Special Course Requirements
Short papers and the research project should conform to strict MLA format, with 12-point Times New Roman double-spaced font and all appropriate documentation.
Out of Class Activities
Students should read carefully and critically all assigned material prior to coming to class. Readings and assignments are DUE on the date for which they are listed.
Graded Activities
Research Project ~ 30% of grade
Students will write a 5-7 page research paper incorporating primary and secondary sources on a topic of their choice regarding a work of literature. Students will submit a prospectus, an annotated bibliography, and a rough draft for peer edit prior to the due date of the final draft.
Short Papers ~ 20% of grade
Students will write two (2-3 page) papers that examine a text of their choice from a new historicist and a feminist/Marxist approach.
Reading Response Journals ~ 15% of grade
For each day that out-of-class reading is assigned, students will respond in writing to the selections reading with and against the grain.
Leading Discussion/Participation ~ 10% of grade
Students will sign up in groups of 2-4 to lead discussion (30 minutes) over the assigned reading for the day.
Method of Evaluation - Students will fill out self- and peer-evaluation forms for leading discussion. Participation will be recorded via genuine contribution to class discussion and/or thoughtful in-class writing. Students must be present to participate.
Exams ~ 25% of grade
Students will complete a midterm exam that includes an objective section and a passage identification and explication section. Students will complete a final essay exam wherein they compare a new short work (poem, short fiction, or excerpt) to a text studied in class.
Method of Evaluation - Midterm: Passage identification and explication will be scored against a rubric, plus objective section. Final exam includes an objective section in the same format as the midterm, plus an essay.
Grading Scale
90-100 A
80-89 B
70-79 C
60-69 D
0-59 F
Weekly Activities and Assignments
>Week 1 - October 25 & 27
Tuesday: Introductions, expectations, figurative language, explain and assign reading response journals.
Thursday:Read "Why I Live at the PO" p396; "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" p123
Reading Response Journal 1 DUE
Week 2 - November 1 & 3
Tuesday: "The Yellow Wallpaper" p315; "Girl" p118, "The Story of an Hour" p306; Reading Response Journal 2 DUE, Last day to drop without academic/financial liability
Thursday: "The Shabbat" p24; "In Broad Daylight" p146 Reading Response Journal 3 DUE
Week 3 - November 8 & 10
Tuesday: "Hills Like White Elephants" p113, "A Pair of Tickets" p189; Reading Response Journal 4, Peer Edit Short Paper 1(Rough Draft DUE)
Thursday: Short Paper 1 DUE
Week 4 - November 15,17, & 18
Tuesday: "Speaker: Whose Voice Do We Hear?" p496-511, RRJ 5 due
Thursday: "Theme and Tone" p475-488, RRJ 6 due, take Midterm Exam
Friday: Peer Edit Short Paper 2
Week 5 - November 22
Tuesday: Short Paper 2 DUE
Sunday, via email: Prospectus DUE
Week 6 - November 29 & December 1
Tuesday: "A Raisin in the Sun, Act I" p950; RRJ 7 due
Thursday: Annotated Bibliographies DUE (Friday is the last day to withdraw with a “W”)
Week 7 - December 6 & 8
Tuesday: "A Raisin in the Sun, Act II" p981 & "Act III" p1009; RRJ 8 due
Thursday: Rough Draft of Research Project to Peer Edit
Week 8 - December 13 & 15
Tuesday: Research Project DUE
Thursday: Final Exam
Library Resources
Columbia College Resources - Online databases are available at http://www.ccis.edu/offices/library/index.asp. You may access them from off-campus using your eServices login and password when prompted.
Course Policies and Procedures
Attendance
Students are expected to attend all classes and laboratory periods for which they are enrolled. Students are directly responsible to instructors for class attendance and work missed during an absence for any cause. If absences jeopardize progress in a course, an instructor may withdraw a student from the course with a grade of "F" or "W" at the discretion of the instructor.
Instructor Policy - There are no "excused" or "unexcused" absences for this course. Missing more than two class periods will result in lowering your final grade, up to 5 absences at which point you may fail the course. Coming to class late or leaving early counts as 1/2 absence.
Academic Integrity
College students must fulfill their academic obligations through honest, independent effort. Dishonesty is considered a serious offense subject to strong disciplinary actions. Activities which constitute academic dishonesty include plagiarism, unauthorized joint effort on exams or assignments, falsification of forms or records, providing false or misleading information, or aiding another in an act of academic dishonesty. Possible penalties for these activities are discussed in detail in the Degree Completion Catalog.
Instructor Policy - Plagiarism, and how to avoid it, will be discussed as a component of this course. Plagiarism will result at the very least in a zero on the assignment and a report to the dean.
