Welcome to English 2120-004 

Introduction to Fiction: Finding the Fantastic

MW 12:50-2:40pm 

Classroom 323 State Hall

7 January - 30 April 2013 (Winter 2013)

Course Wiki: http://introtofictionw13.pbworks.com

Instructor: Abigail Heiniger 

Office: Maccabees Building 10304.04 (5057 Woodward)

Office Hours: Monday-Wednesday 12:00-12:30pm or by appointment

Contact information:

     e-mail: ed1911@wayne.edu 

The outer door to the 10304 suit is locked and I may not hear you if you knock. Please e-mail ahead to schedule meetings, even during office hours. The office does not have a phone. 

 

Welcome to English 2120-004  Introduction to Fiction: Finding the Fantastic Syllabus General Education Designation Course Description Section Description Learning Objectives Texts and Supplies Assignments Exams Daily Reading Responses Final Paper Grading Papers Late Work Attendance Sharing Student Work Media Policy Academic Dishonesty  Incomplete Policy The Writing Center Technology Services The Office of Educational Accessibility Services Syllabus Contract Disclaimer

 

 

Syllabus

 

General Education Designation

With a grade of C or better, ENG 2120 fulfills an IC General Education graduation requirement. 

Prereq: grade of C or better in ENG 1020 or equivalent.

 

• Last day to ADD course is 12 January 2012 (students must attend either the 7 January OR 9 January class to remain in the course). 
• Last day to WITHDRAW from course is 23 March 2012.

 

Lit & Writing Gen. Syllabus.DOC - General Syllabus for all WSU English Literature courses.

 

Course Description

Building upon students’ diverse skills, English 2120 prepares students for critical reading, and writing about literature in college classes. The main goals of the course are (1) to introduce students to the four main genres of modern fiction: poetry, drama, the novel, and the short story; (2) to have students engage in the close reading of fiction; and (3) to teach students to articulate their analysis of fiction through writing.

 

To achieve these goals, the course places considerable emphasis upon the relationship between reading and writing. Literary analysis and close reading skills will be practiced individually in daily responses, discussed in class weekly, and utilized in a final paper. 

 

This course also attempts to contextualize and connect works of fiction. Exams will be designed to evaluate students' abilities to make these connections as well as assess basic comprehension of the materials.

 

Section Description

More specifically, our class will take up the above objectives on three levels:

1) We will engage the critical and theoretical aspects of fiction in four group projects in which students will introduce a genre to the class.

2) The pragmatic process of close reading and literary analysis (how to write about fiction) will be accomplished through the final paper and through daily responses to specific reading questions. 

• The questions and responses will be discussed in class along with techniques for close reading and literary analysis. As a college-level course, it is expected that students will adhere to the mechanics of composition (grammar, sentence structure, arrangement, etc.).
• The final paper will utilize the close reading and literary analysis skill that students learn throughout the year. It will also have a research element - students will be expected to consult three or more scholarly secondary sources for their final paper (which will be revised and edited during the course of the semester). 

3) Finally, overarching comprehension of material will be measured in three exams throughout the course of the semester. 

 

The bulk of your final grades will be based on the group project, daily responses, the three exams, and the final paper.

 

Learning Objectives

There are three primary learning objectives for this course:

• to introduce students to the four main genres of fiction: poetry, drama, the novel, and the short story
• to teach students to engage in close reading and literary analysis
• to teach students to articulate literary analysis through writing

 

 

Texts and Supplies

Required: Bram Stoker Dracula Norton Critical Edition ISBN 0393970124

Required: Maria Tatar The Classic Fairy Tales ISBN 9780393972771

Required: William Shakespeare The Tempest Folger's Library ISBN 0743482832 

Required: Harry Potter and the Socerer's Stone (film; Chris Columbus, dir.)

Required: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings (film; Peter Jackson, dir.)

Required: Copies of short fiction included on wiki 

Required: A Wayne State e-mail address you check regularly

Required: Introduction to Fiction 2120 wiki account

 

All required texts are available at Barnes & Nobles Bookstore on campus. 

 

Assignments

• Daily Responses (due before class - worth 150 pts)
• Exam I (2/4 - 150 pts)
• Exam II (3/20 - 200 pts)
• Exam III (4/22 - 200 pts) 
• Final Paper - (4/24 - 200pts) 
• Group Project (individually determined - 100pts)

 

Percentage of Total Grade: 

• Daily Responses and Class Participation - 15% of total grade
• Final Paper - 20% of total grade 
• Exams - 55% of total grade
• Group Project - 10% of total grade 

 

All written work is to adhere to MLA guidelines (available online through the WSU Writing Center and in ).

 

All Assignments and Due Dates listed on the Assignments page of the class wiki. 

 

Exams

The majority of the final grade depends upon the three exams and the final comprehensive exam. Attendance on exam dates is mandatory; exams cannot be made up except in the case of a university-accepted excused absence.

 

Daily Reading Responses

Reading responses are worth 15% of the final grade. Responses are due at 12:00pm before every class; they are to be posted on the class wiki on the READING RESPONSE page. These papers should respond to the question posted for the reading that day. Reading response will only receive half-credit on days that students do not also attend class. 

 

Final Paper

For the final paper, students will do a close reading of a long work of fiction from the Final Paper Texts (comparable texts may be used with the approval of the instructor). Students must develop a thesis guide their analysis and close reading. This thesis will also be supported with research from at least three scholarly sources. Students will work on and revise this paper throughout the year. Specific guidelines and due dates can be found on Assignments and the Final Paper Guidelines pages (on the course wiki).  

 

Grading Papers

 

 

Letter Grades (based on percentages):

A = 100-93; A- = 92-90; B+ = 89-88; B = 87-83; B- = 82-80; C+ = 79-78; C = 77-73; C- = 72-70; D+ = 69-68; D = 67-63; D- = 62=60; F = 59 (and lower)

Although some questions on exams are simply objective, the general rubric for written responses and for the final paper in our course is as follows:

 

The "A" Paper

 

• The "A" paper has an excellent sense of purpose. Its aim is clear and consistent throughout the paper. It attends to the needs of its audience and the topic itself is effectively narrowed and clearly defined.
• The content is appropriately developed for the assignment and the text it is analyzing. The supporting details or evidence are convincingly presented. The reasoning is valid and shows an awareness of the complexities of the subject. If secondary sources are used, they are appropriately selected and cited.
• The organization demonstrates a clear and effective strategy. The introduction establishes the writer's credibility and the conclusion effectively completes the essay: paragraphs are coherent, developed, and show effective structural principles.
• The expression is very clear, accessible, concrete. It displays ease with idiom and a broad range of diction. It shows facility with a great variety of sentence options and the punctuation and subordinate structures that these require. It has few errors, none of which seriously undermines the effectiveness of the paper for educated readers.

 

The "B" Paper

• The "B" paper has a good sense of purpose. It shows awareness of purpose and focuses on a clearly defined topic.
• The content is well developed and the reasoning usually valid and convincing. Evidence and supporting details are adequate.
• The organization is clear and easy to follow: the introduction and conclusion are effective, and transitions within and between paragraphs are finessed reasonably well.
• The paper has few errors, especially serious sentence errors. Sentences show some variety in length, structure, and complexity. Punctuation, grammar, and spelling conform to the conventions of edited Standard American English.

 

The "C" Paper

• The "C" paper has an adequate sense of purpose. Its purpose is clear and it is focused on an appropriate central idea. The topic and analysis may be unoriginal, but the assignment has been followed, if not fulfilled.
• The content is adequately developed. The major points are supported, and paragraphs are appropriately divided, with enough specific details to make the ideas clear. The reasoning is valid.
• The organization is clear and fairly easy to follow. The introduction and conclusion are adequate; transitions are mechanical but appropriate.
• The expression is generally correct, although it shows little competence with sentence variety (in length and structure) and emphasis. The paper is generally free of major sentence and grammar errors and indicates mastery of most conventions of edited Standard American English.

 

The "D" Paper

• The "D" paper has a limited sense of purpose. Its purpose may not be clear, its topic may not be interesting to or appropriate for its audience.
• The content is inadequately developed. The evidence is insufficient, and supporting details or examples are absent or irrelevant.
• Organization is deficient. Introductions or conclusions are not clearly marked or functional. Paragraphs are not coherently developed or linked to each other. The arrangement of material within paragraphs may be confusing.
• Expression demonstrates an awareness of a very limited range of stylistic options. It is marred by numerous errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation that detract from a reader’s comprehension of the text.

 

The "F" Paper

• There is no sense of purpose or of the objectives of the assignment as described in the syllabus.
• The content is insufficiently developed and does not go beyond the obvious. The reasoning is deeply flawed.
• The organization is very difficult to follow. Sentences may not be appropriately grouped into paragraphs, or paragraphs may not be arranged logically. Transitions are not present or are inappropriate.
• The number and seriousness of errors—in grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.—significantly obstruct comprehension.

 

This course uses the official WSU rubric set up on Blackboard. 

 

Late Work

I do not accept late work - for your writing to receive credit it must be posted in the appropriate space by the deadline, otherwise I will comment on it, but it will not receive credit. 

 

Attendance

As this is a discussion and workshop-driven class, attendance of all participants is particularly important. In accordance with English department attendance policies, enrolled students in this class must attend one of the first two class sessions; otherwise, they may be required to drop the class. Daily reading responses will only receive half-credit on days that students do not attend class. Attendance on exams dates is mandatory; exams cannot be made up except in the case of university-accepted excuse.

 

Sharing Student Work

English 2120 is a collaborative course, as such we will be sharing our writing throughout the semester as a means to helping each other become better writers and thinkers.  To better facilitate this process, I will be using selections of your work  during class as examples.  If you would prefer that I not use your work, please let me know by the end of the first week of the semester.

 

Media Policy

I encourage you to use your laptops, computers and Internet connections to search out information relevant to class during class. However, browsing unrelated to the class (as well as other media use - texting, IMing, etc.) will be grounds for expulsion from the course.

 

Since this is a course that allows students to begin exploring their future academic disciplines and professions, I expect professional behavior in the classroom. Please do not allow cell phones or other electronic devices to interrupt class. Please refrain from texting. Repeated interruptions will be held accountable as one unexcused absence.

 

Academic Dishonesty 

Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of ideas and information from sources without proper citation and documentation (e.g., copying from texts or pasting from websites without quoting, and not providing a complete list of Works Cited).

 

The English Department adheres to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences policy on plagiarism. Instructors are required to report all instances of plagiarism to the Department of English. According to the WSU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences policy on plagiarism, instructors may give a failing grade on the assignment or for the course.

 

In English 2120-004, the first instance of plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the entire assignment. Any subsequent infringements will result in a failure of the course. 

 

To prevent and detect plagiarism in this course, all major assignments will be submitted to SafeAssign on Blackboard.

See the Policy on Academic Dishonesty (linked on the syllabus wiki page) for more information.

 

Incomplete Policy

As detailed in the WSU Undergraduate Bulletin (linked on the syllabus wiki page), the mark of “I” (Incomplete) is given to a student when he/she has not completed all of the course work as planned for the term and when there is, in the judgment of the instructor, a reasonable probability that the student can complete the course successfully without again attending regular class sessions. The student should be passing at the time the grade of ‘I’ is given. A written contract specifying the work to be completed should be signed by the student and instructor. Responsibility for completing all course work rests with the student.

 

I generally do not allow “Incompletes,” it is the responsibility of students to complete all work in a timely fashion; failure to do so will be reflected in the student’s grade unless that student withdraws from the course. Exceptions to this policy are rare and will be decided on a case-by-case basis. If you decide to leave the course, be sure to withdraw within the allotted time. Failure to do so will demand a failing grade at the semester’s end.

 

The Writing Center

The Writing Center (2nd floor, UGL) provides tutoring consultations free of charge for students at Wayne State University. Undergraduate students in General Education courses, including composition courses, receive priority for tutoring appointments. The Writing Center serves as a resource for writers, providing tutoring sessions on the range of activities in the writing process – considering the audience, analyzing the assignment or genre, brainstorming, researching, writing drafts, revising, editing, and preparing documentation. The Writing Center is not an editing or proofreading service; rather students are guided as they engage collaboratively in the process of academic writing, from developing an idea to correctly citing sources. To make an appointment, consult the Writing Center website. To submit material for online tutoring, consult the Writing Center HOOT (Hypertext One-on-One Tutoring) website.

 

 

Technology Services

This course is heavily technology and web based.  Much of the course content will be covered on this wiki and all of your work will be submitted through your Wordpress blog or via "Safe Assign" on Blackboard.  As such, competency and comfort with these technologies is absolutely vital to success in this course.  If you need help with this, ask for it.  You can also utilize the Student Technology Studio located next to the Writing Center on the second floor of the Undergraduate Library.

 

The Office of Educational Accessibility Services

If you feel that you may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability, please feel free to contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. Additionally, the Office of Educational Accessibility Services (EAS) coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. The Office is located in 1600 David Adamany Undergraduate Library, phone: 313-577-1851/577-3335 (TTD).

 

Syllabus Contract

After reading this syllabus, please go to the Syllabus Contract Page.  If you agree to the terms and conditions of this syllabus, print out and sign the text from the Syllabus Contract Page and bring it into class on Wednesday, January 9, 2013.

 

Disclaimer

The instructor reserves the right to revise the syllabus and assignments during the course of the semester. 

 

Revised 7 January 2013

Heiniger English 2120-004 W13 rev 7 Jan.pdf  (this includes list of readings and English Department policies)