Basic Course Information:

Institution: St. Thomas University

Class Days/Times: T & R, 75 minutes

Gordon Rule Requirement: Minimum of 6,000 words must be written

Course Description:

This course’s catalog description is “Readings in poetry, prose fiction, and dramatic forms. The course enhances written skills developed in ENC 1101 through papers and examinations on assigned readings and substantial in-class writing experiences. This course meets the requirements of the State of Florida “Gordon Rule.” 

But what does that mean in a practical sense?

Well, this course will focus on helping you improve your writing, reading, thinking, communicating, and researching skills through multiple composition projects, class lectures and discussions, and small classwork and homework activities. We’ll be reading and analyzing literary genres like poems, fairy tales, short stories, novels, graphic novels, and plays. We’ll analyze these texts and discuss how they influence us and the world around us. You’ll write short literary analysis discussion posts and a short paper. And, at the end of the semester, you’ll write a final research paper and present your research to the class.

Course Goals:

Upon successful completion of this course you will have the ability to do the following: 

  • Apply prior knowledge and skills that you already have into new writing experiences
  • Structure your writing (sentences, paragraphs, sections) in ways that fit the genres you are composing
  • Understand how to write for different audiences and purposes
  • Develop your own ideas for critical and creative writing projects
  • Research, analyze, and discuss multiple literary genres like poetry, prose, and dramatic forms
  • Analyze and compose written, oral, visual, and multimodal texts 
  • Research various literary topics and texts and integrate that research into your writing
  • Better understand your identity as a writer and reader and understand how society, history, and culture influence your writing and reading
  • Compose a research paper using the MLA citation style
  • Create exploratory and argumentative thesis statements and support them with researched and textual evidence
  • Independently use all elements of the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing
  • Articulate and present your ideas to others using digital communication and composition tools
  • Collaborate with your peers to complete small and large projects

Instructional Techniques:

This course will rely heavily on our Canvas class website. We will go over the elements of our website in detail at the beginning of the course so you can quickly gain familiarity with it. Classwork and homework assignment instructions and resources will be detailed on our site. Assignments will be submitted using Canvas and feedback will be returned using this tool as well. I will create instructional materials using different modes of communication, such as videos, written text, infographics, and more. If you have an exemption to join our classes via Zoom, the Zoom links are available in the “Class Basics” module.

Required Materials:

  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
  • American Born Chinese
  • Poetry, Fairy Tales, Short Stories, Play (available online)
  • Access to the Internet
  • Laptop or Desktop (smartphone should be a last resort, as the screen is very small)
  • Headphones (for Zoom calls)      
  • Access to Google Suite (Docs, Slides, Forms)

Major Assignments

5% Literary Autobiography (2-3 pgs)

Answer the question: “How have literary texts influenced who you are as a person and as a student?” Find out more about this assignment in this blog post.

15% Exploratory Literary Analysis Paper (4-5 pgs)

Create an exploratory thesis statement about one of the readings we discussed during the first few weeks of the semester. Cite at least two academic sources in the paper.

20% Group Discussion Facilitation Project

As a group of three, create a literary analysis discussion activity to lead your classmates through during a 20-30 minute portion of class. Find out more about this assignment in this blog post.

10%   Mini Literary Analysis Posts

Create a 600-700 word mini analysis about one class reading before Spring Break and one class reading after Spring Break. No academic sources are needed, but direct citations of the reading are needed as part of the close reading and analysis. The two highest post grades will go towards your course grade; you can complete more than two posts to increase your grade.

20% Argumentative Lit. Analysis Paper (7-9 pgs)

Create an argumentative thesis statement about one of the later readings in the semester. Cite at least three academic sources in this paper.

5%  Final Paper Presentation

In 4-5 minutes, present your final paper to the class. Include what you consider to be the most interesting or important information from your paper. Or, create a 4-5 minute presentation about a literary text that you feel should be taught in a college course. Argue for why it should be included in a course.

25% Participation                     

The participation grade consists of reading quizzes, small class activities, small homework activities, verbal discussions, and online discussions.

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