English 2303 Grades and Assignments

Grades

There are four major activities: the Group Project, the Research Project, two one-hour discussion exams, and a two-hour Final Exam.
Group Project: 20%
Research Project: 20%
Two exams (total): 20%
Final exam: 20%
The remaining 20% comes from the average of the quizzes and online assignments.

The Group Project

I'll divide the class into five to seven groups, each responsible for a presentation on a non-western work of literature (prior to 1700). The works are

For your convenience, groups should consist of no more than five people (four is the ideal number). To sign up for a group, go to the WebCT Bulletin Board Group Project Scheduling Forum (you'll need your login and password if you click on this link) and reply to the main message of the subject you're interested in.

Each of these works is in the Norton Anthology. If you are interested in a different non-European work from before 1700 (it does not have to be from the anthology), and if you can form a group of at least three people, you may do so (no later than September 1). For more information on the group project, see The Group Project.

The Individual Research Project

After you've finished the group project, you should take any relevant information your group has collected, along with additional research, and write a more detailed interpretation (5-7 typed, double spaced pages) of the work your group discussed. If you'd rather write on another work from before 1700, you must tell me before starting the research. I will not grade papers with surprise topics.

One-Hour Exams and the Final Exam

The two exams and final are discussion exams: you'll have to come to campus (or make arrangements at the ISS lab of another campus) to take these exams--they won't be available online. You'll choose one quotation (from a list of 4-6 that I give you) and use that quotation as a springboard for presenting your interpretation of the two works covered during the first or second half of the semester (the first exam covers the Odyssey; the second exam covers the Aeneid and Medea; the final covers the Inferno and Don Quixote, with brief discussion of the earlier three works. For two sample midterms from previous courses (note: these were two-hour open book exams), see Sample Papers

Other Assignments and Quizzes

The traditional lecture material will be presented online (as web pages) in WebCT. These pages will occasionally contain brief quizzes to make sure that you understand the basic concepts. Additionally, these pages will contain online assignments (postings to the bulletin board, chat sessions, games, readings, virtual tours). The average of all these grades will count 20%; some assignments will take more time than others, and they will count more in the averaging.
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