Assignments

Essays

Final Portfolio of Essays

Due in Ses #26

On the last day of class, you must turn in your completed portfolio of essays written during the semester. You must preface the portfolio with a one to two page statement in which you consider how you read and write differently than you did at the beginning of the semester. You might want to consider whether you approach literary works differently now. Can fiction be clearly distinguished from other genres, such as social criticism, autobiography, biography, hagiography, history, anthropology, etc.? Do you find historical contextualizing illuminating? Do you question the author's choice of title, narrator, framing, description, pacing, etc?

Similarly, consider how your writing has developed over the course of the semester. Do you write five-paragraph deductive essays or do you experiment with other styles? Do you try to prove a thesis or to ask intriguing questions? Do you apply your own ideas and beliefs to the work or try to develop new ideas from the work? Do you incorporate textual passages to support your claims or as material to be read closely and discussed? How do you open and close your discussions? With statements, questions, passages, or analogies?

These are suggestions; your statement can be what you want it to be. Have fun.

Note: I can no longer leave work outside me office door, so if you want your portfolio returned to you (and I certainly hope you do!), you must provide me with a self-addressed and stamped mailer.

Final note: Please turn in your portfolio in the smallest possible binder or pocket folder! Do not submit large looseleaf binders! Thank you.

Oral Presentations

Each student will have the opportunity to research a specific historical or literary reference in one of the assigned works and prepare a factual oral presentation of no more than five minutes. I will provide the references; research can be done on-line or in the library. Students should be sure to introduce their subjects and provide a brief overview; they should arrange supporting details logically, and draw several connections with the text in which the reference appears. Students should also speak clearly, slowly and loudly enough to be heard by all present; they should maintain eye contact rather than reading from a print-out, and, and finally, students should practice ahead of time so that the presentation takes no more than five minutes. Presentations will be graded and each student will receive a written response.