English 399: Assignments

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English 399:
Assignments

[Reading Logs] [Independent Project/Paper]

Reading Logs

General Instructions: Keep your reading logs in a pocket folder and bring your entries to class each day. For authors with multiple essays/stories, you can combine entries; for some entries, you will be addressing parts of longer works, at least until the last day. I'm not setting page requirements, since that varies so widely dependent on handwriting and habits of style (some people say a lot very concisely; others say little with many words). As a general rule, however, I would expect 4-5 pages per week on average to cover what is requested. This may seem like a lot, but remember there are no exams and only one paper besides this writing assignment. You are not required to type your entries (unless your handwriting proves illegible) for #1, but I want #2 to be typed.

Log entries:
(1) For each day, write about 2 paragraphs reacting to the reading assignment. Here you can raise questions; make connections; express glee, dismay, confusion, etc. This is basically freewriting on the day's reading; don't polish or re-write.

(2) Focussed entries should address the following questions (you don't need to do this every day, just as we finish each author or text). Note that I've provided alternate questions under a, b, and e; this will be particularly useful for the difference between fiction and non-fiction texts. Don't go overboard answering these; pretend you must answer each part in the space of an index card.

(a) What is the scientific premise, the "what if…" underlying this story? OR What is the scientific topic or issue being presented?

(b) What is the attitude towards science in this text? Give an example. OR What point(s) about science is the author trying to make in this text? Do you agree or disagree? Why?

(c) How did the author present the scientific information needed as background to the text? Expert witness (a character who knows and talks about the science), narrative/description, assumption (author assumes a certain level of scientific knowledge from readers)? How did the author make this credible?

(d) What was the role of science presented in this text? E.g., how were scientists portrayed? How did science play a role in the problem faced by the characters and/or in the problem's resolution? What does the author have to say about the significance of science to society (either today or the text's time)?

(e) What do you know about the author? Consult an encyclopedia , Who's Who, or Current Authors reference to find out more. How does the author's background affect your opinion of the science in the text? OR What does the date of publication suggest about the credibility of the science in the text? What influence, if any, do you think the original location and time of the publication had on the view of science the author expressed? (consider social and political context as well as the state of science/technology)

(f) Address any aspect of the piece -- style and diction, setting, innovative topic, theme, whatever -- that you think is important beyond the items covered above.

Independent Project/Paper

The end goal of the project is to produce a 6-8 page paper on a text of your choice, addressing the issues we develop during the term. The interim reports will require you to rough out ideas on the text before you do a draft of the paper. You can choose from the list of items below or, with my approval, find a relevant piece on your own. Either way, you must finalize your choice well before the 11th of February, when your first report is due. This means, if you go outside the list, you must provide me a copy of the item on or before February 2nd so I have time to go over it and give you my decision by the 7th.

Items on reserve in WOU library

Edgar Allen Poe, "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar"
Abraham Merritt, "The Last Poet and the Robots"
Ursula LeGuin, "Vaster Than Empires and More Slow"
Paul Preuss, "Half-Life"
Kate Wilhelm, "Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang" [novella]
Stevenson, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"

Other approved items -- you must find copies

Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us
Loren Eisley -- essays
Stephen Jay Gould -- essays
Isaac Asimov, The Gods Themselves
Robert J. Sawyer, The Terminal Experiment
J. Gregory Keyes, Newton's Cannon
Christopher Marlowe, Dr. Faustus
Fred Hoyle, The Black Cloud
Kate Wilhelm, Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang [novel]

Interim Report #1 -- You must hand in the focussed reading log questions (the #2 items) for the text, addressing all the "OR" questions (in other words, for this assignment, the "or" becomes "and" to the greatest extent possible). Due Feb. 11th .

Interim Report #2 -- (a) First, do a 2-3 page freewrite on your reactions to the text (as in #1 under the reading logs). (b) Re-read your text (in the case of a novel, skim) and freewrite on any changes in your focussed reading log entries you would make, both upon a second reading and given it's later in the term and you are vastly more experienced! (c) Finish by addressing two new questions: What is the moral lesson the author wants us to take away from this text? Is the author optimistic or pessimistic regarding this lesson and society's ability to take it to heart? Explain/explore. Due Feb. 25th.

Final paper -- Your paper will address some variation on the following thesis: "XX presents a positive/negative picture of _____ [biologists, cloning, humans' ability to communicate with aliens….] by means of __________." PLEASE don't copy this pattern exactly -- it's a guide, not a formula. {See me if you have other directions you'd like to take.} You should expect to use pieces from your interim reports to build the final essay, and that's fine. Use MLA parenthetical citations and end bibliography as relevant.

If you choose to do the extra credit by forming a peer review group, you should have a draft ready to give your partner(s) by March 6th. No person should be asked to review a draft at the last minute, and, unless you mutually agree to set a later time or to meet in person, no one should feel responsible for accommodating others' procrastination. In addition, anyone who agrees to review a draft should be committed to returning it to the author within two days. Remember, this will be dead week. Doing a good job of peer review can raise your project grade by 1/3 (eg, from C+ to B-). To get the extra credit, each reviewer should write a page of comments about the draft in addition to any marks on the draft itself. It is the responsibility of the person reviewed to hand in these pages of comments with a copy of the rough draft the reviewers saw; hand these in with the final version on or before Monday, March 13th, at my office (HSS 323). I'll be in 10-3.

Presentation -- This will occur during the final exam time, Wednesday, March 15th (ah, the Ides of March), from 10 am to noon. Each person should prepare a one-page summary of the text AND a one-page abstract of their paper and bring enough copies (double-sided is great) for the class. If you turn these in to me before 9 a.m. Wednesday, I will make the copies for you.

DO NOT just read your abstract. Be prepared to talk 5-10 minutes on your topic; what you found interesting or unusual, if you'd recommend the text to others, how it relates to texts we read for class, etc.

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