Assignments
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| Discussion Exercises | Unit 1 Test | Unit 2 Test | Unit 3 Quiz | Critical Contexts Exercise |
Final Essay Topic Development Exercise | Final Essay Draft Review | Final Essay
Discussion Exercises
Due: by midnight on the dates indicated below
Where: Forums tool
Each unit, groups will be assigned discussion exercises. For the specific assignment for your group for each discussion, see the Forums tool in the Sakai course website. See the Groups page for group assignments and additional information about group work. Groups should use their area in the "Forums" tool or their Group's Chat Room to exchange ideas and compile a report for the class. The final report, which should be posted by the indicated due date, should be posted in the "Final Group Report" section of that Discussion to be reviewed by the class. Reports may be attachments in Word (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) or pasted directly into the discussion interface.
The Group should also address any questions about their report from the instructor or other members of the class. Groups are encouraged to contact the instructor with any questions as they work on their assignment (see below). Below is a list of discussions and due dates. For specific texts and topics for your group, see the Forums tool.
The instructor will review final group reports and return comments. These reports with comments are excellent study guides to help you prepare for exams. Remember that all students are responsible for all texts in the unit. To prepare for exams, you should read the final group reports with instructor comments as well as all of the unit texts.
Please be aware of these important notes as well:
- If you or your group has questions for me as you work, post them to the "Questions for Instructor" area under the "Specific Questions about Current Discussion Assignment" topic so that I can find your questions easily and respond to them. Include your group designation in the title of your question posting.
- The final group report should list the names of group members who contributed to the report.
- Though your group may only work on selected texts for the unit, every student is responsible for every text in the unit on the unit test or quiz , so make sure to review all instructor's comments and group reports and to ask any questions you have about any of the course texts .
Discussion Assignment Due Dates
Discussion |
General Topic |
Group report due |
Introductory Guided Discussion |
Introductory Texts |
1/23 |
Discussion #1 |
Unit 1 Fiction |
2/1 |
Discussion #2 |
Unit 1 Poetry |
2/6 |
Discussion #3 |
Unit 1 Drama |
2/10 |
Discussion #4 |
Unit 2 Poetry |
2/22 |
Discussion #5 |
Unit 2 Fiction |
2/29 |
Discussion #6 |
Unit 3 Streetcar |
3/19 |
Discussion #7 |
Unit 3 Raisin in the Sun |
3/26 |
Discussion #8 |
Unit 3 Critical Articles |
4/3 |
Discussion Assignment Grades
The Discussion Assignments are graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.
S |
group report was submitted and meets assignment criteria |
U |
group report was submitted, but does not fully meet assignment criteria (for example, not all of the questions were answered) |
0 |
group report was missing, late, or plagiarized. Additionally, individuals who do not contribute to the group report will receive a 0. |
Unit 1 Test
timed exam (2 hours 30 minutes) to be completed noon 2/11 - midnight 2/14
Where: Tests tool
The first test is CLOSED book, notes, internet. The first test will include the following:
- Multiple choice (with rationale), short answer/fill in the blank exercises for definitions from Unit
1: Plot, Setting, Character, and Point of View (review the Unit Definitions). Note that you may be asked to apply definitions as well as simply identify correct meanings.
- Short analysis of plot, setting, character, and point of view questions based on the poems covered in Unit 1:
• "The Tally Stick" by Jarold Ramsey (620)
• "Mid-Term Break" by Seamus Heaney (628-9)
• "The Ruined Maid" by Thomas Hardy (672-3)
• "She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways by William Wordsworth (681)
• "Paper Matches" by Paulette Jiles (693-4)
• "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen (759-60)
• "One Perfect Rose" by Dorothy Parker (766)
• "Ballad of Birmingham" by Dudley Randall (831-32)
• "Chimney Sweeper: Songs of Innocence" by William Blake (1008)
• "The Whipping " by Robert Hayden (1026-27)
- Essay questions based on the short stories and drama covered
in Unit 1:
• "A Pair of Tickets" Amy Tan (189-201)
• "Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell (365-79)
• "Janus" by Ann Beattie (453-56)
• "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce (457-62)
• A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen (1135-84)
This is a timed exam not to exceed 2 hours 30 minutes. Misspelling and minor grammar errors will not count against you, but you may lose points in essays for severe errors that detract from the sense of your answer.
timed exam (2 hours 30 minutes) to be completed noon 3/1 - midnight 3/4
Where: Tests tool
The second test will include the following:
- Multiple choice, short answer/fill in the blank exercises for definitions from Unit
2: Theme, Tone, and Figurative Language (review the Unit Definitions). Note that you may be asked to apply definitions as well as simply identify correct meanings. (CLOSED book, notes, internet)
- Short analysis questions of figurative language and formal features in the poems covered
in Unit 2. (CLOSED book, notes, internet)
• "love poem" by Linda Pastan (620-1)
• "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" by Adrienne Rich (660)
• "Alzheimer's" by Kelly Cherry (667-8)
• "A Certain Lady" by Dorothy Parker (679-80)
• "To the Ladies" by Mary, Lady Chudleigh (689-90)
• "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell (713-14)
• "Sonnet" by Billy Collins (842-3)
• [How Do I Love Thee?] by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (619-20)
• "In the Park" by Gwen Harwood (841-2)
• [My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun] by William Shakespeare (842)
• My Life had stood--a Loaded Gun--] by Emily Dickinson (889-90)
• "Harlem" by Langston Hughes (959)
- Essay question based on the fiction works covered in Unit 2. (OPEN book, CLOSED notes and internet)
• "The Jewelry" by Guy de Maupassant (58-63)
• "Roman Fever" by Edith Wharton (85-94)
• "Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (354-65)
• "Scarlet Ibis" by Margaret Atwood (438-49)
This is a timed exam not to exceed 2 hours 30 minutes. Misspelling and minor grammar errors will not count against you, but you may lose points in essays for severe errors that detract from the sense of your answer.
timed quiz (50 minutes) to be completed 4/9* - midnight 4/12
*because of Easter break, no weekend days are included in the time for this quiz, so I will open it early on Sunday, 4/8. Students are not required to access the quiz on this day: it is only open this day for the convenience of students who might not be able to access the quiz M - Th.
The Unit 3 Quiz is OPEN book, CLOSED notes and internet and will include the following:
- Multiple choice, short answer/fill in the blank exercises for definitions from Unit 3: Literature in Critical Contexts. (review the Unit Definitions). Note that you may be asked to apply definitions as well as simply identify correct meanings.
- Short analysis questions based on the two dramas in Unit 3
• A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (1408-71)
• Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (1583-1643)
This is a timed quiz not to exceed 50 minutes. Misspelling and minor grammar errors will not count against you, but you may lose points for severe errors that detract from the sense of your answer.
Due: 4/16 by midnight
Where: Assignments tool
Format instructions: completed worksheets should include a heading in MLA format, and the Works Cited section for question 7 should also conform to MLA guidelines. (check the format examples on the website).
Assignment: Download the rich text format copy of the Critical Contexts Exercise Worksheet from the "Unit 3 Resources" folder in the Resources tool. Complete the worksheet by analyzing Ellen Dowling's "The Derailment of a Streetcar Named Desire" and Lisbeth Lipari's "Fearful of the Written Word: White Fear, Black Writing, and Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun."
A copy of the worksheet questions are provided below for your convenience.
Unit 3: Critical Contexts Exercise Questions 1. Give examples of two significant instances of censorship in the creation of the film version of Streetcar Named Desire. Be sure to describe each example and to explain what the significant narrative consequences of the changes are. Indicate the page number(s) where this example is discussed in Dowling's article. 2. Give examples of two significant instances of censorship of Lorraine Hansberry's screenplay for the 1961 film version of Raisin in the Sun. Be sure to describe each example and to explain what the significant narrative consequences of the changes are. Indicate the page number(s) where this example is discussed in Lipari's article. 3. Describe the mechanisms of censorship in the creation of the film version of Streetcar Named Desire, that is, who is doing the censoring and what reasons are given for changing/removing content? Be sure to address the reasons given by the censoring agents for removing content as well as any other reasons that are indicated by the critic but perhaps not admitted by those doing the censoring. Indicate the page numbers of the information in Dowling's article that your answers are based on. 4. Describe the mechanisms of censorship of the original screenplay of Raisin in the Sun, that is, who is doing the censoring and what reasons are given for changing/removing content? Be sure to address the reasons given by the censoring agents for removing content as well as any other reasons that are indicated by the critic but perhaps not admitted by those doing the censoring. Indicate the page numbers of the information in Lipari's article that your answers are based on. 5. Compare and contrast these two examples of censorship: give at least 2 significant similarities and at least 2 significant differences (the fact that 2 different works are being censored does not constitute a significant difference) in these cases. Consider such issues as how the works are being censored, the degree to which the author of the work is aware of the censorship, who is doing the censoring in each case, the narrative consequences of the censorship, etc. 6. Based on your analysis in 1-5 above, discuss the social and narrative consequences of censorship. You might address such issues as these: what do these examples of censorship suggest about the censors ideas about the power of literature or about the audiences who would view the films? What affect does censorship have on literary texts? etc. 7. Works Cited: practice using MLA format to cite the works used in preparing this worksheet. The complete information for the two critical articles can be found on the syllabus. Put the identifying information for the articles into correct MLA format and list them in alphabetical order by author last name below: |
Final Essay Topic Development Exercise
Where: Assignments tool
Due: midnight 4/21
*Note: this assignment is graded on an S/U basis. An "S" grade is needed before you may proceed with the final paper assignment, so be sure to look for instructor's feedback and respond to any additional questions.
Assignment: Download the Topic Development Worksheet from the "Unit 4 Topic Worksheet" folder in the Resources tool. Review the assignment description for the Final Essay (below), and then complete the worksheet and submit your responses through the Assignments tool. Check back in the Assignments tool on 4/22-23 for feedback from the instructor about your topic proposal.
Where: Assignments tool, and possibly Chat tool or phone
*Note: this assignment is graded on an S/U basis. Although a complete draft is not required for an "S" grade, students who submit very little for review will receive a "U" grade and half credit for the assignment.
Due: 4/30 by midnight
Assignment: sign up for a draft review appointment. There are four options. All of the options require submission of your draft through the Assignments tool by midnight 4/30. In addition to your draft, feel free to submit any questions you have either separately or as part of your draft.
1. asynchronous review: with this option, you will receive written comments from the instructor through the Assignments tool within 72 hours of the submission of your work. Drafts for asynchronous review must be submitted by midnight 4/30 at the latest. You do not need to sign up for a specific time with this option, but do contact the instructor to indicate that you will be using this option.
2. synchronous review via phone: with this option, you will sign up for a specific phone time, and provide the instructor with a contact phone number for your during that time. Your paper should be submitted submitted by midnight 4/30 at the latest. During your phone conversation, you should have a copy of your paper open/printed to review with the instructor.
3. synchronous review during office hours: only times indicated on the schedule as office hours are available for the in-person option. Office hours are on the Lourdes College campus in Learning Center Hall room 164. Your paper should be submitted by midnight 4/30 at the latest. Bring a printed copy of your paper to review with the instructor.
Available times for synchronous review on 5/2-5/4 will be posted by 4/18. To sign up for one of these times, review the available times and then contact the instructor through the Messages tool with your top 2 desired times, and a contact phone number if you wish to conduct the review by phone; be sure to indicate the communication mode (phone, office hours--> if applicable). Times will be given on a first come, first served basis, and requests are due at the latest by midnight 4/25/12. The list of confirmed appointments will be posted as they are scheduled, with the finalized list posted on 4/27.
Where: Assignments tool
Due: midnight 5/9
Format Instructions: MLA format, 5-7 pages (double spaced), with a Works Cited section at the end
Assignment: For the final paper, you will choose at least THREE primary texts total of two different genres (fiction, poetry, drama) we have studied in Units 1 and 2 and the dramas in Unit 3 and place them into a an analytical context with each other. Identify a specific theme that links your works and relate this theme to some element(s) (1-3) of literature we have studied (setting, character, point of view, use of figurative language, imagery, etc.), then craft an analytical thesis to describe this connective logic. Support your thesis by performing close readings of the texts, and in your conclusion, address the differences in the way your thesis works in these texts as well as similarities.
You may make any analytical argument you wish, but the topic must be approved by the instructor (see the Essay Topic Development Exercise above). You will also need to submit as complete a draft as possible prior to your individual review appointment or submit your draft for written comments with the asynchronous review option. Submitting a draft is a part of your grade for the course.
Be sure to
- state your analytical thesis in the introduction
- introduce the titles and authors for your texts in the introduction
- present a well-organized argument that develops your central thesis
- use quotations from the texts to support your claims
- cite paraphrases and quotations properly
- analyze the similarities and differences in the functioning of your theme across all of the primary texts you discuss
- include a Works Cited section.
Turning in the Final Essay:
Submit your paper electronically through the Assignment tool. You will see a confirmation message when your paper has been successfully uploaded. Be sure to submit your paper in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or in Rich Text Format (.rtf). I cannot open Works (.wps) or Word Perfect (.wpd) files.
© 2011-12 Susan Shelangoskie, Ph.D.