ENGL 3140: Literary Research and Writing

TR 2:20-3:45; Dunlap 318

Fall 2009

 

Instructor: Dr. Laura Getty

Office location: 314B Dunlap Hall

Office phone: 864-1772 (call during office hours)

Office hours: MW 12:30-3:00

E-mail: lgetty@ngcsu.edu

 

Course Description: (3 hours)

            This course offers a study of research methods and writing strategies essential to the criticism and interpretation of literary texts.

 

Prerequisites: ENGL 1102; English or English Education Major or departmental permission.

 

Required Texts:                     

Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. 2nd edition. New York: Routledge,

2006.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 1995.

DeGalan, Julie, and Stephen Lambert. Great Jobs for English Majors. 3rd edition. New York:

McGraw-Hill, 2006.

PACKET (assignment sheets and required readings): available at Print Services in Hoag

 

Grafton, John, ed. Great Ghost Stories. Dover Thrift Editions. New York: Dover, 1992.

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Dover Thrift Editions. New York: Dover, 1993.

Smith, Philip, ed. 100 Best-Loved Poems. Dover Thrift Editions. New York: Dover, 1995.

Twain, Mark. The Mysterious Stranger, and other stories. Dover Thrift Editions. New

York: Dover, 1992.

 

Class Meetings: If a student’s absences exceed 14% of the scheduled classes, the instructor may drop the student from the class with a “WF.” In this class, the student is allowed four (4) unexcused absences and is dropped from the course on the fifth (5th) absence. NOTE: an excused absence is defined as a documented absence ONLY, such as a University-approved absence (with advanced notice). Illness without documentation is not an excused absence, nor are family emergencies. Excused absences apply only for the day(s) listed on the documentation; classes missed for days not listed on the documentation will be unexcused.

At the discretion of the professor, a student is allowed a make-up examination or essay only for valid and documented reasons (e.g. sickness). If a student misses an essay or examination without a documented excuse, the student will receive a grade penalty (usually a “0”). Foreseeable problems must be discussed with the instructor before the absence.

 

Classroom Behavior: Use basic courtesy and common sense in the classroom. Do not speak to your friends and neighbors during class; it is both rude and distracting, and I consider it to be one example of “anti-participation.” Do not bring food to class; you may bring something to drink. If you fall asleep in class, I will mark it down as an absence for the day, which will count toward your absences for the semester. Do not come to the class tardy; it disrupts the class in progress. I reserve the right to count two tardies as an absence, especially when you miss a significant amount of class time. Do not leave early without permission, or I may count it as an absence or a partial absence. No laptop computers allowed in class; turn cell phones to vibrate and do not answer non-emergency calls during class (no text messaging at any time).

            Any behavior that is “anti-participation” may result in a number of penalties, including but not limited to a zero for the participation grade, being asked to leave the classroom (which would count as an official absence for that day), and referral to the Discipline Committee.

 

Honor Code: The Honor Code states that "I will not lie, cheat, steal, plagiarize, evade the truth or tolerate those who do." Violation of this code constitutes grounds for suspension or expulsion from the university. Please recognize that violations include such actions as lying about an absence, allowing a friend to copy your homework, and looking the other way when you see cheating or other illegal activities happening around you (“tolerating those who do”).

 

Presentation and Research Paper: As part of your professional development, we will be focusing on how to present research in various ways. To that end, there will be a formal presentation and a graduate-school-style research paper. The presentation (10-12 minutes) will be on the topic of your research paper; as at a conference, expect that there will be questions and suggestions from the audience about your paper. The research paper (3300-3600 words, approx. 11-12 pages) will be in the format of a journal article. THERE ARE DETAILED INSTRUCTION SHEETS FOR ASSIGNMENTS. Not following the instructions is cause for an “F” (possibly a “0”) on the assignment.

 

Quizzes: There will be twenty short (usually 3-4 questions) scheduled quizzes during the semester, five of which will be dropped when determining your quiz grade. THERE IS NO MAKE-UP FOR THE QUIZZES (if you miss a day when we have a quiz, that quiz will be one of your “drops”). DO NOT ASK ME TO MAKE ONE UP. Students with university-approved absences ONLY will have those quizzes dropped from the overall total (they will not affect the quiz grade). Each quiz will be given at the beginning of the class and will last approximately 5 minutes. Quiz format may include identifications and short responses. These reading quizzes are meant to cover material we have not yet discussed, or details that we did not cover in class. The introductions to each work are included in the readings. Major information in the introduction may be included on the reading quizzes.

            Please do your own reading; just as it would be cheating to give a friend answers during a quiz, it is cheating to tell other students about the reading when they haven’t read.

 

Semester grades will be determined as follows:                                            Grading Scale:

           

            Preliminary ideas and research              5%

            Annotated bibliography                         10%                                       A+   =  98%

            Prospectus                                           5%                                           A     =  95%

            15 of 20 Quizzes                                 20%                                         A-   =   90%

            Presentation                                         15%                                         B+   =   88%

            Research Paper                                    30%                                         B     =   85%

            Class Participation                               15%                                         B-    = 80%

                                                   TOTAL:        100%                                       C+   =   78%

                                                                                                                        C     =   75%

                                                                                                                        C-    = 70%

Plagiarism: You are responsible for reading and following the guidelines     D+   = 68%

on plagiarism presented in the North Georgia College & State University     D     = 65%

Undergraduate Bulletin: “Academic Integrity Policy” (64-68).                     D-    = 60%

                                                                                                                        F     = 59-0%

 

Participation: I define participation as SPEAKING in class discussions. Since the point of this class is to analyze the literature and theories and discuss the meaning of the works, I am very interested in hearing your ideas and opinions—what do YOU think about the literature that we are reading? Ask questions; offer opinions; be prepared to talk about the works. If you are shy, make sure you still find ways to participate vocally, such as volunteering to read passages in class or answering plot-based questions. Make sure I am familiar with the sound of your voice by the end of the semester, since students who come to class prepared but don’t speak more than a few times will receive a “D” or lower for participation. Disruptive behavior (and “mental absence”) can result in a zero.

 

NCTE: This course meets NCTE standards 1, 3-7, and 11-12. (1) Students will understand text and culture; (3) they will apply various strategies of comprehension; (4) they will practice active and effective communication; (5) they will employ a range of writing strategies; (6) they will apply detailed knowledge of language conventions; (7) they will conduct focused research; (11) they will participate in literacy communities; (12) they will use language to accomplish their own purposes.

 

TURNITIN.COM GUIDELINES: Students agree that by taking this course all required materials may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Use of the Turnitin.com service is subject to the Terms and Conditions of Use posted on the Turnitin.com site. All students will be required to submit an electronic copy of their final paper directly to the Turnitin.com website by MIDNIGHT of the day that the paper is due. Failure to turn in an electronic copy will result in an ungraded paper and, ultimately, a grade of “0” for the paper.

 

Expectations for Reading Assignments: Just as you would expect to learn and use equations in a mathematics course, you should expect to learn and use the literature and theories that we are reading. Not everyone reads at the same level and/or speed, so if you have difficulty with the readings, SLOW DOWN and take more time. You could try taking notes or highlighting the text. For poetry, read it aloud for easier comprehension. Find a quiet place to do your reading; distractions while reading tend to lead to low quiz scores. If you don’t know a certain word, look it up! In the end, the more you read, the better your reading skills will become (and reading skills will help you in all areas of life). The minimum expectation for an upper-level course is to do the reading and be prepared to discuss it.

 

Schedule: The following is a proposed outline. Some changes may be made as the semester progresses. Please bring the required texts and/or packet materials to class, since we will be looking at some passages in more detail (and you may be asked to read). Scheduled quiz days are marked [*] below. If there is a snow day/cancelled day, keep reading! Any quiz scheduled for a snow day will be given during the next class period, in addition to any quiz for that day.

            Please be aware that you must turn in ALL assignments for the research paper properly, or you will not be allowed to turn in the next assignment.

 

8/20     R          Introduction and Overview

 

8/25*   T          The Great Gatsby, chapters 1-3; Preliminary ideas discussion; Sign-Up Sheet

8/27*   R          The Great Gatsby, chapters 4-6; Literary theory and research discussion

 

9/1*     T          The Great Gatsby, chapters 7-9; Meet in Library, Room 163

9/3*     R          Critical Theory Today (CTT) chapter 5 (New Criticism); Bring 100 Best-loved

Poems

 

9/8*     T          CTT chapter 3 (Marxism) Preliminary ideas and research assignment

DUE; Prospectus writing, annotated bibliographies; Bring Macbeth

9/10*   R          CTT chapter 2 (Psychoanalytical); Presentation discussion; Bring Macbeth

 

9/15*   T          CTT chapter 4 (Feminism); Bring 100 Best-loved Poems and Macbeth

9/17*   R          CTT chapter 9 (New Historical and Cultural); Bring 100 Best-loved Poems

 

9/22     T          Prospectus Workshop (bring 4 copies); Annotated bibliography DUE

9/24*   R          CTT chapter 11 (African American); Bring 100 Best-loved Poems and Macbeth

 

9/29*   T          CTT chapter 7 (Structuralist); Bring 100 Best-loved Poems and Macbeth

10/1*   R          CTT chapter 6 (Reader-Response); Bring 100 Best-loved Poems and Macbeth

 

10/6*   T          Prospectus DUE; CTT chapter 8 (Deconstructive); Bring Macbeth

10/8*   R          “Possessions in The Great Gatsby” (PACKET); Bring CTT

 

10/13* T          Great Jobs for English Majors 73-104; Job research assignment given

10/15* R          Great Jobs for English Majors 159-184; Job Research Workshop

           

10/20* T          Job research assignment DUE; “Murderous Repetition; Macbeth as Echo Chamber”

(PACKET); Bring CTT and Macbeth

10/22* R          “Reformation/Counter-Reformation: Macbeth” (PACKET); Bring CTT and Macbeth

 

10/27   T          Paper presentations (questions and discussion afterwards)

10/29   R          Paper presentations (questions and discussion afterwards)

 

11/3     T          Paper presentations (questions and discussion afterwards)

11/5     R          Paper presentations (questions and discussion afterwards)

 

11/10   T          Paper presentations (questions and discussion afterwards)

11/12* R          Mark Twain, 1-20 (“Jumping Frog” and “Bank-Note”); Bring CTT

 

11/17* T          Bret Harte, “Outcasts” and “Partner” (PACKET); Bring CTT

11/19* R          Resume assignment given; Great Ghost Stories: “Phantom Coach” 1-12 and “Judge’s

House” 32-46; Bring CTT                   

 

11/24   T          Research Paper Draft Workshop (Bring 4 rough draft copies)

11/25-11/27     THANKSGIVING BREAK

 

12/1     T          Resumes DUE; Theory Test; Bring 100 Best-loved Poems; Exit survey.

 

FINAL EXAM:  Research Paper DUE on Tuesday, December 8, from 1:00-3:00 [You may turn in the final paper and electronic copy starting on Thursday, December 3.]

 

 

Class Evaluations: Class evaluations at NGCSU are now conducted online through Banner. Evaluation of the class is considered a component of the course, and students will not be permitted to access their course grade until the evaluation has been completed. The evaluations will be accessible beginning one week prior to Final Exam week. Specific instructions will be made available when the surveys are activated.