Your independent assignment for today is to make progress on all of the work that is due, including the final project, the response paper revision, any independent assignments you haven’t done, and your journal entries. You do not need to post anything in the comment section this time. Just focus on the various tasks you need to complete.
Your assignment today is to look over the prompts for the final project and choose one. You have the option to work on a creative project or to write a traditional paper. Whichever you choose, jot down some initial thoughts. In the comment section under this post, write down 2-3 ideas you have and what you hope to accomplish. If you’re working on a creative project, your goal may be to capture something you’ve noticed about one of the characters, the mood of the text, how to it relates to present day life, or what feelings it evokes. If you’re working on a traditional paper, your goal will probably be the tentative thesis you are seeking to prove.
Instead of asking you to submit a third response paper next week, I will be asking everyone to revise one of the first two response papers that they already submitted. Therefore, your independent assignment for today is to read over one of your two response papers and make a plan for how you would like to revise it. What problems can you identify in the first draft? What needs to be clarified or rewritten? In the comment section under this post, explain one significant change that you intend to make to make.
For your reference, here are three strong response papers on A Room with a View from a previous class.
ENG 4440 Model Response Paper #1
Your independent assignment is to write the introductory paragraph for your first major paper. Your paragraph should have a clear opening that indicates what the topic of your paper will be, including the title of the novel you are considering (capitalized and in italics) and the name of the author. Your paragraph should articulate the question you will be asking or the topic you will be addressing. And your paragraph should end with a thesis statement, asserting exactly what your paper will argue. Your thesis should be a statement about either A Room with a View or Mrs. Dalloway. Please submit your introductory paragraph in the comment section under this post by 9:00 AM Tuesday morning.
In my experience the strongest papers on literary texts usually feature close readings of individual passages. Thus for your independent assignment today, I would like you to find one short passage that is relevant to the paper you are writing from the novel you are analyzing. It can be as short as a paragraph. It shouldn’t be more than a couple pages long. Read the passage as slowly and attentively as you can, writing down anything you notice, any thoughts you have. After you’ve done this, read it again several times. Try to read the passage slowly at least 5 times. Each time you do, write down your thoughts, and try to notice new things. Keep in mind whose point of view you are getting. Consider whether the author seems to be affirming that point of view or calling it into question. Pay attention to any phrases or words that seem strange or striking, and ask yourself why the author has chosen to use those phrases and words. Imagine replacing those words with other words. What gets lost? How does the particular language the author uses influence your understanding or experience of the passage? After you’ve read the passage at least 5 times and taken notes, look through what you’ve written down and identify any insights that you want to include in your paper. In the comment section, please write down one new idea you had about your topic as a result of this exercise.
Look over the Essay #1 Prompts. Consider which question you would like to answer. Once you’ve tentatively decided on a question, write down some initial thoughts in response to the answer. Consider which scenes from the text might prove most relevant and identity them in your notes. You should try to identify roughly 2-3 scenes or passages. When you have finished, share your notes (or the part of your notes that you think is most representative of what you will be arguing) in the comment section under this post.
If you can’t find a question that you would like to answer, then you may devise your own question. It should be focused on either A Room with a View or Mrs. Dalloway. If you choose this option, please submit a draft of your question in the comment section.
Go outside for thirty minutes, and take a walk in any direction. Notice what you observe, what you feel, what you think. Imagine that you are going to turn that thirty minutes into a chapter in a novel and try to notice as much as possible about your experience as you can.
When you get back, take fifteen minutes to write down what you have observed. Submit at least one paragraph from what you’ve written in the comments.
Your independent assignment is to work on your response paper, which is due by 11:59 PM on Tuesday, July 19. As part of this work, I would like you to share a draft of your essay with another student in the class and receive feedback. You should read your partner’s response paper and offer that person a few comments. Indicate what you think is working well in the essay, but also try to focus on any sentences or claims that seem confusing or that require further explanation. You can use the comment function on MS Word or Google Docs, or you can simply add your thoughts at the end of the response paper.
You will be submitting your response paper in your individual Google Drive folder. In the same folder, please include a copy of the comments you gave to your partner (not the comments you received). Both are due tomorrow at 11:59 PM on Tuesday.
I have put most of you in pairs; you can find your partner below. You will note that one group has three people. In that group, the first person should give their paper to the second person to read; the second person should give their paper to the third person to read; and the third person should give their paper to the first person to read.
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Skim through a few of the critical articles on E.M. Forster (here). Choose the one you find most interesting, and try to read as much of it as you can. If you are not satisfied with any of the articles on this blog, you can find another one on A Room with a View using the MLA Database. You may want to take notes as you read the article for future reference, but you do not need to submit your notes. In the comment section, please provide two quotations from the article you have read through (citing the correct page numbers using parenthicals). The first quotation should be what you regard as the thesis or primary argument of the article. The second quotation can be any passage that you find especially useful or provocative. For this assignment, you are simply reading the article and providing two quotations. You do no need to comment on the quotations.
Since many of the critical articles feature plot spoilers, you may want to wait until you finish the novel to look through them. If you’d like, you can spend the time allotted for your independent assignment today, simply reading the novel. But you should plan to finish the assignment and post your two quotations from a critical article by Monday, July 18th at 9AM.
Please write short responses to the questions in the exercise (linked to above) in the comment section.