Introduction to Poetry

English 131    3 Credit                                                                                      Dr. Gerard Smith

Item: 1300, Section  1DL; ONLINE                                                              Office: Room: CCW 225D

Summer 2007:  Eight Weeks                                                                          Office Hours: 12:30-2:30 M-Th

                                                                                                                                Phone: 992-6058

                                                                                                                                gsmith@clark.edu

Text: The Norton Introduction to Poetry, 9^th ed. by Paul Hunter.

Course Goals:  To achieve competence in writing different forms of academic writing,

                To learn to write about literature,

                To improve writing skills,

                To improve editing skills,

                To learn proper use of sources,

                To improve reading skills,

                To improve one’s analysis of literature,

                To understand the vocabulary of literature,

                To increase aesthetic awareness.

Course Projects:  Sixteen Responses to Discussion Questions, Three Academic Papers, Three Tests.

Discussion:         25%

Papers:                  45%

Tests:                     30%

Final Grade Breakdown:  10% for each letter grade on a 100-point scale

A 94-100; A- 90-93; B+ 87-89; B 83-86; B- 80-82; C+77-79; C 73-76; C- 70-72.

Use the following checklist for each assignment, trying your best to achieve the criteria for the assignment. Note: Late papers will be docked 10% per day late.

Online Discussion Checklist

1.             Must fully address the questions assigned during that week

2.             Must show an increasing understanding and exhibit the use

                of poetic terminology

3.             Must reveal that the student understands the general theme

                of the poem, and poetic techniques used by the poet

                to explore that theme

Discussion/Attendance Rubric

Your participation in the discussion board represents attendance, classroom participation, and weekly evidence that you are making progress in achieving the goals and objectives of the class. Each discussion thread will be worth sixteen points.  Your participation will be graded using the following criteria:

Response to discussion prompt:

     10-8 points  for using poetic terminology correctly, providing accurate examples, and clear and precise explanations.

     7-5 points for using mostly the correct terms, mostly providing accurate examples, and for providing reasonable explanation.

     4-0 points for incorrect terms, inaccurate examples, and shallow explanations.

Replies to others:

     6-5 points for being polite, engaging, and thoughtful

     4-3 points for being polite, engaging and not so thoughtful

     2-0 for being polite and a bit shallow

For being impolite, rude, aggressive, insulting or otherwise disruptive, removal from the class.

Paper Checklist

1.___An original title

2.___Proper essay format: See Paper Guidelines

3.___Clear thesis that deals with a central issue in the author’s essay

4.___A clear preview of main ideas

5.___Key words used to create topic sentences and transitional statements

6.___A clear pattern of organization established in the introduction

7.___Sufficient evidence presented in the essay body to support  conclusions drawn

8.___Effective use of information from the poem under analysis

9.___Free of sentence structure errors

10.__Free of grammatical and mechanical errors

11.__Double Space

Paper Evaluation Criteria:  The basic skills and concept necessary to achieve proficiency in academic writing.

                Audience Awareness

                Theme Structure

                Organization

                Sentence Structure

                Word Choice

                Grammar and Mechanics

Outcomes Assessment

On the examinations students should achieve the following:

1. Exhibit understanding of all poetic terminology

2. Exhibit an awareness of cultural approaches to poetry

3. Correctly interpret passages of poems for ambiguity, diction,

                imagery, figurative language,  allusion, and

4. Clearly explain passages using the correct terminology