SYLLABUS ENGLISH 110
Week One
January 14-January 16
Course Introduction
Discussion and informal writing on English 110
Week Two
January 21-January 23
Tuesday: Quiz on syllabus
Reading: Plutarch
Week Three
January 28-January 30
Tuesday: Plutarch Summary Due
The Essay Tradition
Readings: Montaigne and Bacon
Week Four
February 4-February 6
Tuesday: In-class Exam1 on Montaigne and Bacon
MLA quotation and citation
Readings: Swift and Lamb
Week Five
February 11-February 13
Thursday: In-class Exam2 on Swift and Lamb
Reading: Vonnegut
Week Six
February 18-February 20
Tuesday: Vonnegut assignment due
Introduction to the Research Paper
MLA The Bibliography
Discussion on Midterm Format: Topic and guidelines
Reading: Orwell and Woolf
Week Seven
February 25-February 27
Tuesday: Graded Essay Questions on Orwell and Woolf due (this will count as grade for in-class Exam3)
Tuesday: Library Seminar on conducting research (attendance is required of all students)
Thursday: Graded library assignment to be conducted in the library
Week Eight
March 4-March 6
MIDTERMS
Readings: King and Baldwin
Week Nine
March 11-March 13
Thursday: In-class Exam4 on King and Baldwin
Research Paper Topics assigned
Reading: Kingsolver
Week Ten
SPRING BREAK (Monday March 17-Friday March 27)
Week Eleven
March 25-March 27
Tuesday: Graded Research Paper Topic Proposal Due and Questions on Kingsolver Due
Reading: White and Dillard
Week Twelve
April 1-April 2
Thursday: In-class Exam5 on White and Dillard
Reading: Didion
Week Thirteen
April 8-April 10
Discussion on Didion
Thursday: Graded Questions on Didion’s essay due
Week Fourteen
April 15-17
Tuesday: Research Paper Rough Draft Due
Tuesday: Peer revision of rough draft
Thursday: Editing the research paper rough draft
Reading: Gladwell
Week Fifteen
April 22-April 24
Tuesday: In-class Exam6 on Gladwell
Thursday: Research Paper Due
Week Sixteen
April 26-May 2
FINALS WEEK
In addition to the work indicated on the class syllabus, you will also be required to complete exercises from the book, Manual for Writers. Page numbers will be assigned on a weekly basis.
READING LIST (this list may vary)
Bacon, Francis. “Of Studies” (hand-out)
Baldwin, James. “Notes on a Native Son” (hand-out)
Didion, Joan. “On Self-Respect” (hand-out)
Dillard, Annie. “Total Eclipse” (on-line)
Gladwell, Malcolm. “The Art of Failure” (online)
King, Martin Luther, Jr. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (hand out)
Kingsolver, Barbara. “Stone Soup” (hand-out)
Lamb, Charles. “A Bachelor’s Complaint” (hand-out)
Montaigne, Michel. “Of Smells” (hand-out)
Orwell, George. “Why I Write” (online)
Plutarch. “On Listening to Lectures” (online)
Swift, Jonathan. “A Modest Proposal” (hand-out)
Vonnegut, Kurt. “Blues for America” (online)
White, E.B. “Once More to the Lake” (hand-out)
Woolf, Virginia. "A Room of One's Own" (online)
All handouts are taken from One Hundred Great Essays, ed. Robert Di Yanni. New York: Penguin Academics/Pearson Longman, 2005. This book is also available on reserve in the library.
Suggested Websites:
Top Ten Essays Since 1950:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/54337-the-top-10-essays-since-1950.html
The Electric Typewriter
http://tetw.org/Greats
A collection of classical essays:
http://essays.quotidiana.org/