Assignments for the course will be posted here as they are made available in
class.
The assignments are in PDF format.
Response Length: about 500 words or so (or about 1 ½ to 2 ½ pages) for each
General Procedure
Short response papers are due on the dates specified on the syllabus. Papers must be word-processed and handed in at the beginning of class (no email submissions accepted).
Response papers are your opportunity to explore the text using the issues, themes, contexts, and critical paradigms (i.e. reading strategies) we have discussed in class as ways of reading Romantic-era texts. Responses can explore any aspect of a text that strikes you as interesting or puzzling, contrast the current week's reading with one read earlier in the quarter, choose a passage of the text to close-read, or raise questions that you would like to develop in a final paper or to discuss in class.
Note: For those of you anxious about finding a focus for your response papers, for each assignment I will provide you with one or two key words that you can as your focus. Please note that use of these keywords is completely optional.
Because these papers are designed as warm-up for class discussion, they must examine the text assigned for the day on which they are due (rather than the previous week's); for the same reason, extensions will not be given on response papers under any circumstances.
The response is not a paper so you should not concern yourself with introductions and conclusions. You should, however, make every attempt to provide a coherent response and you should proofread and edit your work for clarity. Each response will be graded using the following simple scale:
5 – exemplary: thoughtful, detailed, and engaging
4 – very good: focused and developed
3 – good: adequate, but might be more descriptive than analytical
2 – minimal: unevenly developed; key issues missing or might be incomplete
1 – inadequate: misconstrues reading; might be unfocused and disorganized
On Jane Austen by Narine Zokhrabyan
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen by Rebekah Cordes
Rebirth after the Cold Reign of the West Wind by Alex Phuong
Wordsworth's "Anecdote for Fathers" by Michelle Burton
Wordsworth's "Lines written in Early Spring" by Valerie Longo
The assignments are in PDF format.
Essay
Reading Responses
Date Due: Check the Course Schedule for due dates and assigned texts
Response Length: about 500 words or so (or about 1 ½ to 2 ½ pages) for each
General Procedure
Short response papers are due on the dates specified on the syllabus. Papers must be word-processed and handed in at the beginning of class (no email submissions accepted).
Response papers are your opportunity to explore the text using the issues, themes, contexts, and critical paradigms (i.e. reading strategies) we have discussed in class as ways of reading Romantic-era texts. Responses can explore any aspect of a text that strikes you as interesting or puzzling, contrast the current week's reading with one read earlier in the quarter, choose a passage of the text to close-read, or raise questions that you would like to develop in a final paper or to discuss in class.
Note: For those of you anxious about finding a focus for your response papers, for each assignment I will provide you with one or two key words that you can as your focus. Please note that use of these keywords is completely optional.
Because these papers are designed as warm-up for class discussion, they must examine the text assigned for the day on which they are due (rather than the previous week's); for the same reason, extensions will not be given on response papers under any circumstances.
The response is not a paper so you should not concern yourself with introductions and conclusions. You should, however, make every attempt to provide a coherent response and you should proofread and edit your work for clarity. Each response will be graded using the following simple scale:
5 – exemplary: thoughtful, detailed, and engaging
4 – very good: focused and developed
3 – good: adequate, but might be more descriptive than analytical
2 – minimal: unevenly developed; key issues missing or might be incomplete
1 – inadequate: misconstrues reading; might be unfocused and disorganized
Examples of Reading Responses
Listed below are some recent exemplary reading responses.
On Jane Austen by Narine Zokhrabyan Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen by Rebekah Cordes Rebirth after the Cold Reign of the West Wind by Alex Phuong Wordsworth's "Anecdote for Fathers" by Michelle Burton Wordsworth's "Lines written in Early Spring" by Valerie Longo
Click on the link below to look at some
more vintage exemplary reading responses produced by students for an earlier
incarnation of this course.
