Assignments

English 1102 English Composition II, Spring 2022

Section 31: TR 9:30-10:45 a.m., Arts & Sciences 336

Section 32: TR 11:00-12:15 p.m., Arts & Sciences 336

In Class Activities

1. Selecting and Analyzing Significant Passages

Last week, we examined several important passages in Kafka's "A Hunger Artist" and Oates's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Today, let's practice both selecting and analyzing significant passages. Divide into groups, determine a passage that is crucial to understanding character, conflict, and/or the meaning of the story, and then closely read and analyze in terms of literary meaning as we have been doing in large class discussion. Elect a secretary to record and report your discussion to the class. Here are the groups:

  1. O'Connor, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"
  2. Mahfouz, "Half a Day 1989"
  3. O'Connor, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"
  4. Mahfouz, "Half a Day 1989"
  5. O'Connor, "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"

2. Analyzing a Book of Poetry

Up to this point, we've been closely reading individual poems. Today, let's begin to determine how poems work together to form the meaning of a book of poetry by dividing into 5 groups of 3-4 members; each group will be responsible for explicating one of Natalie Diaz's poems and discussing how it fits into the book as a whole. First, groups will collaboratively write an informal response to the poem. Second, groups will share their findings with the class and we'll practice writing a thesis and outline explicating a poem or two.

3. The Significance of a Work of Literature

We've practiced closely reading poems and short passages of fiction at length, and you're currently revising your close reading paper. For the next paper, in addition to literary explication and analysis, we're going to address the personal and/or cultural significance of literature. Let's review the elements of fiction and add a discussion of personal and cultural significance. Break into six groups. Groups should first discuss the following elements of fiction from the Literary Analysis handout:

  1. Group 1: Review the character questions and do a character sketch of Adam, particularly his internal conflicts and psychological traits.
  2. Group 2: Review the character questions and do a character sketch of Jonathan, particularly his internal conflicts and psychological traits.
  3. Group 3: Review the character questions and do a character sketch of Jane, particularly his internal conflicts and psychological traits.
  4. Group 4: Review the setting and imagery questions and examine how the Kansas world of the 1960s, 1990s, and 2010s affects the characters' world views.
  5. Group 5: Review the plot and structure questions and discuss the meaning of the novel's structure.
  6. Group 6: Review the point of view and tone questions and discuss the literary meaning of the novel's point of view and tonal issues.

In addition to discussing an element of fiction, each group should discuss the following issues and report back to the class:

4. From Close Reading to Significance Theses

While the close reading paper required a thesis that argued the literary work's theme, the significance paper should make a claim not only about the meaning of the text but also about the text's significance. Let's practice composing thesis statements in Thursday's class.

 

Individually, brainstorm the core conflict, overall meaning, and significance (personal, ethical, political, philosophical, psychological, or cultural) of a work of literature that we've studied but you did not write your first paper on. Write a potential thesis that makes a claim of meaning and significance.

 

Collectively, you will be put in groups to receive feedback on your thesis and collectively write a thesis for a significance paper on Lerner's The Topeka School. Groups should comment on their members' thesis, discuss the middle part of The Topeka School, and compose a thesis making a claim about the book's theme and significance so far.

5. Reading Drama

As we talked about in our last class, agon, in other words, conflict, is the basis of drama. Today, let's break into group project groups to explore the different forces in tension, as well as give groups time to plan their upcoming projects. Groups should respond to the following issues (be prepared to share your discussion with the rest of the class) and then finalize their group project topics and plan their group project meeting and work schedule.

6. Critical Approaches to Literature

So far, our course has focused on closely reading and determining the personal and cultural significance literature by closely examining the formal elements of poetry, fiction, and drama such as character, conflict, imagery, figurative language, symbolism, and so forth. There are quite a number of other approaches to literature besides formalism, including but not limited to feminism and gender studies, queer theory, Marxist criticism, cultural studies, postcolonial criticism, historical criticism and New Historicism, psychoanalytic criticism, reader-response theory, structuralism, and poststructuralism and deconstruction. Let's examine William Shakespeare's Othello through the lens of the following theories. Divide into six groups (your group project groups if you want), discuss the play through the lens of the your group's assigned interpretive approach, and report your observations to the class.

  1. Marxist Literary Criticism: How do socioeconomic conditions function in the play? What are the social class roles? Are the characters alienated or reified? Does the play reinforce or criticize capitalist or classist values?
  2. Postcolonial Criticism: What is the relationship between race and imperialism in the play? What does the play reveal about the ideological and psychological operations of othering? Does the play convey or resist imperialist or colonialist values?
  3. Feminist Literary Criticism and Gender Studies: How does the play portray men and women, and how does the play define masculinity and femininity?
  4. Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism: What unconscious dreams and anxieties do the main characters in the play have, in other words, what motivations are they repressing? How do the main characters' sexualities and relationships with death define their identities?
  5. Reader-Response Criticism: How do the play and the reader interact to create meaning? Are there gaps in the film that you the reader have to fill? How does your understanding of the meaning of the play change over the course or process of reading the play? Analyze how the play intellectually and emotionally affects you, and reflect upon why it does so.
  6. Poststructuralist and Deconstructive Criticism: Does the play convey contradictory or unstable messages, for instance about a character, conflict, or theme? How is the meaning of the play unstable and subject to slippage?

7. Practice Annotating a Scholarly Journal Article

To practice reading and annotating secondary sources for your group project, you will read your group's assigned article and and write a practice annotation for it.

 

Before Thursday's class, each group member should read and take notes on your group's assigned article. Note the thesis and main idea, select key passages, and look up words and ideas you don't know.

 

In Thursday's class, each group should write a 75-100 word practice annotation. The annotation should summarize and evaluate the article by 1) identifying the question, issue, or topic that the essay is investigating, 2) defining the essay's thesis or conclusion regarding the play, and 3) explaining how the article helps your understanding of the play. You will share this annotation with the class. Here are the groups and the articles:

Group Project Group numbers and members are here. Note that articles are available in both GALILEO (need to be on campus or logged into UNIFY) and the GeorgiaVIEW course packet.

8. Practice Citing Sources

Today, let's practice citing a book and a journal article in MLA style for your group project annotated bibliography and individual research paper Works Cited page. Break into your group project groups and use the MLA Citations page to properly format one book and one scholarly journal article from your group Working Bibliography and Plan of Action on this Google Doc.

9. Practice Annotating a Scholarly Journal Article Redux

Let's practice working with secondary sources again before compile and compose your group project annotated bibliography. Break into your group project groups and complete the following

tasks:

  1. Thesis: Note the source's thesis statement.
  2. Key Passages: Note the source's two or three key passages that explain the main idea and central intepretation of the play.
  3. Key Terms: Define the source's two or three key terms, if applicable.
  4. Annotation: Compose a 75-100 word annotation that summarizes and evaluates the article by 1) identifying the question, issue, or topic that the essay is investigating, 2) defining the essay's thesis or conclusion regarding the play, and 3) explaining how the article helps your understanding of the play.

Here are the groups and articles:

10. What the Constitution Means to You

Because What the Constitution Means to Me is not available to rent from Amazon, today we'll watch an extended excerpt from the filmed play. Think about following questions while viewing:

  1. What does the constitution mean to Heidi Shreck?
  2. Besides the autobiographical element in Shreck's life, what function does the debate format serve the meaning and theme of the play?
  3. What does the constitution mean to you?

Informal Responses

The purpose of the informal writing assignments is to help you to think actively and to write critically about literature. These short, unsubmitted and ungraded, assignments of 1-2 pages will also prepare you to write the longer, formal papers. You will analyze some element of literature (conflict, character, setting, imagery, figure of speech, etc.), respond to a thematic issue, or summarize scholarly criticism in preparation for formal papers and research projects.

1. Practicing Close Reading

Choose one of the poems assigned for Thursday, January 20. Closely read the poem. In other words, analyze the poem—like we've been practicing in class—by attending to the subtle language cues, indicating any symbols or imagery, evaluating any speaker thoughts or actions, exploring conflicts and tensions, and speculating about what idea or theme the poem conveys.

2. Questioning a Poem

First, choose one of the poems assigned for Thursday, January 27. Second, analyze the various elements of the poem from pages 16-22 of Abcarian's Literature: The Human Experience, particularly the "Questions for Exploring Poetry." Second, discuss the significance of the following issues, writing a couple of sentences for each:

  1. the speaker and perspective
  2. the listener or addressee
  3. setting
  4. figurative language
  5. structure
  6. sound and meter

Third, after breaking the poem down into its basic elements, try to sum up the meaning of the poem in a sentence or two.

3. Analyzing a Book of Poetry

Up to this point, we've been closely reading individual poems. Today, let's determine how poems work together to form the meaning of a book of poetry by dividing into 5 groups and each group will select one of Natalie Diaz's poems. Elect a group secretary to take notes and share with the class.

Next answer the following questions:

  1. Select a poem from your group's assigned poems.
  2. Select your group's favorite passage (about 5-10 lines) from your group's selected poem.
  3. Orally, do a close reading of the passage like we've been practicing in class discussion and informal writings (5 minutes).
  4. Collaboratively write about the significant imagery, figures of speech, core conflict, and meaning of the 5-10 line passage (5 minutes, about one-third page, bullet points are okay).
  5. Then, comment on how the passage fits into the overall conflict and meaning of the poem (5 minutes, about one-third page, bullet points are okay).
  6. Finally, discuss how the passage and the poem fit into the collection Postcolonial Love Poem, addressing the meaning of the poetic sequence so far in the book (5 minutes, about one-third page, bullet points okay). To be collaboratively written in class Thursday, February 3.

Peer Responses

Goals

The dual goals of this course are for you to read and write about literature in a variety of manners. Informal writing and formal papers allow you to analyze the texts. Peer response sessions extend the reading and writing process by allowing you and your peers to engage in direct oral and written dialogue about matters of composition and interpretation, with the ultimate goal of improving your formal papers. You have the opportunity to revise your first two formal papers based upon comments by your peers and professor. You will provide constructive criticism to two or three other members of the class as will they to you. Here are the peer response templates for Paper 1 Close Reading, Paper 2 Significance, and Paper 3 Research.

 

Note: If a group member does not submit her paper to the GeorgiaVIEW discussion board in a format your computer can read, such as Word, at least two days before the peer response session, the rest of the group is not responsible for responding to their paper.

Paper 1 Peer Response Process

Here is the peer response process for Paper 1 Close Reading:

    1. Upload your paper: On Thursday, February 10, writers upload their papers to both
      • GeorgiaVIEW > Discussions > Paper 1 Peer Response > Group #
      • GeorgiaVIEW > Course Work > Course Work Assignments > Paper 1 Draft 1 Close Reading
    2. Read your peers' papers: Read and take notes on your fellow peer response group members' papers before attending the peer response session. Be prepared to discuss style and formatting, thesis and controlling idea, close reading, and organization issues.
    3. Attend your peer response session: We will not be holding regular class during peer response week. You need only attend class during your group's scheduled date and time.
      • 9:30 a.m. section peer response group meeting dates and times
        • Group 1 (Tuesday, February 15, 9:30 a.m.): Nico Cecere-Benedetti, Chris Kendrick, Knox Nolte, Ben Troy
        • Group 2 (Tuesday, February 15, 9:45 a.m.): Drew Cobb, Tori Lane, Christian Oelschig, Colin Vinhateiro
        • Group 3 (Tuesday, February 15, 10:00 a.m.): Murphy Curry, Ansley Lawson, Kendryl Randall
        • Group 4 (Thursday, February 17, 9:30 a.m.): Owen Deabler, Gavin Roth, Riley Warbington, Luke Wilson
        • Group 5 (Thursday, February 17, 9:45 a.m.): Sophia Kamal, Allison Mills, Wolfgang Moyer, William Rutland
        • Group 6 (Thursday, February 17, 10:00 a.m.): Kaitlyn Kaminski, Guy Neal, Lauren Trinkwalder
      • 11:00 a.m. section peer response group meeting dates and times
        • Group 1 (Tuesday, February 15, 11:00 a.m.): Joey Archer, Garrett Gauthreaux, Hayden Oliver, Dylan Welsh
        • Group 2 (Tuesday, February 15, 11:15 a.m.): Blane Davis, Jose Garcia, Malone Hudson, Addison Paschall
        • Group 3 (Tuesday, February 15, 11:30 a.m.): Mack Deaver, James Leatherman, Amy Grace Rhinehart
        • Group 4 (Thursday, February 17, 11:00 a.m.): Shannon Dri, Emilia Lajewski, Julia Seeley, Mason Wiley
        • Group 5 (Thursday, February 17, 11:15 a.m.): Gabe Farmer, Eden McGraw, Will Sorel
        • Group 6 (Thursday, February 17, 11:30 a.m.): Grace Farrell, Jonathan Morris, Courtnee Tabacchi
    4. Collectively respond to peer group members' papers:
      • Elect a secretary: Your peer response group will elect a secretary to record the group's collective response.
      • Respond to the worksheet: Your peer response group will respond to the questions on Paper 1 Close Reading peer response sheet for each writer's paper; and the secretary will record the response on the worksheet. Your group will spend about 15-20 minutes reviewing each paper, providing feedback on Style and Gramma, Thesis and Controlling Idea, Close Reading, and Organization. If your group has time, it can also response to Voice, Successes and Weaknesses, and Quality and Creativity.
      • Upload the worksheets: The secretary will upload the completed sheets for each paper to GeorgiaVIEW > Discussions > Paper 1 Peer Response > Group #.
    5. Individually upload a list of revisions for your paper: After your paper is reviewed by your peer response group, and before the end of the peer response class, submit a bullet point list of 3-5 things about your paper that you plan to revise, based upon your peers' feedback. Submit to GeorgiaVIEW > Discussions > Paper 1 Peer Response > Group #. Failure to submit will result in a one-third letter grade deduction off the final paper.
    6. Make up missed peer response session: If you miss the peer response session or do not read your peers' papers before the peer response session, you must complete a peer response sheet for each of your fellow group members and submit GeorgiaVIEW > Discussions > Paper 1 Peer Response > Group #. Failure to make up the peer response session will result a one-third letter grade deduction for the final paper grade.

Paper 2 Peer Response

Here is the peer response process for Paper 2 Significance:

    1. Upload your paper: On Thursday, March 3, writers upload their papers to both
      • GeorgiaVIEW > Discussions > Paper 2 Peer Response > Group #
      • GeorgiaVIEW > Course Work > Course Work Assignments > Paper 2 Draft 1 Significance
    2. Read your peers' papers: Read and take notes on your fellow peer response group members' papers before attending the peer response session. Be prepared to discuss style and formatting, thesis and controlling idea, close reading, and organization issues.
    3. Attend your peer response session: All peer response groups will meet on Tuesday, March 8 at the start of class.
      • 9:30 a.m. section peer response groups
        • Group 1: Kaitlyn Kaminski, Ansley Lawson, William Rutland, Colin Vinhateiro
        • Group 2: Owen Deabler, Chris Kendrick, Ben Troy, Riley Warbington
        • Group 3: Drew Cobb, Sophia Kamal, Knox Nolte, Christian Oelschig
        • Group 4: Tori Lane, Gavin Roth, Luke Wilson
        • Group 5: Nico Cecere-Benedetti, Wolfgang Moyer, Lauren Trinkwalder
        • Group 6: Allison Mills, Guy Neal, Kendryl Randall
      • 11:00 a.m. section peer response groups
        • Group 1: Joey Archer, Blane Davis, Shannon Dri
        • Group 2: Gabe Farmer, Garrett Gauthreaux, Amy Grace Rhinehart
        • Group 3: Grace Farrell, Malone Hudson, Addison Paschall,
          • Mason Wiley
        • Group 4: Mack Deaver, Eden McGraw, Jonathan Morris
        • Group 5: Emilia Lajewski, James Leatherman, Hayden Oliver, Will Sorel
        • Group 6: Julia Seeley, Courtnee Tabacchi, Dylan Welsh
    4. Collectively respond to peer group members' papers:
      • Elect a secretary: Your peer response group will elect a secretary to record the group's collective response.
      • Respond to the worksheet: Your peer response group will respond to the questions on Paper 2 Significance peer response sheet for each writer's paper; and the secretary will record the response on the worksheet. Your group will spend about 15-20 minutes reviewing each paper, providing feedback on Style and Gramma, Thesis and Controlling Idea, Close Reading, and Organization. If your group has time, it can also response to Voice, Successes and Weaknesses, and Quality and Creativity.
      • Upload the worksheets: The secretary will upload the completed sheets for each paper to GeorgiaVIEW > Discussions > Paper 2 Peer Response > Group #.
    5. Individually upload a list of revisions for your paper: After your paper is reviewed by your peer response group, and before the end of the peer response class, submit a bullet point list of 3-5 things about your paper that you plan to revise, based upon your peers' feedback. Submit to GeorgiaVIEW > Discussions > Paper 2 Peer Response > Group #. Failure to submit will result in a one-third letter grade deduction off the final paper.
    6. Make up missed peer response session: If you miss the peer response session or do not read your peers' papers before the peer response session, you must complete a peer response sheet for each of your fellow group members and submit GeorgiaVIEW > Discussions > Paper 2 Peer Response > Group #. Failure to make up the peer response session will result a one-third letter grade deduction for the final paper grade.

Paper 3 Peer Response

Here is the peer response process for Paper 3 Research:

 

    1. Upload your thesis and outline: By the start of class on your group's conference day, writers upload their theses and outlines to GeorgiaVIEW > Discussions > Group Project #
      • Groups 1-3: Tuesday, April 12
      • Groups 4-6: Thursday, April 14
    2. Read your peers' theses and outlines: Read your fellow group members' theses and outlines.
    3. Groups provide oral feedback to members' theses and outlines: Groups comment on the the quality of the thesis (does it make a focused claim, does it structure the argument, does it guide the reader?) and outline (is it well-organized, does it address all the components of the thesis?).

The Paper 3 Peer Response Groups are the same as the Group Project Groups.

Paper 1 Close Reading

We have discussed at length poems by Stafford, Dickinson, and others; we have examined key passages from O'Connor, Oates, and others. You have written about some of these works in your informal responses. Now is your opportunity to rigorously analyze a work of literature. For the first formal paper, write a four-five page essay that either 1) explicates, line-by-line, a short poem assigned on the syllabus, being sure to illuminate, through nuanced reading of figurative language, diction, connotation, and symbol, how the central tensions, ambiguities, and contradictions constitute a cohesive theme or 2) examines the most important passage in one of the short stories we have read so far, interpreting it sentence-by-sentence through nuanced reading of figurative language, diction, connotation, and symbol, and arguing its centrality to the core conflicts, character, and overall theme of the story. In other words, using either this short poem or this short story key passage, you should write a paper that interprets the universal theme of the work by explicating the fundamental conflicts within the particular lines of text. Your essay should be driven by a thesis that argues the work's theme and logically organized by close reading of the text: unpack the tension and conflict, connotation and diction, idea and theme.

 

1. Pick any poem or work of fiction on the syllabus up to Tuesday, February 8.

2. Do a close reading/textual analysis of the poem or key story passage that explicates particular, significant words and lines.

3. Interpret the key conflict and overall theme/meaning/idea of the work of literature.

 

Note: You will write at least one draft of this paper and have the option of revising. The first draft, which will also be reviewed by your peers, will be given a tentative grade. If you choose to revise, the second draft grade will replace the first. If you earn an F on the first draft, you must revise, otherwise you will fail the course.

Parameters

Paper 2 Significance

In the first formal paper, you closely read a poem or short story passage and in so doing explicated how the literary language set up the core conflict and overall theme. In the second formal paper, you will also interpret the conflict and main idea of a literary work of your choice on the syllabus up to Tuesday, March 1, but not the one on which you wrote your first paper. Beyond simply discussing the issues, you will also examine the text's personal or cultural significance, in other words, its meaning in either your life or the lives of others. Discuss either why this work of literature is important to you or why this work is or should be important to the world. Some questions to consider include but are not limited to: Why is the literary work important—or not? What ethical, political, philosophical, psychological, or cultural consequences does the text have? Who do you think should read this work, why do you think they need to read it, and how do you think it will affect them? How has the work of literature confronted, challenged, or changed either your world view or the belief system held by the particular audience? Your thesis should make a claim not only about the meaning of the text but also about the text's significance. Your paper should not only analyze the meaning of the work through textual evidence but also argue the text's significance.

  1. Select any work of literature on the syllabus up to March, but not one already written about in Paper 1.
  2. Using textual evidence, analyze the core conflict and key meaning of the literary work.
  3. Argue why and how the literary work is significant either personally or culturally.

Note: You will write at least one draft of this paper and have the option of revising. The first draft, which will also be reviewed by your peers, will be given a tentative grade. If you choose to revise, the second draft grade will replace the first. If you earn an F on the first draft, you must revise, otherwise you will fail the course.

Parameters

Group Project

Groups of 3-4 will choose a work of literature from the assigned genre (poetry, fiction, drama), compile a 12-16 source annotated bibliography of scholarly literary criticism on the text (4 sources per member), write a 2-3 page paper summarizing the literary interpretations and debate on the text, and share their findings with the class in a 20 minute presentation and 10 minute question and answer session.

 

Individual group members may write their research paper on the same literary work as their group project text as long as each group member proves her own distinct topic; or they may choose another text which they've not previously studied in high school or college, subject to professor approval.

Timeline

Week

Date

Due

Week 9

March 8

sign up

Week 11

March 24

topic

Week 12

March 31

bibliography

plan of action

Week 14

April 12, 14

group conferences

Week 15

April 21

group presentations 1-2

optional research paper thesis/outline and peer response

Week 16

April 26

group presentations 3-4

optional research paper draft

April 28

group presentations 5-6
Finals

May 3, 4

research paper

1. Sign Up

On Tuesday, March 8, you will self-select your groups of 3-4 students. Those who have no preference and those who do not sign up by March 9 will be placed in a group by the professor. Sign up here.

 

Group

 9:30 Students

11:00 Students

Group 1 Poetry

9:30 Plath, Ariel

11:00 Angelou

Allison Mills

Shannon Dri

(nature in Angelou's poetry)

Wolfgang Moyer (Sikind, Crash)

Grace Farrell (feminism in Angelou's poetry)

Riley Warbington (TBA)

Garrett Gauthreaux

(racial discrimination in Angelou's poetry)

Luke Wilson (Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye)

Eden McGraw (identity in Angelou's poetry)

Group 2 Fiction

9:30 Walker, The Color Purple

11:00 Golding, The Lord of the Flies

Tori Lane (the intersection of race and patriarchy in The Color Purple)

Mack Deaver (human nature in The Lord of the Flies)

Knox Nolte (The Color Purple and masculinity)

 

Kendryl Randall (The Color Purple and race)

James Leatherman (TBA)

Ben Troy (The Color Purple and the strength of women characters)

Addison Paschall (civilization in The Lord of the Flies)

Group 3 Drama

9:30: Miller, The Crucible

11:00 Miller, The Crucible

Kaitlyn Kaminski (The Crucible and hysteria)

Malone Hudson (The Crucible TBA)

Ansley Lawson (accusations and lies in The Crucible)

Amy Grace Rhinehart (themes of death, life, and mortality in Gilgamesh)

Lauren Trinkwalder (gendered justice in The Crucible)

Courtnee Tabacchi (society and gender roles in The Crucible)

Group 4 Poetry

9:30 Poe, "The Raven"

11:00 Frost, "The Road Not Taken"

Sophia Kamal (Poe and grief)

Blane Davis (morality and "The Road Not Taken")

Chris Kendrick (Poe and questions of self and world)

Gabe Farmer (religion and "The Road Not Taken")

Gavin Roth (Poe and genre horror and thriller)

Hayden Oliver (Cyrano de Bergerac and the halo effect)

Group 5 Fiction

9:30 Twain, Huck Finn

11:0 Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

Drew Cobb (TBA)

Julia Seeley (TBA)

Guy Neal (TBA)

Will Sorel (TBA)

Christian Oelschig (Huck Finn and fatherhood)

Mason Wiley (TBA)

Group 6 Drama

9:30 Sartre, No Exit

11:00 Sophocles, Oedipus Rex

Nico Cecere-Benedetti (TBA)

Joey Archer (fate and Oedipus Rex)

Owen Deabler (TBA)

Jonathan Morris (justice and Oedipus Rex)

William Rutland (TBA)

Dylan Welsh (fathers and sons in Oedipus Rex)

2. Topic

Poetry groups will select a few poems or a book of poetry by a single poet; fiction groups will select a couple of short stories, a short story collection, or a novel by a single author; drama groups will select a full length play by a playwright. Groups may not select works previously researched by members in high school. In other words, choose an author and work you have not studied other classes.

 

On Thursday, March 24, groups will share their research topics in class, and the professor will advise and approve the final selection based upon appropriateness and researchability.

3. Bibliography and Plan of Action

On Thursday, March 31, groups will submit to GeorgiaVIEW > Course Work > Assignments > Group Project

  1. a 20 source bibliographical list in MLA Format of approximately half scholarly books from the GCSU and USG libraries and approximately half scholarly journal articles from databases like Academic Search Complete using the Literary Research Methods handout.
    • Do not submit primary texts by the author, encyclopedia entries, magazine articles, newspaper articles, book reviews, websites, or study guides like Sparknotes and MasterPlots, or plagiarism paper mills.
    • While other professors might consider encyclopedias, newspapers, magazines, and website study guides to be appropriate for college level research, I deem academic books and peer reviewed journal articles the only appropriate sources for scholarly research.
  2. a plan of action listing when the group will meet outside of class as well as each group member's responsibilities

4. Conference

On Tuesday, April 12 and Thursday, April 14 groups will conference with the professor on their projects. Note that students in Groups 1-3 will attend class only on Tuesday, April 12; and students in Groups 4-6 will attend class only on Thursday, April 14.

 

For the group conference, groups will

  1. discuss the status of your group project, including meeting times and individual member responsibilities, and
  2. provide the final group bibliography, in MLA format (no annotations necessary yet, the annotations will be submitted on the day of the group presentation).

Individual group members will

  1. compose a working thesis and outline for their individual Paper 3 Research and receive feedback from their peers

5. Presentation, Annotated Bibliography, Debate Paper

On Thursday, April 21, and Tuesday, April 26, and Thursday, April 28 groups will teach the class their selected literary works in a 20 minute presentation with a 10 minute question and answer session. On the day of the presentation, one group member will submit the group's 12-16 source annotated bibliography (4 sources per group member) and their 2-3 page literary debate paper to GeorgiaVIEW > Assignents > Group Project. Be sure to put the annotated bibliography and literary debate paper in one file.

 

Your presentation may use any of the equipment in our room (chalkboard, projector, speakers, web browser, Powerpoint, DVD). Brief clips like YouTube may be used but do not count toward the 20 minute time limit.

 

An annotated bibliography is an MLA styled works cited list of scholarly books, book chapters, and peer-reviewed journal articles that provides a 75-100 word summary of each secondary source's argument as well as how the secondary source interprets and illuminates the meaning of the primary text, i.e., the literary work. Do not simply summarize the topic, provide the thesis. I recommend answering the following questions:

  1. What question, issue, or topic is the source investigating?
  2. What is the source's thesis or conclusion regarding the work of literature?
  3. How does the source help your understanding of the work of literature?

And I suggest using this template.

 

A literary debate paper summarizes the literary research findings, poses the predominant questions literary critics ask about the meaning of the literary work, and argues the opposing ways of interpreting the primary text.

 

Submit the bibliography and literary debate paper as one file to GeorgiaVIEW > Group Project on the day of your presentation. Retrieve your graded project approximately one week later in GeorgiaVIEW > Group Projects.

6. Group Policy

Each group member is responsible for staying connected with the group, attending meetings, actively participating in meetings, doing her delegated work, i.e., contributing her fair share to the project. In order to hold singular members accountable in a team project, each group member should individually compose and submit to GeorgiaVIEW > Dropbox > Group Project - Individual Evaluation a paragraph that assesses their own performance and their peers' service to the assignment. If it becomes apparent that a group member did not participate (skipped meetings, didn't complete her assigned work, etc.), that member will be assessed individually rather than receive the group grade.

Paper 3 Research

In the first formal paper, you analyzed a particular passage, and in the second paper you not only analyzed but also evaluated the significance of a literary work. In the third paper, you will not only explicate a work of literature but also engage and incorporate what literary critics find meaningful and significant about a work of literature in order to support and expand your own interpretation. For the research paper, select a literary work that you have neither studied in high school nor have written about in this class or any other class; then clear your choice with your professor. (If you submit a paper that you wrote for another class, you will fail the assignment and the course.) You may write about the same literary work as your group project, but you may not write on the same issues as your fellow group members.

 

Write an in depth analysis and interpretation of an issue (some meaning that is in dispute, some interpretation that is open to debate, or a key conflict in the text) that both you and literary critics find provocative. Your paper should integrate at least 5 works of scholarly criticism (journal articles, books, and book chapters) to provide support and counterargument for your reading of the issue.

 

The threefold emphasis of this paper is your thoughtful evaluation of the issue at work in the text via rigorous analysis of the text and the use the secondary sources to aid and challenge your interpretation and critical judgment.

 

You submitted the previous formal papers to both your peers and professor for review (and a tentative grade from your professor) in order to develop the best compositional practice of drafting and revision. In this paper, in order to prepare you for regular, non-composition classes in which the professor only grades the final paper, you will be expected to draft and revise on your own with only the feedback of your peers on your thesis and outline and without the first draft grade from your professor. I am happy to conference with you about your paper, and the Writing Center provides feedback as well.

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