Syllabus for LIT-291
Analysis and Interpretation of Literature
Ezra Pound once observed that “Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree.” This course explores the major terms and concepts useful in finding and sharing this richer meaning. Traditional and contemporary works will be explored and discussed with an emphasis on analyzing, discussing, and writing about literature in both historical and critical contexts.
After completing this course, students should be able to:
CO1 Apply literary concepts such as plot, narration, point of view, character, setting, symbol, and theme to various works of literature.
CO2 Analyze the use of theme, imagery, setting, language, character development, and context within various works of literature.
CO3 Articulate literary analysis and interpretation through discussion and written essays.
CO4 Characterize various genres of literature including fiction, poetry, and drama
and their subgenres.
You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the University’s textbook supplier, MBS Direct.
ISBN: 978-0062301673
Analysis and Interpretation of Literature is a three-credit, online course consisting of five modules, a midterm exam, and a final project. Modules include an overview, topics, learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.
For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments, take a proctored midterm examination, and complete a final paper. See below for details.
Before you begin reading and viewing the assigned material, you may find it useful to review your expected use of that material. If you know what will be discussed online in the forum and what the topic of the written assignment will be, you can more effectively approach the assigned material.
Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.
You are required to participate in six graded discussion forums. Discussion forums are on a variety of topics associated with the courses modules.
Please adhere to the due dates posted in the Course Calendar. This will allow others to respond to your posts in a timely fashion as well as provide you the time to reflect on and respond to your classmates.
The Course Calendar indicates when initial posts and subsequent responses to the posts of classmates are due. This does not mean you are expected to post on these days; rather, it means you are expected to post your initial response to the topic no later than the due date and post your minimum of two responses to classmates no later than the second due date. These are minimal requirements and discussions may continue in considerably more depth.
Many students find it useful to compose posts offline and then post to the discussions. Please copy and paste posts composed offline rather than post files that others will have to download or open.
You will be evaluated using the Online Discussion Rubric that can be found within the Evaluation Rubrics folder in Moodle. Online posts (like in-person discussions) may be somewhat informal, but they should be properly proofread, professional, and respectful.
Meaningful participation in online discussions adds relevant content, enlarges the discussion, and encourages further dialogue. Comments such as "I agree" or "Well said" are not considered value-adding participation. When you agree or disagree with a classmate, the reading, or your mentor, state and support your agreement or disagreement with quotations or references to the works discussed.
The online discussions, much like live classroom discussions, are meant to be a somewhat informal give-and-take. You may use first person (stating, for example, "I liked," "What struck me," etc.). Your discussion board responses will be similar to a conversation and may include contractions and less formal diction. Remember however, that while you may be somewhat informal, you should still write in Standard English, proofread your post, and review your tone before hitting "Submit."
Tone is a very important part of forum discussions. Without facial expressions, gestures, or other clues, it is quite easy (and common) to misunderstand humor in a post, so review your posts to be sure your humor won’t be misunderstood. A good discussion requires alternate interpretations and views, but inappropriate or derogatory language or personal attacks should be avoided. It is helpful to think in terms of alternative views rather than correct and incorrect views.
You are required to complete four written assignments. The written assignments are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules. A grading rubric for each of the written assignments can be found in the Evaluation Rubrics folder in Moodle.
Essays are generally five or more paragraphs. At a minimum, they usually have an introduction which includes a thesis, three or more body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Body paragraphs should have a topic sentence and three or more sentences with specific detail supporting the idea presented in the topic sentence. You should usually aim for a minimum of 500 words.
This is, of course, a general and minimal requirement. You can certainly write at greater length and in more detail. And if the occasion warrants it, a shorter response may also be appropriate. When in doubt, it is best to ask your mentor. See Essay Writing.
For guidance in composing your written assignments, please consult the appropriate sections of The Norton Introduction to Literature: “Writing About Literature” (pp. 1885–1960) and “Sample Research Paper” (pp. 1961–1970). You may also consult appropriate online resources such as The Writing Center: University of Wisconsin-Madison.
For guidance in formatting your paper and documenting your sources, consult current MLA (Modern Language Association) guidelines. If you do not have a copy of the current MLA handbook, consult an appropriate online reference site such as the Online Writing Center (OWL) at Purdue University.
Your written activities should be approached in a quite different way from your responses to the online discussion topics. Written activities should be formal academic papers. This means, among other things, that you should write in third person, avoid informal diction or spelling, avoid contractions, proofread carefully, and use MLA-style parenthetical documentation to identify your sources.
This course includes works of literature that have been assigned in countless other courses; analyzed in papers, articles, and books by students, scholars, and laymen over many years; and discussed on thousands of web sites. It is therefore very easy to plagiarize either intentionally or quite by accident. Given the severity of possible sanctions, please be careful to cite all your sources—whether quoted or paraphrased. If in doubt about potential plagiarism, ask your mentor for clarification or guidance. Thomas Edison State University’s policy on plagiarism is included in the University Catalog and in the Online Student Handbook. It is also discussed in detail below.
Students often wonder why some courses require MLA style while others insist on APA style. While both styles are perfectly acceptable, they are intended for use with specific disciplines.
MLA, from the Modern Language Association, is intended for use in the humanities for papers discussing topics in literature, philosophy, art, music, and drama. APA style, from the American Psychological Association, is designed for use in the social sciences such as psychology, sociology, and history.
A major difference between the two styles is the use of the year of publication. A literature paper about Hamlet might have sources from last year or even a hundred years ago that in no way would affect the value of the source. As a result, MLA requires just the author and the page number within the parenthetical documentation, for example, (Pepys 123) and only includes the date of publication in the list of works cited at the end of the paper.
Sources used in a sociology paper about AIDS or a history paper about the presidency, however, would be very time sensitive. Something written even a year ago (or less) might well be totally dated and no longer true or relevant. So as the reader sees material from these sources in APA style, there is no need to turn to the list of references to find the date; the date is right there in the parentheses for immediate consideration, for example, (Shaw, 2018, p. 34).
Other differences such as using “p” for page or a comma for separation are simply the conventions used by the two different groups.
As a literature course, LIT-291 requires the use of current MLA style.
For a list of key concepts and literary works that may appear on your exam, refer to the study guide available in the Examinations section of the course website.
You are required to take a closed-book, proctored, online midterm examination. For the exam, you are required to use the University's Online Proctor Service (OPS). Please refer to the Examinations and Proctors section of the Online Student Handbook (see General Information area of the course website) for further information about scheduling and taking online exams and for all exam policies and procedures. You are strongly advised to schedule your exam within the first week of the semester.
The midterm exam is two hours long and covers material from Modules 1, 2, and 3 in the course. It contains short- and long-essay questions.
You are on your honor not to cheat during the exam. Cheating means:
If there is evidence that you have cheated or plagiarized in your exam, the exam will be declared invalid, and you will fail the course.
You are required to complete a final paper in this course. See the Final Paper area of the course for detailed instructions. A grading rubric for the final paper can be found in the Evaluation Rubrics folder in Moodle.
Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:
All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:
A | = | 93–100 | C+ | = | 78–79 | |
A– | = | 90–92 | C | = | 73–77 | |
B+ | = | 88–89 | C– | = | 70–72 | |
B | = | 83–87 | D | = | 60–69 | |
B– | = | 80–82 | F | = | Below 60 |
To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a course not in your area of study), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings).
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:
Consider the following study tips for success:
Thomas Edison State University is committed to maintaining academic quality, excellence, and honesty. The University expects all members of its community to share the commitment to academic integrity, an essential component of a quality academic experience.
Students at Thomas Edison State University are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.
All members of the University community are responsible for reviewing the Academic Code of Conduct Policy in the University Catalog and online at www.tesu.edu.
Thomas Edison State University expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the University insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty can take the following forms:
Thomas Edison State University is committed to helping students understand the seriousness of plagiarism, which is defined as using the work and ideas of others without proper citation. The University takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing are subject to discipline under the academic code of conduct policy.
If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, or without identifying it as a direct quote, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > Citing Sources.)
Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else’s. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.
Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.
Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.
For examples of unintentional plagiarism, advice on when to quote and when to paraphrase, and information about writing assistance and report checking, click the links provided below.
Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism
When to Quote and When to Paraphrase
Writing Assistance at Smarthinking
Similarity Report Checking at Turnitin
Acts of both intentional and unintentional plagiarism violate the Academic Code of Conduct.
If an incident of plagiarism is an isolated minor oversight or an obvious result of ignorance of proper citation requirements, the mentor may handle the matter as a learning exercise. Appropriate consequences may include the completion of tutorials, assignment rewrites, or any other reasonable learning tool in addition to a lower grade for the assignment or course. The mentor will notify the student and appropriate dean of the consequence by e-mail.
If the plagiarism appears intentional and/or is more than an isolated incident, the mentor will refer the matter to the appropriate dean, who will gather information about the violation(s) from the mentor and student, as necessary. The dean will review the matter and notify the student in writing of the specifics of the charge and the sanction to be imposed.
Possible sanctions include:
Copyright © 2018 by Thomas Edison State University. All rights reserved.
