|
Metro State English |
|
ENG 1110: Introduction to Fiction Fall 2005 |
|
Course Description and Objectives: ENG 1110 is a critical introduction to selected short fiction, with an emphasis on twentieth-century British and American writings and a secondary emphasis on non-Anglo-American fictions. Upon completion of this course, students should be able to demonstrate the ability to: · recognize, define, and discuss the elements of fiction; · formulate cogent analyses of works of fiction by applying a variety of critical strategies and approaches (e.g., structural, sociological, psychological, archetypal, ethical) for interpretation—both orally and in written form; · discuss how gender, class, and culture shape fictions; · appreciate the role literature can play in human experience; · and be more conscious of literature as a vehicle for expanding self-awareness and world-awareness.
Required Texts: The Story and Its Writer, compact 6th edition (Charters, Bedford-St. Martin’s, 2003) and Good Bones and Simple Murders (Atwood, Doubleday, 2001).
Assignments: Participation = 200 points, Presentation = 200 points, Response Papers = 200 points, Midterm Exam = 200 points, Final Exam = 200 points. Total possible points = 1000. Final Grade Scale: 900-1000 =A, 800-899 = B, 700-799 = C, 600-699 = D, below 600 = F.
COURSE POLICIES The following policies are in place to protect our community, to ensure that your experience is as positive as possible, and to facilitate the growth of a challenging and rewarding work environment.
Academic Responsibilities: All work must be your own, generated this semester for this course; any sources used must be correctly documented. See the turnitin.com paragraph below for more information.
Attendance: You are a vital member of our community, and regular attendance is essential and expected. There are no “excused” absences, so you do not need to provide documentation. You are allowed two weeks of absences with no penalty (to allow for illness, travel, emergency, etc.). An additional absence will affect your final grade adversely (-25 points per instance). Two late arrivals/early departures will also cost you 25 points—please avoid them. English department policy requires your presence at 80% of class meetings to pass, so four weeks of absences will result in failure of the course—no exceptions. Students who need to miss class because of their religious beliefs must notify instructors within the first two weeks of the semester. Any student eligible for reasonable accommodation of special learning needs should speak with me during the first week of class.
Assignments: I will expect you to have completed the assigned readings and to be prepared to talk about them in class—I’m looking for active, thoughtful, constructive participation. Please bring your textbook to class. Unless otherwise specified, assignments should be typed (double-spaced) in a 12-point font with 1” margins; please format according to MLA guidelines. If your work is longer than one page, please staple pages in the upper-left-hand corner. Assignments are due in class, at the beginning of class, on the due date (no emailed or faxed assignments will be accepted). If you will not be in class (for any reason), you may turn in the assignment to my mailbox before class starts (early = full point possibility) or you may bring it to our next class meeting (late = grade reduction), but I will not accept late work after that.
Turnitin.com Information: You will need to submit your work to turnitin.com before it can be graded. Turnitin.Com is an electronic resource that assists in the detection and deterrence of plagiarism by electronic comparison for textual similarity. Students agree that continued enrollment in this course after the receipt of this syllabus constitutes permission that all required papers may be submitted to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism and that all submitted papers will be retained as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database and used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Academic Dishonesty is a serious offense at the College because it diminishes the quality of the scholarship and learning experience for everyone on campus. An act of academic dishonesty may to lead to penalties such as a reduction in grade, probation, suspension, or expulsion. The term “plagiarism” includes, but is not limited to, the use by paraphrase or direct quotations, of the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgement. It also includes the unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or agency who may or may not be engaged in the selling of term papers or other academic materials. For more details on this, go to www.mscd.edu/turnitin or consult the student handbook at www.mscd.edu/~studlife/Student Rights.html.
Email: From time to time, I may send the class important information through the Metro Connect system. Please check your Metro email at least once a week.
Office Hours: I hold regular office hours every week. In addition, you may request an appointment at another time with two days’ advance notice. Feel free to email anytime. I will respond to your email as soon as I receive it. Please note: this syllabus is our contract—if you remain in the class, you agree to abide by the policies outlined above.
ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES Participation: Your participation score will be based on the following activities: coming to class, with your textbook, prepared (having completed the readings/assignments); participating positively in discussion and other activities; and cooperating well with the other people in our class community.
Response Papers: Response papers should be one page long and typed (double-spaced) using MLA format. Discuss one or more of the texts listed on the schedule for the day the response paper is due. A response paper should reflect your critical reading of a text: take a position on something by exploring one specific topic in detail. This is not a summary of the plot or a discussion of whether or not you liked the text—it is a short position paper, so take a clear stand in your thesis (make it your first sentence) and support it throughout your paper. Your first sentence, therefore, will identify the author, the text you are writing about, and your position that will be the focus of the rest of the discussion. The following list may help you choose a direction: · Choose a section that is important to your interpretation of the text and explain why it is significant. · Trace a pattern that you notice and speculate about its function. · Explore the structure or point of view of the text if it is unusual or surprising--and explain the result. · Discuss a specific point of comparison to another text we’ve read and draw a conclusion. · Discuss the implications of the text’s main “issue.”
In all cases, you should make specific references to the textual evidence for your idea (quote and cite where necessary in the paper), but keep quotations brief (no long/block quotations). I'm looking for thoughtful responses that demonstrate your active consideration of the course material, so you should clearly connect your response to the ideas that we’ve been discussing in class whenever possible. Please bring your response paper to class on the day that particular reading appears on the schedule.
Standards for “A” Papers: Critical thinking about the material is evident (interpretation, synthesis of ideas using specific examples from text). The discussion is developed well (and length requirements are met). Thesis is clear, specific, and supported by the discussion. Organization is purposeful. Points of discussion are linked for the reader to follow through effective transitions; coherence is evident. Voice and sense of audience are strong. Use/integration of quotations is effective. Quotations do not stand alone—they are integrated smoothly into a sentence. Quotations do not begin or end a paragraph. Quotations are not taken out of context (meaning changed). Brackets and ellipses are used when necessary to indicate omissions. Periods and commas go inside quotation marks unless there is a citation (then they go after the citation). Documentation and format is correct. Papers are grammatically, mechanically, stylistically problem-free (no repetitive errors, any errors are non-intrusive).
Exams: The best way to prepare for exams is to prepare for class well (see “Schedule” introduction). In addition, keep track of new definitions, terms, and concepts that you encounter in your reading, in our discussion, and in your own research. Take excellent notes during class and review them before the exam. Exams may be any combination of identification, definition, short answer, and/or essay questions. Please bring a blue book for each exam.
Presentation: You’ll receive more information on this later in the semester.
SCHEDULE To prepare for class, please read the assigned texts carefully; think about our class discussions and the ways in which you could draw connections to literary concepts or to other texts we’ve read. Page numbers below refer to The Story and Its Writer except where indicated.
|
