English Composition 102

Winter Quarter 2012-2013
Dr. Bruce R Magee, Instructor

English 102-004
Room: GTM 211B
Time: 11:00-12:15 MWF

English 102-012
Room: GTM 215
Time: 12:00-1:50 TR
Web site:
http://www2.latech.edu/~bmagee
http://garts.latech.edu/bmagee

E-mail:
bmagee@LaTech.Edu
Facebook
Office: GTM 222
Phone: 257-5494
Hours: 4:00-5:00 MW
2:00-5:00 TR
12:30-2:30 F
or by appointment

School of Literature and Language Student Writing

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Textbooks

Catalogue Description. Freshman Composition II. 0-3-3. Moodle Preq., English 100 or 101. Continues the work of Composition I; includes the preparation of a research paper from library sources.

Nature and Purpose

  General Requirements
Five essays, including a research paper and a final, will be assigned during the quarter. You should turn in your paper in class on time. A paper not submitted in class on the due date is late. Submit your essays on time. YOU MUST SUBMIT ALL SIX ESSAYS TO PASS THE COURSE. YOU MUST PASS THE FINAL TO PASS THE COURSE. COMPLETE ANY MAKE-UP WORK BEFORE FINALS WEEK.
Attendance Requirements Guidelines for a paper's form
  1. OUT-OF-CLASS papers MUST BE TYPED. Illegible handwritten papers will be returned ungraded; legible papers will be graded, but with a penalty assessed. I encourage you to learn to use a computerized word-processing program. It can save time, aid proofreading, and improve the appearance of an essay.
  2. In-class papers MUST be written in ink.
  3. Use one side of the paper only.
  4. Use standard 8 1/2" by 11" white paper. Loose leaf or typewriter paper please--no frazzled edges ripped from notebooks.
  5. All essays, whether hand-written or typed, must by DOUBLE SPACED.
  6. Use margins of at least an inch on each side of the paper. Leave a 1.5" margin on the right-hand side.
  7. Papers should be folded vertically with the following information on the outside cover: name, section, theme assignment, instructor's name, and date.
  8. KEEP A PAPER COPY OF THE FINAL DRAFT IN YOUR OWN FILES. It is the cheapest insurance you can buy.
  9. Turn in one 12 inch folder with your name, course, and section number on the tab.
GRADES
Essays
Review of a Peer-Reviewed Article on Your Research Topic. 15%
Essay on Fiction 10%
Essay on Poetry 15%
Research Paper (1,700-2,000 words) 25%
Essay on Drama (700 words) 15%
  80%
Reading
Test on the Greek drama 10%
Attendance 10%
Total 100%

The grading scale is A: 90-100%, B: 80-89%, C: 70-79%, D: 60-69%, F: 0-59%.
 
Late Work
Your paper is due BY the due date.  It is due in class by the beginning of the period.  In an emergency, send it by a friend or upload it to my Blackboard drop-box.  You can turn it in any time until the due date.  After that, the grade drops 5 points per period.
Graded Material
In the event of a question regarding an exam grade or final grade, it will be the responsibility of the student to retain and present graded materials which have been returned for student possession during the quarter. 
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Students needing testing or classroom accommodations based on a disability are encouraged to discuss those needs with me as soon as possible. 
Honor Code
In accordance with the Academic Honor Code, students pledge the following: Being a student of a higher standard, I pledge to embody the principles of academic integrity.
Plagarism Statement
Plagiarism: See the first pages of the Freshman Composition Course Packet. You must sign the Plagiarism Statement for the current quarter and turn it in to me. Your work will not be accepted or graded, and the English Department will place a hold on your student account until I receive the statement. You are responsible for understanding what plagiarism is and how to avoid it because plagiarism will result in a zero for the entire class or for the specific assignment, depending upon the circumstances. Our department subscribes to Turnitin.com, a plagiarism website that analyzes papers for plagiarism. You will submit your papers to Turnitin through Moodle. Failure to do so means that you will not receive a grade for that particular assignment.
Emergency Contingency Plan and Emergency Notification System
If for some reason we are unable to meet as a class, we will continue our course work, lectures, and discussion through our Moodle website. You should check Moodle regularly for announcements and changes to the schedule. All Louisiana Tech students are strongly encouraged to enroll and update their contact information in the Emergency Notification System. It takes just a few seconds to ensure you're able to receive important text and voice alerts in the event of a campus emergency.  For more information on the Emergency Notification System, please visit: http://www.latech.edu/administration/ens.shtml.

Research Paper Schedule

Conferences
Conferences are encouraged during the quarter. They will be used to discuss your specific writing strengths and/or weaknesses. Try to make your appointment when you have a rough draft so we can work on it together.
Note
You must sign the plagiarism statement for English 099/100/101/102 (located at the beginning of the Freshman Composition Course Packet) and turn it in by the second day of class.  Your work (journals, homework, in-class work, and papers) will not be accepted or graded until I receive the signed plagiarism statement.
HOC OPUS, HIC LABOR EST.
Period  
Registration Week (November 28-30)
Initial assignments
Period 1
  • Reading: Start reading the four dramas in the packet.
  • Writing: Turn in one 12 inch folder with your name, course, and section number on the tab.
Week 1 (December 3-7)
Period 1
  • Reading:
  • Writing: Do the prewriting questions below.
    1. What is the significance of Goodman Brown's name? Of Faith's name? Goody Cloyse? Deacon Gookin?
    2. As you read the story a second time, make a list of all the qualifying words that Hawthorne uses to suggest that the events described may or may not be actually happening--words like seem, appear, perhaps, etc. What does Hawthorne achieve through this word choice?
    3. Consult an encyclopedia to find out exactly what the meaning of a Witches' Sabbath is. Is Hawthorne's description accurate?
    4. What causes Goodman Brown's tragedy? What is it that ruins his life?
    5. List at least 5 words that describe the setting of this story.
    6. Point of View. What kind of narrator does the story have? What does the method of narration imply for the impact of the story?
    7. Develop two outlines for an essay using two of the approaches discussed in part II of BIL (structure, imagery, viewpoint, etc.) or approaches discussed in class.
Period 2
Week 2 (December 10-14)
Period 1
  • Reading:  George Washington Cable "Posson Jone'" from the Louisiana Anthology
    • 5-9: Thesis exercises
    • Begin work on your research paper. Read the work at least twice and begin the prewriting process to get ideas for a thesis.
  • Writing: 
    • Research paper. Submit two topics for research (in order of preference). I'll take these and approve one for your research paper. Select a literary work from the text or one of the collateral works.
    • Questions on "Posson Jone"
      1. Setting:  Where does the story take place?  When?
      2. What's a "Posson?" A schismatique?
      3. Where has Posson Jimmy Jone been on business?
      4. Where is Posson Jone going?  Where is that precisely?
      5. What is homespun?
      6. Where is the Place Congo?  What's happening there in the story?  What's special about the Place Congo in United States history?
      7. What does "Colossus of Rhodes" refer to?
      8. Compare and contrast Posson Jone and Jules St. Ange.
      9. Compare and contrast Baptiste and Colossus.
      10. What happened to Posson Jone's money? 
      11. What animals "fight?" What's that say about New Orleans?
      12. Who saves the day?
Period 2
Week 3 (December 17-21)
Period 1
  • Reading
  • Writing
    • Research paper prewriting.
    • Correct the bibliography in your packet, p. 16. Follow the guidelines on MLA form.
    • Submit a bibliography on your research topic consisting of 10 works (books & journal articles). Compile the bibliography using the following sources.
      1. The card catalog
      2. The MLA Bibliography
      3. Essay and General Literature Index
Period 2
      Week 4 (January 7-11)
Period 1
Questions on "Ulysses" 
  1. Outline the main ideas of each section of the poem.
  2. What does Ulysses want? How does this contrast to what he wants in The Odyssey? What is his attitude toward his life ruling the island Ithaca?
  3. How does Ulysses contrast himself to his son?
  4. What do you think of Ulysses' views on how life should be lived?
Questions on "Leda and the Swan" and "Leda"
  1. What myth do these poems deal with? How does that myth relate to the Odyssey? To 's death?
  2. What is the focus of "Leda and the Swan"? Of "Leda"? How do the titles relate to these foci?
  3. Why does Yeats describe the swan as "feathered glory" and "the brute blood of the air"? How does this relate to the swan's identity?
  4. How would you answer Yeats' last question? How does Van Duyn in "Leda"?
  5. What motivates the swan in the two poems? How do the motives differ?
  6. How does Van Duyn contrast Leda's fate in "men's stories" with her actual fate? How do artists go about selecting the portions of life they depict? Why?
Questions on "Mending Wall"
  1. In what ways do "Good fences make good neighbors"?
  2. In what ways do they not?
  3. What is it that doesn't like a wall?
  4. Why do the men repair the fence?
Period 2
Week 5 (January 14-18)
Period 1
Questions on "Daddy"
  1. Who does the speaker compare her father to? Her husband? How are the two phenomena similar?
  2. How has the speaker tried to free herself from her father?
  3. List some words describing the tone of the poem.
  4. What happened to Plath when she was 10? What was going on in world history at the time? How does Plath relate world history to personal history?
  5. How do your attempts to balance your family and individual identity compare to Plath's? (let's hope favorably)
Questions on "Supermarket in California"
  1. What similarities exist between Ginsberg & Whitman? How much time elapsed between their works?
  2. What do Ginsberg's assumptions about Whitman reflect about his own identity?
  3. Look up Charon & Lethe. Explain the last paragraph of the poem.
  4. Why does Ginsberg imagine he sees Whitman? Why in a grocery store?
  5. Pick a famous person you would like to see & a fitting place to see him/her.
Period 2
Week 6 (January 21-25)
Period 1
Period 2
Week 7 (January 28February 1)
Period 1
  •  Reading: Class discussion on Greek drama
  • Writing: RESEARCH PAPER DUE. 
Period 2
  • Reading:
  • Writing
Week 8 (February 4-8)
Period 1
  • Reading:
  • Writing: BOOK TEST ON GREEK DRAMA.
Period 2
  • Reading:
  • Writing: Bring rough draft of drama paper to class.
Week 9 (February 14-20)
Period 1 Reading
Writing:
Period 2 Reading
Writing:
Week 10 (February 21-26)
Period 1 Reading
Writing: ESSAY ON DRAMA DUE.
Period 2 Reading
Writing:


     
TABLE OF CONTENTS
"Scapegoat." Encyclopedia Britannica 1
"He's Watching You" 1
"Leda and the Swan" 1a
"Leda" 2
"Three Religious Lies" 3
"The Persuasive Principle" 5
Odyssey study guide 10
Odyssey introductory material 11
"Ulysses" by Dante & Tennyson 15a
Bibliography exercise 16
"Gaudeamus Igitur" 17
Criteria for grading 18
"When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" 22a
Catullus 23
King 24
Plato 31
Aristotle 40
Nathaniel Hawthorne "Young Goodman Brown" 48a
"Ulysses" & "September when It Comes" 48k
Introduction to Tragedy 49
The Oresteia Trilogy  
Prometheus Bound