Writing

ENG 341 is a writing-intensive course.  That means you can expect to write often and to have regular opportunities for revision in response to feedback from your classmates and me.   It also means that by the end of the semester you will have produced a minimum of 20 pages (about 5,000 words) of polished writing (i.e., writing that has been extensively revised).  Here are the kinds of writing assignments you can expect:

Informal writing:  For the purposes of generating and/or reflecting on class discussion and/or assigned reading.  Some of the informal assignments will ask you to post on the class blog.  You are also welcome–indeed encouraged–to post on the blog about anything relevant to the course and, of course, to comment on one another’s posts.

5 Annotated passage papers (250-500 wds, typed):  For each course text, choose one passage (not longer than a paragraph) that we have NOT discussed in class, but that you believe furthers our discussion in some way.  Annotate the passage, and write a couple paragraphs reflecting on your annotations and your sense of how the passage adds to our discussion-in-progress.  Due at the beginning of the second class on each novel.  Be prepared to discuss your annotations in class.

Midterm Periodical project and informal presentations:  An examination of discussions and/or images related to any aspect of novels, novel reading, novel writing, books, authorship, and/or literacy issues in general in a 19th-century British or American periodical.  This project includes an essay (10 pp, typed, double-spaced) and an informal work-in-progress presentation to the class.   Due dates for presentations TBD.

Final paper (15 pages, typed, double-spaced):  Choose one of our course texts, find 3 different editions, and write an essay in which you consider how differences across the editions matter to your experience reading the text.

Rather than put grades on individual writing assignments, I will ask you at midterm and again at the end of term to compile a portfolio of your writing.  The contents of each portfolio will be explained in more detail as those deadlines approach, but in general, each will include a revised essay, one or two annotated passage papers, selected examples of informal writing, and a cover page discussing the contents of your portfolio and what they reflect about your learning.