ENG 109 Midterm Discussion Paper Directions
Worth 25 % of course grade (see ENG 109 Syllabus):
Revision Option offered only if Midterm Discussion Paper is submitted on time.
 Late Midterms accepted but will be penalized one letter grade.

DEADLINES – Week #6 (see also ENG 109 Course Plan)

	Tues., May 6: DUE:  Outline or Draft of Midterm Discussion Paper (worth 5 preparation pts) In-Class:  Workshop (worth 5 participation pts.) & Discussion of Midterm Outlines/Drafts
	Thurs., May 8: DUE:  Midterm Discussion Paper (with Outline/Draft attached) Remember: Revision Option (and thus opportunity to improve your grade) will be extended to papers submitted on time.  However, midterms submitted LATE will be penalized one grade and NO revision option will be extended..

SUGGESTED LENGTH: The Midterm has two parts, each designed to help you achieve designated course learning outcomes specified below.
Total suggested length for the Midterm (Parts I & II combined) is 4-to-5 typed / wordprocessed double-spaced pages (or about 800-to-1000 words).
[The suggested length for each part, therefore, is about 2 typed/wordprocessed double-spaced pages or about 400-to-500 words.]

You must address both Part I and Part II Topics,
and make a good faith effort to follow Citation Guidelines given below:

MIDTERM PART I: Key characteristics of a major literary-historical period of Western World Literature
1.  Identify and explain two key characteristics of one of these major literary-historical periods:  Enlightenment, Romanticism, or Realism.
2.  Illustrate each of the two characteristics of the chosen literary-historical period, by citing and analyzing well-selected specific examples from representative literary works of that period.

Targeted ENG 109 Course Learning Outcomes to be evaluated:
Outcome 1. Explain the defining characteristics of major Western literary-historical periods (such as Enlightenment, Romanticism, Realism....) and analyze individual texts from these periods in relation to their historical, social, and cultural contexts.

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Outcome 3. Explain how Western literary texts reflect or represent their contexts: e.g., cultural values and beliefs, literary and intellectual traditions, historical and biographical backgrounds, social and political realities.
Outcome 6. Use effective . . . written communication to express these literary interpretations, analyses, and evaluations, developed both independently and collaboratively.
Outcome 7. Use pertinent evidence from the literary texts and their contexts, to explain and support the student’s literary interpretations, comparative analyses, and evaluations.

MIDTERM PART II: Interpretation and analysis of selected literary elements of a significant work of Western World literature. 
1.  Identify and explain one or two literary elements (e.g. theme, character, aspect of narrative structure, plot event or conflict, setting) important to better understanding one of these “representative” works of Western World Literature:  Faust, by Goethe, or Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte.
2.  Support your literary interpretation and illustrate your points by citing and analyzing well-selected specific examples from Faust or Wuthering Heights.
3.  Be sure to explain why the selected literary element/s is/are “important” to better understanding the “representative” work of Western World Literature under discussion—i.e. Faust or Wuthering Heights.

Targeted ENG 109 Course Learning Outcomes to be evaluated:
Outcome 2:  Define and illustrate key literary concepts; interpret significant relationships among the thematic content, literary form, and literary-historical contexts of selected individual texts.
Outcome 5  Apply literary critical methods, comparative analysis, and defensible criteria appropriate to the literary-historical context, to analyze, interpret, and evaluate these texts.
Outcome 6. Use effective . . . written communication to express these literary interpretations, analyses, and evaluations, developed both independently and collaboratively.
Outcome 7. Use pertinent evidence from the literary texts and their contexts, to explain and support the student’s literary interpretations, comparative analyses, and evaluations.

Citation Guidelines

Avoid Plagiarism: Cite Your Sources!  When you cite a literary work . . .

·     Make clear which author and work you are citing: e.g. use author tags (According to Blake,...), and, if needed, identify which literary work or which part of a literary work is being cited (In her Introduction to A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Wollstonecraft asserts that...). It is permissible to shorten references to very long titles as long as it is still clear to your readers which work you are citing (Equiano gives this reason for writing his
Narrative: . . . ).

·       Exact quotations should be enclosed in quotation marks; use ellipses . . . if you leave out part of a sentence; put brackets [ ] around anything you add or change within a quoted passage.

·       Both quotations and paraphrases of specific passages from a literary work should be followed by page numbers in our textbook given inside parenthesis, like this: (Longman 1393).

·       Line breaks for quoted lines of poetry should be indicated by a slash / like this:
"The Lamb" in Songs of Innocence opens with a child's question: "Little Lamb who made thee/Dost thou know who made thee" (ll. 1-2, Longman 1394).

·       If you cite a source other than our textbook, identify that source as well.  For Example:

Catherine Ancholou, a Nigerian scholar, explains that Equiano's slave narrative must be studied "to connect, to not forget, to remember, and to take responsibility for the actions of our forefathers”  (“Olaudah Equiano” online reserve article).

Support your main points or definitions clearly and persuasively with literary citations

·         Select relevant literary "evidence" that best supports your points, and cite (quote and/or paraphrase) only as much as is needed and relevant to help you make your points.

·      Interpret or explicate (explain) your literary citations. In general, all quotations and paraphrases should be accompanied by your explanations of how/why the cited passage relates to and supports your point. Don't assume a quoted passage will speak for itself, for no two readers will necessarily interpret and understand a passage in exactly the same way you do. You may need to single out and explicate specific words or phrases within your literary citations to clarify how you are interpreting them and/or why they are relevant or important to your point.