Throughout these six weeks, students will write three argumentative essays of approximately twelve hundred words apiece. Within these papers, students will use critical thinking skills to draw conclusions and formulate ideas about the literature we read. The purpose of these essays is for students to analyze and interpret the works and then to construct arguments to convince a reader that the conclusions drawn from the texts are valid. To do this, students will use supporting material from the literature and appropriate articles and essays from sources outside the assigned readings.
Course Objectives
By the completion of this course, students should be able to accomplish the following tasks:
- to read critically and interpret the literature under discussion with an understanding of both explicit and implicit meanings
- to create competent, well-developed essays that argue a specific thesis
- to support argumentative essays with research and critical thinking, connected logically and convincingly to a thesis
- to synthesize information from a variety of sources
- to demonstrate proficiency in documentation according to the MLA format
- to conform to standard American usage, grammar, and punctuation in those essays
Honor Code
I conduct this course based on the honor code. This code stipulates that when independent work is required—for instance, on essays and quizzes—each of you does that work within the boundaries that I set. See the link on my home page about plagiarism for clarification about how the honor code applies to your written work. For quizzes, each of you will refrain from using the assistance of textbooks, notes, or other students to help you complete the work. Failure to adhere to this code will cause a breach in the environment I wish to foster. It will also lead to your receiving a zero on the work you have sought assistance on and your potential failure of the course. Your decision to attend this class will acknowledge to your classmates and me that you accept the standards of the honor code.
Evaluation
I will evaluate you two ways: by critical essays and objective quizzes. Approximately seventy percent of your final evaluation will be based on your writing, with the remaining thirty percent coming from quizzes.
The Essays
Your first essay will focus on Robert Frost's poetry. Your second essay will be on a short short by Joyce Carol Oates. The third essay will deal with William Shakespeare's Hamlet. I will create written criteria to guide you through these assignments. Each essay will be worth one hundred points, and each must be typed.
The Quizzes
Your quizzes will be based on assigned readings and on material we have discussed in class. These quizzes will be unannounced, with the exception of the final, which will deal with Richard Wright's Native Son and the material leading up to that novel. To take the quizzes, you must bring a number two pencil and a scantron to class each day. I will not provide scantrons for the quizzes. The quizzes will have varying numbers of points.
Reading Schedule
The following is a list of readings, along with the days they should be ready for discussion.
7/3 -- Introduction to the Course; Handouts of Robert Frost's poetry
7/5 -- Robert Frost's Poetry: "Mowing," "Tuft of Flowers," "Mending Wall," "Death of the Hired Man," "Home Burial," "After Apple-Picking," "The Wood-Pile," "The Road Not Taken," "Birches"
7/10 -- "'Out, Out--'" "Fire and Ice," "Nothing Gold," "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening," "Once by the Pacific," "Departmental," "Desert Places," "The Gift Outright"
Follow this link for your first essay. The essay will be an argument based on your interpretation, analysis, and evaluation of a poem by Robert Frost. You may not write on a poem we have discussed--unless you take a considerably different approach to it from the one we took in class. You will have to discuss this approach with me ahead of time for my approval. The essay is due at the beginning of class on July 12. If you wish to submit the essay as a late paper, you may do so by the beginning of class on July 17. A late paper will be penalized one letter grade. That is, instead of beginning with a possible "A," you will begin with a possible "B." All other grades will be adjusted accordingly. You may show me as many drafts of the essay as you wish before you submit it for a grade; however, once you have submitted the paper, I do not allow you to revise it for a higher grade. If you do not turn in an essay--or a substantial attempt at one (I will determine what "substantial" is)-- you will receive a zero on that paper. It would be difficult for anyone to pass the course with a zero on an essay.
7/12 -- Joyce Carol Oates's Short Stories: "The Fine White Mist of Winter," "In the Region of Ice"
7/17 -- Oates: "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?," "How I Contemplated the World . . .," "Love and Death," "By the River"
7/19 -- Oates:"The Lady with the Pet Dog," "Concerning the Case of Bobby T.," "Bloodstains"
Follow this link for your second essay. The essay will be an argument based on your interpretation, analysis, and evaluation of a short story by Joyce Carol Oates. Once again, you may not write on a short story we discussed in class--unless you take a considerably different approach to it. You will have to discuss this approach with me ahead of time and receive my approval. The essay is due at the beginning of class on July 24. The late date for the paper is July 26, with the same stipulations as for the first essay.
7/24 -- William Shakespeare: Hamlet, Act I
7/26 -- Hamlet, Acts II and III
7/31 -- Hamlet, Acts IV and V
Follow this link for you third essay--an argument based on your interpretation, analysis, and evaluation of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Once again, you should be original in your approach to the essay--and not simply give back to me what we said in class. The essay is due at the beginning of class on August 2. The late date is the beginning of class on August 7, with the same stipulations as explained for previous late essays.
8/2 -- Richard Wright's Native Son, Book I (Fear)
8/7 -- Native Son, Book II (Flight)
8/9 -- Native Son, Book III (Fate); Final Quiz-- on Richard Wright's Native Son
Return to Robert's home page
