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(Summer 2007)

ASSIGNMENTS
Readings
Writing Projects
Book Reviews/Reports

DESCRIPTION

EXAMS
Midterm
Final

LINKS
Authors
Composition Sites
Publishing Guides

NOTES

REPORTS

SYLLABUS

WRITERLY ADVICE

Required Texts
Phillip Lopate, ed. The Art of the Personal Essay: From the Classical Era to the Present (1994)
Henry David Thoreau, Walden (any unabridged edition)

Handouts
To keep book costs down and to foster exposure to diverse voices (creative and critical), I rely heavily on handouts.  I encourage you to purchase a sturdy pocket folder to manage the many handouts that will be distributed throughout the term.  If you miss or lose any handouts, please borrow them from a classmate and make photocopies.

Web Site
Resources on the course web site will be developed by both the class and the instructor during the term.  Assignments and class discussions will often be supplemented by online notes and links.  Make sure that you check the class web site at least once a week.  And please let me know about any useful online resources that you have discovered.

Communications
While working on any course project, please don’t hesitate to send me questions via e-mail or to fax drafts for me to review.

Assignments & Grading
For the most part, class time will be occupied by discussions of assigned works and practice in peer revision and editing.  Please be prepared to read (and re-read) assigned works thoughtfully (take notes, mark key passages, pose questions, identify stylistic felicities) so that you can participate actively in class discussions.   Throughout the term, these discussions will be supplemented by notes posted to the class web site. Assigned readings, points raised in class, and supplementary notes on the web will all provide the basis for the midterm and final examinations.

Specific course readings will be assigned weekly (and posted to the class web site). Detailed guidelines (including format guidelines) for writing projects will be posted on the class web site, and separate deadlines will be provided for the delivery of drafts and final revisions. Class time will be set aside during the final two weeks of the term for presentation of brief reports on the books you have reviewed.

Final grades will be determined according to the following scale:

All work should be turned in on time.  A late assignment will be docked one letter grade per day.  An assignment that is not turned in at all will receive a grade of 0 (the equivalent of a double-F on the grade scale).

A Few Key Dates
With a few exceptions, class will meet on every Monday and Wednesday afternoon throughout the fall semester.  A few key dates.

Attendance
If you miss more than four classes, you will be dropped from the course with a grade of WF.  (You may continue to attend classes and submit assignments--but in any case your final grade will be WF.)   If you must miss a class, it is your responsibility to get in touch with a classmate to collect any handouts and to find out what assignments have been given. Under unusual circumstances, you should call me at 921 5626 to explain your difficulties.   A phone call, however, does not excuse you from the policies described above.

Ethics
In composing reports and essays, you should rely solely on course texts, class discussions, and your own ideas--unless you are instructed otherwise.  Reliance on uncredited secondary sources of any kind (whether direct or indirect) will be treated as plagiarism and a violation of the Armstrong Atlantic Honor Code.

Final Reminder
If you're having problems, see me.  Because committee meetings frequently call me out of the office during weekday afternoons, I can’t provide the certainty of formal office hours.  Just send me an e-mail or call the office and we’ll arrange a convenient meeting time.

NOTE:  ENGLISH 5760 (Literary Nonfiction) was last taught in the fall semester of 1999.  It is likely to be offered again in the spring or fall semester of 2001.