Texts:
Hacker, Diana. The Bedford Handbook. Bedford/St. Martin's. Most of you should already have this text from last semester.
Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. Random House/Vintage. ISBN: 0-679-72313-7.
Frost, Robert. Robert Frost's Poems. St. Martin's Paperback. 978-0-312-98332-1.
Hemingway, Ernest. Short Stories, The First Forty-nine. Simon and Schuster edition. ISBN: 9780684803340.
Miller, Arthur. The Death of a Salesman. Penguin edition. ISBN: 978-0-1-4048134-1.
O'Brien, Tim. In the Lake of the Woods. Penguin edition. 978-0-1-4243732-2.
Wharton, Edith. The Age of Innocence. Random House edition. ISBN: 978-0-5-5321450-5.

Description
Honors English 112 is a three-hour semester course that serves as a further study of interpretation and argumentation in writing, of literature of the human experience, and of research and documentation of sources. To enroll in this honors English course, you should have been approved by Professor Shon Grant, the chairperson of the Honors Program.

Throughout the semester, we will focus on writing argumentative, interpretative, and analytical essays based on the readings assigned in class. The essays will be at least twelve hundred words apiece. Within these papers, you will use critical thinking skills to draw conclusions and formulate ideas about the literature under discussion. The purpose of these essays is for you to analyze and interpret the works and then to construct arguments to convince a reader that the conclusions you draw from the texts are valid. To do this, you will use supporting material from the literature and appropriate articles and essays from literary criticism outside your text. These sources will be documented according to the standard MLA format discussed in English 111 and in Diana Hacker's The Bedford Handbook.

Course Objectives:
By the completion of this course, you should be able to accomplish the following tasks:

to read and interpret literature with an understanding of both explicit and implicit meanings

to understand and apply literary terms appropriately to the assignments required for class

to create competent, well-developed essays that argue, interpret, analyze, and evaluate the literature under discussion

to write clearly and coherently, with particular emphasis on standard college grammar, syntax, and American usage

to support your arguments with research and your own critical thinking, connected logically and convincingly to your thesis

to demonstrate proficiency in documentation according to the MLA format

Evaluation:
I will evaluate you by the five critical essays you write throughout the semester. In addition, there will be quizzes based on the readings and on class discussions.

The Essays:
For each of the five essays you write, I will provide criteria, but these guidelines will allow you the flexibility to approach the material with imagination and creativity. Before you write the essays, be sure to visit the links on my website that discuss what an effective thesis statement and essay consist of. In addition, each essay will have specific criteria for you to follow. These criteria are also on the website. Each essay will be worth one hundred points, and each must be typed, double-spaced, and formatted according to standard manuscript procedure. The essays will account for approximately 70-75% of your grade.

The Quizzes:
There will be unnannounced quizzes throughout the semester; these will be based on the assigned readings, as well as on material discussed in class. The quizzes will vary in length; they will comprise approximately 25-30% of your grade.

The Reading Schedule and the week each work is to be discussed:

1/9	Frost	"Tree at My Window," "The Tuft of Flowers," "Mowing," "Spring Pools," "Stopping by the Woods," "The Road Not Taken," The Wood-Pile," "Design"
1/16	Frost	"Home Burial," "Mending Wall," "After Apple-Picking," "Birches," "Fire and Ice," "Nothing Gold Can Stay," "Acquainted with the Night," "Once by the Pacific," "To Earthward"
1/23	Frost	"The Death of the Hired Man," "West-running Brook," "Departmental," "A Considerable Speck," "The Gift Outright"

Your first essay will focus on the poetry of Robert Frost. Follow the link under "first essay" to access the criteria for the paper. The due date for this essay is January 30. The late date for this paper is February 1. I'll reduce your grade on a late essay by a full letter. That is, if you normally would have received an A (100 points) for that paper, you will receive an B (85 points) because of its tardiness. If the late date has passed and you still have not turned in an essay, you should talk to me about your reason for missing both dates. If I think that your reason is valid--and this approval will not be automatic--I'll allow you a third opportunity to submit the paper. In that case, I will approve the date with the stipulation that the essay receives no higher than a C (70 points). At least that will be better than your receiving a zero on the paper, because a zero will virtually insure that you do poorly in the course. Please take advantage of the opportunity to discuss your topic and rough draft with me.  Because I give you this opportunity to avoid errors before you turn in each essay, I will not allow you to revise the paper for a higher grade after you submit it and I evaluate it.

1/30	Wharton	The Age of Innocence
2/6	Wharton	The Age of Innocence
2/13	Wharton	The Age of Innocence

Your second essay will focus on Edith Wharton's novel The Age of Innocence. Follow the link under "second essay" to access the criteria for the paper. The due date for this essay is February 20. The late date for this paper is February 22. The same stipulations will apply for a late paper as those mentioned above for your first essay.

2/20	Hemingway	"Soldier's Home," "A Way You'll Never Be," "The Big Two-Hearted River: Part I," "The Big Two-Hearted River: Part II," "Hills Like White Elephants," "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place"
2/27	Hemingway	"Up in Michigan," "Indian Camp," "My Old Man"
3/5	Spring Break	No Classes this week
3/12	Hemingway	"The Snows of Kilimanjaro," "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber," "The Undefeated"

Your third essay will focus on some aspect of Ernest Hemingway's short fiction. Follow the link under "third essay" to read the criteria for this paper. The due date for this essay is March 19. The late date is March 21, with the same stipulations mentioned for the first essay.

Your fourth essay is on Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man. Follow the link under "fourth essay" to access the criteria for the paper. The essay is due on April 9. The late date is April 11, with the same stipulations as for essay one.

Your fifth essay will focus In the Lake of the Woods. For the criteria, click on "fifth essay." The due date is May 7. There is no late date for this essay.

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