ASSIGNMENTS AND POLICIES

Grades:
Grades will be determined by a close reading, a research paper, a reading notebook, and a final essay exam. The breakdown of the final grade is as follows:
 

	Close Reading	25%
	Research Paper	35%
	Reading Notebook	20%
	Final Examination	20%
		100%

Close Reading:
Each student will do a 5-page typed close reading of a work from the syllabus. The idea is to interpret from your own perspective as a modern reader. What is an important point the work makes and what in the work brings across this point? As a close reading, there is no research requirement, though a few (no more than two or three) well-chosen sources can be useful to provide background. DUE MARCH 1.

Research Project:
Each student will do an 8-10 page typed research paper on one or more works of early American literature. The topic is the student's choice. Works not on the syllabus may be used, but check with the professor beforehand to get approval. Your analysis should be based on your own reading of the texts and on outside research, i.e., secondary sources. Your secondary sources should be used to help develop your own ideas and to show how your ideas compare (or contrast) with those other people have expressed about the same work or general topic. Secondary sources might include critical readings of the works, theoretical texts (e.g., literary theory, psychological theory, philosophy, etc.), histories, and so forth. It is a good idea to discuss your paper with the professor as you formulate your ideas. Papers must use MLA documentation format. DUE APRIL 19.

Reading And Assignment Notebooks:
Each student will keep a notebook to contain a short response to the assigned reading for each class period and occasional in-class responses to readings. These notebooks should be brought to each class and will be collected by the professor at various times throughout the semester.

Out-of-class responses can be made in one of several ways. You may do a double-entry, dividing the page down the middle, recording a specific quotations from the assignment on the left (make sure to record the page number of the quotation) and a response to the quotation on the right. You may do a "one-word" response, picking a single word that you think has significant implications for the assignment and then writing a paragraph to explain why you think that word is of value in explicating the assignment. Or you may do a "micro-essay," a 200 word essay (1-2 paragraphs) about the assignment that argues a certain point you want to make about the reading. Other possible ways of doing notebook responses can be found at the S.C.O.R.E. [Schools of California Online Resources for Education] Language Arts website's section on journaling (<http://www.score.k12.ca.us/> or more specifically <http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/SCORE/actbank/tjournal.htm>).

Examination:
The final exam will be an in-class essay comparing three of the works on the syllabus on a single theme topic. You will be asked to answer the question of how their theme ideas on that topic are similar to and/or different from one another, giving some idea of why the similarities or differences occur. The essay can be prepared for in advance, including development of an outline, and is open-book, open-note. However, the essay itself must be written during the exam period. FINAL EXAM PERIOD, THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2:00-4:00 P.M.