Assignments

Note that ALL assignments are still required to be turned in, even if you have been absent. Excused absences are not an exception.

Tuesday 11/17: Early draft of your short story (Only one copy)

Turn in at least two pages in paragraphs or at least two pages of notes and ideas. This early draft should be viewed as a rough, rough-draft of your story. Use the early draft as an opportunity to sound out your ideas, even if you don’t end up using some of them. Or any of them. This draft assignment is not optional. It will (like the draft of your sonnet) be included in your final portfolio.

Tuesday 11/24: Workshop version of your short story (A copy for me and copies for your group)

Turn in copies of your most recent version of your short story. 4-6 pages, double-spaced. (And just for the record, don’t make your margins wider, your font larger, or your line-spacing bigger. I can tell when you haven’t met the page requirement.) This is the version of your short story we will be critiquing in workshop.

Fiction workshop will be on Thursday 12/3. (These new dates for the fiction workshop will mean that end of the semester conferences will be pushed back.) I will give you more details on the fiction workshop, critiques, and conference week as the dates approach.

In case you’d like to start sharing ideas, drafts, or questions with your group partners, here are the teams you will be in for fiction workshop. Your old groups no longer apply. (See handout to find out which group you are in.)

Conferences: 12/8 and 12/10

Literary Reading Attendance (Due 12/8)

There are two ways to turn in your Literary Reading Papers:

1) Put it in my box no later than 10:30am Tuesday morning (Wheatley, 6th Floor, English Department Office). I leave for the day at 10:30. If your paper is not in my box when I check it on my way out, your paper is late.

2) Hand it to me in person during your conference on Tuesday.

   Learning to read aloud and develop an ear for poetry and literature is just as important as learning the devices that construct it. So far, we’ve read a number of works in class, but hearing poetry and fiction read by the authors themselves is just as important as reading their works on the page. As part of your grade (15%), you will attend a literary reading and write a short one-page (double-spaced) response paper (due within 1 week of the scheduled reading). The reading may be either poetry or fiction and may include student readings, slam poetry readings, and poetry festivals. Lectures on literature and writing do not count.

   Your response paper should focus on what you found interesting (or uninteresting) about the reading and the author’s work. Questions to consider: Did hearing the work hinder the text? Did hearing the work read aloud offer you new insights? Did hearing the text make you wish that you had the work in front of you? Was the work hard to follow? Did the author cut off the ending to their story, and what did that do for you as a listener? Were you able to ask the author questions after the reading?

  I suggest that you do not wait until the last minute to attend a reading. The number of readings going on tend to die down as the semester comes to a close.

Critiques due 12/8:

Fiction critiques should be similar to your sonnet critiques. You are required to email a one-page critique to the group member assigned to you. You are also required to email each member of your group a shorter, one paragraph critique. Turn in hard copies of your critique along with your literary reading paper, on 12/8. You should place them in my box before 10:30am on 12/8, or hand them in to me in person at your Tuesday conference.

Portfolio (due Tuesday, December 12)

There is no class on this day, but I will hold my usual office hours until 11:00am. Come by my office to hand in your complete portfolio or place it in my box before 11:00am. This is the last day I will be on campus, so anything placed in my box after 11:00am WILL NOT be received and you WILL NOT get credit for 25% of your grade.

You are to include all of the following items in your final portfolio

Your early sonnet draft and argument draft 

The draft of the sonnet used in workshop

A copy of your sonnet with my notes and suggestions

A revision of your sonnet

Your early draft for your short story

The draft of your short story used in workshop

A copy of your short story with my notes and suggestions

A revision of your short story

ALL CRITIQUES WRITTEN FOR THE MEMBERS OF YOUR GROUP!

A one page self-assessment (more on this assignment toward the end of the semester)

As stated in the syllabus, you are responsible for significant revisions and idea developments to both your short story and your poem. Please note that no individual poem or piece of fiction you hand in (at any point in the semester) will be graded according to creativity or talent. Both your participation in the workshops and your complete portfolio will be graded according to revision efforts and timely turning in of each assignment.

As a side note, please take into consideration that your short story and short story revision may take more of your time given their length. Don’t wait until the end of the semester to start revising your poem. You’ll already have plenty to work on with your short story.