Note that the various grades are 'weighted,' meaning that some grades carry more or less total percentage points. Thus, whole point methods of determining grades (in which you add up all the points and divide by the number of assignments) will not work. Grades are figured automatically (and accurately) by my gradebook program. Your 'grades to date' will be posted at our website, which is:

THE ESSAY REVIEW
The Essay Review is a non-documented personal reaction/understanding paper, between 400-600 words (four to six paragraphs), sent and submitted to me (not the whole class) as an eMail message. Using email, I will submit a topic from our reading. Without reference to library documentation or other external helps, you will respond to the topic. For these essays, you will use the archetypal literary critical method. Your best approach is to write the essay off-line, then copy the file over to eMail. Don't obsess over this: read the topic, think about it, then bang out your response.

The essay reviews are worth 50 points each.

EXAMS
Final Exam
There is no mid-term exam.
The final exam consist of 20 or more multiple choice questions with six possible responses. You will need to know (a) authors, (b) time periods, (c) literary summaries, and (d) literary analyses regarding form, function, and content.

Seminar Class presentation/discussion
Select students will present a panel discussion, one per week beginning at week #4, on the literary work of the week. Students will demonstrate their understanding of myth and ritual as applied to literature.

How To Prepare for a Seminar Class Presentation

Do not obsess over this.
I will appoint 5 Seminar Leaders and distribute class members among the groups. Thereafter ...

• the Leader assembles the group
• the group selects one or two ideas to present to the class regarding the work of the week
• the group members decide how to distribute the presentation fairly among themselves
• each group member finds three sources to put in the bibliography to be distributed via email
• the group meets a second time to assemble information for presentation and to prepare a simple outline
• the leader sends the class the outline and the bibliography via email
• the group presents its information and findings on its assigned day
• the group attempts to be clear, orderly, and professional in its presentation and attempts to elicit questions and discussion.

Students are graded upon organization of the presentation, depth of study of the select work as represented by the bibliography, level of understanding of the text and of the critical method, and ability to generate discussion and help the class to understand what they are talking about. Important -- Your grade depends on these two items:

• Make certain each group member speaks.
• make certain that each group member provokes at least one response to a question asked.

The Paper
The paper, of 18 - 21 pages or more, will be on a novel selected from the provided list (below). The paper will not only demonstrate the student's ability to apply the literary critical method, but also the student's writing and research capabilities as they have developed over the student's course of study in the Department. The paper will follow the MLA format for the thesis.

The paper (with documentation) must conform to the standard format as established for English majors by the MLA style sheet. The title page, reference list, illustrations, and similar matter do not constitute part of the four to six pages requirement. Note: it is important that you follow the MLA format for documentation. If you don't have the MLA Guide, you should get one (if you are an English Major/Minor). Incorrect formats will negatively affect your grade.

Structure: Your paper must be written in standard, edited English, with little or no major errors in punctuation, structure, grammar, or spelling.

Major errors in punctuation, structure, grammar, or spelling will negatively and very seriously affect your grade. You must use a Works Cited list with at least one print journal reference for each two pages of text (about 10 references); in addition to the print journal articles, you may also use books, book chapters, and internet resources.

Focus: You will select one of the following "odyssey" works and write about it using the archetypal critical approach:

• Huckleberry Finn
• The Catcher in the Rye
• Moby Dick
• The Great Gatsby
• The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man
• The Mists of Avalon
• The Return of the Native
• Jude the Obscure
• The Turn of the Screw
• The Haunting of Hill House
• The Divine Comedy
• Paradise Lost

To help you establish Focus, you will write an Idea Proposal (see below). The Idea Proposal is submitted via eMail. I will read, approve, and return the proposal via eMail.

How to Write an Idea Proposal, a First Draft, and the Final Paper

The Idea Proposal
The Procedure:

• select a novel from the list
• read about your author, then read the work;
• as you are reading, jot down (or keep track in writing) the archetypes and their movements
• jot down your major points derived from the work that you will cover in your paper
• after reading and writing, list several key ideas you may have about major points, based on the critical approach
• finally, in one or two paragraphs, name your author and work and tell me about your major theme and its three or four of its major points.

Lname-Fname/497/IP#1
Example: Worley-Lloyd/497/IP#1

Remember: no spaces between words in your subject line. And please: the 'Lname-Fname' means YOUR last name and first name -- don't put 'Lname-Fname' in the subject line! These paragraphs will be your Idea Proposal (see below);

I will read your Idea Proposal and comment on it, then I will return it to you via eMail by hitting my 'return' key; print out the approved IP; DON'T LOSE YOUR IDEA PROPOSAL! The Idea Proposal is not graded, but it is essential, since you will turn in the printout with your completed paper (a paper without an Idea Proposal attached is docked 25% of the grade).

IMPORTANT: send your IP to me at this address: help@profw.com .
DO NOT send your IP to the class list at Yahoo -- unless you want all your classmates to receive your IP.

The First Draft

COMMON PROBLEM: "I can't find any reference material that helps."
Well, sometimes that happens. If this happens to you, SEE ME, IN PERSON, RIGHT AWAY. Don't wait. Don't stall. Don't be 'creative' with the paper. Don't email me about it ... come to see me in person right away.

Your first draft consists of two parts, an introduction and an outline. These are submitted on paper, not electronically. Here's how you do it.

• Read your outline, then scan your work, keeping in mind the critical approach you will be using, and decide how your major ideas about your selected work fit.
• Using those major ideas, assemble an outline of your proposed paper (your outline will consist entirely of your own major and minor ideas...no data yet).
• Now, to find the data for your ideas, find several articles in scholarly journals and books that discuss and expand your ideas as you presented them in the outline. This is a print article, not an internet site, so you may use the library, or you may find journal articles on the 'net. Note: the journal article does not have to relate directly to your author or work; a collateral article that helps you in any one of your ideas will do the job.
• Using some information from your articles and using your own ideas, write an introduction of two to four pages in which you present the work from the angle as described in your Idea Proposal. Remember, all references you use must appear in your Works Cited page, and those articles must be used as documentation inside your paper.
• discuss your first draft with others; it is OK to talk with others about your paper, and it is OK to exchange ideas and to take suggestions; this is not plagiarism; you can even 'footnote' a friend as a source of an idea.
• write your first draft.

• your introduction of 2-4 pages (MINIMUM: I want to see your writing)
• the outline
• a Works Cited page which lists the article you will use

BE SURE TO USE THE MLA FORMAT FOR YOUR DOCUMENTATION!

QUESTION: You mean that my first draft consists of a 2/4-page introduction, an outline, an identification of my critical method, and a works cited page? That's it!?

ANSWER: Yes. That's it -- a two/four-page introduction, an outline, an identification of your critical method, and a works cited page.

Presenting Further Drafts Once I get you past your first draft, I want to see continued work. I will hold "Java Hours" at Margie's Java Joint, usually Tuesday 9:00 - 10:30 AM -- sometimes longer. That's when you come to show me your draft and discuss your progress. I will announce these either in class or via email.

OK, heads up: if you don't come, you're on your own...and this is a very big paper with very big points attached. Don't pass up the Java Hours. I am very charming.

The Final Draft
1: Using your first draft, expand your introduction;
2: Using your first draft, flesh out and expand each of your three ideas, being certain to use internal documentation (note: don't use footnote numbers anywhere -- MLA doesn't use numbers anymore);
3: complete your final draft by checking to see if it says everything you want it to say and to see if your grammar and writing are OK. Next, turn your paper in on the deadline as instruction. (warning: no papers accepted after the deadline; the grade for the paper will be zero).

NOTE: Turn your papers in on time, in class. I don't take late papers. Also, don't put your completed paper on my office door box! Don't! Somebody steals papers every semester. Don't slip it under my door, either. Instead, put it in my mail box in the main English office.

What to Turn In and In What Order

You will need to turn in the following items, STAPLED TOGETHER. DO NOT USE A COVER OF ANY KIND! DO NOT USE A PAPER CLIP TO HOLD YOUR PACKAGE TOGETHER! STAPLE IT!

• First, on top: title pagegiving paper title, author's name and work, your name, my name, and class name (see the cover of this syllabus for this information). The MLA cover page format is neat and attractive, but you don't have to use it.
  
• Second: the final draft of the paper or a photocopy. This final draft includes your reference page.
  
• Third: your original or photocopied Idea Proposal; if the Idea Proposal isn't attached, you lose 25% of the grade!
  
• Fourth (on bottom): the initialed first page of the first draft.
  
• Finally: you MUST submit to me your word processing file of your final paper, sent as an attachment to email; any format is acceptable because I have a Macintosh (commercial: a Macintosh can read and print anything, unlike Windows).

Your word processing file must be correctly named, or it will be useless! Name it like this:

For paper due dates, see your calendar, but remember: turn your paper in on the due date.

YOUR CLASS CARD
I use index cards to call roll and record absences. The class card also has other information as shown below: