Elements of Assessment:
The following assignments will be factored into your course grade:
(1) Class Participation/Reading Response: The nature of this class demands that all students contribute regularly to the discussions, including any Forum questions posted at the Heritage University Virtual Campus (AKA MyHeritage) and/or short written responses in a reading journal for online students. Both quality and quantity will be considered, with an emphasis on the former. Altogether, 40 points may be earned for participation and other reading responses. Altogether, Reading Responses will be worth 40 points (35 + 5 for the "Check-In Tasks").
(2) Presentation (Seminar Leader): Each student will select one of the pieces on the second or third reading lists and will be responsible for providing an introduction to the work’s context (background to author, times, etc.) and for helping to direct the class in examining the work. This assignment will be worth 40 points. Graduate students will also be expected to connect the text to some of the literary theories explored in English 450/550 (Literary Theory). (Brief outlines are included in the "Handouts" section of MyHeritage in case you have not taken Literary Theory or another course providing some background in literary theory. Online students will prepare a “Class Session” outline with material to be covered, questions/follow-up questions, and a reflective Forum question related to the selected reading (all other online students will be expected to answer this Forum question as one of their Reading Response assignments). The presentation may be made "live" on Elluminate, recorded by video and/or audio, or via a detailed PowerPoint presentation. IF POSSIBLE, THIS ASSIGNMENT SHOULD BE SUBMITTED OR PRESENTED PRIOR TO THE DATE FOR THE READING!
Verification Activity: This assignment also serves to verify or authenticate the work of online students. Online students will be expected to produce positive ID to the instructor at the time of the online presentation.
Note on Papers: If you are taking this course in conjunction with Eng 450-550 (Literary Theory), consult with Dr. Schmidt so that you may select topics that allow the papers to be used for both courses.
(3) Out-of-Class Papers:
Undergraduate students will write three short papers of approximately 750-1000 words (3-4 typed/wordprocessed, double-spaced pages) concerning the readings. Each paper will relate to one weekend’s/month’s readings. Topic ideas for these papers will be discussed in class and workshop sessions will be scheduled to assist students in writing them. Each of these papers will be worth 40 points (120 points total).
Graduate students will write three papers of approximately 1000+ words (4+ typed pages). The readings for each of the papers will be chosen from the three sets of readings. Topic ideas for these papers will be discussed in class or in the Forum and workshop sessions will be scheduled to assist students in writing them. Each paper will include citations from at least two articles from professional journals or books. Each of these papers will be worth 40 points (120 points total).
GR student option: Write ONE paper of 12+ pages appropriate for a conference or journal submission (you do not actually need to submit it, but students considering Ph.D. study may need some longer writing samples for their applications).
(4) Figuring Course Grades:
Check-In Test and Tasks 1 + 4 Participation/Reading Responses (9 + 9 + 9 + 8) 35 Seminar Leader 40 Paper #1 40 Paper #2 40 Paper #3 40 Total Possible: 200 (196+ = A+; 184+ = A; 180+ = A-; 176+ = B+; 164+ = B; 160+ = B-; 156+ = C+; 144+ = C; 140+ = C-; 136+ = D+; 124+ = D; 120+ = D-; 119- = F)