ENGL 470 (WI): Assignments

1. Focus Questions (25% of grade): Each class period you will submit a brief TYPED set of focus questions. Your focus questions will consist of one paragraph about each assigned reading; each paragraph will culminate in your focus question about one reading. When more than one text is assigned, you will need a focus question for each assigned reading. If three texts are assigned on a given day, for instance, you will prepare three focus questions of about a paragraph each. The paragraph should provide an introduction to your question about the text that shows something of your own thinking. Your focus questions should refer specifically to the texts. They should demonstrate to me that you have read all the assigned reading for each class period.

Be sure put your name and the correct number on your Focus Questions when you hand them in. The number for each set of focus questions appears on the syllabus.

The primary purpose of this activity is to provide you an opportunity to articulate your thinking about the assigned readings before you come to class. Your questions will enhance our conversations about the literature and criticism we will be reading; they will insure that everyone is prepared to make substantive contributions to our dialogue in class; they will allow me to give you credit for your thoughtful reading of the assigned texts. At the end of each class period, I will collect your focus questions on the portion of the novel and critical essay assigned for that day’s class discussion. Keep in mind that your questions should demonstrate to me that you have read all the assigned texts carefully and thoughtfully. The more of the assigned texts you bring into your questions, the better. Consult the syllabus for the assigned readings for each set of focus questions. I do not accept late focus questions. If you are absent when a set of questions is due, you must submit the set the next time you attend class if you wish to receive credit for them.

Format: For each class period, prepare one substantive, analytic question for EACH of the assigned readings. Your question should explain something that you think we should discuss in order to get at a central issue or concern raised by the readings assigned for that day. Remember that your questions need to demonstrate that you have read all the assigned readings and have thought about them rigorously. Therefore, your question should begin with some explanation of your thinking based on the reading to provide a context within which you wish to ask your question. You will need to write a brief paragraph for each focus question on each assigned reading. Consult your syllabus before each class so that your focus questions deal with the assigned portion of the Morrison novel to be discussed that day as well with the assigned critical readings.

Assessment Criteria: I will assess focus questions according to how specifically they address the readings, how fully they do so, and how analytically they do so. In other words, I will ask myself whether the questions deal specifically with the texts, offering concrete, specific examples; whether they reflect that you read all of the assigned text or texts; and whether you have attempted some kind of analysis that goes beyond mere summary or "plot" description. You need not concern yourself with a single "right analysis," nor need you worry about a "wrong analysis." Any analytic insight that focuses on more than mere summary or surface detail is acceptable. I will grade each set of focus questions on a scale from 1-4, with 4 representing the highest level of achievement. I will grade missing questions as zero. No late questions accepted. To receive a grade of "A" on the focus questions, you must submit all focus questions by the due dates. See Course Description for policy on due dates and late work.

2. Mid-Term Essay (25% of grade): close analysis of one novel

Essay: The purpose of this essay is to explore your thinking about one Morrison novel, preferably the one about which you plan to writer your final essay. The essay will offer a close textual analysis of the novel in order to explain and demonstrate a central idea (thesis) that you have about the text. I will distribute a more specific assignment for this activity as we draw closer to the mid-term. The required length is 5-8 pages, including a works cited page, typed according to MLA format.

Revision: I require revisions of the mid-term and final essays. The purpose of revision is two-fold: to help each of you reach your full potential as a writer; to insure that everyone's writing continues to develop in its correctness, clarity, cohesion, and stylistic effectiveness. After you submit your mid-term essay, I will read it and make specific recommendations for revision. I will return your essay with my suggestions, and you will submit the revision on the due date.

Assessment: The final grade on the mid-term essay will take into account the quality of the draft of that essay, although the revision carries more weight than the original essay. Be advised that a hastily thrown together or poorly developed first submitted version of the essay will significantly lower the final grade.

Criteria for Evaluation of Essay:

Ø Clarity of the central thesis idea;

Ø Unity of the whole essay--how well it stays focused on the central thesis idea;

Ø Coherence and Cohesiveness--how clearly related each part is to the central thesis idea, how clearly related each part is to the whole, and how explicitly connected each part is through transitions;

Ø Use of evidence from the text--how specifically you demonstrate that your thesis idea makes sense in view of the whole novel;

Ø Comprehensive view of the text--how fully you take into consideration the whole novel;

Ø Style--how graceful, concise, and powerful is your writing;

Ø Correctness--how meticulous is grammar, spelling, mechanics, and MLA format.

3. Individual or Group Presentation (25% of Grade): report on an historical context

The purpose of this activity is to afford you the opportunity to research a specific historical context pertinent to the study of Morrison's fiction. I will provide a list of possible topics, and you may choose one that interests you. The groups will consist of 4 people. Your presentations will serve two other important purposes. They will allow you to look at an historical context and begin thinking about how to read Morrison's novels in view of that context. They will also allow you to teach others in the class what you have learned so that together we will create a rich body of historical knowledge that will enrich our understanding of Morrison's work. Your own presentation, and those of other class members, will help prepare you for your final essay in which you will do a contextual interpretation of one of Morrison's novels. I will provide a more specific set of guidelines on the requirements and assessment criteria for these presentations as the course progresses.

See link to Individual or Group Presentation for a fuller explanation of this assignment and a list of historical topics.

4. Final Essay (25% of Grade): interpreting one novel using scholarship and criticism

For examples of students essays, click on these links:

Elissa Frantz on The Bluest Eye

Kaisha Williams on The Bluest Eye

Jenny Brown on The Bluest Eye

Stephanie Saunders on The Bluest Eye

Essay: The purpose of this essay is to explore your thinking about one of Toni Morrison's novels in view of the contexts within which we have studied her all semester. It must incorporate some scholarly or critical reading materials such as the articles we've been reading all semester. You may also use Morrison's own essays and interviews about her fiction as well as the literary critics we've been reading along with the novels. You may wish to do some additional research on the historical contexts which we have learned about from the group presentations and from the contextualizing handouts that I have provided for each novel.

Your essay ideally will examine the same novel you analyzed for your midterm essay. It will allow you to place that novel within a rich scholarly and critical context for interpretation. The required length is 8-10 pages, including a works cited page, typed according to MLA format. The essay must use several sources (5-8 or so) in addition to the Morrison novels you analyze. Your sources may come from any of the readings we have been doing all semester. In addition, you will probably need to read a few more articles or chapters of books to flesh out your research.

Revision: As with the mid-term essay, I require revisions so that you can work more effectively to achieve your full potential as a writer. See "Revisions" above.

Assessment: The grade on the final essay and activity will take into account the quality of the original essay you submit for the final activity; the clarity, coherence, and organization of your final oral presentation; and the quality of the revised essay. The revision carries more weight than the original essay, but a hastily thrown together or poorly developed original essay will significantly lower the final grade.

Criteria for Evaluation of Essay:

Ø Clarity of the thesis idea and the thinking throughout the essay;

Ø Use of specific evidence from each text to explain and support the thesis idea;

Ø Use of some literary criticism on the novel or Morrison's fiction (either those assigned in class or others you've read through your own research if you wish);

Ø Use of some historical information pertinent to your reading of the novel;

Ø Unity and coherence of the essay: the thesis idea remains in focus throughout, no unrelated materials disrupt the flow of thought, paragraphs are unified around controlling central idea, parts of the essay follow in a logical order and are linked by effective transitions;

Ø Style: the writing itself is clear, graceful, and powerful;

Ø Correctness: grammar and usage are correct; MLA format is correct.