Plan II TC603A:
Composition and Reading in World Literature

ASSIGNMENTS

In the following, you'll find the more detailed explanations about how to complete the various assignments indicated on the syllabus, and on how they are graded. Please follow these directions, and ask for clarifications in a timely matter. No late assignments accepted unless arranged in advance (and don't expect to be able to); medical exceptions must be accompanied by physician's note.

The first assignments that follow are the demos about how to do a précis that we'll work on as a group the first couple of weeks of class.

Thereafter, you will find information about class quizzes, how to do your oral presentations (signup sheet will be circulated the second week of class), other brief written assignments, and the various stages leading up to your final class analysis.

The graded assignments add up to 100 points for the semester. All grades will be posted on the E-Gradebook off the CLIPS page for the class in UT Direct.

Short Writing Assignments:
Directions and Grading

Précis Assignments: Implication Statements as Analytical Writing

These are 250--500 word (1-2 page) assignments that are designed to encourage critical readings of the texts. Initial précis are laid out for you below including an initial model for them demonstrated in class before you have any due. See also the attached pages for various descriptions of what a précis is.

Your assignments for this class are all analytical précis: that is, they track the logic and exposition of the essays or chapter assigned, and can follow the compare/contrast what says with a rewritten version or a different historical context. This stacks the deck for your Focus and Logic/Goal statements, which will look a lot alike for all of them.

THE IMPLICATION STATEMENT IS THE ACTUAL WRITING ASSIGNMENT THAT IS BASED ON THE PRECEDING INFORMATION. When you get to the implications, the expository writing stage, you need to ask and answer questions about differences between source texts (the originals) and the rewritten versions. Where they are rewritten and why (for what audiences, what historical expectations or ideological positions. Grading as noted and the end of the "Format for Précis" below.

Blackboard Assignments: Comparisons to Present a Point of View (short op ed piece)

TO ACCESS BLACKBOARD:
log in to UTDirect, and you'll find there a hot link to BLACKBOARD in the right-hand column. When you get to BlackBoard, select our class number, then click on the COMMUNICATION button. There, you'll find a link to the discussion board. The discussion board will bring up your group (do not enter in the general discussion) Please post your entry by 9:00 AM the DAY BEFORE CLASS.

That night, by 9:00 PM, you read everyone else's entries in your group. You then add comments on the other contributions and a comment on what have you learned from other postings (at least two) and from class that might have made you write the entry differently, or that you need to correct. Post no more than about 150 words in your initial statement.

GRADING: This assignment is graded FULL CREDIT (2 points) / HALF CREDIT (1 point)/ FAIL (NO CREDIT). "Full credit" means you participated (1 point) made an arguable, thoughtful contribution. "Half credit" for perfunctory work, or for work that does not take the assignment seriously. NO GRADE WILL BE GIVEN UNTIL YOU POST YOUR SELF-CRITIQUE.

FORMAT FOR PRÉCIS

There is a difference between a text's facts and the strategy used to present those facts. A "précis" (pray-see) reflects this difference. It is designed to reflect the structure of a text's argument, not just a set of notes on the text's content. A précis is no more than one typed page long.

No matter what type, a précis has three sections:

  1. A statement about the text's FOCUS. This is the main issue that the text addresses.

    **You write a concise statement (1-2 sentences) of that focus.
    Likely alternatives:
    • issues or problems
    • representative concerns of a group, or its interlocked set of beliefs
    • institutions/systems
    • events and their characteristics or repercussions

    E.g.: "The structure of the mind and how it relates to behavior in the social world."

    What not to do:
    Do not include journalistic commentary, or examples, or evaluations--just state what the topic is.

  2. A statement of LOGIC and GOAL (its Intent), which will introduce a CHART WITH HEADINGS encompassing the text's data in two parallel columns of notes (usually with page references to the reading).

    **You write a sentence describing the logic pattern

    (E.g., "By examining the sources of _________, the author shows the consequences of ____________"; "In order to ____________, the text correlates the ________ and ____________ of social behaviors.")

    Typical verbs indicating such logic:
    • compare
    • contrast
    • link causally
    • cause
    • X follows from...

    **After that, you write two column headings creating classes of information which the author systematically correlates with each other. Under these headings, you typically add three or four examples which fit the content of the text into its form.

    Typical categories of information:
    • characteristics of a model, role, event
    • stages in an event or process
    • sources, conditions, or restrictions on a contexts
    • participants or interest groups
    • effects, impact, consequences
    • goals, purposes to be realized.

  3. A paragraph (ca. three sentences) indicating the IMPLICATIONS of the information pattern.

    This is not a description of the information pattern or focus, but rather an extension of the covert statement implied by the information and pattern. That is, what is this text / précis good for, especially as seen from the outside? In setting the argument up this way, what is being hidden, asserted, or brushed aside? What is new or old-fashioned about the correlations made? Who would profit most by this arrangement?

Grading   Totals: +5 = A; +4 = B; +3 = C; +2 = D; +1 = F.
  Assignments are one page long with implications on reverse side double spaced.

WEEK 1
PRÉCIS DEMO IN CLASS: Antoinette's world

FOCUS: In the first section of Wide Sargasso Sea, Antoinette relates the key events in her life

LOGIC: By comparing what Antoinette says about events that dramatically change her life with her own reactions the reader can appreciate that... (what do you find out?)

  What Antoinette says about pivotal events Her assessment/reactions to those events
EXAMPLE 1:



    
EXAMPLE 2:



    
EXAMPLE 3:



    

IMPLICATION: (Hint: what does the contrast reveal about Rochester's as a culturally-conditioned human being? The period in which he lived and the expectations/values of landed gentry in English society in the nineteenth century?)


WEEK 2
PRÉCIS #1:

NAME: _______________
SCORE: ______ of 5 points

FOCUS: In Part II, Rochester views the world he has married into as a proper Englishman with English values, but he is confronted with people and places he regards as either suspect or hostile.

LOGIC: By comparing behaviors Rochester considers reprehensible with possible alternative explanations suggested by the information in Part I, the reader 1) could serve as marriage counselor and get these two back together, 2) see that this match is impossible

  Rochester's negative judgment Cultural and historical differences
he does not know about or appreciate
Negative Judgement 1:



    
Negative Judgement 2:



    
Negative Judgement 3:



    

IMPLICATION: (Complete on back side or separate sheet, DOUBLE SPACE)
(Hint: does Antoinette's world look familiar/unfamiliar to you? In what ways are her values the same/different from those of a traditionally raised White Anglo Saxon?)


PRÉCIS ASSIGNMENT #2:

NAME: _______________
SCORE: ______ of 5 points

FOCUS: The Crucible explores how, among people who are so fearful that they rush to judgment without proper evidence, even the most absurd accusations can result in death sentences

LOGIC: By comparing what lies are told with the public and judicial reactions to them... (what do you find out?)
  Lies told (by whom, to whom, when, and where)
--how do you know it's a lie? 		Putative reasons for treating unfounded
assertions as credible
Lie 1:



    
Lie 2:



    
Lie 3:



    

IMPLICATION: (Complete on back side or separate sheet, DOUBLE SPACE)


Directions for Group Presentation:
Comparing a Book or Author with His/Her Historical Contexts

FORM OF THE ORAL PRESENTATION:

You will do the presentation with partners, signing up in the second week of class. Each oral presentation should last no more than 15 minutes, total, including the PowerPoint which may have documents, pictures, or even film clips (in which case 3 minutes or so is optimal). You will be gonged at 20 minutes, finished or not.

WHAT YOU DO TO PREPARE:

  1. In consultation with Janet (email or office visit), choose a thesis to develop at least 1 week prior to your presentation and submit your PowerPoint at by the Wednesday before your presentation for her to vet, make suggestions.

  2. Compare the "texts" (documents you assemble and the original) and implications about any contrasts or particular emphases made by historical readers/audiences.

  3. Look up reviews in the UT Library On Line http://www.lib.utexas.edu:
    THEN:
    • for info on how to find info on film, http://www.lib.utexas.edu/ugl/researching/film.html --the Internet Movie Database is particularly comprehensive.
    • for info on how to find biographical or historical info on a work, http://www.lib.utexas.edu/subject/english/index.html
    • for English Literature--especially look at ABELL; for general literature, MLA (Links off of this page)
    • for general author information, particularly straightforward source is the Dictionary of Literary Biography--go to http://www.lib.utexas.edu/indexes/index.html, and click on D and you'll find the list that it's in.

      NOTE THAT YOU CAN'T USE MOST OF THESE RESOURCES WITHOUT YOUR UT EID--if you log into them directly, not over the UT Library, they'll ask you for money.

  4. Decide, on the basis of your reading of documents, what the "horizon of expectation" your text may have been at the point in time your group investigates. You can conclude this from what decisions were made in the adaptation from the cultural perspective, what was emphasized, critiqued, ignored? Also, what expectations did the book author have of his/her audience, and what needed to be updated or otherwise modified for subsequent audiences.

WHAT YOU PRESENT:

The contents of a précis comparing representative scenes from the book and its historical context, and the implications about which audience shifts took place between the two. Format is open, but each of you must speak, and you want to show one clip. Powerpoint summaries, transparencies, or other handouts encouraged. End with one or two questions that your presentation raises that might be a good start for further discussion.

WHAT YOU TURN IN TOGETHER:

WHAT YOU TURN IN SINGLY:

A statement about how you and your partners split the work (you do not need to consult with each other in writing this up for me). Itemizing helps.

HOW IT WILL BE GRADED: 10 points total

NOTE: Each presentation will get response sheets from the other students in the class as feedback about the effectiveness of your presentation.

RESPONSE TO ORAL PRESENTATION

(Periodically will count in lieu of quiz)



Responder's Name: ____________________________

The main idea of the presentation was:


What I didn't understand:


What I disagree with, and why:


Best thing about the presentation:


WORKSHEET ON LIBRARY SESSION:

take notes and ask questions about
what you need to be able to locate to do a research paper



Directions and Grading for Solo Presentation and Paper

45 points total, with each phase counted separately into this total

The final project for the class is an extended comparison between a book and one or more of its film versions. The goal of the paper is to argue what challenges the materials present when re-presented to new audiences. Your research will include information on the book authors and the films, as well as reviews of the films (at least five) and scholarly articles on the films (at least three sources, cited from paper sources).

The paper will be 7-8 pages long, in MLA format for footnotes/endnotes/in-text citations (your choice), bibliography, and page layout (double-spaced, 10-12 point font, with proper header and page numbers). The final version of the paper should have a 100-150-word abstract at its start.

PHASE 1: DUE WEEK 6 = 5 points
Sign up and show up for individual consultations with the instructor by appointment to identify a topic for your longer paper (sign up sheet on the door of my office, EPS 3.166--allow for 15 minutes minimum, more if you need it.)

PHASE 2: DUE WEEK 8 = 5 points
Preliminary draft of work for project due: abstract plus statement of research intent/research completed plus prose write-up of one comparison (part of the body of your paper, ca. 500 words--returned with comments by Friday of that week.)

WEEK 9: Revised version of abstract and statement of research intent/ research due--returned with comments by Friday of that week.

How to write an abstract?: consult the information posted at: http://www.utexas.edu/depts/german/graduate/talks_abstracts.html

PHASE 3: STARTS WEEK 10, ENDS WEEK 12 = 5 points

WEEK 12: Follow up on suggestions and begin to shape the paper. Schedule individual consultations with the instructor by appointment (sign-up sheet on the door of my office, EPS 3.166‹allow for 30 minutes minimum, more if you need it). BRING WITH YOU a 6-7 page draft of the first part of your paper, based on a précis and incorporating your improved sample

PHASE 4: ORAL PRESENTATION, WEEK 13, 14, 15 = 10 points
Sign-up for times. Each presentation is 15-20 minutes long, including film clip(s). Format like that for group presentation, but with more developed content--use your draft as a script for a presentation that may include up to 5 minutes of clips (not all in one clip.)

HOW ORAL PRESENTATION WILL BE GRADED: (10 points total)
5 for evaluations you do for others
5 for completing your oral presentation (deduction for every missing element, as in joint presentation)

NOTE: Each presentation will get response sheets from the other students in the class as feedback about the effectiveness of your presentation. Use the "Responses to Oral Presentations" items to address specific issues. USE THE RESPONSES YOU GET AS FEEDBACK FOR YOUR FINAL PAPER VERSION.

PHASE 5: FINAL WRITTEN VERSION OF PAPER, DUE DECEMBER x
(DAY OF SCHEDULED FINAL EXAMINATION) = 20 points

PLEASE REFER TO THE MLA STYLE MANUAL IN PRINT FORM OR ONLINE: http://www.utexas.edu/refsites/style_manuals.html OR http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html

EXAMPLES OF PAPER TOPICS:
Comparisons of books and rewritten versions in print or other media:

  1. Sequels and prequels to canon authors such as Jane Austen or Shakespeare or popular classics such as Mitchell's Gone with the Wind
  2. Variant screen versions of any classic
  3. Rewriting an author's biography or reception to his/her work
  4. Science fiction and borrowings from classic utopias and distopias
  5. Reception online--how the internet rewrites the classics for a variety of audiences


Quizzes

Directions and Grading

A check and a tally for attendance, periodically throughout the semester I will have a short quiz on the content of our reading--either a short answer question about main events (what does X do after Y) or about a key paragraph or exchange in the work whose significance I ask you to identify. Like the Blackboard assignment, you get 1 point just for trying, a second one for getting it right! Each one missed will be one MINUS point off the total of 10. At the start of each class. Full credit if answer at least 90% correct.

Fall Semester 2004