Assignments
Eng 267: The Modern Novel
Dr. Agatha Taormina

There are two types of reading assignments in this course:

  • the assigned novels
  • assigned background material on the history and nature of the novel and on assigned authors and works

There are three types of writing assignments in this course:

  • two proctored exams written in an NVCC Testing Center
  • 10 substantial (250-300 words) Blackboard postings, one for each assigned novel, in which you provide a thoughtful critical response to the work
  • two formal essays on topics chosen from the lists provided below.

Please read over my expectations for the quality of your graded assignments, followed by a list of the specific written assignments for each unit of study. Consult the Calendar of Activities at http://www.nvcc.edu/home/ataormina/eng267a/calendar for the specific reading and writing assignments for each week of the course.

Expectations

Since this is a sophomore-level college English course, I expect all of your graded work to be of college-level quality; thus each of your Blackboard postings will be thoughtfully written in standard English prose and each of your formal writing assignments (the two essays and the two proctored examinations) will be a complete essay with an introduction, body, and conclusion. Each essay will include a Works Cited page and will contain proper MLA documentation of both the Works Cited and the citations in the text.

Specifically I expect all of your formal writing to:

respond appropriately to the assignment
contain college-level content
be well-developed
be written in a clear, readable style
be reasonably well-focused
be well-organized
use appropriate language and tone
use standard English spelling, grammar, and punctuation

If you submit work that does not meet these requirements for college-level work, I will not correct or grade it. The first time you submit work that does not meet the above requirements, I might--based on my judgment--allow you to redo and resubmit the assignment. However the best strategy is to do your best work before you submit it for a grade.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism, the appropriating of the words and/or ideas of others as your own, will not be tolerated.

I do not require you to research the works you are writing about; rather I prefer that you read the works with care and attention--perhaps more than once--and respond intelligently to your reading. However, if you do use research material, including material you find on web sites, you must properly cite the sources of all such outside material.

If I discover that you have submitted work that uses sources without citing them, I will not grade your work and you will not be allowed to redo it.

Expectations for Exams

You will complete 2 proctored on-campus exams. Each exam will be a formal essay composed on a word processor and pasted into an Exam Text Box in the Eng 267 Blackboard. The exam questions are available below. You will be allowed to use notes, but you will leave these notes with the testing center proctor who will forward them to me. You are expected to write, revise, edit, and proofread these exams as you would any other essay that you might write for an on-campus class. 
Expectations for Postings

A posting that receives full credit will meet the following criteria:

  • at least 250-300 words of analysis and discussion devoted to the assigned novel
  • content that demonstrates that you have read the novel thoughtfully and are able to make comments that go beyond an understanding of plot to grapple with at least one of the following elements of fiction
    • quality of characterization
    • presentation of setting
    • significance of point of view
    • development of theme
    • comparison to other works with similar plots and themes
  • format in standard English prose

I suggest that you compose your posting in a word processor, edit and proofread your posting, then copy and paste it into the Blackboard Forum message box.

One way to approach the postings is to begin by describing your reaction to the novel:

  • did you like or dislike the novel and why?
  • how do you feel about the major characters in the novel?
  • why do you think the author told the story in this particular way?

You might also want to use the questions for discussion in the reading guide to each novel to help you develop your posting.

Please feel free to respond to the postings of the instructor and other students.
Expectations for Essays

Each essay should be at least 1000 words long.

Before you choose an activity as the topic for an essay, you must complete all assigned readings (both the novels and the reading guides) and submit Blackboard Forum postings for all of the novels assigned to be read before the essay is due. I will not read your essay until you have completed the postings for all of the novels assigned in that section of the course.

The essay topics in each unit are designed to encourage you to think about and express your personal understanding of and reaction to the literature. You may use outside sources if you wish, but you must properly document such sources with the MLA Parenthetical References and Works Cited format. Use of outside sources is neither required nor encouraged.

See the MLA Style Guide at http://www.nvcc.edu/home/ataormina/eng267a/support/mlastyle.htm for information on proper documentation format.

All papers must be typewritten and double-spaced. Use a word processor and save your work as an rtf (rich text format) or doc (Microsoft Word format) file. You are expected to follow the rules of good usage in your writing. You are expected to analyze the literature. Do not lapse into plot summary. Plot summary will not be accepted.

As you are composing your essay, remember that your audience consists of your instructor and your fellow students. We have read the material, but perhaps not as carefully and thoroughly as you have, and we do not have the material in front of us. Although you will want to briefly summarize key elements of the plots of the work or works you are discussing, do not lapse into plot summary. Your readers know what happened in these works, but perhaps not why these events happened.

Each essay must include a clear thesis statement that summarizes the points you want to make. If you compare works or elements of works, be sure to answer the question So what? in the course of your discussion.

As preparation for completing each activity you may if you wish post a thesis statement and outline of your essay to the Essay Preview forum in the course Blackboard. I will respond with comments and suggestions that should help you develop your essay.

You will post all of your papers by clicking on the Assignments button in the Blackboard, then navigating to the relevant assignment and following the directions. After I have graded the assignment, you will be able to see both the grade and the graded essay in the Blackboard Gradebook (accessed through the Tools button).

Details and Due Dates for Written Assignments

Email to Instructor
(required)
DUE: Week 1

Send me an email from your VCCS email account. Include the following information:

1)  General information

  • this course number (Eng 267)
  • your name, including a nickname if you wish me to use one when addressing you
  • your mailing address
  • your phone number
  • your VCCS email address
  • an alternate email address if you have one and use it regularly

2)  Course Information (as listed in the Quick Syllabus you received from ELI in the mail):

  • your Start Date, 
  • your Last Date for Withdrawal
  • your End of Enrollment Date  

3)  a brief introduction of yourself, describing your background and your reasons for taking this course 

4)  a brief description of any previous college-level literature courses you have taken

5)  any initial questions you have about course procedures

NOTE: Once you have sent me your introductory email message, I assume that you have read and understood the course requirements and also that you have read and understood the ELI Policies and Procedures located at http://eli.nvcc.edu/elipps.htm

Posting to Introductions Forum
(required)
DUE: Week 1

Introduce yourself to the class with a posting to the Introductions Forum. Identify yourself, provide a little background information, and explain why you chose to enroll in this course.

Exam #1 Why Read Novels?  
(100 points)
DUE: Week 2

In a well-written 2-3 page essay, discuss your history as an educated reader. Cover the following topics:

  • your definition of the novel
  • your perceptions of why people read novels
  • why you read (or don't read) novels
  • what you enjoy (or don't enjoy) reading; be specific as to genre, authors, titles
  • your perceptions of what sorts of novels constitute literature (that is, what sorts of novels will stand the test of time)
  • your sense of the bases on which a novel should be evaluated

You may use notes as an aid to writing your exam, but you must leave the notes with the exam proctor who will forward them to me.

You will be writing your exam in Microsoft Word, and then pasting it into a password protected Text Box in the Exams section of the Eng 267 Blackboard. Please follow the directions on the Exam to properly post your exam.

Exam Passes are available through a link from the Exams button in the course Blackboard at http://learn.vccs.edu

You can find specific directions on how you will be taking this exam on the Eng 267 Exam Directions page at http://www.nvcc.edu/home/ataormina/eng267a/courseinfo/examdir.html

Posting: Haroun and the Sea of Stories
(50 points)
DUE: Week 3

After reading the novel, compose a thoughtful response (See the Expectations for Postings above for grading criteria). Let the response sit for at least 24 hours. Skim the novel quickly again, then revise your response for content and for form (grammar and mechanics). Copy and paste the response to the Haroun and the Sea of Stories forum.

Posting: The Hours
(50 points)
DUE: Week 4

After reading the novel, compose a thoughtful response (See the Expectations for Postings above for grading criteria). Let the response sit for at least 24 hours. Skim the novel quickly again, then revise your response for content and for form (grammar and mechanics). Copy and paste the response to the Hours forum.

Posting: Einstein's Dreams
(50 points)
DUE: Week 5

After reading the novel, compose a thoughtful response (See the Expectations for Postings above for grading criteria). Let the response sit for at least 24 hours. Skim the novel quickly again, then revise your response for content and for form (grammar and mechanics). Copy and paste the response to the Einstein's Dreams forum.

Posting: Chronicle of a Death Foretold
(50 points)
DUE: Week 6

After reading the novel, compose a thoughtful response (See the Expectations for Postings above for grading criteria). Let the response sit for at least 24 hours. Skim the novel quickly again, then revise your response for content and for form (grammar and mechanics). Copy and paste the response to the Chronicle of a Death Foretold forum.

Posting: Atonement
(50 points)
DUE: Week 7

After reading the novel, compose a thoughtful response (See the Expectations for Postings above for grading criteria). Let the response sit for at least 24 hours. Skim the novel quickly again, then revise your response for content and for form (grammar and mechanics). Copy and paste the response to the Atonement forum.

Reminder: You must submit your postings for the following novels:

  • Haroun and the Sea of Stories
  • The Hours
  • Einstein's Dreams
  • Chronicle of a Death Foretold
  • Atonement

before you submit Formal Essay #1. I will not read your essay until after you have completed the required postings.

Formal Essay #1
(150 points)
DUE: Week 8

Choose one of the following topics or get my permission to write on a different topic. You may, if you wish, post a thesis and outline in the Essay #1 Preview forum . I will respond with comments and suggestions.

The narrative flow of time in Chronicle of a Death Foretold and Atonement is not linear. Choose one of these novels and analyze the juxtaposition of events within the story. Explain why you think the author moves back and forth in time throughout the story. Be sure to connect the author's use of time to the theme of the novel.
The Hours consists of three stories about three different women in three different times and three different locations. Analyze the way Cunningham juxtaposes these three stories and discuss some of the major connections among these three stories. What is gained by the author's decision to tell three different stories at the same time? Be sure to connect the author's choice to use these three stories to the theme of the novel.
A central motif in Haroun and the Sea of Stories is water. Describe all of the ways water is used in the story and explain how the concept of water is connected to the theme of the novel.
A central motif in The Hours is time. Describe all of the ways time is used in the story and explain how the concept of time is connected to the theme of the novel.

Posting: The Things They Carried
(50 points)
DUE: Week 9

After reading the novel, compose a thoughtful response (See the Expectations for Postings above for grading criteria). Let the response sit for at least 24 hours. Skim the novel quickly again, then revise your response for content and for form (grammar and mechanics). Copy and paste the response to the Things They Carried forum.

Posting: The Eyre Affair
(50 points)
DUE: Week 10

After reading the novel, compose a thoughtful response (See the Expectations for Postings above for grading criteria). Let the response sit for at least 24 hours. Skim the novel quickly again, then revise your response for content and for form (grammar and mechanics). Copy and paste the response to the Eyre Affair forum.

Posting: Maus I and Maus II
(50 points)
DUE: Week 12

After reading both volumes of Maus, compose a thoughtful response (See the Expectations for Postings above for grading criteria). Let the response sit for at least 24 hours. Skim the work quickly again, then revise your response for content and for form (grammar and mechanics). Copy and paste the response to the Maus forum.

Posting: Mother, Come Home
(50 points)
DUE: Week 13

After reading the novel, compose a thoughtful response (See the Expectations for Postings above for grading criteria). Let the response sit for at least 24 hours. Skim the novel quickly again, then revise your response for content and for form (grammar and mechanics). Copy and paste the response to the Mother, Come Home forum.

NOTE: Mother, Come Home is out of print; if you have already bought or found a copy of this title, you may use this text; otherwise, use American Born Chinese.

Posting: American Born Chinese
(50 points)
DUE: Week 13

NOTE: This assignment replaces the Mother, Come Home assignment.

After reading the novel, compose a thoughtful response (See the Expectations for Postings above for grading criteria). Let the response sit for at least 24 hours. Skim the novel quickly again, then revise your response for content and for form (grammar and mechanics). Copy and paste the response to the American Born Chinese forum.

Posting: Gemma Bovery
(50 points)
DUE: Week 14

After reading the novel, compose a thoughtful response (See the Expectations for Postings above for grading criteria). Let the response sit for at least 24 hours. Skim the novel quickly again, then revise your response for content and for form (grammar and mechanics). Copy and paste the response to the Gemma Bovery forum.

Reminder: You must submit your postings for the following novels:

  • The Things They Carried
  • The Eyre Affair
  • Maus
  • Mother, Come Home
  • Gemma Bovery

before you submit Formal Essay #2. I will not read your essay until after you have completed the required postings.

Formal Essay #2
(150 points)
DUE: Week 15

Choose one of the following topics or get my permission to write on a different topic. You may, if you wish, post a thesis and outline in the Essay #2 Preview forum . I will respond with comments and suggestions.

Both Haroun and the Sea of Stories and The Eyre Affair present an explanation of the place where stories are born. Compare and contrast the concepts of the origins of stories as presented in each novel. and also compare the relationship between literature and life as described in each novel.
Both The Eyre Affair and Gemma Bovery rely to some extent on the reader's familiarity with other works of literature. Compare and contrast the ways that Jasper Fforde uses Jane Eyre and Posy Simmonds uses Madame Bovary to develop the themes of their novels.
Both Atonement and The Things They Carried deal in part with the way an author uses fiction to deal with reality. Compare and contrast the reasons that Briony and Tim have for reshaping reality with fiction.
Compare and contrast the ways that Michael Cunningham in The Hours and Gene Yang in American Born Chinese bring three alternating stories together to develop the themes of their works.
Both The Things They Carried and Maus juxtapose events from one time period with events in another. Choose one of these works and discuss the ways that this movement back and forth in time develops the theme of the work.
Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Maus,and Mother, Come Home feature fathers and sons who are dealing with the loss of wives and mothers. Choose two of these works and compare and contrast the relationship that develops between the father and the son after the loss of the wife/mother.
Atonement and The Things They Carried feature scenes of combat. Compare and contrast the ways that soldiers and combat are portrayed in these works.

In Storytelling and Visual Narrative Will Eisner describes Art Spiegelman's style in Maus as conveying "the impression that the artwork was created and smuggled out of a concentration camp" (146). Compare and contrast the graphic styles in two of the graphic novels (Maus,Mother, Come Home or American Born Chinese, and Gemma Bovery ) that we have read. Describe and interpret the style employed by each artist and demonstrate how the choice of visual style reinforces the plot and theme of each work.
Compare and contrast Art Spiegelman's use of ethnic stereotypes in Maus and Gene Yang's use of ethnic stereotypes in American Born Chinese.
When is a novel not a novel? Einstein's Dreams, The Things They Carried, and Maus all straddle lines defining the novel as a genre. Using common definitions of the novel, choose one of these works and argue for or against its status as a novel.
Exam #2: The Test of Time 
(100 points)
DUE: Week 16

Your second exam will be a two-part reflective essay in which you revisit the ideas you expressed in your first exam regarding your experience of reading novels. The entire exam should be at least 2-3 pages long.

In the first part of the exam you will revisit the ideas about the purpose and value of the novel that you expressed in Exam #1 and modify those ideas as a result of the reading you have done in this course.

In the second part of the exam, choose at least three of the novels you have read in this course and speculate on which ones will stand the test of time. You might want to choose three novels that you feel will endure or three that you feel will not endure or a mixture of the two types of novels. Give specific reasons for your choices.

You may use notes as an aid to writing your exam, but you must leave the notes with the exam proctor who will forward them to me.

You will be writing your exam in Microsoft Word, and then pasting it into a password protected Text Box in the Exams section of the Eng 267 Blackboard. Please follow the directions on the Exam to properly post your exam.

Exam Passes are available through a link from the Exams button in the course Blackboard at http://learn.vccs.edu

You can find specific directions on how you will be taking this exam on the Eng 267 Exam Directions page at http://www.nvcc.edu/home/ataormina/eng267a/courseinfo/examdir.html

Eng 267: The Modern Novel
© 2005 Agatha Taormina
Last Revised: June 17, 2008