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Students must complete two pieces of annotated research and two pieces of summary-and-response writing (total) for the semester. Thus, you will end up doing one piece of research or writing for each of the main genres: fiction, drama, poetry, and prose.
The sequence, dates, and choices (of literary item and research-versus-writing) are up to you, so you must manage your own schedule to complete all four assignments. The syllabus-schedule will help you set deadlines, including the dates we’ll go over each genre.
Before you start an assignment, let the teacher know when you’re thinking of preparing the work. The assignment will be due on the day that we discuss the literary item you’ve chosen. Bring the finished, typed-up product (10- or 12-point typeface, 1” margin all around, name/date/class clearly identified) to the session and be ready to discuss.
For each assignment, choose one literary item:
FICTION = one full story
DRAMA = one full section from a play
POETRY = one author (represented by two or three poems)
PROSE = one full chapter
FOR
RESEARCH:
Through original research, collect four to five sources that advance your understanding of your chosen literary item, per the following checklist.
• ONE reference-source entry (encyclopedia, almanac, literary/specialized dictionary, etc.)
+
• ONE mass-media article (newspaper, magazine, general-public periodical)
+
• ONE web site or web page regarding the piece, author, genre, etc.
+
• TWO scholarly articles (academic journals, published research, conference presentations)
-- OR --
• ONE primary-source book (no anthologies or textbooks, preferably an academic work)
Draft two to three pages on your research: (1) a Works Cited page listed alphabetically and (2) one or two pages describing in full, detailed paragraphs what you got out of each source on the list. Try to classify each source: cultural, linguistic, historical, biographical, critical, etc. In other words, look for and report on research that helps us understand and appreciate the literature we’ll discuss in class.
For Works Cited MLA-formatting, see the handout from class or refer to the Diana Hacker MLA web site.
FOR
WRITING:
Draft and develop a brief (two to three page) paper in response to your chosen literary item. Follow this sequence to organize your ideas.
Paragraph #1 = INTRODUCTION that clearly identifies your item and establishes an interpretive thesis
3 paragraphs = detailed SUMMARY of the item, with quotes and specifics that advance your thesis
3 to 4 paragraphs = RESPONSE, playing off of the SUMMARY to prove your interpretive thesis
Closing paragraph = CONCLUSION, with strong and convincing thesis re-statement
(NOTE: A full paragraph consists of at least three sentences — one to introduce the topic, one to develop it, and one to conclude the paragraph.)
Craft your response paper to present your own ideas on the meaning and value of the literary item.
EVALUATION:
The teacher will grade each assignment on a zero-to-ten point scale, from unacceptable to excellent, based on 5 criteria (two points each):
DEMONSTRATED CLOSE READING (Do you show careful textual review?)
ANALYTIC VALUE (How convincing is your interpretation? How thoughtful is your research?)
INTERPRETIVE VALUE (Does your work add to our thinking about lit?)
WRITING MECHANICS (sentence structure, paragraph structure, response-paper thesis)
GRAMMAR (correctness of English)