Assignments

Study Guide
The Study Guide will contain an introduction, list of reading materials, and discussion questions for each topic.  Your Study Guide is intended to accompany your reading.

Journal
Your journal consists of your responses to questions in the Study Guide. These questions require you to reflect on the material and to write a one to two-paragraph response.  At the end of the course, you will gather together all of your Study Guide responses and will turn them in as a final portfolio. Thus, your journal consists of author biography, literary analysis, literary terms, short essays questions.

      A--The biography should consist of 200-300 words. Please avoid mere plot summaries, and be sure to point out what you find compelling from a literary or humanistic standpoint.  This is a good place to make a connection between the work of literature and what it means to be a human being living in our ever-changing world. 

      B--The literary analysis consists of 200-300 words.

      C--Each literary term definition should contain 75-100 words.  Please develop a definition that you put in your own words.  You may refer to your text and websites for your definition, but do not copy them verbatim.

      D--The short essays should consist of 200-300 words, of which approximately 50 words may be quotes and examples from the text.  This is a guideline, and you have flexibility.  Be sure to follow MLA format in your in-text citations.  For pointers, please refer to http://www.bibme.org.  Please contribute your own thoughts and ideas, and probe the possible interpretations and deeper significance of the issues you encounter.

Essays
You will write one or more essays on selected authors and works, with the goal of demonstrating the ability to make critical connections, provide insight, and to discuss the works from multiple perspectives. You will be expected to conduct online research, and to refer to relevant outside sources that enable you to write about the primary text in an illuminating way.  Each essay will consist of at least 2,500 words for the graduate courses, and 1,000 words for the undergraduate courses.  Your instructor will work with you as you select your topics, and will guide you as you research your topic.

Exam
The exam is required for students who would like to obtain credit for the course.  Students must complete the assignments, submit them, and the sign up for the exam, which will be administered in a proctored environment.exam, which will be administered in a proctored environment.