Getting Started
English 102 – Literature and Composition

Contact Information

Instructor: David Toth

E-mail: [email protected]

Contents

• Overview
• Course Description
• Texts
• Philosophy
• Grading
• Class Blog
• On-line Discussions
• Due Dates for Assignments
• Late Work
• Submitting Your Work
• Evaluation
• Writing Requirements
• Documentation
• Revisions
• Plagiarism
• Withdrawal from Class
• Learning Differences

Overview

Welcome to English 102 – Literature and Composition. The course introduces you to the various forms of literature: short fiction, the novel, poetry, and drama. It is designed to help you learn to think critically and write about literature. The course is divided into the following sections which contain the lecture material and assignments:

• Introduction
• Plot
• Character
• Setting
• Point of View
• Theme

Read the lecture material before you do the reading and writing assignments. It is important that you do the assignments in order since many of the discussions are based on previously assigned material. In some cases you will be asked to re-read particular works and look at them from a different perspective. When you finish a section, e-mail your responses to [email protected]. I may comment on your answers, add instructional materials, and make suggestions for revision. Normally, I will return your work via e-mail within 5 working days.

Course Description

Students learn how to read serious literature, how to develop an interpretation, and how to explain and support their ideas in writing. Through the study of selected works of fiction, poetry, and drama, students learn the elements of textual analysis and become familiar with the ways in which critical approaches affect interpretation. In addition to continued instruction in composition, students are required to read and write frequently.

Texts

The following texts are required for the course:

• The Bedford Introduction to Literature, 7^th Edition, by Michael Meyer
  
• In the Lake of the Woods, by Tim O'Brien
  
• In the Bedroom, a film directed by Todd Field available at most video rental stores and libraries. (On-line classes only)

Philosophy

The goal of learning is to develop an understanding of ourselves, others, and the world in which we live. Literature provides us with a unique opportunity for learning because it presents human experience in context and allows us to examine that experience from multiple perspectives. Reading and writing about literature also helps us to understand how the language we use works to convey meaning. I view reading and writing as on-going, dynamic processes in which we explore possibilities of meaning rather discrete tasks we perform for specific assignments. Ultimately, we are responsible for our own education, but as a class we construct a knowledge base from our reading, writing, and research that we share with each other and the larger learning community.

Grading

Your grade will be based on the writing assignments in each section according to the following percentages.

• Introduction – 5%
• Plot –20%
• Character – 20%
• Setting – 15%
• Point of View – 15%
• Theme – 25%

If you were to receive a B total for the writing assignments in the Introduction, you would receive 4.25 points outnof 5 points (85 x .05) toward your final grade for the course. Each paper will include the grade on the specific assignment and the cumulative grade for the course. Please note that you must complete all assignments to receive a passing grade in the course.

The following table lists the grades used and their corresponding numerical values. An A is 95 or above, an A- is 92.5 to 94.9, a B+ is 88.5 to 92.4, etc.

Class Blog

The Class Blog contains my thoughts about the course and may include discussions about the readings, thoughts about literary theory, and references for further reading. I may also use the blog articles for classrrom discussions. You may respond to the blog articles, but it is not required. In addition, you can set up an RSS feed to have new articles sent to your e-mail address when they are published.

On-line Discussions

There are 5 discussions posted on WebCT. The topics, except for Discussion 1, concern the novel and are designed to help you prepare your final paper. The discussions are the same as some of the assignments and do not involve additional writing. The object of the discussions is to share information and ideas with other members of the class and to use those ideas to revise your work.

Due Dates for Assignments

The following schedule is designed to allow you some flexibility in scheduling your work. You may submit your work any time during the time periods indicated below. Work submitted after the final date indicated for each section will be considered late.

• Introduction – Jan. 29 through Feb. 5
• Plot – Feb. 14 through Feb. 21
• Character – Mar. 4 through Mar. 13
• Setting – Mar. 27 through Apr. 8
• Point of View – Apr.17 through Apr. 29
• Theme – May 6 through May 12

Late Work

You will be allowed to submit one assignment late with a penalty. The grade on all other late assignments will be reduced one half grade level for each day the assignment is late. I do not provide comments on late papers or allow revisions. In order to receive a grade for this semester all work must be completed by December 10

Submitting Your Work

Submit your work once you have completed a section. The Introduction has 10 writing assignments. Put all the assignments for the section in a single Microsoft Word document, and submit the document as an e-mail attachment to David Toth. There are specific instructions in each section along with my e-mail address so that you need not return to this section to submit work.

The format for submitting work is as follows:

• Save your document as Assignment Name + Last Name: (EXAMPLE: Introduction Toth)
• Header Information: Page number
• Upper left hand corner: Name, Class, and CRN
• Title (e.g., Plot Assignments, or Plot Assignments Revision 1)
  
• 1.25” margins ( top, bottom, left, right)
• Line spacing – double
• Font – Times New Roman or Arial
• Indentation of paragraphs – 5 spaces
• Documentation – See the Modern Language Association (MLA)Guidelines
• Format – See the MLA Guidelines

Evaluation

I evaluate your writing based on the following criteria: General Evaluation Criteria. I may use additional criteria for specific assignments.

I will review and evaluate your work using the “Reviewing” tools in Microsoft Word. These tools allow me to insert electronic comments that appear in the right hand margin and make electronic corrections to your text. (See a sample paper.)The comments may contain a link that provides additional information.

Note: if the comments do not appear on your document, go to the View menu in Word and select Print Layout. You may also need to select Markup from the View menu and check the Reviewing box in the Toolbars section of the View menu.

I keep electronic copies of all the work you submit along comments, corrections, and grades. I normally return assignments within 5 working days during the regular semester and 3 days during the summer semester, but the length of time required depends upon the length of the assignment and my workload. It can take 30 minutes to an hour to read, evaluate, make comments, and grade an assignment.

Writing Requirements

English 102 focuses on advanced critical thinking and writing skills such as analysis, interpretation, and synthesis of complex ideas. I expect you to be able to write college level essays and research papers. Conduct research in the library and on the Internet, produce writing that is free of grammatical, spelling, and mechanical errors, and incorporate source material correctly and use proper documentation. Assignments that do not meet these basic requirements will be returned ungraded for revision.

Documentation

All assignments must be properly documented according to Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines. Assignments that are not properly documented will not be graded. Undocumented papers will be returned for correction and will be considered late if they are not submitted within the specified time period.

Revisions

You will be allowed to revise one assignment per section for a better grade. All revisions must be completed within 5 days after receipt of comments. Youisup to one grade level; however, the revision must show significant improvement. Revision is not correction. Revision involves rethinking a subject to consider other perspectives, conducting further research, and reorganizing and rewriting large sections of an assignment. Correction involves incorporating the teacher's comments, and correcting grammatical, mechanical, and spelling errors. Correction implies that there is something "wrong" with a paper that needs to be fixed. The goal of revision, on the other hand, is to increase understanding.

My comments are designed to help you revise your work and improve your grades. Normally, I give you the option of revising one assignment in a section. However, you are free to decide what to revise or whether to revise based on your educational goals and schedule. If you revise your work, please make your revisions in blue to the corrected paper and resubmit via e-mail.

Plagiarism

See the College Policy on Academic Integrity.

Withdrawal

See the College Catalog and Academic Calendar for withdrawal policy, procedure, and dates.

Learning Differences

Each of us learns in a different way. Some of us may learn best by doing, others by watching, and still others by thinking. We may accomplish a task by going through it step by step, or we may need time to understand the whole process before we can do a single step. Some of us prefer to study alone, some in groups, some in a library, and some sitting in a park.

In addition, some of us may have alexia, dyslexia, or other learning differences. No matter what your learning difference, it helps to understand how you learn so that you can adapt to a particular learning situation. However, if you know or think that you have a learning difference that requires special consideration, please contact the Learning Specialist.