Tuesday of Thanksgiving Week

Because of a faculty and staff jollification around mid-day on Tuesday, I will be here, well, mid-day.  I can eat and critique simultaneously, so don't be shy.

I will also be on campus tonight (Monday) and on Wednesday morning, as promised. 

Textbooks for English 1302

Go to:

http://angryverbs.blogspot.com/

Thanksgiving Week

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Friday, November 18, 2011

Thanksgiving Week

1. I am extending the period for earning ten extra points to Wednesday. If I have your well-written and complete research paper in my hand by 11:10 A.M. on Wednesday, I will award you ten extra points unless your paper is awful. I will also accept your paper as an email attachment that I actually receive -- good intentions cannot be graded -- and that will print out on the very ordinary electronic gadgets I possess.

Remember always to print extra copies of your research paper. Computers, emails, and friends who swear they will get your paper to me are not reliable.

2. Given our week of come-and-go English buffet, make an effort to meet with me if you are having problems with your research paper or with your persuasive mini-essays; I am here for you and want you to succeed. I will be available at the usual class times and am almost always on campus an hour or more before class. If you don't see me, ask someone -- don't be shy!

3. There are no extra points for turning in your persuasive mini-essays early, but you'll enjoy your holiday more if you do.

For the Week of 14-18 November 2011, both sections.

As always, subject to modification:

1.  Journal writing
2.  Muster and administrivia
3.  Complete rough drafts - everybody reads everybody
A.  If you ask about changing topics, you're a month behind.
B.  Instructor's comments will not be detailed (do your own proofreading, eh?) and are not contractural
4.  Persuasive writing -- big, fat handout
A.  Instructor presentation
B.  Read it
5.  Two persuasive essays due next Monday

Research Paper Time Line Revision

M. Hall English 1301 / 1302 / 2320
9 November 2011

Research Paper Time Line II

Please remember that without a satisfactory research paper you cannot pass the class.

We may have to be flexible on this schedule, said flexibility solely at the discretion of the instructor.

We will also work on other projects while on the research paper.

At least half of each class will be devoted to research paper drafts, questions, and mutual aid.  You must budget your time carefully.  Begin work now.

1. 17 October.  Hand out and discuss packet.

2. Topic and one-sentence thesis statement due. Turn this in on a full sheet of paper with a complete MLA heading for class sharing.  You are permitted ONE topic change only, this week only. Done.

3. Working bibliography, typed in MLA format, due for class sharing. Done.

4.  Pretty good / kinda / sorta typed rough draft with revised bibliography – let’s conflate this with:  5. 14 November. COMPLETE rough draft, including revised bibliography, typed (but may, of course, feature corrections and notes) in MLA format, due for class sharing.  Zero grade if not turned in.

6. 21 November. You will be awarded ten well-earned extra points on your research paper if it is turned in by this date unless your paper scores below 70. 

7. 28 November.  Your research paper is due on this date; however, your instructor will accept it next Monday without penalty.

8.  5 December. Late research paper due no later than Monday, 5 December, at 0945 for the morning class, 6:00 P.M. for the evening class; none will be accepted after that date, hour, and minute.  An absence or tardy on this day will not excuse you; the assignment was made in August and set in (metaphorical) stone in October.

Note: Some of the works cited pages are, well, awful.  Also, please remember that the works cited page is a continuation of the body of your paper and continues the number sequence.  Note the model in your book and the samples provided in class.

At this point your paper really should be almost done.  Some of you are still changing topics, so possibly you are working on the research paper due in English 1301 in April. 

Business Letter, Block Form, a Reminder

Business Letter, Block Form

Business Letter Format, Brief Outline

1. Heading (sender's address, but not the sender's name; that comes later)
2. Inside address (to whom and where the letter is going)
3. Salutation (followed by a colon, not a comma)
4. Body (content -- brief, professional, impersonal)
5. Close ("Sincerely,")
6. Signature (and online, there won't really be a signature, just the name of the sender)

Sample:

221 Baker Street

Apartment B

Trestleburgh, Texas 77777

imsnorkberger33@aol.com

2 January 2012

Mr. Mack Hall

Angelina College / Jasper Teaching Center

450 Bulldog Avenue

P. O. Box 278

Jasper, Texas 75951

mhall46184@aol.com

Dear Mr. Hall:

May I see you briefly before class on Monday? You marked item 3 on my test wrong, but I think my answer is a good one based on the second paragraph on page 324 of our assigned text.

Please advise.

Thanks!

Sincerely,

Nelson Snorkberger

Observe that everything hangs on the left margin, without indentation, and that there is exactly one space between parts, with the exception of the close, which features four spaces (so hit the return five times) between the "Sincerely" and the name of the sender.

Always write a business letter when communicating with your teacher because he won't respond to anything less.

In what we may laughingly call real life, always write a business letter in order to reflect your excellence and your seriousness of purpose.

For immediate purposes, learn by heart the six parts of a business letter in order; they are testable.

Failure IS an Option

1.  Some of your classmates are becoming too relaxed.  Please help your pals understand that this isn't high school, and that perfunctory attendance and perfunctory performance result in a perfunctory failing grade.

2.  "Failure is not an option" has been taken out of context and  become a cliche'.  Failure in this class -- and in college, and in your career, and in life -- is indeed an option, and some of your classmates are choosing failure.  You'll miss them at graduation, but not so much that you won't enjoy the day immensely. 

3. The research paper teaching cycle is over.  Most of your classmates will submit their complete research papers this week; some others have sanded down the rough draft and are applying the final coat of good, solid work (how's that for a metaphor, eh?) for submission on the 21st.  In the meantime, we are on to the persuasive essay.

4.  Remember that quizzes may infest your life...um...bless you with learning opportunities at any time.

5. Motivational speakers, inspirational tee-shirts, Orwellian groupthink (remember TAAS pep rallies?), and denial ("I've been in this class for months; the teacher won't flunk me; I've got to pass; I've just GOT to pass.") are not your friends.  Graduation is not given; you earn graduation through hard, slogging work, late nights writing and reading at the kitchen table after everyone else has gone to bed. 

Due Monday, 21 November -- Two Persuasive Essays

Due date: Monday, 21 November

English 1301
Angelina College
Mr. Hall

Persuasive Essays

1. You will write two itty-bitty essays arguing both sides of an issue. Employ both logic and emotion.

2. Write a brief essay, slightly more than a page, supporting an idea or proposition. Then write another brief essay, again more than a page, arguing against that very idea or proposition. Each itty-bitty essay can stand alone or, if you prefer, your second essay may respond to your first essay. Avoid prompt-dependence. As always, follow the MLA essay format.

3. Since you are arguing both sides, you will probably want to choose a topic to which you are not emotionally committed. Indeed, you should have some fun with this (Ford? Or Chevy? Desperate Housewives? Or House?) as a break from your dry, grim, serious research paper.

4. Each essay should employ complete MLA essay format.

5. Write in first- or third-person, although rhetorical questions addressed to the audience (My fellow Texans, how can you find this bizarre idea credible?) are permitted.

6. Don't forget to employ vivid verbs instead of relying heavily on weak state-of-being verbs.

7. Prompts are pretty much open except for abortion, sex, sin, satanism, suicide, terminal diseases, and other grim, depressing issues. You might, however, consider whether or not whoever invented television reality shows should be executed or given a life sentence.

John Steinbeck - "We have only one story"

We have only one story. All novels, all poetry are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil. And it occurs to me that evil must constantly respawn, while good, while virtue, is immortal. Vice has always a new fresh young face, while virtue is venerable as nothing else in the world is.

John Steinbeck, East of Eden

 

quoted in the webside Happy Catholic

Canada

Canada is God's second-favorite (or second-favourite) nation.

A Few Notes re Research Papers in MLA Format

A Few Notes re Research Papers in MLA Format

1.   The format never changes in a research paper.  Never use bold face or single space.

2.  The top and bottom margins for an MLA paper are one inch.

3.  The side margins for an MLA paper are one inch.

4.  An MLA research paper is written in third-person.

5.  An MLA paper is always doubled spaced.

6.  In the USA the dimensions for letter paper are 8½ inches by 11 inches.

7.  The thesis / thesis statement, for our purposes, states what the paper will demonstrate or prove, and is the first sentence.

8.  The writer of an MLA paper cites sources so that the research can be verified.  Citation is also a matter of honesty.

9.  Plagiarism is falsely taking credit for someone else’s work.  Avoid committing plagiarism accidentally by carefully re-reading and reviewing the drafts to make sure every source is cited.

10.  Plagiarism is unethical and, in some circumstances, a crime.

11.  A paraphrase or indirect quote is rewording a sources original wording, usually for clarity; a paraphrase or indirect quote is always cited, just as a direct quote is.

12.  Much knowledge is common, and need not be sourced – Columbus wandered into the Caribbean in 1492, Eli Whitney invented the concept of mass production with standardized parts, and the sun always rises in the east.  If in doubt, cite the source.

13.  Quotation marks are for direct quotes; they are never employed for sarcasm, even in informal writing.

14.  An ellipsis (three dots) (...) is used in a direct quote to indicate that the writer of the paper is deliberately omitting part of a quotation, usually for the sake of brevity.  Again, this is a matter of being fair both to the reader and to the source.

15.  Although some instructors distinguish between the two, for our purposes bibliography and works cited are synonyms.

16.  In a bibliography / works cited, sources are sequenced alphabetically.

17.  Never, never, never single-space any part of an MLA paper.  Never.  No.

18.  The reader’s last name and the page number, separated by exactly one space, repose at the top, right-hand corner of each page of an MLA paper.

19.  Except for direct quotations, the writer never begins a paragraph with the pronoun "it."  Be careful of pronouns.

20.  The writer's personality, sex, and culture never, never, never reveal themselves in an MLA research paper.  A research paper is about the topic, never about the writer.  Be detached and objective always.  This is quite difficult in our highly personalized, me-me-me culture.

21.  I’ve been negligent in noting this:  after an end-stop, always hit the space bar twice.  There are always two spaces between sentences in a manuscript.

22.  Occasionally take a look at the sample research papers provided.  They will help you greatly.

23.  In your inexpensive little book read the chapter on research, pp. 335-406, and on MLA documentation, pp. 409-454.  The model on pp. 449-454 is especially useful as a visual aide.

24.  If you use really large blocks of quotation, lengthen your paper accordingly.  No filler, please.

25.  Take a look at p. 451 for the spacing of a long (4 or more lines) quotation – indent 10 spaces on the left and do not use quotation marks.  For 1-3 lines, don’t indent and do use the quotation marks.  Also note that the internal citation varies.

Shakespeare Really Was Shakespeare

Don't buy into the 1920's theory that Shakespeare was actually Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford.  This wheezy hoax re-surfaces every ten years or so, promoted by folks eager to sell a book or a film.  Shakespeare really was Shakespeare.

From The Anchoress:

Oct 29th, 2011 by Elizabeth Scalia

There is a great phrase in U2′s The Fly, where Bono sings,

“Every artist is a cannibal
every poet is a thief
they all kill their inspiration
then sing about their grief.”

U2 was then in its Big Irony period, and the lyric is supremely ironic, as the first line of it was lifted from an interview with a British textual artist whose name I forget.

With the opening of the latest “Shakespeare could not have written his plays” conspiracy theorist’s latest entry, Anonymous, once again teasing imaginations, Allen Massie rolls his eyes at the notion:

What do Shakespeare, Keats and Dickens have in common, apart from being great writers, masters of the English language? The answer is pretty obvious. None of them went to university; to some extent all three were self-educated. Ben Jonson said that Shakespeare had “small Latin and less Greek”, and likewise I don’t think Dickens and Keats, despite the latter’s “Ode to a Grecian Urn”, had much of either.

What’s the difference between them? Nobody, I think, has ever suggested Keats didn’t write that ode and others, or that Dickens wasn’t the author of Bleak House and Great Expectations. But Shakespeare – ah Shakespeare – there’s a whole industry devoted to trying to prove that somebody else wrote his plays. So here we go again, with a movie from Roland Emmerich, entitled Anonymous, which hands the authorship to Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford.

Never mind that Oxford died in 1604, some years before Shakespeare’s last plays were written and produced. Such considerations are a mere bagatelle when conspiracies are being revealed. Never mind that nobody at the time attributed the authorship to anyone but the man from Stratford. Evidently they were all fooled, even Ben Jonson, a fellow playwright who knew William Shakespeare and was not devoid of jealousy.

Snobbery is the reason for the nonsense. The “uneducated” Shakespeare, an actor and theatre manager, who attended neither Oxford nor Cambridge, could not – could he? – have had all the knowledge of Greece and Rome and Italy etc displayed in the plays.

Massie destroys the argument deftly: aside from death intruding on the theory, Massie notes that Shakespeare reveals what is lacking in his education through the plays, themselves.

What Shakespeare reveals above all is every artist’s gift for thievery; the ability to crib a bit of history, steal the musing of another, lift a snatch of conversation overheard in a pub and then stir it all up in the stew of one’s own not-unsubstantial reason and imagination and serve it up as something entirely new.

Of course, in once sense, it is all new — old stuff filtered, re-pondered and restyled. Fashion is like that. Fine art is like that. Music is certainly like that. And even blogs and op-ed pieces are like that.

...

Meanwhile, Francis Phillips says Anonymous should be ignored by all Shakespeare lovers. I agree. I’m not plunking down my hard-earned on it.

Monday, A.M. and P.M. Classes, Notes

1. Research paper assignment, three handouts:
A. Discussion of topics, possibilities, and that which is forbidden
B. The assignment itself and requisites for success
C. Time line

Those who were not in class missed a great deal of detailed exposition which will not be re-taught.  Missing class is not a matter of maxing out the misses short of being dropped, it is a matter of missing instruction, assignments, and exchange of knowledge.  There is no such concept as makeup work.

Okay, I'm nagging, but of necessity.  I want you to succeed, and you cannot succeed if you're not present.

P.M. class only -- rough drafts of narrative essays; everybody reads everybody.

All hands:

Check the official Angelina calendar for dates for withdrawal without penalty. 

Friday the 21st is mid-term proper; your mid-term exam will be offered on the week beginning the 24th, and will not be offered the following week.

An Unsourced Internet Forward

Research Paper Assignment

Posted to The Verb Sharpening Shop of 16 October 2011

M. Hall                                                                                                  

English 1301, 1302, 2320
17 October 2011

Writing a Research Paper

This is an outline.  We will discuss each point in class.  Take notes.  Please follow the attached time line.

Objectives: The student will write a college-level persuasive (state a thesis and then support it) research paper according to the MLA format:

1. Plan a research paper, select and limit a topic, write a preliminary thesis statement, and make a rough outline.

2. Research the topic, employing the ‘net and other sources, and make a working bibliography.

3. Take notes, evaluate sources, and use direct quotations, paraphrases, and summaries.

4. Organize information for a research paper, revise the preliminary thesis statement, make a detailed outline, and take additional notes.

5. Draft and document a research paper.

6. Revise and finish a research paper.

Your usage reference is your textbook’s research writing content, which is based on the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, and on multiple handouts.

GENERAL NOTES:

1. Your complete paper must be computer generated.

2. Each page will have, on average, two relevant direct quotations, properly punctuated and sourced.

3. The minimum number of body pages is 5; the maximum is 10. Double-space, and follow the format in the MLA.

4. I must see your preliminary thesis statement and rough outline.

5. Neatness in the final draft is a sine qua non.  This reflects your professionalism

6. Computers behave strangely.  Storage devices can be pinched or destroyed, or perhaps the class clown playfully erases weeks’ worth of your work the day before it’s due.  Computers fail. Printers fail.  Plan ahead.  No one can live your life for you; you must anticipate all possible calamities. Make duplicates.  Print out parts of your paper as soon as you can, and store them safely.

7. Check your topic with your teacher and have him sign off on it. Make sure you can handle the topic and that there are adequate resources available to you.

8.  Your paper must have at least five documented sources (more would be better), including at least one internet source.  Actually, all your sources may come from the internet.  One repetition of a source is fine, but I do want you to consider a variety of sites.  Explore!

9.  Writing lab --Hanging around idly with such excuses as “I’m typing it at home” or “I can’t work with all these distractions” will not be accepted.  Get busy; this project is more demanding than it might seem.

10.  You cannot pass the class without a solid, professional research paper.

12. Use 12-point Verdana.

13. Your completed paper will be stapled neatly, and will be graded as follows:

Body  / content                                  35 points

Bibliography                                       25   “

Aesthetics (neatness, clean paper, no corrections, no dog-ears, clear typeface, and so on) will be graded subjectively                     20 points

MLA                                                     20 points                   

14. The research paper will be graded holistically, but spelling and usage errors will be penalized at two points each, more if egregious.

15. You will turn in your final draft only. 

16. The research paper is 25% of your course grade, but remember that you cannot pass the course without a successful research paper.

17. The research paper is due not later than 5 December, without any exceptions.  You were told of the research paper in August, you have heard about the research paper all term, instruction on the research paper began in early October, the assignment was made formally on the 17^th of October, and we will have worked on the research paper in almost every class in November; no one can plead any excuse.

18.  This isn’t high school.

Research Paper Time Line, Autumn, 2011

M. Hall

English 1301 / 1302 / 2320
17 October 2011

Research Paper Time Line

Please remember that without a satisfactory research paper you cannot pass the class.

We may have to be flexible on this schedule, said flexibility solely at the discretion of the instructor.

We will also work on other projects while on the research paper.

At least half of each class will be devoted to research paper drafts, questions, and mutual aid.  You must budget your time carefully.  Begin work now.

1. 17 October.  Hand out and discuss packet.

2. 24 October.  Topic and one-sentence thesis statement due. Turn this in on a full sheet of paper with a complete MLA heading for class sharing.  You are permitted ONE topic change only, this week only. Zero grade if not turned in.

3. 31 October. Working bibliography, typed in MLA format, due for class sharing. Zero grade if not turned in.

4.  7 November.  Pretty good / kinda / sorta typed rough draft with revised bibliography.  Zero grade if not turned in.

5. 14 November. COMPLETE rough draft, including revised bibliography, typed in MLA format, due for class sharing.  Zero grade if not turned in.

6. 21 November. You will be awarded ten well-earned extra points on your research paper if it is turned in by this date unless your paper scores below 70.  Make a decision.

7. 28 November.  Your research paper is due on this date; however, your instructor will accept it next Monday without penalty.

8.  5 December. Late research paper due no later than Monday, 5 December, at 0945 for the morning class, 6:00 P.M. for the evening class; none will be accepted after that date, hour, and minute.  An absence or tardy on this day will not excuse you; the assignment was made in August.

Plagiarism -- You Can Lose Your Career

Never, never, never, never claim someone else's work as your own. 

Don't get nervous; you really cannot plagiarize accidentally. Details in class.

reporter resigns over plagiarism

By The Associated Press

7:41 p.m., Oct. 13, 2011

Also of interest

• Pulitzer Board elects Politico co-founder
• Lag in Wis. hostage response raises questions
• ASNE adds 2 online journalism leaders to board
• German ex-minister apologizes to Swiss journalist
• Author quits Daily Beast after plagiarism claims

ARLINGTON, Va. — Politico says a reporter has resigned after editors determined she had plagiarized stories about transportation, most recently from a New York Times article.
Editor-in-chief John F. Harris and executive editor Jim VandeHei said in an online note that the stories by Kendra Marr "borrowed from the work of others, without attribution, in ways which we cannot defend and will not tolerate."
VandeHei confirmed the information on Thursday night.
A voicemail left at a cellphone number for Marr wasn't immediately returned.
Politico says a senior editor received an email from a Times writer Wednesday pointing out similarities in stories in the two publications. Editors say on Thursday when they compared the articles and six other pieces by Marr, they found "troubling similarities to work earlier published by others."
Politico is based in Arlington, Va.
---
Online:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/65940.html(hash)ixzz1aiSNC2Mj
The Associated Press

From "The Art of Manliness"

What's on the Mid-Term Exam?

Your mid-term will include but possibly might not be limited to the following topics.  Please be aware that you are responsible for all lectures, discussion, and other work, and that missing a class is never an excuse for everything.

Syllabus - the whole syllabus

Symbols in Ray Bradbury's "Summer Rituals"

Oh, why not?  Think about everything in "Summer Rituals"

What is the title of your textbook? The name of the publisher will also be acceptable.

Point-of-view

MLA format -- everything!

Punctuation -- everything you were taught beginning in the 5th grade

Plagiariasm

Kenning 

Prompt-dependence

1st person, 2nd person, third person

Spacing

"The Seafarer" -- everything

Descriptive essays, characteristics

Narrative essays, characteristics

Persuasive essays

Expository essays

Business letters - parts and purpose

Elegy

Alliteration

Who ruled in the island of Britannia after the Celts but before the Germanic peoples?

Wyrd

Paper for business letters

Pronouns, correct use of

Plagiarism

Direct quotations

Paraphrase / paraphrasing

Ellipsis

Point-of-view

For the purposes of this class, Mr. Hall has reduced the categories or methods of argument / persuasion to just two. What are they?

Hey -- there might be more on the test.  Study!

Your Research Paper is Due No Later Than 5 December.

1.  Your research paper is due no later than Monday, 5 December.  That's a no-later-than; you really should turn it in much sooner.
2.  Work / think / consider your TOPIC and THESIS STATEMENT now.
3.  Dig through the 'net for good, academic sources.  Your sources must be authoritative.  When considering a book or essay or schema as a source, think -- think -- about who wrote it.  Does this person know what he's talking about, or is this just some twaddle submitted by a high school student?  You would not (one hopes) take medical advice from a comic book.
4. Demonstrate initiative always; never WAIT to be told to work.
5. After the mid-term exam we will spend much class time on writing research papers, including time in the writing laboratory, but none of that is nearly enough.  You will have to work mostly outside of class.
6. You CANNOT PASS this class without submitting a well-done research paper.
7. Plagiarism is a crime.
8.  The instructor is available for you before class, after class, and on the 'net for individual assistance with writing assignments;  the instructor is not your therapist and cannot live your life for you.

Mid-Term Celebration of Learning

You will write your mid-term exam in class on the week of the 24th of October.

Morning class: You will have both Monday and Wednesday to complete your exam. Once you are finished, you may leave to work on your research paper. You need not work in the writing lab on this occasion, though of course I recommend that you do demonstrate initiative and begin researching academic sources to support your thesis. If you finish your test on Monday -- and you shouldn't -- you need not report to class on Wednesday (tho' of course the writing lab and your old instructor are always available).

Let's deal in logic, not feelings: if you do not take that little gift of time after your mid-term exam to hit the computer for research in the writing lab, you know -- not feel, know -- that you are not going to do so at home.  Always show initiative.  Don't wait to be told to begin.  Don't be emotionally needy.  Don't go outside during class change to smoke a cigarette and complain that you don't have time -- you had time for the cigarette, after all. 

Nota bene: You may not stop working early during Monday's class and then expect to continue the test on Wednesday. No. "My aim is to be hospitable, not philanthropic." -- the father of the bride in Brigadoon.

Morning students are most welcome to come finish the test in the Monday night class on the 24th.

Monday night students: You are welcome to begin the test in my Monday morning (0945-11:05) class and to finish it during your regular class.

My mission, dear students, is to do all I can to help you succeed in your mid-term exam. Every student has Monday morning, Monday night, and Wednesday morning to complete this work. When an instructor gives a student so many opportunities, the proper response to his generosity is "thank you," not "This isn't fair!"

Your English 1301 mid-term exam ends on Wednesday morning at 11:05 a.m. 

Wednesay morning, 12 December, Notes

1. Submit final draft of essays upon entering the room
2. Journal writing: Begin a paragraph with: "No, thank you."
3. Muster and administrivia
4. Research papers!  A large bundle of old research papers for everyone to read and discuss!
5. Research paper topics (handout).  Much discussion.

You will write your mid-term exam in class on the week of the 24th of October.

Morning class: You will have both Monday and Wednesday to complete your exam.  Once you are finished, you may leave to work on your research paper.  You need not work in the writing lab on this occasion, though of course I recommend that you do.  If you finish your test on Monday -- and you shouldn't -- you need not report to class on Wednesday (tho' of course the writing lab and your old instructor are always available). 

Nota bene: You may not stop working early during Monday's class and then expect to continue the test on Wednesday.  No.  "My aim is to be hospitable, not philanthropic." -- the father of the bride in Brigadoon.

Morning students are most welcome to come finish the test in the Monday night class on the 24th.

Monday night students: You are welcome to begin the test in my Monday morning (0945-11:05) class and to finish it during your regular class.

My mission, dear students, is to do all I can to help you succeed in your mid-term exam.  Every student has Monday morning, Monday night, and Wednesday morning to complete this work.  When an instructor gives a student so many opportunities, the proper response to his generosity is "thank you," not "This isn't fair!"

This is NOT Your Mid-Term Exam

The following is excerpted from a mid-term exam assignment for an upper-level course at a university, and is posted with permission.  In posting this I make these points for instructional purposes to help you succeed in a relatively easier fish class:

1. This is a test for seniors as well as for graduate students.  It's tough. 
2. Although your major is not English, be aware that upper-level courses in your major will be just as demanding.
3. This is for an online course, which means that all the work must be accomplished outside the classroom.  The really good thing about online courses is that they permit flexibility for the student.
4. Observe the requirements for making logical arguments; this is the sort of thing you must demonstrate in your little-bitty-baby-1301 research paper.
5. College is about scholarship (look it up; "scholarship" does not mean a handout), not about moods and feelings.

(The bits in red are those most needful to you; once you get to the yellow bits you may cease and desist.)

English 4320 / 5320: XXXX / XXXX

Midterm Exam Fall 2011

The midterm exam for English XXXX / XXXX

· is open book and open notes.

· is worth 200 points.

· is not proctored.

· must be submitted to Turnitin.com.

· has two possible due dates. Midterm grades for undergraduates (graduate students do not receive midterm grades) are due on Sunday October 16. Accordingly, if undergraduates would like their midterm exam score to be reflected in their overall midterm grade then they will need to submit their midterm exam to me as an email attachment no later than 10 AM on Friday October 14. If I do not receive their midterm exam by this time then their midterm grade will be calculated from their forum posts and other exercises such as their retellings of the tales, their Proppian dissection of a tale, etc. The alternative to the Friday morning deadline (for graduates as well as undergraduates this time) is to submit the midterm exam to me no later than 3 PM on Monday October 17. Finally, of course I will be happy to receive and grade midterm exams submitted earlier than these deadlines.

The entire exam should be typed, double spaced, Times New Roman 12 point font with regular margins.

You may use any text assigned for this course on the exam: readings, videos, images, films, web pages blogs, etc. However, you may NOT employ ANY texts or Internet sources not assigned for this course.

Your exam should have a Works Cited page citing every source that you reference in your exam. In addition, be sure that each time within the exam that you quote a source that you remember to cite the author’s last name and page number from which you found the quotation. Be sure to place quotation marks around exact quotations. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in plagiarism, so please be careful.

Remember that the point of an exam is to show off all that you have learned so far in the course. If in doubt, write more, not less (but keep it relevant).

Essays. Respond to 2 of the following prompts (100 points each). Essays should be succinct arguments with clear theses. Relevant and specific examples should serve to bolster your arguments, as well as the clear use of the texts assigned for the class (and, of course, you should feel free to take your examples from these assigned sources). Make sure to give each essay a title appropriate to your discussion. For each essay be sure to identify which prompt you are addressing.

Remember that this is an exam in an upper division / graduate level course. In other words, essays should be guided by folklorist Michael Owen Jones’s dictum that

“Judgments should be disciplined; mere likes and dislikes must play no part in criticism.”

Essays should be models of academic rigor and scholarly insight. Throughout the course so far you have been introduced by the instructor to a wide range of theory as it pertains to folk and fairy tales. Apply this theory in your essays. Also, be sure that your essays are not merely summaries of tales or films (be sure to avoid summaries in general as they are not particularly useful in analytical discussions) but are instead thesis driven discussions.

Avoid repetition between essays. In other words, be sure that your essays cover separate ground. Each essay should have its own distinct thesis and the examples and theory that you employ to support your claims should differ in each essay.

Essays should not be simply recycled discussion forum responses that you have already handed in for a grade. Although you may refer to some of the same ideas, you should write original essays for the exam.

Undergraduates: Each essay should be at least 4 FULL pages in length. This page length is in addition to any images that you include as well as the Works Cited pages for the exam.

Graduates: Each essay should be at least 5 FULL pages in length. This page length is in addition to any images that you include as well as the Works Cited pages for the exam.

Good luck!

1. To rephrase anthropologist William R. Bascom, fairy tales are “important mechanism[s] for maintaining the stability of culture. [They are] used to inculcate the customs and ethical standards in the young, [. . .] to reward him with praise when he conforms, to punish him with ridicule or criticism when he deviates, to provide him with rationalizations when the institutions and conventions are challenged or questioned, to suggest that he be content with things as they are, and to provide him with a compensatory escape from the ‘hardships, the inequalities, the injustices’ of everyday life.”

Assume for the purposes of your response that the above statement about some of the cultural functions of fairy tales is correct. Fairy tales are thus deeply didactic, imparting lessons to their audiences. What are some of these lessons? How do fairy tales manage to impart these lessons? What are the effects of these lessons upon their audiences? Address at least two of Bascom’s functions of the fairy tale in the above quotation, while also employing the relevant ideas of at least two other fairy tale theorists in your response.

2. Discuss the contributions of two of the following theorists or groups of theorists to fairy tale scholarship. Describe the theoretical conception or orientation they are known for, and discuss how this conception or orientation is helpful (or, it could be argued, necessary) when discussing fairy tales from a scholarly perspective. For each of the persons (or group of persons) that you discuss you should employ ideas from 2 or more of the assigned course readings to support your answer. (NOTE: While you have been exposed to quite a few of the important ideas of some of these theorists, for others you have had a more fleeting introduction. You need not do additional research. Employing the texts assigned for this class is sufficient.)

a) Vladimir Propp

b) Antti Aarne, Stith Thompson and Hans-Jörg Uther

c) Jack Zipes

d) Donna Napoli

e) J.R.R. Tolkien

f) Donald Haase

3. Fairy tales have been manipulated and changed in any number of ways to accomplish cultural, political, or ideological goals. Compare/contrast how two of the following persons or groups have manipulated fairy tales. Discuss the relevant ideas of at least three fairy tale theorists/authors in your response. (Note: I am aware that Angela Carter and Neil Jordan can be considered feminists. I am referring to them here in this prompt as the specific authors of the film The Company of Wolves.)

a) Charles Perrault

b) The Brothers Grimm

c) The Communist Chinese AND/ OR the Nazis

d) Walt Disney

e) Feminists

f) Angela Carter and Neil Jordan

4. Folklorist William A. Wilson has observed that “while folklore may be factually false, it is psychologically true.” It could be argued that the same could be said of fairy tales, that while they “may be factually false, [they are] psychologically true.” To what degree is this statement true about fairy tales? (Be specific about which fairy tales that you are discussing, as well as who the tellers of these tales are.) Be aware that, whatever your answer to the above question is, it will have deep theoretical implications. Accordingly, address the relevant ideas of at least three fairy tale theorists in your response.

5. Write a fairy tale in which you incorporate at least 18 of Propp’s 31 functions and at least 5 of Propp’s dramatis personae. After writing your tale you must then write a detailed synopsis in which you identify specifically the functions and dramatis personae that you have employed. If you are looking for a model or template to follow, see Theodore R. Hovet’s article, “‘Once Upon a Time’: Sarah Orne Jewett’s ‘A White Heron’ as a Fairy Tale,” pages 64-67, in which he identifies the dramatis personae as well as their related functions within Sarah Orne Jewett’s short story “A White Heron.” (NOTE: The tale that you to write is to be your original fairy tale, not a retelling of a tale. Also, please be aware that this essay prompt may necessitate a longer page length from the other prompts.)

6. Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar have argued about that, as a result of “her absolute chastity, her frozen innocence, and her sweet nullity” Snow White is “not only a child but [. . .] childlike, docile, submissive, the heroine of a life that has no story.” Begin with the assumption that the above description of Snow White is also true to a degree of Rapunzel and Rosaleen at the beginning of the films Tangled and The Company of Wolves. To what degree do Rapunzel and Rosaleen, during the course of these films, manage to effectively write lives that, unlike Snow White’s life, have stories? In other words, how successfully do these heroines manage to evolve to the point that they are able to effectively claim agency over their own lives? In doing so, to what degree must they leave behind their earlier attributes of being “childlike, docile, and submissive”? Address the relevant ideas of at least two fairy tale theorists in your response. (Note: It is your choice whether to discuss either Rapunzel, Rosaleen, or compare/contrast the characters.)