Doc Yoder's English 3330 House Rules
  1. Come to class. Do your homework. Be prepared to talk. ALWAYS BRING YOUR BOOK TO CLASS.

  2. Although you will not be asked to give formal oral reports, you will be asked on occasion to report on your work in the class -- what your research topic is, what discoveries you have made, or problems you have encountered. There will also be some small group discussion of some of the readings and of the early drafts of your essays. Your work in these areas will be counted as part of your participation grade.

  3. Students will write a weekly journal of no less than a full typed page. These journals must be about some aspect of the class or readings, and will be due by 2:00pm on Wednesdays. Your journals should be posted to the course email listserve (see instructions here). Individual journal entries will be ungraded, but you will receive a collective grade based on the percentage of the total you actually submit. NB: Although the journals may be on any aspect of the class or readings, I encourage you to use this as an opportunity to practice your close reading skills by examining a portion of the text in detail, or to theorize about literature and the study of it. Use the journal as an opportunity to hone your skills and stretch your mind. NO LATE JOURNALS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

  4. Students will write 4 papers: 2 short, interpretive essays, 1 bibliographic essay, and 1 longer critical essay (10-15pp). You should imagine the first three papers as preparation for the final research paper, a chance to learn interpretive and rhetorical skills that you will then consolidate in a final project. Topics will be generated by the students, pending approval by me. NB: Please keep in mind that you should keep copies of your papers for use in your English Major Exit Portfolio in English 4199, the "exit" course for the English major. The assignments are here.

  5. Grading breakdown: I use a 4-point grading scale:
    For final grades: A=4; B=3; C=2; D=1;F=0.

    For individual assignments: A=4; A-=3.7; B+=3.3; B=3; B-=2.7; C+=2.3; C=2; C-=1.7; D+=1.3; D=1;
    D-=0.7; F= 0.

    The relative value of the assignments is as follows:

    Attendance & Participation15%
    Journals15%
    Paper 110%
    Paper 215%
    Biblio Essay15%
    Critical Essay30%

    ALL WORK MUST BE COMPLETED TO PASS THE CLASS.

  6. Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of another's work, whether directly quoted or paraphrased. It is intellectual theft and will not be tolerated. The best a plagiarist may hope for is an "F" on the particular assignment. If you have questions about plagiarism, please do not hesitate to ask.

Disability Support Services: It is the policy and practice of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to create inclusive learning environments. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that result in barriers to your inclusion or to accurate assessment of achievement -- such as time-limited exams, inaccessible web content, or the use of non-captioned videos -- please notify the instructor as soon as possible. Students are also welcome to contact the Disability Resource Center, telephone 501-569-3143 (v/tty). For more information, visit the DRC website at http://www.ualr.edu/disability.

Return to Approaches to Literature Syllabus Front Page
Doc Yoder's Home