3.
Suggested length: 4-to-5
typewritten/wordprocessed double-spaced pages.
4.
Final (Revised) draft of Midterm Discussion
Papers must be typed or wordprocessed and double spaced, or they will not
be accepted.
5.
Please use standard
manuscript format—e.g., leave 1 inch margins at top-bottom-sides;
type/print on standard sized 8 ½” x 11”white paper, using only one side
of each page; use readable fonts in standard point sizes (10 point for larger
fonts, 12 point for smaller fonts), etc.
Please label your assignment completely, using
MLA-style heading (illustrated at the top of this handout) in the upper
left-hand corner of the first page, and running
page headers (illustrated on the second page of this handout) in the top
right-hand corner of second and subsequent pages of your Midterm Discussion
Papers.
6.
Please edit and proofread
your papers before submission: neat
handwritten corrections in black or blue ink on the typed/wordprocessed pages
of the final draft are acceptable. NOTE:
Grammatical errors will not be considered in the grading unless
they hurt the clarity, coherence, and/or effectiveness of your written
expression.
7.
Please include the number of your topic choice in the MLA-style heading (as modeled above).
If you propose and Cora approves
in advance an alternative topic, please write out that topic and attach
it to your Midterm. One goal
of the Midterm Discussion Paper is to give you a valuable learning experience
through writing on a focused topic choice of interest to you, re-examining one
or more literary work(s) and their literary elements in more depth, and
formulating a sustained interpretation which stimulates you to apply what you
have been learning in Eng 104.
8.
Most topics are designed for treatment in short essay form, developing a central thesis in response to the chosen topic. Guidance is offered in the ENG 104 Course Pack, pp. 20-23:
“Writing about Literature.” Our
textbook offers some guidance in Appendix
3: “Writing about Short Stories” (especially pp. 952-970), discussing
three common types of essays of literary interpretation—explication, analysis, and comparison/contrast—with
sample student papers to illustrate. One
or more of the topic choices given in the Midterm Topics handout may
also lend themselves to a “creative-writing”
approach, wherein you might be asked to rewrite a scene from a different
point of view, or conduct an imaginary interview with the author on his/her
short story.
9.
Plagiarism must be avoided and citations properly documented when you quote, paraphrase and/or summarize the
literary work(s), related readings from our textbook, Course Pack, or course
handouts, and/or any outside sources.
When you quote or paraphrase from the Eng 104 class textbook, use
parenthetical documentation to cite page numbers in-text—i.e., in the body
of your Discussion Paper--immediately following the quotation or paraphrase.
For example:
After
hearing his wife’s story of Michael Furey, Gabriel realizes “how poor a
part he, her husband, had played in her life” (436).
If you
cite the Eng 104 Course Pack or a course handout, please give the author
(if indicated), the title and page number.
For example:
Charlotte
Perkins Gilman explains that she wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” not to drive
people crazy, but to save them from madness (“Why I Wrote ‘The Yellow
Wallpaper,’” Eng 104 Course Pack 24).
If you are citing Eng 104 course text and/or
materials that everyone has had access to, you need not include a
bibliography at the end. Eng 104
Midterm Discussion Paper topics are not intended to require outside
research; however, if you do use any
outside sources, you will be expected to cite them in the text of your paper and
list them in full bibliographical entries at the end of your Discussion Paper.
Models for documenting sources are given in our textbook, pp. 971-976.
See Cora if you need more guidance.
ADVICE
ON USING QUOTATIONS EFFECTIVELY: It
is important to support and illustrate your general points with specific
quotations and paraphrases from the literary work(s) to demonstrate how and
why you arrived at your interpretation.
The weightiest kind of “evidence” in literary interpretation is
citations from the literary work itself.
You will also want to incorporate any relevant information gained
from course resources, and you may want to quote others’ critical opinions
from course or outside perhaps sources.
But in so doing, keep the following advice in mind:
·
Quote
or paraphrase only as much of the text as is needed to make your point.
·
Accompany
quotations and other citations with your own interpretative commentary to
make your points explicit. Don’t
assume your readers will read and interpret a quotation the same way you do:
you must guide readers with your own explication of the quotation.
Don’t expect your readers to understand automatically how the quote
or paraphrase is relevant or significant:
it’s your job to point out connections and explain the importance.
·
Don’t
substitute lengthy plot summary for interpretation. You
should only re-tell what happens in a literary work as that sequence of
events helps you make a point. Integrate
any such plot summaries with meaningful interpretation of why or how the event
sequence seems significant or relevant to a point you are trying to make.
·
Don’t
quote passages from a literary text or another critic’s opinion unless you
feel that you understand them, are prepared to explain them, and can show
how they are relevant to your interpretation. That is, don’t quote
passages just because they sound good.
·
If
you do cite other critics’ opinions, do so judiciously and make the
citations serve your own purposes. Eloquent
and insightful critic’s words may indeed help you make a key point
effectively. Or perhaps a
critic has given you a good idea that you want to apply or build on in your
interpretation. Citing an
established critic in the field who shares your opinion can also lend
authority to your interpretation. Even
citing a dissenting opinion that conflicts with your own can be used
effectively to show why an alternative interpretation seems unsatisfactory.
·
Keep
your own voice and ideas in the forefront of your paper.
Certainly
you may draw upon many resources, profit from the serious work on the
subject that others have already accomplished, and incorporate other’s
opinions in developing your own interpretations.
Just don’t let the voices and opinions of others drown out your own
voice. The primary emphasis
throughout your paper should remain on what you think, the thoughtful
interpretation that you have arrived at.
·
However
interesting and provocative biographical or other contextual information
about an author or a literary work may be, use it only if it is relevant to
your interpretation and helps you make your points.
·
Treat
an author’s own interpretation of his/her own work as a special, but not
necessarily the only “right” or possible interpretation.
Trust
the art, not the artist, D. H. Lawrence has advised. Good writers are not always good literary critics.
What an author says s/he did or intended to do in a literary work is
indeed special testimony and may offer valuable insights about the
conception, technique, meaning of the literary work in its time and place.
But at least some degree of writers’ creativity operates on
unconscious/subconscious levels, and their texts often deliberately leave
interpretive “gaps” that readers are invited to fill as co-creators of
meaning. And as new generations
of readers of different times and places experience the literary work, its
meaning and impact will also change.
10.
In developing your literary
interpretation, another primary
goal is to help you and other Eng 104 readers better understand and appreciate
the literary work(s). Write
to communicate clearly and effectively with other English 104 readers—not
just Cora—and offer your interpretation as only one among many possible
interpretations. Even though
everyone in English 104 has been studying the same works and materials over
the past weeks, no two readers are likely to read, understand, and
interpret a given literary work in exactly the same ways, and what seems
“obvious” to you may very well not be “obvious” to other Eng
104 readers. Diversity of opinion
and interpretation is inevitable, thought-provoking, and valuable in the study
of literature: it helps us all understand the literary work(s) from multiple
perspectives and in new/different ways. There is no single
“right” answer to the topic choices given,
nor a single “correct” interpretation of a given literary work.
Formulate your interpretation seriously and thoughtfully in response to the
selected topic, to show your readers how and why you arrived at this
interpretation. Some
interpretations may be more coherently explained and persuasively supported
than others; this effect often results from keeping in mind a strong sense of
diverse audience responses. You
want your readers to learn something of value from your interpretation, but
you need not set out to convince everyone else that they must adopt only
your interpretation. Rather, help
your readers understand how and why you arrived at your interpretation.
SOME KEYS TO SUCCESS:
·
Know the literary text(s) well and develop your
interpretation as thoughtfully, clearly, and persuasively as you can:
read and re-read closely, select key passages that best support and illustrate
your ideas, take into account aspects of the work that seem inconsistent or
contradictory to your developing theory, and consider the merits of others’
interpretations of the literary work(s).
You will be expected to show that you have (re)read closely,
thoughtfully, seriously the literary work(s) under discussion, and that you
can support your interpretive points
by citing and explicating well-selected specific examples from the literary
text(s).
·
Review your notes on
course presentations and seminars, revisit related readings and handouts, and
re-read your own Response Writings.
Feel free to use relevant passages from your reading and
Seminar notes and/or Response Writings! To demonstrate that you have thoughtfully completed assigned
background and handout readings, and have been a regular and attentive
participant in class, you will be expected to apply what you have been
learning about historical-literary-biographical backgrounds, key literary
concepts, and various critical views as relevant to the chosen topic and
literary work(s) under examination.
·
Focus
your paper on a limited number of points.
Then set out to explain, support, and illustrate your interpretive
points in some depth, as clearly, effectively, and specifically as you can. You need not goal is not necessarily to persuade us all that
we must adopt your interpretation, but rather to help others clearly and fully
understand how and why you have interpreted the literary work(s) as you have.
And, in the process of communicating and sharing our diverse
interpretations through the Discussion Papers, we may all come to a broader
and deeper understanding the literary work(s) and their contexts, and key
literary concepts.
I
look forward to reading and learning from your Discussion Papers!! ~ Cora
Midterm
Discussion Paper Topics: Online Handout
Note:
Alternative Topic Proposals will be
considered
if presented and approved by Cora in advance.
Otherwise . . .
Choose
one of the following topics for your Midterm Discussion Paper:
*
* * ELEMENTS OF FICTION * * *
Understanding
the Literary Elements of the Short Story [General
Intro to Topics #1 – 5]: Thus
far, the literary elements of plot,
character, theme, and point of view have been introduced through course
readings and/or class discussions, and you may have worked further with these
literary elements in Seminars and/or Response Writing.
Focus your Midterm Discussion Paper on explaining and illustrating your
understanding of one of the following literary elements, drawing upon
specific examples from one or two of the short stories we have studied thus
far in English 104, as directed.
Topic #1: Plot.
Define and illustrate your understanding of plot structure:
(1) exposition, (2) conflict/complication, (3) rising action, (4) crisis/climax, and (5) falling
action/resolution. Use one or
two of the short stories to demonstrate your understanding of these 5 basic
parts of plot structure.
Topic #2:
Character. Define
and illustrate your understanding of protagonist
and antagonist, whose struggle
constitutes the major conflict, in
one or two short stories that we have studied. Be sure to define the major conflict(s)
of the story/ies. Then define static
and dynamic character, and explain why you would classify the
protagonist(s) under discussion as static
or dynamic, supported by
well-selected examples from the literary work(s).
Topic #3:
Theme. Define
theme, and present your
interpretation of one major theme in one or two short stories we have read.
Then analyze in some detail how that theme is developed in the short
story/ies.
Topic #4:
Narrator & Point of View.
Use terminology learned from class/readings to identify and illustrate key
characteristics of two different types of narrators and points of view adopted
in two different short stories that we have read.
Then speculate on why you think that these authors chose these
narrators and points of view as the best way to tell the stories in question.
Topic #5:
Understanding Character and Methods of Characterization.
One key to understanding a short story is to analyze
its characters, their actions (internal and external), and the motivations and
situations that drive them to act as they do. Present a character
analysis of one or two characters, from one or two short stories that we have
read thus far. Focus on
identifying and explaining one or two keys to understanding the character(s),
supported by well-selected examples from the literary work(s). In so doing, also identify the methods that the author/s
use/s to create the characterization(s)—such as dialogue, interior views or
monologues, external action and gesture, interactions with other characters,
responses to external situations, etc.
*
* * CONTEXTS * * *
Understanding
the Theory and Practice of Poe OR Maupassant [General Intro to Topics #6 & #7]: Thus
far in Eng 104, we have read examples from both the practice and the theory of
short story writing by Edgar Allan Poe and Guy de Maupassant.
Understanding an author’s theory of short story writing can help
us better understand what he tries to accomplish in the short stories
themselves.
Topic #6:
Poe’s Theory & Practice.
Identify two or three of Poe’s principles of short story writing made
in his “The Importance of the Single Effect in Prose Tale.”
You may also wish to consider how these identified principles reflect
the larger literary trends—i.e. Dark Romanticism—of his times.
Then apply these principles to an interpretation of Poe’s “The Cask
of Amontillado.” Demonstrate
how the identified principles do (or do not) seem to be carried out in Poe’s
short story.
Topic #7:
Maupassant’s Theory & Practice.
Identify two or three of Maupassant’s principles of short story
writing as presented in his “The Writer’s Goal.” You may also wish to consider how these identified principles
reflect larger literary trends—i.e. Literary Realism—of his times.
Then apply these principles to an interpretation of “The Necklace.”
Demonstrate how the identified principles do (or do not) seem to be
carried out in Maupassant’s short story.
Topic #8:
Literary Romanticism vs. Literary Realism.
Identify
and explain one or two defining features of literary Romanticism, and
illustrate the identified feature(s) with relevant examples from Poe’s
“The Cask of Amontillado.” Then
identify and explain one or two defining features of of literary Realism, and
illustrate the identified feature(s) with relevant examples from
Maupassant’s “The Necklace” and/or Chekhov’s “The Lady with the Pet
Dog.” Finally, compare and/or
contrast these defining features of literary Romanticism and Realism to
speculate on how such literary movements can demonstrate change (difference)
and/or continuity (similarity) from one literary period to the next.
Topic #9:
Understanding Literary Realism, as Practiced by Maupassant and Chekhov.
Identify two or three defining features of literary
realism, and illustrate these features with relevant examples from the realist
works “The Necklace” and “The Lady with the Pet Dog.” Then to show the variations that can exist within a literary
movement like Realism, identify and illustrate one or two significant
differences between these two short stories.
*
* * OTHER OPTIONS * * *
Topic #10: A
Gendered Theory of Short Story Writing? Some
of you have theorized that males and females write differently, expressing
different perspectives, themes and experiences, and perhaps even using
different “gender-specific” techniques in their short stories.
Others of you may think that factors other than gender are more
significant in accounting for differences in the ways authors write.
Test the hypothesis that an author’s gender is a significant factor
in shaping how authors write and what they write about through comparing
and/or contrasting at least one short story by a woman and one short story by
a man that we have read thus far in Eng 104.
Focus on analyzing a limited number of differences and/or
similarities that seem especially significant to this hypothesis.
Then present your conclusions.
Topic #11:
The Cultural Function(s) of Storytelling Today. Storytelling is an ancient
art, it seems to be practiced in every human culture, and it has taken many
oral and written forms over time. The modern short story can be viewed as only
one of the most recent and Western forms of human narrative arts.
Theorists like Campbell — as well as practicing story-makers like
Silko and Atwood – hypothesize that stories serve important cultural
functions. (Some examples: myths
help people deal with psychological problems; creating and passing down
stories help people make sense of human experience, express and confirm a
people’s worldview and values, educate us in how to (or how not to) live or
survive in the world, as well as provide us with entertainment and exercise
for our imaginations. One could
argue that modern short stories continue to be written and read (and adapted
into other storytelling forms like film) because they are serving some
important cultural functions for us, today.
Focus
on one or two short stories that made a strong impact on you (e.g. that touched you, provoked thought, engaged your
sympathies, seemed particularly relevant to your own or contemporary life,
stimulated special imaginative enjoyment, etc.).
Analyze and isolate what in the story/stories created the impact, as
the basis for presenting your own theory about one or two important cultural
function(s) that the modern short story may be satisfying for readers today.
Topic #12:
Interview with the Author(s). Adapt any one of the above topics as the focus of an
imaginary interview with, or debate among, one or two of the short story
authors that we have read thus far. You
may cast yourself as interviewer, participant, and/or moderator.
Try to make your re-creation of the author(s) believable and consistent
with what we know of the author(s), and integrate into your imaginary dialogue
elements from the author’s literary work, as well as relevant references to
author’s biography, aesthetics, and/or associations with relevant literary
movement and/or historical period. Use
the interview/debate to explore questions raised by the author’s literary
work(s) and propose possible interpretative answers.
Topic #13:
Try an Imaginative Experiment. Another way to understand a story and its characters
is from the inside out, so to speak.
Choose one of the characters presented from a third person point of
view in the original story, which offered limited (or no) inner views into
that character’s thoughts and feelings--especially at key moments in the
story. Then “become” that
character and re-write, from that character’s point of view or “center of
intelligence,” one or two key dramatic scenes in the story—or perhaps add
a plausible scene that was left out of the original story. Your goals are to
more fully reveal what is going on inside that character during the scene(s),
as well as to help you and your readers better understand the story.
Though this topic gives you much imaginative license, you must make
your characterization internally consistent with other relevant “evidence”
we are given in the story. Use
two or three different methods to create your characterization—e.g.
dialogue/interactions with other characters; interior views or first-person
monologues; significant detailing of external action and gesture; description
of setting as an extension of dramatic mood, character’s state of mind,
story’s theme, etc.
Evaluation
Worth 25% of ENG 104 Course Grade
If Late__one
grade penalty (see
Eng 104 Course Syllabus)
Midterm Discussion Paper
Specifications are Met (see Midterm directions handout):
_____#4. It
is typed
or word processed,
or it will not be accepted for grading.
_____#5.
A good faith
effort is made to adhere to standard
manuscript format.
_____#7.
Identifies & responds to one of the assigned
“Midterm Discussion Paper Topics” (see Topics handout)—or an alternative topic
proposed & approved by Cora in advance.
_____#9
& #1. Plagiarism is
successfully avoided (if not, grounds for “F”: see also Eng 104 Syllabus): Author tags and/or parenthetical
documentation accompany citations of Eng 104 textbook and course materials;
& any outside (non-Eng104 regular course) sources are properly cited in-text
and full bibliographical entries for any such sources are listed at end
of Midterm Discussion Paper.
Evaluation
Guide: ___ = Excellent
(A); ___= Very
Good (B) ;
___= Satisfactory/Adequate (C), but
could be strengthened; ___ = Poor
(D)
Evaluation
Criteria:
____Addressed
all parts
of assigned topic, & Focused topic/intepretation well enough
to
develop key points raised successfully
in a Discussion Paper of suggested
length (4-to-5
typed/wordproc’d,double-spaced pages
–& see item
#3,“Some Keys to Success”
in Directions handout).
____Competency
A. Build a Knowledge Base of a Major Literary Genre:
Midterm
demonstrates ability to: 1. Situate works of fiction within their
contexts (e.g. literary historical periods, influences, cultural,
biographical backgrounds, authorial intentions, critical reception);
2. Explain and illustrate how works of fiction reflect . . . significant
aspects of their contexts; and/or 3. Define and explicate key literary elements of narrative
fiction (e.g.
plot, character, theme, point of view)
·
Synthesis
& application of relevant “context” information (cultural/historical/literary/ biographical
background, other critical viewpoints)
strengthens student’s interpretation.
·
Strong
understanding of relevant literary terms, concepts, period/movements
demonstrated
in definitions, applications to student’s interpretation of literary text(s).
____Competency
B. Develop Skills in Literary Analysis
. . .: Midterm demonstrates
ability to: 4. Apply relevant and varied approaches (close
reading, contextual background info, literary concepts/approaches, multiple
perspectives) to the
analysis/interpretation of work(s) of fiction.
·
Thoughtful,
serious reading of literary work(s); diligent class preparation & active
class participation are clearly, convincingly demonstrated
(measured also by Competencies
A & C, & see “Some Keys
to Success” in directions handout).
·
Insightful,
thought-provoking creative/critical thinking demonstrated in points made,
approaches taken, examples applied in developing the student’s
interpretation.
____Competency
C. Exercise Effective Communication Skills
. . .: Midterm
demonstrates ability to: 7. Use effective . . . written communication to
express literary interpretations; 8. Use
well-selected evidence from literary text(s) to support literary
interpretations, analyses
·
Written
communication is clear, coherent, and effective: writing to be read & understood by diverse Eng
104 readers; communicates clearly, effectively, specifically; avoids
grammatical errors that hurt clarity/coherence
(See also items
#6 & #10 in directions handout)
·
Main
points of the interpretation supported with persuasive reasoning, clear
explanation & well-selected specific examples/citations from literary text(s) (See also “Advice
on Using Quotations Effectively” in Midterm Directions handout.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_____P.C.
Credits
(5 points
possible) for preparing 3 copies of
Midterm Draft & participating in In-Class Writer’s Workshop (on
Mon. Oct. 8).
See also example ENG 104
Student Midterm Discussion Papers & (Take Home)
Finals:
http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/eng104/studwrtgf01.htm
Fall 2001 ENG 104 Syllabus
| Course
Plan | Course
Pack Table of Contents | Assignments | Site
Map
ENG 104 Author Links Table of Contents | (1)
A - E | (2)
F - L | (3) M - Z
Literature
Links | Contexts:
Literary History & Movements | Genre
Studies: Fiction
ENG 104 Course Home
Page
YOU ARE HERE ~
ENG 104 MIDTERM DISCUSSION PAPER ~ Fall 2001
URL of this webpage:
http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/eng104/Midterm.htm
Last Updated:
03 July 2003
This webpage is maintained by Cora
Agatucci, Professor of English,
Humanities Department, Central Oregon
Community College
I welcome comments: cagatucci@cocc.edu
© Cora Agatucci, 1997-2001
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