We will occasionally have quizzes, both announced and unannounced, on our readings.
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Daily Assignments: Various exercises that we will do throughout the semester to give us practice with some of the concepts we cover.
Participation: this category includes your journal entries, discussion board posts, etc.
The following grading scale will be used
:
A: 90 - 100 percent
B: 80 - 89 percent
C: 70 - 79 percent
D: 60 - 69 percent
F: 60 and below
W: Withdrew (no penalty and does not count on a student's grade point average)
WF: Withdrew Failing -- (this is the same as an F and will always be counted as an F and is computed in a student's grade point average)
Incomplete Work: (Instructors will issue grades of incomplete in conjunction with the Director of Distance Education,(coordination) and the guidelines provided in the University Catalog .)
Major Assignments
Papers: All paper assignment sheets will be posted on Blackboard at the beginning of the semester. Writing papers will give us the chance to stretch out our minds and carefully articulate what we think. Your objective in writing papers is not to arrive at some pre-determined conclusion that I have come up with, but to engage the texts that you write about critically. Your papers should express an idea about what you have read, and defend that idea by appealing to the text. Papers should not simply state what you think, but also why you think it.
Journal: You will be keeping a journal throughout the semester in which you will respond to what you are reading. We will be using Black Boards “blog” feature to keep our journals. Your journals will be available to me, but not to the class (unless you choose to make them available).
The specifics of what you write about are up to you. However, you should indicate how the week’s readings have influenced your thought. I expect at least a paragraph for each entry, though you may write as much as you like. If you get stuck and can’t think of anything to write, here are some suggestions:
-I liked/didn’t like this reading because…
-This poem reminded me of a movie I saw in that…
-This story is much like what we read yesterday, especially the part where…
-I don’t understand this reading. I am particularly confused about passage xyz because…
Always try to analyze why
you responded as you did. Doing so will help you in at least two ways: 1.) it will force you to clarify your thoughts about what you have read, thereby encouraging you to think critically, and 2.) you just might find that your journal entry provides you with a paper topic that your actually interested in. I don’t grade journals based on style, grammar, etc. I grade journals based on how much effort you put into thinking about what you have read. I need to see evidence that you are thinking about what you read.
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Discussion Board: Each week during the semester there will be at least one discussion board topic that you will be required to respond to. On occasion, I may provide a specific prompt. Most of the time, however, you will determine the topic of discussion.
Expectations for Discussion Board
Posting your thoughts, comments, and questions to the discussion board forums found throughout the semester is an important part of your participation grade. Even more importantly, the discussion boards allow you to work with your peers and learn from their ideas. The following are some basic guidelines to keep in mind when posting to the discussion board.
1.) Post to the board by Wednesday of each week. This will give you time to use the information found there to help you with the weeks assignments.
2.) Respond to the prompts in a thoughtful manner. It is perfectly okay not to understand something. However, spend enough time thinking about the readings that you can identify the particular areas you are having trouble with. This way you can ask specific questions that your classmates will likely be able to help you answer. Extremely broad questions or comments are almost useless. Avoid posts such as “I don’t understand at all,” “It was good,” etc. Ask specific questions and make thoughtful, specific comments.
3.) It goes without saying that you should read what everyone else has posted. Further, you should respond to other student’s posts when you have something to add.
4.) It is always okay to disagree with others, so long as we’re all civil about it. It does no good to say simply “you’re wrong.” Instead, offer an explanation of why you think that your idea is correct. When applicable, support you ideas with examples from the reading.
5.) Be open to knew ideas. Talking with each other gives us an opportunity to learn to see things in new ways. It is valuable to understand other people’s point of view even if we don’t agree with them. Aside from being nice, it is also informative.
Grading Criteria
D/F The paper does not clearly communicate an idea, or otherwise does not fulfill the assignment. Papers in this range typically suffer from poor grammar, poor proofreading, and poor organization.
C A solid paper, but not exceptional. Papers in this range have a clear thesis, are well thought out and organized, meet all requirements of the assignment, and are not hindered by excessive grammar or spelling errors.
B
Papers in this range have all the virtues of a “C” paper, but go a step beyond. “B” papers are not only well written, but insightful, having a thesis is not simply clear, but thoughtful and nuanced. These papers demonstrate a command of language that is beyond average.
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A “A” papers go above and beyond what is required in all categories. They have all the qualifications of a “B” paper, but more. “A” papers make me think and they teach me something.
Turnitin.com: “
Turnitin.com” is a web-based service that provides online reviews of written material to judge if it has been copied from another source. Turnitin.com is used to evaluate the possibility of a student plagiarizing or cheating on written material. The instructor may require students to submit written work in an electronic format for the purpose of utilizing the
Turnitin.com service.
Please note that instructions for Turnitin.com are posted on homepage of our Blackboard site.
Elastic Clause
: I reserve the right to change the syllabus and weekly plans as necessary. All changes will be noted on the “Announcements” page. If the situation warrants, I will send an email to the class explaining the change.
Weekly Outline
Week
Week 1
Jan 5-9
Week 2
Reading Assignments (page numbers refer to Bedford Intro to
Lit.)
Introductory Materials
Intro to Imaginative Literature: 1-12
Short Fiction: 13-44
Writing about Fiction: 47-62; Plot: 67-76
A Rose For Emily
: 95-102; Character: 123-128;
Major Assignments Due
Introductory Assignment
Discussion Board 1
Journal Entry 1
Discussion Board 2
Jan. 12-16 Setting: 182-185; Summer : 376-381
Point of View: 218-223;
Soldier’s Home
: 185-190
Journal entry 2
Symbolism: : 285-300
Week 3 Theme: 304-307;
Good Country People
: 456-470 Discussion Board 3
Jan. 19-23 Style, Tone, Irony: 339-346 Journal Entry 3
Paper 1 Due (Fiction) ( Begin Poetry Section)
Reading Poetry: 769-790
Popular Forms: 801-819
Writing About Poetry: 820-828
Week 4 Word Choice, Word Order, and Tone 829-871 Discussion Board 4
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Jan 26-30 Images: 872-879, 885-888
Week 5
Dover Beach: 878879
Figures of Speech: 898-909
Symbol, Allegory, Irony 922-932
Feb. 2-6 Naming of Parts: 943
Sounds: 949-956, 978-979
Week 6
Patterns of Rhythm: 980-992
My Papa’s Waltz: 999
Poetic Forms: 1004-1042
Feb. 9-13 Combining the Elements: 1056-1066
Langston Hughes: 1157-1173
Week 7
Song for a Dark Girl: 1174
Morning After: 1178-1179
(Begin Drama Section)
Feb. 16-
20
Reading Drama:1365-1367
“Trifles”:1367-1379
Elements of Drama: 1383-1386
Drama in Popular Forms: 1390-1402
Week 8 Shakespeare: 1520-1531
Feb. 23-
27
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: 1531-1587
Final Exam
Journal Entry 4
Discussion Board 5
Journal Entry 5
Discussion Board 6
Journal Entry 6
Paper 2 Due (research paper)
Discussion Board 7
Journal Entry 7
Discussion Board 8
Journal Entry 8
Paper 3 Due (Drama)
Final Exam
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