Assignment Outline
Commonplace Book
A Commonplace Book is a notebook or journal where people collect and organize information, knowledge, ideas, thoughts, doodles, quotations, and observations for future reference and/or reflection. Each of you will be keeping a commonplace book for the duration of this semester, we will be using it frequently in class and I would encourage you to keep it with you at all times outside of class as well, so you can keep track of your thoughts. You are welcome to use whatever medium you would like for your commonplace book -- I have a special section in my Notes app on my phone that I use as well as a physical journal I carry with me. You might choose to dedicate a specific notebook to be your commonplace book, or keep a single document or folder on your computer, etc.
You will use this commonplace to keep track of all of our Daily Freewrites, Microdrafts, In-Class Activities, Weekly Connections, and other small-stakes assignments. Each time you complete one of the items in the list, you will submit a copy in the corresponding assignment (linked below). By the end of the semester, you should have at least 50 entries across the different categories. You will receive a grade at the end of the semester for how well you kept your commonplace book based on the number of unique submissions in each assignment.
Major Writing Assignments
The bulk of your grade in ENGL 2010 will come from the major projects and the interconnected assignments (including drafts and peer reviews) which culminate in a substantial, 10+ page research paper.
To pass this course, you must complete and submit all major assignments, including Project 1, Project 2, and Project 3 with at least 2 of the scaffolding assignments, regardless of your overall grade percentage. An assignment counts as completed under this policy when it earns at least a 60%. Assignments that earn less than 60% must be revised and resubmitted (see Revision policy) before the end of the term, and the revisions must improve the grade to 60% or higher. These major assignments are important capstones that demonstrate the core skills and learning outcomes of the course. If you fail to turn in even one major assignment, you will receive a failing grade (F) for the course.
This policy exists to make sure you fully engage with the key writing processes and rhetorical strategies we’re developing together. Completing only part of the work means you haven’t met the minimum expectations for course credit.
If you're facing difficulties that are preventing you from completing a major assignment on time, please reach out to me as early as possible so we can talk through your options.
Project 1: Monstrous Memoir (Traditional written memoir OR Visual memoir with artist statement)
What does it mean to be a character in your own story? Narratives are some of the earliest linguistic definitions of self—after all, who doesn't love a good story? Drawing on your learning from this unit, you will craft a memoir that demonstrates a clear relationship to a monster in your life. You may choose between two formats: a traditional flash memoir (max 1000 words) or a visual memoir (one-page comic with 1-2 page artist statement). Both formats require strategic choices about the most important aspects of your identity and lived experiences, and how you can convey them clearly while telling a compelling story. Your purpose is to evoke emotion by creating or re-creating an experience and make an argument about who you are based on the connection to monstrosity that you explore.
Project 2: Is it a Monster? Persuasive Analysis (3-5 pages OR multimedia option)
What do we mean when we talk about 'monsters'? The word conjures up figures from gothic horror, such as Frankenstein or Dracula, classical images of exotic peoples with no heads or grotesquely exaggerated features, and the kinds of impossible chimerical beasts inhabiting the pages of medieval bestiaries. However, how monsters have been created over the centuries is much more indicative of the moral and existential challenges faced by societies than the realities that they have encountered. For this project, you will pick a monster (of any sort: animal, human, mythical, etc.) and use the facts of the monster's origins and Cohen's 7 Theses on Monster Culture to examine the cultural role of the monster and build an argument about why the monster is or isn't a "monster". You may complete this as a traditional editorial, a pamphlet, or a short video presentation.
Project 3: Tracing Mythology Major Research Project
The culmination of your work this semester, this significant research project will include major scaffolding steps such as the Research Proposal, Annotated Bibliography, and Research Presentation before culminating in the final 10-page paper. The paper will adhere to academic discourse conventions, master the rhetorical and stylistic skills discussed in class, and advance a coherent, complex argument supported by appropriate research (8-10 sources) and documentation.
For the final research project, you will choose a monster story or figure as your starting point. Through your research, you will trace the monster's origins, evolution, and significance, ultimately developing your own argument about what this monster or story reveals. This might be an argument about how the monster's meaning has changed over time, what the monster tells us about the cultures that created or adapted it, how different versions reflect different social needs, or what broader cultural, psychological, or social insights we can gain from studying this monster. Your argument will grow from your research interests—you might find yourself focused on the original monster story, or you might follow your research into related areas like childhood psychology, cultural fears, gender roles, or social control.
Project 3 Scaffolding Assignments
*Note: Scaffolding refers to an educational technique of structuring assignments and course material in a systematic way by breaking down a larger assignment (like a 10-page research project) into smaller assignments to focus on specific skills, knowledge, or processes. The goal of this is to provide students with a framework for learning and skill development. Then, much like how a tall building is constructed, the larger project forms within this framework. As such, we will complete multiple levels of scaffolding within each module of this class-- by completing a research proposal, annotated bibliography, research presentation (as well as those even smaller assignments and class activities that build those assignments), the biggest and most complex project of this course becomes much more manageable and less intimidating.
Research Proposal (2-4 pages)
For this assignment, you will write a research proposal that explains what topic you plan to investigate for your major research paper. Your primary purpose is to convince me that your proposed topic has enough material to explore, an interest specific to you, and is feasible. You will use the subheadings of Statement of the Topic, Purpose, Literature Review, and Methods to present your proposed topic. You will need at least two credible sources for the literature review portion of this assignment.
Annotated Bibliography
Your Annotated Bibliography is a collection of sources you find and make notes about to help you in your research. It will be a living document that will guide your research process through Unit #3. Throughout the unit, you will add and subtract multiple sources from your annotated bibliography as your understanding of your research question shifts to accommodate the research you complete and the feedback you receive.
For this assignment, you will use library search tools to gather research for your research paper and create an annotated bibliography of 6 - 8 sources that are relevant to your intended project. The annotations will summarize the information in each source, evaluate each source’s quality, and explain how each source may be used in the final paper using a unique 6-tier color-coded annotation style. The bibliography will be completed with an introduction paragraph that provides your focused research question and working thesis, as well as a conclusion paragraph evaluating where you are in your research process and pointing out any holes or questions still unanswered.
Research Presentation
The presentation serves several purposes. First, it gives you an opportunity to organize your material in a way that will reflect your eventual argument paper. You have spent weeks researching, reading, and annotating; now is the time to put it all together in an organized argument. Second, it will allow you to locate any holes in the research through the act of condensing it down to a brief arrangement of talking points. Third, it serves as a large form of peer review. Your classmates will provide feedback on your project that will be helpful to you as you tighten up your argument and find evidence to fill any gaps in your argument that you might not have noticed.
Reflective Rhetorical Analysis (1 page)
A rhetorical analysis examines and explains how an author attempts to influence an audience. For this assignment, you will complete a short rhetorical analysis of your final project. Your analysis should not simply paraphrase or summarize what you have said but should provide a way of understanding how the text persuades its audience. This analysis will draw on readings from class to examine and explain your decisions and argumentative strategies in the essay you wrote. It might also draw on successes and failures from previous assignments and how you have capitalized on or improved them for the final project.
Reading Responses
These discussion boards are completion-based assignments that allow us to explore course ideas and readings in depth.
For each assigned reading group, I would like you to write a brief, half-page (single-spaced) response addressing the following:
- Tell me one thing you know for certain from the reading.
- Tell me one thing you’d like to know more about from the reading.
- Tell me one thing you didn’t understand from the reading.
Your questions might deal with any part of the reading—a confusing example, a term from the text that struck you, an essay that intrigued you, etc.
Reading Responses are due BEFORE the class wherein we will discuss the reading. Responses submitted after class only be given a max of half-credit. Because I recognize that you are humans with lives outside of school, I will be dropping your two lowest scores. So if you miss a couple of responses, it will not hurt your grade (If you complete all of them, you will get the extra points as additional credit.).
Workshops
Workshops are low-stakes activities designed to help you practice skills and explore ideas--they also let your professors check in on how your research is developing. They are not busy work but are designed to help you with completing your Major Writing Assignments, so feel free to reuse and recycle the writing you do for them!
Like the Reading Responses, I acknowledge that you are humans and sometimes need a break, and I will drop the three lowest-scored workshops from your grade (though, be aware that certain workshops will be excluded from the drop allowance).