FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT WRITING ASSIGNMENTS FOR THIS COURSE, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

Weekly reflection writing

Each week, on Tuesday, you will be asked to turn in a 300-500 word reflection on the readings for that week.  I will provide a prompt, which you may use as the basis for your reflection; however, you are more than welcome to go in other directions with the reflection if you wish. You may, for instance, wish to reflect on a particular passage that you felt was meaningful or insightful.  Reflections will be graded on a 10 point scale each week.  They will be evaluated based on the level of engagement with their given topic, originality, depth, and focus. Spelling, grammar, and other mechanical elements do count, so be sure that your writing is free of errors to ensure maximum points. In addition, inaccurate statements about the text and unnecessary summary or paraphrase can also adversely affect your score.

Weekly quizzes

Each week, on Thursday, you will have a brief 10 point reading quiz covering the materials from readings, lectures, and student presentations during that week.

Research Papers

At two points in the semester, you will write a 10-12 page (2500-3000 word) research paper on a topic of your own choice, focusing on a text or author we have studied. If there is another author included in the Heath anthology that we did not study together, you are welcome to propose a paper on that author as well, although you will need to clear this with me first.  This assignment represents your own personal contribution to the ongoing scholarly conversation in Early American literary studies. The essay should integrate close reading (analysis or explication), documentation of secondary scholarship on your topic, and an awareness of scholarly issues pertinent to your topic.  It is important, too, to understand that your goal is to make an argument about the text(s) you have chosen, not simply to describe plot, character or themes. Please note too that while information about an author's life and times may be relevant to your argument, this is not meant to be a "report" on those topics. Any historical or biographical information must be shown to be directly relevant to your argument.

I am happy to consult with you at all points to help you choose and frame a topic and thesis.

You will need to provide evidence that you have consulted a minimum of five external scholarly sources (articles, book chapters or refereed website) of legitimate provenance (e.g., cheating sites, like Spark Notes, are not permitted).  Please include copies of the first page of each article or book chapter you consult along with full MLA citation of each item in a “Works Cited and Consulted” page.

I will also need to see evidence of your writing process, thus you are required to submit at least one of your preliminary drafts with the final version of the paper that you submit. Failure to include the draft will result in automatic failure of the assignment. You may wish to form "workshopping" groups with your classmates to read, comment and help you revise your work.

When you turn in your final draft you must include the materials from all the stages of your writing process (copies of sources/rough draft/final draft and any other intervening stages). If you do not turn ALL of these stages you will receive a failing grade for the essay.

All research papers will be evaluated according to standards for written work listed below.

Class Presentation

During the first full week of classes you will sign up to present one of the authors we will study during the remainder of the semester.  It will be your responsibility to come up with a 15-20 minute oral presentation, in which you should make a concerted effort to integrate audio-visual elements. As part of this assignment, you will conduct in-depth research on your assigned topic and give an oral and written presentation of your findings.  You will also field questions from the class relevant to your topic.

Assignments and Topics

You will have the opportunity to choose the author/text you will present on during the first full week of class.  Please take some time to glance at the syllabus and the textbook to review the various authors that you have to choose from.  Select one you imagine you will be interested in. You are welcome to meet with me to discuss your choice.  You may also wish to choose an author about whom you wish to write one of your research papers, thereby allowing you to consolidate your research efforts. Once you have been assigned a particular author, you are free to decide the best way to present it to the class.  There is no one formula for a good presentation, and there are a number of ways that you can reach your main objective, that is, to teach this author/text to the class.  Let us know what's important about the text and its critical history.  How does this text relate to other texts we have studied?  How does the text relate to overall course themes? What should we think about it? What makes it meaningful or difficult?  It is your responsibility to find a way to present the text that is informative and helpful to the class's learning.  I am always available to you for help in preparing your presentation and going over ideas. For further objectives, see "Evaluation and Grading," below.

Written Presentation

You are responsible for preparing a one-page (at least) handout to be distributed to the class before your presentation.  This handout should contain relevant information, and may also include examples, questions for discussion, or any other material you feel would be relevant and useful to the class.  Please do not have a handout that serves as your “script” – a presenter who simply reads from a written text is not usually an effective presenter.

Oral Presentation

You encouraged to be inventive in the presentation.  You will, however, follow a basic temporal structure. You will be given approximately 15-20 minutes to make their presentation, and that time should include some time for questions and discussion.  If you go over 20 minutes, I will ask you to stop, even if you have not finished.  You are encouraged to use A/V media, though you should verify that you will have the technology you need well in advance of the presentation.  Be aware of the potential plusses and minuses of Powerpoint --remember that any use of technology in the presentation must directly contribute to the substantive quality of your presentation.  Fancy music, wild graphics and other special effects for their own sake can be suggest that the presentation needs such “flash” to mask an absence of content.  You have likely experienced good and bad uses of things like Powerpoint, thus bear that in mind as you develop your presentation.

Self-Evaluation

After your presentation, you will submit a 1-2 page (250 word or more) typed self- evaluation. This is a required part of the assignment, and must be submitted by the class period immediately following your presentation. Students should assess what they learned, using the evaluation criteria listed below as a guide if you wish. Students should comment on what they felt did or didn't work well.  Failure to submit a self-evaluation will result in a failing grade.

Audience Evaluation

The students observing the presentation will evaluate the presentation (based on the criteria listed below), but this evaluation will not affect the grades given by the instructor.  Although the class is required to submit the evaluations, the instructor will not grade them.  After removing students’ names from the evaluations, the evaluations will be shown to presenter for informational purposes, so s/he can have additional feedback assessing his/her performance.

Evaluation and Grading

The grading scale is from 1 (Poor) to 5 (Excellent). 

1  2  3  4  5                        Presentation had a clear focus and was well-organized

1  2  3  4  5                        Presenter showed thorough knowledge of subject.

1  2  3  4  5                        Presenter demonstrated good presentation skills, captured and kept audience attention

1  2  3  4  5                        Discussion of issues was lively and challenging. Presenter answered questions effectively

1  2  3  4  5                        Handout and A/V component (if included) was carefully prepared and effective.

Autobiography Chapter

Because we will spend a good portion of the semester considering how American writers in the past have used autobiography and life writing to help define their sense of self and sense of place, as another way to help you understand how discourses can construct the self, you will write a short chapter in your own autobiography.  This essay will be at least 7 full pages long (or a minimum of 1750 words).

Remember that an autobiography is not just a record of what happened to you when and where.  An autobiography uses language creatively and figuratively to create meaning.  It may be best to start with a vivid image and use that to help shape your self-representation.  You are welcome also to attempt to mimic some of the autobiographical modes/styles we have looked at, such as conversion narratives, captivity narratives, travel narratives, and diaries.  You are welcome, too, to write an autobiographical poem if you prefer.  Please note, the focus of this assignment is on the quality of your writing, not on the quality of your life.  Seemingly mundane events can be represented as powerful and significant.  The assignment is not to reveal secrets or to shock with dramatic events, but to explore how language, in particular written language, shapes identity.  Your work will be evaluated according to the standards for written work listed separately.  

Extra Credit Opportunity

There are numerous films that adapt or respond to the texts that we are studying this semester.  In order to earn up to 50 points extra credit, you will choose one of the films listed below and write a brief 4-5 page (1000-1250 word) analysis of it. 

Cabeza de Vaca (1991)

Disney's Pocahantas (1995)

The New World (2005)

Black Robe (1991)

The Scarlet Letter (1995 version)

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Bartleby (2002)

Your objective in this assignment is to analyze the dialogue created between the two media as they relate "the same" story.  As you are watching, take notes.  Consider how one of these film addresses the critical issues taken up by the works we have studied thus far.  What happens to the fact of colonialism when it is "Disney-fied" for children?  How does our contemporary "politically correct" culture represent Native American culture or other facets of early American life?  What details of the John Smith/Pocahantas story are "romanticized" to make a "good movie" (regardless of their historical accuracy)?  How are differences in language and culture generally represented?  What does the film do to make these more "palatable" to a contemporary movie audience?  If the story is modernized, what is the impact of such "modernization."  These are just some of the questions you can ask yourself.

Please note, this assignment is not simply to identify and provide an inventory of the plot points or direct allusions to the earlier works, although that will be an essential first step in your analysis. Rather, you need to see that the film is itself a “critical reading” and an analysis of the precursor work.  The director is making choices in his/her film that provide an interpretation.  In a sense, you are interpreting the interpretation.  Thus, you might consider this to be a “metacritical” analysis (i.e., criticism of criticism).  

Because you will be producing a shorter essay (4-5 pages), you will not be able to talk about the entire film and ALL of the ways in which your chosen film relates to the earlier text.  It will be preferable to focus on one or two scenes -- or one or two specific aspects -- in the context of the whole so that you can go into adequate depth in your discussion.  You might also consider how the different medium of film affects the ability of the director to address certain questions. For instance, in Cabeza de Vaca, why does the director choose not to give us subtitles for the Native Americans' words?  Or why is the historical figure of Pochantas, a young girl, sexualized in the film versions of the Smith-Pochantas story? What is the impact of the violence of many of these stories when you read about it versus when you see it represented on film, as in the story of Father Jogues as opposed to the story of the Jesuit missionary in Black Robe?  These are just some examples of more focused questions you might analyze.

The challenge in this assignment will be to determine what elements of the "adaptation" strike you as being the most important and meaningful.  Depth of analysis is critical.  You may turn in this assignment at any time during the semester prior to the last class meeting; however, those who elect to turn in the assignment earlier will be treated with particular interest and sympathy.

Paper Grading Criteria

Please note also that these comments refer to the evaluation of the end product of a lengthy process--the final revised version of a paper, not the first or even the second draft. Global and local revisions are vital components of the writing of any student.

An A (outstanding) paper is unique, original, engaging, and full. It will have virtually no grammatical, usage, punctuation, or spelling errors. It has a unique "voice" that reflects an individual writer behind it, and will speak with authority and clarity. It is rich in detail, showing a clear understanding of differences in levels of specificity; it provides justification or support for all general assertions. Its treatment of the topic avoids a feeling of "anonymity." It addresses the assignment directly without avoiding specific requirements.

The B (above average) paper falls short of an A paper usually in two areas: style and development. It has some errors in grammar, usage, punctuation, or spelling, but usually very few; or it has some awkward phrases--but in neither case enough to impede the reading of the paper. Its development is consistently strong, with detail and support present in most, but perhaps not every, instance. Its sense of audience is clear. The B paper addresses the assignment directly and satisfies almost all of its requirements. The B grade is not given to a paper that is not clearly and demonstrably above average.
 

A grade of B+ may be given to a paper whose elements place it in the upper range of B papers, but which is still not of A quality.

The C (average) paper addresses the assignment directly and relatively clearly, but without significant depth or clarity. Stylistic errors may be noticeably present, but not in such quantity as to impede the reading in a significant way. A C paper generally provides some support for assertions, but not enough to give the impression of complete thoroughness. The tone and voice of a C paper are fairly clear but often lack a sense of individuality of author or sense of authority. A C paper often has an "anonymous" quality to it, restating standard opinion or assertions without going into significant depth. A C paper is in control of its subject in a reasonable but not yet comprehensive manner.

It is important to note that a C grade on a paper does not mean that the writing, or the student's performance, is in any way poor or substandard. A C means that the work is basically solid and acceptable.

A grade of C+ may be given to a paper whose elements place it in the upper range of C papers, but which is still not of B quality.

The D (below average) paper addresses the assignment only in a brief way, avoiding some of the requirements of the assignment. Many general statements without proof, support, or justification often characterize it. Its usage, grammar, punctuation, or spelling are such that reading the paper is somewhat difficult; it has more than a few such errors per page. It is kept from being an F paper by the fact that it does address the assignment in some way and that it has some structure and does make coherent points.

An F paper has many grammatical, stylistic, punctuation, usage, or diction errors (enough to make reading the paper difficult); it makes few if any coherent assertions about the point; it has little structure; or it has any combination of these problems. A paper which may be acceptable in style and development, but which does not address the assignment at all, may also be given a grade of F.