Instructor: Dana Andrews
Section 1 @ 8am—8:50am MWF, Sect. 2 @
9am—9:50am MWF, Sect. 8 @ 11am—11:50 am MWF
Office:
Office Hours: MWF 10à10:50 and MW
12à12:50 p.m. and Tues: 1à1:50 p.m. (and by appointment on any day)
Email: dandrews1@missouriwestern.edu
Required Texts: The Bedford Introduction to Literature, 8th ed., edited by Michael Meyer
“The Green Pages” from the New St. Martin’s Handbook—MLA
Style and Format—on Reserve at Library
Other
requirements: A working diskette, CDR, or Flashdrive/USB (no excuses like,
“I couldn’t print from my disk.”)
A good college dictionary
(use it while reading), a good attitude & an open mind
COURSE OBJECTIVE: I want your writing skills to improve significantly by the end of the
semester. We’ll achieve that
in various ways, but everything we do will be geared toward writing a major,
solid-to-excellent research paper.
The Papers:
Each paper will be approximately 2-4 pages in length, except for the RESEARCH
PAPER, which will be 10 pages. You’ll learn to develop an original thesis
on an assigned topic, support your argument with examples from the text AND
from outside sources, then build to a strong conclusion. The papers must be typed in essay format
according to MLA Style and guidelines.
First Drafts, PLUS Peer-Editing suggestions, AND the Final Draft, are
ALL DUE on $$$ Final Draft due
dates.
Films: We
will view a few films during the semester.
If you miss class and aren’t able to see one of our films in its
entirety, it’s your responsibility to rent (DO NOT BUY) the film or
arrange for a loan through me.
Please don’t pass my film along to your classmates. If I let you have my film, then
it’s your responsibility to return it to me.
Participation:
We’ll concentrate mostly on writing, less on reading/viewing, but please
come to class prepared (i.e., reading assignments read for discussion for that
day and/or essays typed, pages numbered and stapled and ready to hand in on due
dates). It’s important to be
here on Peer-Edit days. If you’re absent on any Peer-Edit
day, then you may lose a full letter grade in Peer Editing. Being absent on that day will also
affect your Participation grade.
Peer Editing:
We’ll think of writing as a collaborative process. You’ll be required to revise,
revise, revise. You’ll learn
to edit your work and the work of your classmates. You must come to class with a TYPED copy of all your essays, first drafts, outlines,
etc. If you come to class
without a copy of your work, OR if it’s hand written, you’ll be
unable to participate in the process—this means that you’ll be
marked absent in Participation AND Peer Editing for that day—and I will ask you to leave.
Attendance policy: In order to improve student learning and to achieve
compliance with federal financial aid policies, Western has a mandatory
attendance policy for all 100 and 200 level courses. A student will be given an excused absence when acting as an
official representative of the university, provided the student gives prior
written verification from the faculty/staff supervisor of the event; however, there
are no other excused absences, exceptions or “makeups” for this
attendance require-ment. Furthermore,
the maximum number of absences allowed before the
midterm report, October 18, for this class is five (5). Thus, when
you have six (6) before October 18th, you will be reported to the
Registrar’s Office, who will automatically withdraw you from this
class. The Financial Aid Office
will reduce financial aid as appropriate.
Please note that I have my
own attendance policy for the rest of the semester—beyond the midterm
report. If your sixth (6th)
absence comes at any time, your overall grade will be deducted 10%. Upon a seventh (7th) absence,
your grade will be reduced an additional 10%. Eight (OR MORE) absences for the
semester results in failure of the class. If you know of any circumstances likely
to make this policy difficult for you this semester, you may wish to consult
with your advisor to review your options.
If you miss a class session, you are responsible for all material
covered and assignments given during your absence.
Quizzes:
We’ll have unannounced quizzes on the readings and the films at various
times throughout the semester.
Final Exam: You must take the Final Exam in order to
pass the course. It will be written
in class.
REALITIES: Cell Phones should be completely turned off BEFORE you walk through the door. This means that they should not be on
vibrate or silent. They should be
OFF. NO TEXT MESSAGING ONCE YOU
ENTER THE CLASSROOM. NO MP3
PLAYERS OR OTHER MUSIC—NO HEADPHONES/EARPHONES—ONCE YOU WALK IN THE
DOOR.
Make up work:
Athletes and other performers, it’s your responsibility to arrange for
work to be turned in early if
you’re going to miss class because of school sanctioned
travel. Such travel must be
documented by faculty or staff and turned in to me at least two class periods
before the event. I don’t accept late work. Meet your deadlines.
Other Realities & Plagiarism: All course work must be completed to pass this
class. Academic
dishonesty—plagiarism, copying or presenting another’s work as your
own, etc.—will not be tolerated and will result in failure of the
course. OVER
Students with Special Needs: If you are in need of test-taking, note-taking, or
other accommodation, help is available through the Disability Services Coordinator,
Michael R. Ritter, at 271-4330.
GRADING: Quizzes 10%; Participation 5%; Peer Editing 5%; 2
Intro Paragraphs with Thesis Statements and outlines 10% each (20% total); 3
Papers worth 10% each (30% total); Research Paper 20%; Final Exam 10%
Class Calendar:
Take note that the calendar is tentative
and could change. Revisions
distributed as needed. BIL=
Week 1 Monday,
Aug. 27th Wednesday,
Aug. 29th Friday,
Aug. 31st Introduction
to Course/Syllabus BIL pp.13-16 “Reading
Fiction” BIL, pp. 2079-2102 and 2113-2130
& pp.47-50 “Writing About Fiction” (sample Intro&Outline)
Week 2
Monday, Sept. 3rd
Wed.,
5th Friday,
7th ***
No Class BIL Faulkner, “A
Rose…”95-101 BIL, pp.2152-2166,(thesis statements
(topics) &
Intro para’s.)
Week 3 Monday,
10th *** Wed.,
12th $$$ Friday, 14th
***1st Draft of Intro ¶ & Th. St.
DUE Intro
para’s. Thesis & outlines DUE$$$ Tootsie
Week 4 Monday,
17th Wed.,
19th Friday,
21st
Tootsie, cont’d. BIL
Week 5 Monday,
24th Wed.,
26th *** Friday,
28th ***
GP Intro 1-29 &
pp.32-38 ***1st Draft Essay #1
DUE—Peer Edit ***2nd Draft Essay #1Due—Peer
Edit
Week 6 $$$ Monday, Oct. 1st
Wed.,
3rd Friday,
5th
$$$ Final Draft 1st Essay DUE Cool Hand Luke CHL,
cont’d. (distr. “Hands”)
Week 7 Monday,
8th Wed.,
10th Friday,
12th
Read Handout: “Hands” discussion “Hands,”
& Relationship to the Films (topics) No
Class
Week 8 Monday,
15th *** Wed.,
17th *** Friday,
19th $$$
***1st Draft Essay #2 DUE ***2nd Draft Essay #2 DUE $$$ Final Draft Essay #2 DUE (H&M)
Week 9 Monday,
22nd Wed.,
24th Friday,
26th
H&M, cont’d H&M,
cont’d. BIL, “Miss Brill” pp317-320
(topics)
Week 10 Monday,
29th Wed.,
31st *** Friday,
Nov. 2nd ***
BIL, “To His Coy
Mistress” pg. 843 ***1st draft essay #3 DUE 2nd draft of essay #3 DUE ***
Week 11 $$$ Monday,
Nov. 5th Wed.,
7th Friday,
9th
$$$Final Draft Essay #3 DUE BIL, Kincaid, “Girl,”
719-720 BIL, 339-345 & Carver,
“Popular Mech.”
Class Held in Library!!! (distr.
Tolstoy)
Week 12 Monday,
12th Wed., 14th Friday,
16th
Read: Tolstoy, discussion Bring ALL
GREEN PAGES TO CLASS BIL, Sophocles, Oedipus, 1423-1468
(
Week 13 Monday,
19th Wed.,
21st Friday,
23rd
Individual conferences for
Res. Paper
No Class
No Class
Week 14 Monday,
26th *** Wed.,
28th *** Friday,
30th ***
***Intro ¶. & Th. St. & Sources DUE
***1st FULL Draft of
Res. Paper DUE ***2nd Draft of Research Paper
DUE
Week 15 Monday,
Dec. 3rd $$$ Wed.,
5th $$$ Friday,
7th
$$$ FINAL DRAFT RES. PAPER DUE