Week 7: Sunday October 6- Saturday October 12 & Week 8: Sunday Oct 13- Saturday October 19

Classwork & Lecture: Review all files posted in Classwork & Samples/Guides for section.

£ Reading:  Read Fault in Our Stars.

ASSIGNMENTS

£ Forum: Post your responses to FIOS forum. 1st post due 10/12, 2nd due 10/19.

£ Paper # 1: Send Paper #1 through Moodle dropbox. Due 10/19.

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Grade Alerts

For the grade alerts I am supposed to flag students who are at 2.0 or lower. Should you be entered for a grade alert go in and look at your gradebook. Remember this alert is not necessarily representative of your final grade in the class. There is still so much more to come. 


If you currently have forums regularly at 35-30 points or lower then your grade may be falling into that 2.0-1.0 range right now depending on your quiz grades. The good news is that we have weekly forums/glossaries and four reading quizzes in total so pulling up your grade in those categories is very manageable. Additionally we are diving into paper grades coming soon so strong scores there will help your average significantly. 

If you do get an Alert, look at your forum and quiz grades and then read through the sample forums I have posted and the sample discussion quizzes. These samples are so helpful in terms of showing responses that scored highly. Sometimes I can talk about the need for additional textual support and more critical analysis forever, but reading strong student samples can demonstrate the application of those recommendations in an invaluable way. These samples are here to guide everyone so look to them. They come from strong posts from this semester and previous semesters.


Some of you might be in the position where you have a few really strong scores here and there but some much lower scores on the rest of our assignments. Look over your work and pay attention to the higher scores you received and work on emulating that work from here on out.



Grading Scale

100-94%............................................ 4.0

93-88%.............................................. 3.5

87-83%.............................................. 3.0

82-78%.............................................. 2.5

77-73%.............................................. 2.0

72-68%.............................................. 1.5

67-63%.............................................. 1.0

less than 63% .....................................  0

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Paper 1


**I have uploaded strong sample student papers from previous semesters under the Essay Assignments section (second large box on Moodle under the syllabus and schedule section. Read through these papers; I think they could be very helpful to you all as you beginning writing your first paper for this course. Not all our sample papers will cover the same books we read in this course, but they will reflect the depth and textual support you would want to have in your own essay.

Also you need to read the supplemental links on writing literature papers and structuring your essay. 

When you complete the first draft of your paper, I encourage you to email and/or visit the campus Writing Center in Scholar's Hall. As we are a not a composition course we do not often have formal workshops with each other nor is that form of student-to-student workshopping mandatory. Our optional plans due before the final essay serve as your workshop/conference with me if you choose.

However if you would like to talk about your work with another student you can always trade papers via email with each other. Our participants list is on the left hand side block of our main course page; email and contact info for other students' is there. When and if you review someone else's paper, try to give more than just an overall response to the paper (Great paper!). Instead, think about some of the issues that were discussed in the websites for writing about literature. Answer the following questions with honesty. Also you can workshop/revise your own paper by asking yourself these essential questions below that I look for when I grade.


•Are you able to identify a debatable thesis idea that can be followed throughout the paper?

•Does the introduction provide enough information so that readers who are not familiar with the text can follow the ideas? (What is the book, author, context, etc.?)

•Can you find a main idea related to the thesis in each of the paragraphs?

•Do each of the main (general or abstract) ideas have enough textual (specific) support to convince you of the validity of the idea? Is the textual support a mix of both paraphrased examples and quotations?

•Are there smooth and connecting transitions between paragraphs?

•Are explanations clear and is language smooth?

•Do you write in present tense?

Please upload your completed paper in the folder I've provided this week or submit a link there in the comment box with a link to a google doc. You do not need a cover sheet. Instead use the format outlined in the OWL website at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

DO NOT SEND: PDF files or RTF,. I prefer word doc files or if you like a link to a google doc. This makes commenting much easier.



I posted about how to write and develop a paper about literature in the "How to Write a Literature Paper" . Look  through these files. There is some good useful information in there. 

I had a great email from a student one week in a previous semester asking about getting started with the paper. I wanted to share our chat with you as I thought it might be very useful for anyone in a similar situation:

Student Question:

Hi Tricia, I'm wondering if you could expand on the topic of our first paper in ENG 271? I'm stuck on what topic to write about. I want to use Monster because it was my favorite book, and I was most interested in that one. I want to find a controversial topic, and maybe pick the unpopular side, but I don't know what to write about. Is there anyway you can give me some examples from past students? I fully understand if you want me to think about the topic myself, I'm just hoping you could help me with a starting point. 

Thank you!

My Response:

Let's see if I can help you get started. First of course you want to present a debatable argument and the best way to do that is to think of a statement that some, but not all, of your classmates might agree with. And while it will need to be debatable and thus you have to "prove" your thesis to your readers, it should also be something that you feel you have enough textual research you can use from the book to make a good argument that your thesis is a valid one.


Here are some debatable ideas/ thoughts: (This was also posted under the Sample Thesis Statements)


Despite common cultural stereotypes we see presented about the African-American community or black youths in general throughout Monster, Steve Harmon is in many ways, at least initially, a contradiction of that stereotype. He is a strong student, from a loving relatively stable home, whose family have expectations of him attending college and growing to a successful secure adult. Thus when he gets in trouble and is on trial for murder, as readers we are surprised by this deviation onto a road our culture more commonly associates with youth from troubled homes without options......

--I am not really sure where exactly I would want to go with this line of reasoning, but here are some of my thoughts:

-Monster is a book where our author Meyers strives to show the stereotypes that exist about African-American youth in the criminal system. Much of the plot and text point to inherent racism and a "guilty until proven innocent attitude' towards these youths. So one could likely argue that Meyers is attempting to expose this tendency toward stereotype and racism in his book. All of that said, the book focuses on a protagonist who by virtue of his stable home life and investment in his education, is in fact, perhaps not initially a stereotype. Furthermore, one might wonder, at the behavior of other characters like James King, and question if by making King such a stock "bad" character, is Meyers actually enforcing stereotypes about disadvantaged black youths? Steve Harmon comes from a good home, has a teacher who believes in him, parents who love him. And as readers much of the book pulls us towards his innocence. King however is from a rougher environment and he is kept at a distance from us. His voice and perspective are limited. He is depicted as violent and cruel. Many readers feel he is the real criminal while Steve is not. Why? And ironically is this an enforcement of the very stereotypes Meyers might want to contradict?

So you could investigate
-- the role and presentation of stereotypes in this book, 
--you could look at how much Harmon's film teacher's testimony might have had an influence on the trial, (and what that implies about whose voices have authority)
--you could look at how much power Steve gives to others in constructing his own identity (perhaps you'll claim that he listens to negative viewpoints more, or not), 
--you could look at the role and influence Steve's home life did or did not have on his behavior 
--or you could investigate whether or not you feel Steve is truly innocent. Much points to Steve being present in the store and possibly giving a signal. I have had many students  feel frustrated because they felt he was guilty, not of murder, but of being a participant of attempted robbery..etc. So there are some gray areas to investigate.
--or think about how much racism is actually presented and to what effect

No matter what starting topic you use, your thesis must be the presentation of a claim that is debatable. It cannot be a summary statement like Steve's parents influenced his adolescence. No, to be debatable it would need to specifically argue to what degree Steve's parents influenced his development and that what consequential effect. See the difference there?

I hope that gives you some ideas!

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A Note about Plans

Comments regarding your paper plans will soon be returned. I give some detailed feedback on each plan so do take a few moments to look over these notes as you keep moving forward with your paper.

I know that some of us would prefer to just start writing, but an outlined plan is a great way of making sure that you are on track before you begin writing. (It's why so many English courses and nearly all composition courses require some form of invention writing!) Plans also a good practice for other reasons. Since literature papers are a kind of argument, you can think of them like a defense in court. Imagine going into a courtroom to defend yourself if you hadn't decided who you were going to call as your first witness and didn't know what points you were trying to make ahead of time.

Here is a list of some common issues connected to literature plans that often come up:

•The thesis was too broad. For a literature paper of 4-5 pages, you need a pretty narrow focus. Otherwise, you cannot thoroughly discuss anything.

•The thesis was not debatable. Literature papers need to introduce ideas that are somewhat unique. You don't have to be too controversial, but the thesis shouldn't be totally obvious or simply a summary of the plot. Weak thesis: "Elva became successful in America despite being an immigrant." There is really no point in trying to prove that. A better thesis: "The conflict between Elva's Mexican-self and American-self represents not only the struggle between her family's culture and the local culture, but also the struggle between poverty and affluence." This second thesis requires some good critical thinking to show that the struggle fits the description.

•The thesis was a personal opinion rather than something that could be supported with evidence from the text.

•Main points were not clearly connected to thesis or were not written as statements.

A Reminder about Introductions

A good introduction is essential to your paper. This is where you will engage your readers and provide any background information necessary to understand your thesis. For example (looking at a book from earlier semesters), if you are going to talk about Elva in Barefoot Heart, you ought to introduce her and briefly explain her place in the Trevino family. You might include an explanation of where the Trevino family lives and what kind of work they do. You also need to provide the name of the novel you are discussing as well as the name of the author. Finally, you should clearly state your thesis or offer up the question you will be answering. A good location for thesis is often at the end of your introduction (but that is not a hard and fast rule). By ending the introduction with your thesis, you are preparing your readers for the explanations that will follow it in the body of your paper. Introductions should not include lengthy summaries, nor should they offer substantial textual support for your thesis.

Textual Support and Paragraphing

Keep in mind that a good "body" paragraph begins with a transitional statement that connects it with the previous paragraph and/or with your thesis. This should be a general statement. In most cases, you should avoid beginning paragraphs with quotes or a specific reference to something that happened in the story. It is also a good idea to use "key" words in your general statements from time to time. For example, if your thesis is focusing on the idea of "freedom," try to use that word more than once to lead your reader through your argument. Just as you should refrain from beginning a paragraph with a quote, you should also avoid ending your paragraph with a quote. With literature papers, you are interpreting the author's words in your own way, so you must provide your own explanation for the words in the text. This is somewhat different from what you might do in a research paper.

Before you turn your paper in, I recommend that you go back and review the answers to the Writing Quiz to make sure that you aren't making some of the mistakes outlined there.

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The Writing Center
When in the process of writing your paper, you have the option of using the Writing Center at NMC.  The readers working there are trained to give you feedback to improve your paper regardless of whether they are familiar with the work you are writing about.  They will need several days to read and respond to your paper.  You may send your paper by email (as an attachment - Word or RTF only) or drop it off in person at the Writing Center, which is on the top floor of Scholars Hall.  Give them a call at 995-1189 if you'd like more information.   Their email address is writingcenter@nmc.edu

If you send in your paper by email, provide:
• Your name
• The name of the class (ENG 271)
• Your instructor's name (Patricia Lincoln)
• Your email address
• The due date for your assignment
• The assignment itself (If you have saved it in your documents, you can send the assignment as a separate attachment.)



Last modified: Saturday, 5 October 2019, 1:33 PM