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Introduction
I have a few beginning announcements.
- The syllabus is located at this URL: http:// www2. latech.edu/ ~bmagee/ 102/ eng102.htm. The assignments should stay as they are now, but I'm still adding page numbers and note links, so refresh the page from time to time.
- I'm trying to make everything iPhone friendly. That means my syllabus and notes should fit well on your smart phones. Also, I'm posting recordings of my lectures on the notes pages. The links are surrounded by boxes — The first downloads the mp3 to your device. The second is an iTunes link; the third a Stitcher link. The last streams the recording to your device. My goal is for you to be able to listen to the lecture while you follow along in the notes page. iTunes and Stitcher both work on my iPhone; Stitcher is available for Android devices as well. All of it is free. Let me know if you hit any snags with the downloads.
- I number the lectures by week and period for a normal
quarter Tuesday-Thursday class. So Thursday of the
second week would be 2B. Mostly you just need make sure
the number of the lecture you're listening to matches the
number in the notes.
- If this course is being offered in a summer half term, the
pace is doubled. Essentially, we'll cover a normal two
weeks' worth of material in 1 week.
- The first assignment is an article analysis. The
instructions are below.
- We'll have one fiction essay and one poetry essay. The criteria are posted here.
- Everybody will write a research paper. The criteria sheet is posted here. Papers should be 9-10 pages. Use MLA form with at least 10 sources, with a mixture of primary and secondary sources.
- We will have discussions on Moodle each week. For each discussion question, write at least one response and reply to two others.
Let me know if you have any questions. bmagee@latech.edu.
Here are the guidelines for the paper, which is a review of a scholarly article.
- Lecture.mp3
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- Pick out your topic for your research paper. You can select from one of the readings from the syllabus, or you can pick something from the textbook. The Table of Contents are located here.
- Choose a topic that will have enough sources for you to
research it successfully.
- Generally the more famous the author is and the older the story or poem is, the more sources you'll be able to find.
- For example, you'll find a lot of sources on William
Shakespeare's Hamlet (it's an old, famous play), but
not much on David Sedaris' "Jesus Shaves." He is a
living writer, and there hasn't been time to write a lot of
articles about his work.
- Find a scholarly article that is 10+ pages long.
- Do NOT look it up through Google or some other general search engine.
- I suggest you use the JSTOR
database through the library. It has complete articles
online.
Click on the JSTOR or the MLA International Bibliography. (Not the MLA Directory of Journals). - If you are off campus, log in with your student id and the
password. It's the same one that you use for your Tech
email.
- Look up an article on one of the works that we are reading this quarter.
- Here is a sample
article that's the proper length. Because of the way
the page numbering works, 410-419 is actually 10 pages.
- Download the article. You need to send it (or a link) to me along with your paper.
- Read the article.
- Write a review of the article (not the
original story). Your paper should be 2+ pages long (not 1
1/2). Here is a sample
review.
- About two thirds of the review should be summary
of what the article says. Tell what the
thesis is and what the major points of the outline are.
- The last third should be your response. Answer the
following questions.
- Who was the original audience for the article?
Professors typically address one of two audiences: either
students or other professors. If you can understand the
article easily, it was written for students. If you can't
understand what it's about, then it was probably written
for professors.
- Did the article stay on point, or did it wander off topic? Sometimes the best insights are the ones that pop up that way. They were just too good to leave out.
- Did the article get the facts of the story right? For
example, generations of scholars agreed that Young Goodman
Brown had lost his Faith by the end of the story. Finally
somebody pointed out that Brown and Faith are still
married at the end of the story, and they have a life-long
relationship.
- Do you agree with the scholar's interpretation of the story or poem? Was it valid?
- Did the article help you understand the story or poem
better?
- Write the bibliographical information for the
article in good MLA form. For online sources, display
the stable URL in your Bibliography. The easiest way
to generate your bibliography is using EasyBib.com.
- Submit the review to me by the due date in the syllabus. In face-to-face classes, I want a paper copy of your assignments AND an electronic copy submitted through Moodle to TurnItIn. In online classes, submit your paper through Moodle to TurnItIn. If you have trouble uploading it Moodle, you may email it to me at bmagee@latech.edu. You may also bring a paper copy by my office. You are still responsible for turning in the assignment by the due date, so plan ahead.