English 102 – Literature and Composition (3 cr.)

                                   

                       

                                                            Course Prerequisite:  Grade of C or better in ENG 101

                                                            Item #3151

 

Instructor:  Christine Ruggiero

Office:  Snow, 520; Office Phone: 343-5878

Office Hours:  To Be Announced

 

E-mail:  Through WebCT; ONLY when system is down:  cruggi@comcast.net

Mailbox:  Founders                              

 

Required Texts: Literature and the Writing Process (8th edition); Dictionary; Writer’s Handbook (if you do not have a writer’s reference guide, a handbook for correcting errors is included in the text, see 1147).  Any handbook will do; you will refer to the handbook for questions about the mechanics of writing as well as for MLA documentation/citation guidelines.

 

Course Description: 

Students will learn how to develop valid interpretations of literature through careful, thoughtful reading of fiction, poetry, and drama.  They will be introduced to literary terminology and the standard critical approaches to understanding written works.  They will learn how to use source materials and how to clearly express their views about literature in expository writing, including essays with formal research documentation. 

 

General Course Objectives: 

Students will learn fundamental elements of poetry, drama, fiction, and the literary essay; they will learn fundamentals of literary criticism as a means of approaching literary texts; they will learn how to incorporate both source materials and their own ideas in properly documented essays.  Overall, they will increase their appreciation of literature, their skill in reading it, and their ability to convey ideas about it. 

 

Specific Objectives of Instructional Unit:  (The specific objectives reflect the behavioral outcomes, which include what the student will be able to do at the completion of the unit.  Evaluation is then to be based on the student's accomplishment of these objectives.)

 

Reading matter

The student will:            

§         read works of recognized merit in poetry, drama, fiction and the essay, the readings to be drawn from a variety of historical eras

§         read works of literary criticism—both primary and secondary sources

 

Discovery

The student will:

  • learn about the historical, social, cultural, and creative contexts that influence the writing of literature from period to period
  • learn about the relationship between the literature and the lives of the writers

 

Analysis

The student will:

  • learn to interpret literature on the basis of textual evidence
  • learn to recognize and understand the value of standard literary elements and devices within literary works
  • learn to recognize conventional themes within and among literary works
  • learn to distinguish between generally-held and private interpretations, and to accept that there may be more than one valid interpretation of a given work
  • learn about evaluating literature by means of various strategies of literary criticism

 

Writing

The student will:

  • write formal documented essays combining personal analysis with professional analysis gathered from critical texts
  • write examinations in acceptable prose, demonstrating a grasp of the elements listed above

 

Policies

 

Students with Disabilities:  "Students with physical or learning disabilities who may require accommodations are encouraged to contact the Counseling Office.  After disclosing the nature of the disability, students are urged to discuss their needs with individual instructors.  This should be done at the beginning of each semester.  Instructors, in conjunction with appropriate college officials, will provide assistance and/or accommodations only to those students who have completed this process."

           

Plagiarism and Academic Honesty:  "At Middlesex Community College we expect the highest standard of academic honesty.  Academic dishonesty is prohibited in accordance with the Board of Trustees' Proscribed Conduct Policy in Section 5.2.1 of the Board of Trustees' Policy Manual.  This policy prohibits cheating on examinations, unauthorized collaboration on assignments, unauthorized access to examinations or course materials, plagiarism, and other proscribed activities.  Plagiarism is defined as the use of another's idea(s) or phrase(s) and representing that/those idea(s) as your own, either intentionally or unintentionally." (Board of Trustees' Policy 5.2.1).  My Note on Academic Integrity:  The use of an outside source, including electronic sources, in any paper, report or submission for academic credit without appropriate acknowledgement is plagiarism.  It is unethical to present as one's own work the ideas, words or representations of another, without properly identifying the source.  Therefore, it is the student's responsibility to give credit for any quotation, idea or data borrowed from an outside source.

 

Course Requirements:

 

  • Be adept at using a computer and navigating WebCT—COMPLETE ONLINE OR ON CAMPUS TUTORIAL ORIENTATION

 

  • Write two short essays (2 pages each), and two longer essays (4 pages each), which must include synthesis of source material and proper MLA documentation and citations.  All essays must fulfill specific guidelines that will be outlined for each poetry, fiction, and drama essay assignment.  

 

  • Use only Times New Roman, font 12 or Arial, font 10 or 12; and do not submit papers that are more than double-spaced. 

 

  • Provide an organized response to essay topics.  Develop ideas and generally signal relationships within and between paragraphs.  Use vocabulary that is appropriate for the essay topic and that avoids over-simplification and distortions. 

 

  • Write in Standard English; with few exceptions, sentences should be grammatically and mechanically correct. 

 

  • Late papers will be accepted only under extenuating circumstances.  You must get my approval for an extension.  Seek me out prior to when a paper is due.  If you are having difficulty, I can’t help you if I don’t know your concerns.  A five point penalty will apply for every day a paper is late.  In the event of a documented emergency, the penalty will not apply.   

 

  • Paraphrase, use direct quotes, properly citing and documenting where appropriate, in MLA format.  All papers must include a Works Cited page.

 

  • Gather secondary sources and synthesize these with primary material, properly citing and documenting (MLA style).

 

  • Submit reader responses for specified readings.  Late Reader Responses will NOT be accepted, so do not ask me for an extension on responses.  Comments within responses should not focus on whether you liked what you read.  Rather, concentrate on analyzing, interpreting, and commenting on themes of a text or a block of readings.  Prompts will be provided and specific directions given for each reader response assignment.

 

  • Fulfill discussion postings requirements each week.  Topics will be provided and guidelines made clear. Discussion topics will be locked after a certain deadline.  Deadlines will be set with each topic. You must respond to each topic and then to at least one classmate’s response in order to get credit for discussion. 

 

  • Complete all work assigned, including postings, readings, critical thinking questions that will accompany readings, responses, and all other homework activities.  For instance, you will be asked to look up particular authors, etc. and this is part of homework and preparing for discussions and essay assignments.

 

  • Complete final exam essay

 

  • Be willing to share your ideas!

 

 

Grading/Assessment:

 

Short Essays:               20 points (10 points each for poetry and fiction)

Research Essays:         40 points (20 points each for poetry and fiction)

Final Essay:                 15 points (for Drama)

*Other:                         25 points (to be figured once at mid-term and again at the end of the semester)

 

*(Responses, postings, and other activities as they are required)

 

Responses are not graded in a traditional manner but are evaluated by the check system:  √- (check minus is the equivalent of fair work, C/C- range; I may indicate that the work is borderline passing (C-) and that improvement in critical thinking/analysis and/or composition needs to be made and I may suggest getting tutoring);

√ (check is the equivalent of good work, C+/B range); and √+ (check plus indicates above average work, B+/A range).  I will evaluate responses at mid-term and total points to date for discussion postings and reader responses, so you have an indicator of the points you’ve amassed.  I will then, again at finals, assess response assignments and discussion postings and figure a total number of points out of 25 to be figured into final grade.  Please ask if you have questions about this portion of assessment.       

 

 

Especially if you do not feel you can get the help you need by communicating only via WebCT, I encourage you to seek my assistance regarding any aspect of this course with which you may be experiencing difficulty.  Visit me during my office hours, or set up an appointment to see me.  I may also encourage some of you to seek additional help from tutors in the Reading/Writing Lab (Chapman, 711), or from online tutorial if I feel that you are having extreme difficulty with a challenging text and/or essay assignment. 

  

Course Schedule will be made available by first day of classes, August 28.  I will send an announcement and an e-mail, so check that day for an update.  At that time, course content will be released at my pace, and first discussion topic posted—student introductions—to be completed by the end of that week, August 31.  Details will be made via announcement and e-mail.