GUIDELINES

ENGLISH 108 – WOMEN AND LITERATURE – FALL 2007

GUIDELINES FOR PAPERS AND RESPONSES

PAPERS

•All work for the course must be typed, except for assignments completed in class. All pages must be stapled together. On assignments other than papers, your name and the due date for the assignment should appear at the top of the first page.

•Back up your work on the computer on a regular basis or print out hard copies of your work for your safekeeping.

•You may exceed the maximum length for papers, if necessary, but you should not fall short of the minimum. I will suggest possible topics for papers, but I encourage you to come up with your own. You may find that your entries in your reading log open up questions or topics that you will want to explore further in your papers.

•FORMAT FOR PAPERS: Type the title, your name, the course title, and the date on a separate cover page. Do not retype any of this information (even the title) on the first page of your essay. Do not underline, italicize, or put quotation marks around the title of your paper. In the body of your essay, use 12-point font. Whatever typeface you choose has to be easily legible and should not draw attention to itself. Use 1" spacing on all sides. You may double space between lines as long as you end up with approximately 250-300 words/page. Otherwise, use 1.5 spacing between lines. Do not insert additional space between paragraphs. Proofread your work carefully. Number the pages and staple them together before submitting your work.

•Although I will not be able to read rough drafts, I will look at outlines (preferably, reverse outlines). You will have the option to revise your paper once I have returned it to you with a grade. (In some cases, revision will be a requirement, not an option.) Grades on the original and the revised versions will be averaged together. More weight will be given to the grade on the revised version if the revisions are especially extensive and effective.

•After the first paper, if your papers contain multiple spelling, punctuation, and/or grammatical errors, they will be returned ungraded and will be docked one-half letter grade per day of lateness until you have resubmitted them with the errors corrected.

•Students are expected to adhere to the Honor Code in all of their work for this course. Plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional, is a violation of the Honor Code and will be treated with the utmost seriousness. If you have any questions about how plagiarism is defined, review the relevant sections on pp.25-26 and pp.51-52 in your Student Handbook. Also, please note that work you completed for other courses, here or elsewhere, may not be submitted for credit in this course. See me if you want further clarification.

RESPONSES

Here are some possibilities for your 1-2pp. typed responses to the readings. Try different approaches and feel free to invent your own.

GROUNDRULES:
•Date all responses.
•Try different approaches.
•Type all responses.
•Bring your responses to class sessions marked (RR) on the syllabus. Please do not e-mail them to me unless I ask you to.
•Late responses will not be accepted.
•Keep all responses I return to you with my comments. You will need to resubmit them in a portfolio at end of term.
•Portfolios will be graded, not the separate responses.
•You may be required to revise, expand, or rewrite a response if the writing and/or substance need more attention.

APPROACHES :
1. From the reading for the day when your response is due, choose a passage or scene (probably no more than a page) that interests you for the way it articulates or dramatizes or implies something significant about “x” (for example, the narrator, a character, a theme, the setting, or a relationship between characters) in the text. Explain as best you can why you think the passage especially merits discussion. What is so intriguing, baffling, brilliant, amusing, or disturbing about it? Refer to specific details that you think we should notice.

2. Find some critical essays on the work we’re discussing. Select one that you think is particularly helpful or thought-provoking. Summarize the essence of the critic’s argument. (Be careful not to plagiarize.) Then, explain why you think it is especially valuable, why we should consider reading it ourselves. Be specific. Do your best to make sure that your sources are reputable. Submit a copy of the critical essay with your response.

3. Do some research on the author or on the country, culture, or historical events with which the work is concerned. Summarize or paraphrase the views and information from your secondary sources that you found useful. (Be careful not to plagiarize.) Then, explain how this material helped you to better understand the text. Be specific. Do your best to make sure that your sources are reputable. Try not to repeat information that has already been mentioned in class.

4. Create several substantive questions related to the reading for the day that you would like us to discuss in class. Explain why you think it is important to address these particular questions.

5. Write about connections you made between the reading for the day and your own personal experiences. Be specific.

6. Copy out a passage or scene from the reading for the day and try to imitate the writer’s style as best you can. (Include your imitation with your response.) Write about what you think you were able to imitate fairly well, and what you found inimitable.

7. After class, focus on a couple of points or unresolved questions from the discussion for the day that really interested you, or some connections you made between our current readings and works or discussions in other classes you’ve taken or with other books you’ve read on your own. Try to keep tying your remarks back into ideas or questions that came up in class.

8. Draw some connections that you find intriguing between two or more of the works we have read.

9. Watch a film based on one of these works or closely related to the events or culture with which the work is concerned. See what meaningful connections you can make between the film and the work you’re considering. Write them up.

10. Watch a relevant film or attend a relevant talk, performance, or exhibit. Write up a review of it.