ENGL 201: Reading/Writing About Text/Section 007/T-TH 12-1:15 (3 credits)
Fall 2011
Classroom Krug 19
Ms. Holcomb
Office: R-A455
Office Hours: T-TH 10:30-11:30 AM, Th 4:30-5:30
or by appointment
Email: jholcom1@gmu.edu
This is a cell phone-free class. Please turn your phone off completely before you come in (setting it
on “vibrate” is not acceptable).
Texts and Materials
Required: Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense, 10th or 11th ed. (10th is available used and
is acceptable.) Arp and Johnson, eds. You’ll also need loose leaf paper; blue or black ink pens; one or
two red ink pens; & a highlighter in a legible color. If you need other stationery supplies, I’ll give you
advance notice so you can get them.
Recommended: A Pocket Style Manual, 5th ed. Diana Hacker (Hacker) Note: an earlier edition of
Hacker will be fine, if you have one already or if it is available used.
The nature of this class may also require you to see performances outside of class time and at your
expense. I promise to be aware of your budgets when I make assignments, and provide options which
are free or very cheap indeed.
Course Overview: English 201 is a course which focuses on reading and interpreting fiction— specifically
poetry, short stories, and drama. You will be expanding your skills in reading critically, thinking logically,
and writing with clarity about fiction, and developing the technical vocabulary which scholars use to discuss
imaginative writing. You will improve your ability to comment thoughtfully on the work of your peers in
workshops. Perhaps most important, you’ll be reconsidering and rewriting your work.
From the 2008-2009 University Catalog:
This course meets the Literature requirement, one of the Core requirements of the University General Education
program. The goal of the Core requirement is to help ensure that students are introduced to the broad range of
intellectual domains that contribute to a liberal education. By gaining exposure to the subject matter and ways of
knowing in a variety of fields, students will be better able to synthesize new knowledge, respond to fresh challenges,
and meet the demands of a complex world.
Literature Goal: Courses in the literature category foster understanding and appreciation of the aesthetic, cultural,
historical, and intellectual aspects of major literary works through critical analysis. Students will identify, analyze,
write about, and discuss aspects of theme, plot, central ideas, narrative, audience, perspective, figurative language,
and the relationship between structure and ideas.
Course Requirements: You must receive a ‘C’ or better to receive credit for this course.
Grading Scale
In-class Poetry Essay
Othello Essay
HW
Mid-Term
Participation
Review
Final Exam
20%
20%
10%
15%
10%
10%
15%
Deadlines for Assignments
Work assigned must be completed and submitted on the date specified on the syllabus. If you know you will
be absent, you may...
Hand your paper in earlier, before the deadline.
Give your paper to another student to give to me.
You should also be aware that:
Late papers will be dropped one letter grade for each class day they are late.
I will not accept papers or homework by email.
If you miss an in-class test, viewing, or writing assignment, you will have one week to make it up. You
must see me for the make-up assignment: I won’t chase you.
Writing Center: The University Writing Center is a free writing resource. Tutors are available to assist
students at any level and at any stage of their writing process. Tutors will not proofread your writing, but
they will help you to develop revision and editing strategies. You can even obtain assistance with papers by
making an appointment with the online writing center at http://writingcenter.gmu.edu. Instructions for
making appointments can be found at http://writingcenter.gmu.edu/faqs.php . You must plan ahead to use
the Writing Center; it is not an emergency service.
Midterm Grades: In English 201 students receive a midterm letter grade based on the work of the first seven weeks
of the course. The purpose of the grade is to help students find out how well they are doing in the first half of the
course in order to make any adjustments necessary for success in the course as a whole. Instructors calculate letter
grades based on the completed course assignments as weighted on the syllabus through the seventh week. The work
in the second half of the semester may be weighted more heavily, so the midterm grade is not meant to predict the
final course grade. Students may view their grades online at Patriotweb by October 21.
Attendance: (Here I paraphrase the GMU Course Catalog )
Students are expected to attend the class periods of the courses for which they register.
Students who miss class for whatever reason are not relieved of the obligation to fulfill
assignments, including those that can only be fulfilled in class. In particular, a student who
misses an exam without an excuse may have the course grade lowered. Students who fail to
participate (by virtue of extensive absences) in a course may have the grade lowered.
Participation: You are expected to be actively involved in class. If you are involved, you will
receive a better grade than the student who is mute and invisible.
Plagiarism: The English Department’s Statement on Plagiarism:
Plagiarism means using the exact words, opinion, or factual information from another person
without giving that person credit. Writers give credit through the use of accepted documentation
styles, such as parenthetical citation, footnotes, or end notes; a simple listing of books and
articles is not sufficient. Plagiarism is the equivalent of intellectual robbery and cannot be
tolerated in an academic setting.
If I suspect an infraction of this policy, I will submit the matter to the University Honor Committee.
Format Details: All work to be handed in requires a heading in the upper right-hand corner with your
name, the date assignment is due, class number and section. This is Eng 201 Section 007.
All in-class work will be handwritten in blue or black ink on one side of lined paper.
All at-home essays are to be keyboarded in a word processing format, and stapled or clipped together
before they are submitted. Please use a standard font such as Courier, Times New Roman, or
Garamond, in 10 or 12 point.
Double-space all papers (handwritten or keyboarded).
You must make copies of all your typed papers before you hand them in, and keep all graded work I
return to you. This protects you in case I am eaten by wolves.
Disabilities: Students with documented disabilities are legally entitled to certain accommodations in the
classroom. If you are a student with a disability, and you need academic accommodations, please see me and
contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 703-993-2474. All academic accommodations must be
arranged through that office.
I will be happy to work with you to arrange fair access and to support: to do that in time to be helpful
to you, I need to hear from you no later than Tuesday, September 6 if you require accommodations.
The Review Assignment: During this course, you will complete a 700-800 word review of an on-campus
event. As this syllabus goes to press, the details of on-campus performing arts events are not available, but
they will include music, dance, and theatre, all by your fellow students. I’ll get more complete info to you
just as soon as I have it myself.
This review will be due no later than Tuesday 12/6. We’ll talk about this assignment more in class.
I mention campus events specifically because they are local and cheap (frequently there are free student
tickets available, as well as reduced rates for students) but if there is some other event you wish to review,
we can discuss that, too. I do require that the review be of a live performance, not a film, television, or
video.
Field Trip!: I am planning to arrange a field trip in October to see the Synetic Theatre production of Othello,
which the class will be reading in November. Possible dates are: 10-19 or 10-20, 10-26 or 10-27, or 11-2 or
11-3. Tickets will be about $20; the performance is in Arlington, and we could travel by car or by Metro.
Parking is free. We'll discuss the details of this trip, including an alternative assignment if you don't attend,
and extra credit for reviewing the performance for those who do attend, soon. (Reviewing this performance
would be separate from the other review assignment.)
Week 1
Tues 8-30: Ice-breakers. Introduction to textbooks. Syllabus preview. HW: Read
Reading the Story, Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense (SSS), and A
Jury of Her Peers, SSS.
Thurs 9-1: Discussion of reading, and of Point of View.
Week 2
Tues 9-6: In-Class writing assignment: describe a portion of the story through the
POV of one of the characters.
Tuesday 9-6: Last day to drop with no tuition penalty.
Thurs 9-8: Share POV writing assignments. Discussion of Character. HW: Due
Tues 9-13: Read John Updike's A&P (SSS) and write a response comparing and
contrasting the characters of Lengel and Sammy.
Week 3
Tues 9-13: Character description HW due. The Sonnet. Readings: Sonnet, Billy
Collins (SSS); Shall I compare thee to a summer's day, Shakespeare (SSS); hand-out.
Thurs 9-15: POV writing assignments returned. In-class small-group exercise:
Writing sonnets as voicemail messages. HW: Read What is Poetry? (SSS) and
Reading the Poem (SSS). (You aren’t responsible for the specific poems, just for the
text.)
Week 4
Tues 9-20: Character description HW returned. Band of Brothers: War poetry.
Dulce et Decorum Est, Owen (SSS); Does it Matter?, Sassoon, handout.
Thurs 9-22: St Crispin’s Day Speech from Henry V, Shakespeare, handout and film
version.
Week 5
Tues 9-27: Housman: Terence, this is stupid stuff (SSS), Eight o’ clock (SSS).
Thurs 9-29: Housman: To An Athlete Dying Young (SSS), Loveliest of Trees (SSS).
HW: Read Denotation and Connotation (SSS).
Also, review: A Study of Reading Habits, Larkin (SSS); Break of Day, Donne (SSS);
The World is Too Much with Us, Wordsworth (SSS).
Fri 9-30: Last day to drop a class without grade penalty.
Week 6
Tues 10-4: Discussion of last weekend’s assignment. HW: Read Imagery (SSS), and
also the following poems: Spring, Hopkins (SSS); Those Winter Sundays, Hayden,
(SSS); I knew a woman, Roethke (SSS).
Thurs 10-6: In-class discussion of figurative language—Elements of Poetry
Chapters 5-7 (SSS). That’s a big chunk—I’ll be stressing the terminology of
figurative language, to prepare you for next week’s writing assignment. HW: Reread the material we covered in today’s class. I will tell you which specific poems
from this section you are responsible for (you won’t need to read all of them, so
don’t panic at the apparent length of the reading).
Week 7
COLUMBUS DAY HOLIDAY. MONDAY CLASSES MEET TUESDAY THIS WEEK.
Our class will not meet Tues 10-11.
Thurs 10-13: Further discussion of figurative language. Quiz on terminology
which we have covered in class. Preparation for the in-class writing assignment.
HW: Review the poems we’ve read so far in preparation for Thursday’s in-class
essay.
Week 8
Tues 10-18: In-class essay assignment: I will give you a poem which you have
read for class—it won’t be one we have discussed, but it will be one which has been
assigned to you in the past 2 weeks—and you will have the duration of the class to
write about it, focusing particularly on the imagery.
Thurs 10-20: In-class essays returned, with my comments. Mid-Term Exam. We’ll
discuss this in class, but expect it to cover everything we have done thus far. HW:
Revise your essay for 10-27.
Midterm grades will be available on Patriotweb by Friday 10-21.
Week 9
Tues 10-25: Mid-Terms returned. Discussion of musical devices and rhythm and
meter—Elements of Poetry Chapters 11-12 (SSS). HW: Read the chapters we
covered in class again, including the following poems: The Waking, Roethke (SSS);
Nothing Gold Can Stay, Frost (SSS).
Thurs 10-27: Revised poetry essays due. Discussion of pattern: the villanelle. Do
Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, Thomas (SSS) Mad Girl’s Love Song, Plath
(SSS). HW: Read the chapter on pattern again. Review for imagery quiz.
Week 10
Tues 11-1: Poetry essays returned. Imagery Quiz. Drama unit begins. HW:
Read SSS Tragedy and Comedy and Othello, Act 1.
Thurs 11-3: Discussion of Othello Act 1. HW: Read Othello Acts 2-3.
Week 11
Tues 11-8: Imagery quizzes returned. Discussion of Othello Acts 2-3. HW:
Read Othello Acts 4-5. Come to class Thurs 11-10 with a 1-page response to the end
of Othello with a view to possible subjects for your paper.
Thurs 11-10: Discussion of the end of Othello. Small-group discussion of paper
topics. HW: For 11-15, write a 750-word first draft of your paper on Othello.
Week 12
Tues 11-15: Review of textual support and formal analysis. Small-group peer crit
of drafts. HW: Revise your draft, working for clarity and brevity. Remember that
ALL DRAFTS of your paper MUST be submitted with the final draft (including
copies marked-up by your classmates).
Thurs 11-17: Discussion of major themes in Othello and critical views of the play.
Sign up for individual conferences on your Othello papers. HW: Conferences with
me about your Othello paper. Any student who fails to have a conference w/me
about his or her Othello paper can expect to receive a full letter grade deduction
on the finished product. No exceptions, no excuses.
Week 13
Tues 11-22: Screening of selected scenes from Laurence Fishburne’s Othello.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Week 14
Tues 11-29: No class. Individual conferences w/me about your Othello paper.
Thurs 12-1: No class. Individual conferences w/me about your Othello paper.
Week 15:
Tues 12-6: Problems? Loose ends? This is the Last Chance Saloon for your Othello
papers. Preparation for final exam. Review paper due TODAY.
Thurs 12-8: Othello papers due. Semester’s end celebration.
Week 16:
Thurs 12-15: Final exam at 10:30 AM.
Have a Wonderful Winter Break!