Syllabus: 
Instructor: 
Term: 
Time: 
Room: 
Office: 
Office hours: 
E-mail address:
English 301 (Introduction to Literary Study II)
Maner
Winter 2009
MWF, 9:45-10:50 
242 Millett
441 Millett
WF 11:00-11:50 and by appointment at other times
martin.maner@wright.edu
Texts: Bishop, Elizabeth. The Complete Poems, 1927-1979. New York: Farrar, 1983.
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: MLA, 2003.
  Joyce, James. Dubliners.  New York: Norton, 2000.
  Each student is also required to have a standard college-level handbook of grammar and usage such a The Harbrace College Handbook, the St. Martin's Guide, or The Little, Brown Handbook. (If you are not sure whether your handbook is appropriate, check with me.)  Every English major should own and use a good handbook that explains literary terms and concepts. The most widely used reference work of this sort is C. Hugh Holman's A Handbook to Literature; another good handbook is M. H. Abrams, A Glossary of Literary Terms.
Writing-intensive goals: 1) To improve students' writing proficiency-their ability to develop and transmit information for an appropriate audience in an organized, coherent fashion while writing with appropriate style and correct grammar, usage, punctuation, and spelling.
2) To encourage students to use writing as a learning tool to explore and structure ideas, to articulate thoughts and questions, and to discover what they know and do not know, thereby empowering students to use writing as a tool of discovery, self-discipline, and thought.
3) To demonstrate for students the ways in which writing is integral to all disciplines, essential to the learning and conveying of knowledge in all fields.
Date Topic (Key reminders and key classes are marked in bold.) Reading
Mon
1/5
Introduction to the study of literature
Ungraded diagnostic quiz
Distribute guidelines for Paper #1
(Complete the assigned readings and exercises before coming to class.)
Wed
1/7
The prewriting process
Discussion of diagnostic quiz
The mechanics of writing
MLA Handbook 77-130.
Fri
1/9
"Eveline" Joyce 26-32.
Mon
1/12
Introduction to literary research
Online library tour
Before today's class, take the online tutorial at http://www.wright.edu/~martin.maner/eng344.htm
Class will begin with a quiz over the Web tutorial!
Do not prepare any written work; just "click through" the tutorial and do the problems in your head.  Also read MLA Handbook 3-56.
Wed
1/14
Distribute library exercise.
Discuss finding sources.
In-class workshop on research papers
 
Fri
1/16
The writing process
Topics & theses to avoid
Quoting, summarizing, paraphrasing
Integrating quotations
Preliminary draft of Paper #1 (research paper on assigned topic) due, in MLA format, minimum 1200 words (maximum 2000 words), typed, plus bibliography
MLA Handbook 57-75; handout.
Mon
1/19
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Wright State University closed
 
Wed
1/21
The rewriting process
In-class exercise in quoting
Hand back preliminary drafts of research papers on assigned topics
 
Fri
1/23
"Araby"
Concepts of Joyce criticism
Peer evaluations
Last day to drop a class without a grade
Joyce 26-32 (again); 283-98. (Bring Dubliners and MLA Handbook to class.)
Mon
1/26
MLA format--I.
Parenthetical documentation.
General appearance of MLA format.
MLA mechanics.
MLA Handbook 131-93, 237-60. Bring MLA Handbook to class.
Wed
1/28
MLA format--II
List of works cited. 
Library exercise due
MLA Handbook 194-235. Bring MLA Handbook to class.
Fri
1/30
MLA format--III
Listing books.
Endnotes. 
Listing articles.
Listing Web pages and other electronic sources.
Bring MLA Handbook to class.
Mon
2/2
"Voices and Visions": Elizabeth Bishop
Available at http://www.learner.org/resources/series57.html?pop=yes&pid=590#
(Requires free registration.)
Final draft of Paper #1 (research paper on assigned topic) due, in MLA format, minimum 1200 words (maximum 2000 words), typed, plus bibliography
Distribute "April Inventory" handouts
 
Wed
2/4
Elizabeth Bishop poems Bishop 3-5, 14-15, 28-31, 127-28, 133-35, 178, 192.
Fri
2/6
Discuss narrative and imagery in "The Fish" Bishop 42-44.
Mon
2/9
Close verbal analysis--II
"April Inventory"
Distribute "Araby" criticism
Study handouts.
Wed
2/11
"Araby"
Critical theory and inductive arguments
Study the Margot Peters article carefully.
Fri
2/13
"Araby" Joyce 20-26.  (Bring Dubliners and MLA Handbook.)
Mon
2/16
"Araby"
"Araby" criticism
Joyce 20-26; 261-83.  (Bring Dubliners and MLA Handbook.)
Wed
2/18
In-class workshop on research papers
Distribute "Minor Heroism" handout
 
Fri
2/20
Point of view
Freytag's pyramid
Criticism and narratives
Last day to drop a course with the grade of "W."
 
Mon
2/23
Discuss narrative technique in "Minor Heroism" Study "Minor Heroism" handout.
Wed
2/25
In-class writing exercise
Last day to submit optional preliminary draft of Paper #2
 
Fri
2/27
Discussion of poetry  
Mon
3/2
"The Dead" Joyce 151-94.
Wed
3/4
"The Dead"
Criticism on "The Dead"
Joyce 151-94; 342-64.
Fri
3/6
Overview of literary studies
Distribute handouts on line-by-line editing
 
Mon
3/9
Discuss line-by-line editing Study line-by-line editing handouts and do editing exercise before coming to class.
Wed
3/11
Final draft of Paper #2 (research paper incorporating independent critical analysis) due, in MLA format, 1200 word minimum (2000 word maximum), typed, plus bibliography.  
Fri
3/13
Question-answer review for final exam
Course evaluations
 
Wed
3/18
Final exam,  8:30-10:30 AM
(NOTE THE TIME!)
 
Evaluation Participation and attendance    5%  
Completion of preliminary draft, on time, long enough, with parenthetical citations and bibliography    5%  
Exercises and quizzes  20%  
Paper #1  25%  
Paper #2  25%  
Final exam  20%  
Attendance
Your attendance grade will be based on the following scale: 0-1 absence, A for attendance; 2 absences, B for attendance; 3 absences, C for attendance; 4 absences, D for attendance; 5 absences, F for the entire course.  There are no routine "excused absences" in this course other than the two absences allowed before the attendance grade begins to drop.  Each set of two tardy arrivals will count as an additional absence.  If you do not like this attendance policy, you may design any attendance policy you wish, but you must submit your attendance policy for my approval by the end of the first week of classes.  If you tend to miss class or frequently arrive late, you may prefer to waive this 5% credit.  You must do so during the first week of class, and then these points will be distributed across other requirements.  After the first week of class, please do not give me any excuses for absences unless you provide documentation such as a subpoena for a court appearance or a funeral notice for a family member with documentation to show your relationship to the deceased.  Finally, note that I carefully correct the attendance record at the end of each class period to mark tardy students present, but it is your responsibility to tell me that you arrived during the class period.  I will not retroactively correct the attendance record later.
Computing Course Grades
Course grades are computed by multiplying weighted percentages times the numerical value of letter grades, using the following equivalents: A = 4.0,  A- = 3.8,  B+ = 3.2, and so on.
Note for ILA majors: Students planning to apply for admission to WSU’s Graduate Licensure Teacher Preparation Program (GLTPP) must earn a grade of C or better in this course or re-take the class until a grade of at least a C has been earned.  This is a requirement for admission into the graduate licensure program. 
Credit for Preliminary Draft of Paper #1
The grade for turning in a preliminary draft is either A or F.  To earn the "A" credit for turning in a preliminary draft, your paper must be handed in on time at the beginning of the hour on the due date; it must meet the minimum length requirement; and it must contain complete parenthetical citations and a complete list of works cited.  If it fails to meet any of these requirements (by being, for example, only a few minutes late or only a few words short of the minimum length), it will receive a grade of F.  This deadline policy is designed to reward students merely for meeting basic obligations and to enable me to conduct prompt evaluations.  Once deadlines and minimum criteria have been established, they must be enforced consistently.  If you prefer to waive this 5% credit, you may do so during the first week of class, and these points will be distributed across other requirements at that time.
"Writing Intensive" Component Grades
Two grades are submitted for this course: a grade for the course itself, and a grade for the "writing intensive" component.  The writing intensive grade is "pass" or "fail," and you must attain a C or better in the course in order to receive a "pass" for this component.
Assistance on Papers
I am happy to meet with you individually for assistance, but administrative work may force me to miss office hours occasionally.  Making an appointment a day ahead of time is always advisable.
Course Materials on Reserve
To facilitate your library research, a fairly extensive body of secondary source material dealing with "Araby" has been placed on reserve in Paul Lawrence Dunbar Library.  To find this material, click "Course Reserves" on the library's home page and look up the course.  Use the password "ENG301" to access the documents.  Note: inclusion among the course reserves does not constitute an endorsement of the material.  Some of it, in fact, has been chosen because it is very poor and thus deserves to be challenged.  Further, you should not regard browsing among course reserves as completing your research!  These articles are on reserve simply to ensure that a minimum body of critical material will be available to all.
CLASS POLICIES
1.  Papers, at-home exercises, etc. are due at the beginning of the class period on the due dates indicated above.  I will evaluate preliminary drafts submitted after the deadline, but no "preliminary draft credit" will be given for them.  Late exercises will receive no credit, so if you must miss class on a due date, be sure to fax me or e-mail me a copy of your exercise.  (See Class Policy #9, below.)  Late final drafts of the paper will be subject to the following reductions: For papers handed in after the beginning of class but before 4:30 PM, a 5-point reduction (on a scale of 100).  For each day or portion of a day starting at 4:30 PM on the due date, the penalty will be 10 points per day.
2.  Papers shorter than the assigned minimum length will receive grade reductions of 5 points for each unit of 100 words by which they fall short..  Please do not try to evade the length requirement by fooling around with large fonts and margins.  A page using proper MLA format should have 1" margins on all sides, 1/3" line spacing, 27 lines to the page (unless over-ridden by widow and orphan control), plus a page header.  Properly formatted MLA templates are available at 
<http://www.wright.edu/~martin.maner/rptemp.htm>.
3.  I will not give a make-up final examination unless arrangements have been made before the regularly scheduled examination has been given.
4.  Assistance on written work should be limited to the instructor, library reference personnel, and Writing Center personnel.  Automatic penalty for any form of plagiarism (defined as passing off the work of someone else as if it were your own): F for the course, written notification of the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and the English Department Chair.  Your papers for this course must be exclusively your own and exclusively for this course.  You may not submit a previously submitted paper, nor a paper simultaneously submitted for another course.  The code of academic conduct at Wright State may be reviewed at http://www.wright.edu/students/judicial/integrity.html.
5.  I normally do not grant "I" grades, since they usually cause more problems than they solve.  If you miss an assignment, your grade will be computed on the basis of the work you completed, with the missing assignment counted as a zero.
6.  Please do not ask me what you missed.  You are responsible for making arrangements with a classmate to supply you with information about classes you missed.  If questions remain, see me.
7.  Mid-course changes in the syllabus (assignments, readings, grading policies) are sometimes necessary, though I will always try to provide sufficient advance notice of such changes.
8.  My office is 441 Millett, telephone 775-2639.  You may leave messages for me with the department secretaries at 775-3136.  Another convenient way to have individual conferences is via e-mail.  My e-mail address is listed at the top of the syllabus.  I check my account daily.  Note, too, that this syllabus is posted on the Web at <http://www.wright.edu/cola/Dept/eng/maner/index.html>.
9.  Sending a fax copy to meet a deadline is acceptable. The departmental fax number is 775-2707.  However, it is your responsibility to follow up the fax transmission by calling 775-3136 to confirm that the fax copy was received.  You should always "chase" a fax copy with a regular printed copy as soon as possible, since fax copies are flimsy and often only semi-legible.
10.  Since the early weeks of the course are focused mainly on getting started in library research, you will have accumulated only a few percentage points of graded credit by the time the last drop date arrives. Probably the best way to estimate your likely performance in this course is to ask yourself the following questions:  a) Have I spent at least 8 to 12 hours of well directed work for this course during the opening weeks?  b) Have I become familiar with the essential research tools such as bibliographies, indexes, online resources, and library catalogs?  c) Has a diagnostic quiz over English skills indicated that my grade is likely to be limited to C or lower?  (Diagnostics are available on request.)
11. Wright State University now requires you to check your e-mail regularly.  I may use your WSU e-mail account (not your AOL account or some other e-mail account) for last-minute announcements, changes in schedule, etc.
Resources
Online Research Tutorial (in two parts): 
http://www.wright.edu/~martin.maner/eval01.htm (Finding and Evaluating Sources) 
http://www.wright.edu/~martin.maner/act06.htm (Gathering Information Online)
Guide to Essential Tools for Research in English Literature:
http://www.wright.edu/~martin.maner/essential_tools.htm
Using Search Engines to Find Web Resources:
http://www.wright.edu/~martin.maner/search_engines.htm
Online Resources for Research Writers:
http://www.wright.edu/~martin.maner/eng344.htm
Links to Resources in Literature and the Humanities:
http://www.wright.edu/cola/Dept/eng/scholarly_general.html
E-Mail Links:
         Martin Maner
         Erica Clay (Humanities Reference Librarian)