English 200:  Introduction to Literary Genres (Fall 2004)

TR, 2:00-3:15, Kinard 206

 

Professor Information

 

Course Description

This course, whose theme is "Men and Women," provides a technical vocabulary for the study of fiction, poetry, and drama by major British, American, and world authors from a wide range of periods, as well as exposure to contemporary literary theory and film. Discussion is our primary approach.  There will be several tests and a number of response papers but no cumulative final or long paper.  The course is intended for general education students and does not count toward the English major.

 

Course Goals

·         Recognize the elements of fiction, poetry, and drama.

·         Identify those elements according to terminology listed in the glossary of The Riverside Anthology of Literature and A Handbook to Literature.

·         Distinguish between several main literary theories and note their application to selected works in our course.

·         Reinforce reading and prepare for discussion by writing a series of response papers.

 

 

 

Required Texts

·         Harmon and Holman, A Handbook to Literature, 9th edition.

·         Hunt, The Riverside Anthology of Literature, 3rd edition.

 

Departmental Policies and Procedures

Unless your professor specifies otherwise on her or his syllabus, the following policies and procedures apply for all courses offered by the Department of English (ENGL, ENGE, and WRIT).

Goals: Goals for all courses in the Department of English, including those that meet requirements for NCATE certification, are described at http://www.winthrop.edu/english/goals.htm.  

Resources: The English Department’s home page is http://www.winthrop.edu/english.  Resources for many of our courses can be found at http://www.winthrop.edu/english/core.htm. [Plot summaries are available in Masterplots Complete CD-Rom (REF PN 44.M35 1997) and at http://www.sparknotes.com.]

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s thoughts, words, ideas, or lines of argument in your own work without appropriate documentation (a parenthetical citation at the end and a listing in "Works Cited")–whether you use that material in a quote, paraphrase, or summary. It is a theft of intellectual property and will not be tolerated, whether intentional or not. It is also a violation of the Student Conduct Code (http://www.winthrop.edu/studentaffairs/Judicial/judcode.htm). The English Department has prepared The Correct Use of Borrowed Information to explain plagiarism (see www.winthrop.edu/english/plagiarism.htm .) You will be required to print out this statement, sign the last page, and bring it to class when required by your instructor. Ignorance or failure to consult this material is no excuse.

Grades: The Department has established a Rubric for Freshman Writing Courses that is found at www.winthrop.edu/english/rubric.htm.  A formal description of letter grades used by Winthrop instructors can be found on pages 30-31 of the Undergraduate Catalog 2004-2005.

Attendance: The official Winthrop attendance policy is found on page 30 of The Undergraduate Catalog 2004-2005. The policy for attendance at final examinations is also found on page 30.   [In brief, the absence policy states that assignments may be made up if the absence relates to things like illness and if proper documentation is presented.  The absence, however, still counts as an absence.  Do not miss 25% or more of the class meetings.]

Students with Disabilities: If you have a disability and need classroom accommodations, please contact Gena Smith, Coordinator, Services for Students with Disabilities, at 323-3290 (or ext. 3290 from campus), as soon as possible. Once you have your professor notification letter, please notify me so that I am aware of your accommodations well before the first [test/paper/assignment].

Duplicate Submission of Papers: You may not submit a paper for a grade in this class that already has been (or will be) submitted for a grade in another course, unless you obtain explicit written permission from me and the other instructor involved in advance. This policy conforms to the Student Code of Conduct, §V, which states: "Academic misconduct includes but is not limited to … presenting the same or substantially the same papers or projects in two or more courses without the explicit permission of the professors involved" (Student Code of Conduct §V: http://www.winthrop.edu/studentaffairs/Judicial/judcode.htm ).

Writing Center: The Writing Center provides support for all students in all Winthrop classes free of charge. It is located in 242 Bancroft (x-2138). Check its web page (http://www.winthrop.edu/wcenter) for current hours.

Contacting Your Instructor: All instructors in the Department have voice mail in their offices and Winthrop e-mail addresses. Make sure you write down your instructor’s phone number and e-mail address where you will not lose it. You can leave messages for your instructor in the department mailroom, 248 Bancroft, which is open from 8:30-5:00 each day.

Final Examination Schedule: The final examination schedule for this semester will be posted at http://www.winthrop.edu/recandreg/calsch/exam.htm.  Winthrop University policy states that travel or work schedules are not valid reasons for missing or rescheduling a final examination.

 

Evaluation Methods and Grading

60      3 Tests (fiction, poetry, drama)

20     Quizzes

20     4 Response Papers

10      Class Participation

110       Total points available

 

Grading Scale:  You will be graded on a 100-point scale as follows:  A, 90-100; B, 80-89; C, 70-79; D, 60-69; F, 0-59.  Your percentage = your point value ÷ 110 x 100.

Unit Tests: Each of the three unit tests will be graded on a 30-point scale, and I will drop your worst score when I calculate your final grade.  All tests will be closed-book and closed-notes.  Test questions will include factual identification (terms, details from the literature), analysis of quotations, and a short essay or essays.  There will be choices within some sections, so if you do not remember or recognize something, you will not necessarily lose credit.  Please bring a large bluebook to each test.  You will take your third unit test during the final exam period.  There is no cumulative final examination in this class, but the essay question will ask you to reflect upon one or more works from the Fiction and Poetry units.

Quizzes: The purpose of quizzes is to make sure that you do the reading and to reward you for doing it.  Each quiz will consist of ten items, of which most will be fact-oriented multiple choice questions.  One or more questions will require a short written response and may require more than factual recollection.  I will drop your lowest quiz grade, and you may write a 2-3 page response paper as a make-up assignment for a missed quiz if you have official paper documentation for an excused absence.  You may not take a missed quiz, but you may make up for it.

Technology: You should write and revise your response papers on a word processor (see "Format for Papers" below). 

Response Papers:  These are two-page responses to the readings on the schedule of assignments.  Papers do not need to be longer than two full pages, but they must be at least slightly more than one page to receive any credit.  I will give you topics prior to a particular reading assignment.  Your response paper is due on the day when your topic is discussed.  Thus reading and writing should fuel class discussion.  There will be at least ten opportunities to turn in a response paper, but you only have to write four; therefore, late papers will not be accepted under any circumstances.  Consider these additional points:  If you write five, I will count your best four.  I will not accept more than five response papers per student.  Only one response paper may be turned in per reading assignment/class day.  It would be a good idea to read "Writing About Literature" (Riverside 1583ff.) before you begin.  Do not use secondary sources in your composition process.  If you use primary texts in addition to the Riverside Anthology, please use the MLA documentation format, which you learned in your Writing courses.  If you cite only a work from the anthology, it is sufficient to put a page number in parentheses; no list of works cited is needed.

 

Here is some information on how to do your response papers:

 ·         Focus narrowly (take on less, say more about it):  often a rich quotation can be the focus for a whole response paper.

·         Work straight from the primary text; do not do research.

·         Do not summarize narrative material unless directed to do so.  You will need to make reference to events, but retelling a story should not be your goal.

·         Analyze, make a critical point, make an interesting connection within or between works, explain how what you read is relevant today (to your life or something else really specific:  no unsupported generalizations).

 

Here is how response papers will be graded:

4-5 points         You make a decent point and support it adequately.  A and B response papers are usually about 2 pages long.

3.5 points         Same as above, but your writing is problematic in some way.

3 points            I have a significant reservation about the content and/or composition of

                        your paper.

1-2 points         You wrote plot summary or a string of generalizations.

0 points            Your paper is less than a full page.

 

Class Participation:  Participation in discussion is a crucial element of this class, and you are expected to speak up at every class meeting.  If you do not volunteer comments, I will encourage you to share your thoughts.  Obviously participation is hard to quantify, but the following scale will lend some structure:  frequent contributions will be worth 9-10 points (A); regular contributions, 8 (B); occasional contributions, 7 (C); few contributions, 6 (D); rare contributions, 5 (F); no contributions, 0.  The substance of your remarks may also be a factor when I assign class participation grades.

 

Course Policies

Attendance:  We will follow Winthrop's standard attendance policy:  "If a student's absences in a course total 25 percent or more of the class meetings for the course, the student will receive a grade of N, F, or U, whichever is appropriate" (Undergraduate Catalog 2003-2004 41).  There are 29 scheduled class meetings, and I do not take attendance during the first week; therefore, an eighth unexcused absence means that you have failed the course.  In order to make up a missed assignment, you must provide some kind of official paper documentation (e.g., doctor's note, obituary, letter from the athletic department).  I will keep the documentation in a file until the end of the semester.  This policy holds for all absences, regardless of the cause.  If you do not provide documentation, you will not be allowed to make up missed work.  If you will be absent because of university business on a due date, you must submit your work in advance.  See also "Attendance" above. 

Tardiness:  Please remember that coming in late disrupts everyone and may even stop the class for a few moments.  Try to arrive a few minutes early and be ready to begin right at the start of the hour.  Arriving more than 10 minutes late (or leaving more than 10 minutes early) will be considered a full absence.  Although I will not record tardies on a regular basis, I reserve the right to give you an absence if you are consistently and excessively late for class.  This class will begin and end at the scheduled times.

Format for Papers:   Word-processed double-spaced papers are required.  Only black print will be acceptable.  Print only on one side of the page.  The margins should be 1.25".  If you use MS Word, the font is called Courier New, 12-point, which you are reading right now--this whole paragraph is in the required font.  Put your name and course number at the top of page one, number your pages, give your paper a title, and underline your thesis statement like this.  Staple your pages together 1/2" from the upper left corner; make sure that the staple is at a 45-degree angle; do not use paper clips or bend the pages over at the top.  Use the MLA format in the.  I may ask you to redo a paper if it is not in the proper format.  You are required to bring blue books for the midterm and final examinations.  Write only in blue or black ink. If you use this font--Times New Roman (12 point)--I will make you reprint your paper.

Cell Phones:  Turn them off before the start of class.  Do not take calls during class.

Late Assignments:  Since you have about ten opportunities to turn in four assignments, I will not accept late papers even if you have a written medical excuse.  Response papers may not be submitted after we have talked about their subject in class.

Plagiarism:  Winthrop maintains strict standards regarding "The Correct Use of Borrowed Information" (www.winthrop.edu/english/plagiarism.htm).  While there is a big difference between minor unconscious plagiarism and the deliberate theft of others' language and ideas on a major scale (e.g., copying an article), plagiarism in English 200, as in all other courses at the university, will not be tolerated and will result in penalties ranging from grade reduction to an F for the course.  Response papers are equivalent to long polished journal entries; they should not be researched.  If you ignore this caveat and do research anyway, be sure that your work avoids plagiarism and that it conforms to the MLA format.  If you have any doubts about what you are doing, please come see me.

Sleeping:  If you fall asleep in class, you may receive an absence.  If you are that tired, please stay home.   

Tardiness:  If you come in more than 10 minutes late (or leave more than 10 minutes early) you will receive an absence.  Of course, coming in late also means that you lose credit for quizzes, which will be given at the beginning of the hour on randomly selected days.  Please make every effort to arrive a few minutes early.  Although I will not record tardies on a regular basis, I do reserve the right to give you an absence if you are frequently late for class.