College of the North Atlantic

CAS: Transfer
CM1120 Section 5

Burin Campus

Fall 2015

Instructor: Kayla Walters

Office: 2132
Hours: Monday 12:30 pm, Tuesday 11:30am, Thursday 9:30am, Friday 8:30am
Office Hours: See handout
Email: kayla.walters@cna.nl.ca
Tel: 891-5660
Website: http://englishlitcna.weebly.com

Course Goals
This course is an introduction to critical reading and writing. Its goals are to help you develop the
ability to think analytically about the works we read, to develop your own interpretations of them,
to articulate these ideas in discussion, and to present them formally through well-structured,
correctly-written essays. University-level English is most often interested in what it means that
something happens, how a work is crafted to generate meanings, and how we as readers
interact with a work, producing our own meanings. The marking system for this course is based
on these goals: marks depend on the strength of the ideas you find and create, on the essay
structure you use to present them, and on the correctness of the writing you use to express
them.

Required Texts
Jones, Heather, comp. Introduction to Literature. Boston: Pearson, 2014.
Note: Access to a good dictionary is essential. These are available at local stores, online and in
the library. The bibliographic style guide for this course is The Modern Language Association
Handbook, 7th edition. Copies are available on reserve in the library or see www.mla.org

TENTATIVE READING SCHEDULE

(Please note that there may be alterations to this schedule announced in class.)
SEPT 10
11

First class - course logistics

Kogawa, Obasan (Handout)

14
15
17
18

Kogawa, Obasan (Handout)

Kogawa, Obasan (Handout)
The Writing Process Brainstorming & Critical Questions
The Writing Process Thesis Statements

21
22
24

The Writing Process Introductions

The Writing Process Topic Sentences
The Writing Process Body Paragraphs Class 1

OCT

NOV

25

The Writing Process Body Paragraphs Class 2

28
29
1
2

The Writing Process Conclusions

The Writing Process Revisions & MLA Works Cited & Formatting
Chopin, The Story of an Hour (23)
Grammar Presentation Group 1 & 2 OUT OF CLASS PAPER 1 DUE

5
6
8
9

Chopin, The Story of an Hour (23)

Jackson, The Lottery (handout)
Jackson, The Lottery (handout)
Grammar Presentation Group 3 & 4

12
13
15
16

THANKSGIVING NO CLASS
Hemingway, Hills Like White Elephants
Hemingway, Hills Like White Elephants
Grammar Presentation Group 5 & 6

19
20
22
23

OConnor, A Good Man is Hard to Find (handout)

OConnor, A Good Man is Hard to Find (handout)
Review class
Grammar Presentation Group 7 & 8

26
27
29
30

SHORT STORY IN-CLASS ESSAY

Introduction to Poetry
Shakespeare, My Mistress Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun (53)
Piercy, Barbie Doll (70)

2
3
5
6

Brooke, The Soldier (56)

Owen, Anthem for Doomed Youth (67)
Wordsworth, I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud (59)
Keats, To Autumn (62)

9
10
12
13

Poetry in Popular Music

Poetry in Popular Music
Poetry review class
Introduction to Drama

16
17
19
20

Glaspell, Trifles (85) OUT OF CLASS PAPER 2 DUE

Glaspell, Trifles (85)
Glaspell, Trifles (85)
Glaspell, Trifles (85)

23
24
26
27

Glaspell, Trifles (85)

Glaspell, Trifles (85)
Drama review
DRAMA IN-CLASS ESSAY

DEC

30
1
3
4

Exam review & prep

Exam review & prep
Exam review & prep
Exam review & prep

Other Information
Although a formal lecture will introduce each of the four segments of the course, the classes are
intended to encourage discussion. If you have any questions or comments about the course
format or my teaching, please let me know since I try to be receptive and flexible. This class is a
partnership and I do appreciate feedback. Please feel fee to approach me if you run into
difficulties, even if they do not relate directly to the course.

Assignments and Evaluations

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Short Fiction Essay #1 (Out of Class)

Short Fiction Essay #2 (In-Class)
Poetry Essay (Out of Class)
Drama Essay (In-Class)
Grammar Presentation
Online blog
Final Exam

10%
10%
10%
10%
10%
10%
40%

Oct 2
Oct 26
Nov 16
Nov 27
Date TBA
Every Friday
Dec TBA

Assignments
Short Fiction Essay #1. This essay assignment is meant to introduce you, in depth, to the
methods of critical analysis and close reading that is employed in studies of English Literature at
the university level. It will also introduce you to the writing, editing and formatting practices you
need to know for all your university-level assignments.
This essay will be written about Joy Kowagas short story, Obasan, and is an essay you will
write over the span of the first month of class as we learn the different aspects of the university
English essay. We will first spend 3 classes reading and analyzing Obasan as a class, then
you will spend the other classes forming your essay into a presentable final draft with my
guidance. Students will be encouraged to find a literary element of the story that they find
interesting, and use that as the focus of their essay.
Short Fiction Essay #2. This essay will be written in-class and it will cover all short stories
discussed this semester, except for Obasan. Students will be expected to study ALL aspects
of the short stories that we discuss in class and come prepared to write ONE essay on a topic
that is given to them, unseen. Students will have a choice between 3 or 4 possible essay
questions (all from topics weve covered in class) and they will write ONE essay based on ONE
of those questions. This essay will be written during the normal class period and no extra time
will be permitted unless the student has accommodations for extra time in place.

Poetry Essay. This is a finished essay (900-1000 words) on a topic to be handed out in class.
Students will be expected to use all the techniques they learned in our Writing Process section
to produce a high-quality comparison essay that discusses a similar theme or poetic convention
in TWO of the poems studied in class this semester. Topics for the paper will be handed out
once this section of the course begins.

Drama In-Class Essay. You will be given a brief passage from the play and you will be asked
to discuss the passages contribution to theme in the play as a whole, in a complete and wellstructured comparative essay. This essay will be written during the normal class period and no
extra time will be permitted unless the student has accommodations for extra time in place.
Grammar Presentations. Students will pair up into groups of 2 and teach the rest of the class
about an assigned grammatical topic. In a 20-25 minute presentation, the group will touch on
what the topic is about, how it is employed in our writing, possible trouble writers have when
using this type of grammar, rules and/or tips, practice questions, etc. This is your chance to play
teacher and help the rest of the class not only learn about a topic, but understand how to avoid
mistakes in this area in their own writing. I highly suggest making an appointment to sit down
with me at least one week before your presentation to brainstorm ideas or areas of interest that
you should focus on. I am here to guide you in the right direction.
Topic 1: Comma, Semicolons and Colons
Topic 2: Apostrophes, Quotations Marks, Parentheses/Brackets
Topic 3: Common Spelling & Grammatical Mistakes and how to fix them
Topic 4: Subjects and Verbs in Sentences & how to identify them
Topic 5: Subject-Verb Agreement
Topic 6: Different types of sentences & how to vary their usage
Topic 7: Correcting Fragments, Comma Splices and Run-On Sentences
Topic 8: Pronoun case, Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement & Pronoun Reference
NOTE: A great resource for these presentations will be the following textbook that I will have on
reserve in the library. On reserve means that you cannot checkout the book. The resource must
be used in school or photocopied.
Brandon, Lee. At a Glance: Sentences. 5th ed. Boston: Houghton, 2012.
Online Blog. The best way to improve literacy skills is to develop a regular habit of writing. With
this in mind, students will keep a weekly learning journal throughout the course. Rather than
writing entries in a physical book, you are asked to start a blog. The ability to work effectively
with language in online environments is an increasingly important skill, sometimes called digital
literacy. The most popular platform for free internet blogging is Weebly and the signup page
offers stepbystep instructions that allow you to customize your site and begin posting within a
few minutes. I will post your weekly question at the beginning of each school week on the
course blog (http://englishlitcna.weebly.com). These writing activities and prompts will engage
with course related material from that particular week. Each week you will have until Friday at 5
p.m. to complete the assigned activity. Once you have set up your blog, please email me the
URL (web address) for your page along with your name and student number.

Learning journals will be assessed based on timely completion of weekly writing activities and
on your active participation. You are encouraged to take responsibility for your own
development as a writer and to spend adequate time and effort on your entries. Please
remember to pay close attention to detail when writing. Always be sure to write grammatically
correct sentences (no short form ttyl; lol; aatsot) and to use respectful, appropriate language
(nothing foul or offensive).
***Privacy and anonymity*** Please keep in mind that a blog is a publicly accessible space.
Many bloggers write under an alias, and you may wish to do so as well. If you choose to write
under an assumed name, let me know in the initial email which blog is yours (so I can track your
work). I will not reveal at any time who owns which blog. If one of your peers is writing under an
alias, please refer to them by their assumed name when online (even if you know who they are)
to protect their privacy and anonymity.
Final Exam. The final examination will consist of a number of topics and will ask you to write on
TWO of them in complete point-by-point comparative essay format.

Essay Format
Your essays must comply with MLA style and guidelines, must be double-spaced, and use
standard one inch margins. Make sure to number your pages in the top right hand corner.
Do not use plastic or other covers. It is not necessary to attach a cover page, but be sure to
follow standard MLA formatting for the first page of essays. For quotation, citations, and
documentation guidelines, consult the MLA section of Purdue University's online style guide, or
Memorial Universitys online guide (available at www.library.mun.ca/internet/termpapers.php).

Penalties
For all assignments a late penalty will be assessed for work not handed in in person at the
beginning of class on the due date. Work will lose .5 of a mark for each day late, including
weekends. A paper due Friday, but handed in on Monday will be reduced by .5+.5+.5=1.5 (a
grade of 8.0 will be reduced to 6.5). Documented medical illnesses and a death in the family are
the only acceptable reasons for handing in late work. While I am human and do understand
various other life events that prevent work from being accomplished, you must request an
extension before 4pm on the day before the paper is due. Malfunctioning printers, broken
computers, or even hungry dogs are not acceptable excuses for late papers. It is your
responsibility to finish papers before the deadline and to ensure they are printed before class
starts on the due date.
While I will accept papers at any point on the due date, the only guarantee that I will receive
your paper is by handing it to me in person at the start of class. I will not accept papers that are
placed under or tacked to my office door once Ive left campus, nor will I be accepting electronic
copies of your papers. Please keep in mind that I am a part-time instructor and I may not stick
around until 4pm to wait for your paper.
Remember: ALWAYS back up your work when typing up your paper.

Email policy

All email should be sent using your cna.nl.ca email address. When using email, make sure to
identify yourself by full name, student number, and by reference to this particular course. As this
course is geared towards effective writing, you are encouraged to compose email with the same
attention to detail as you would give to any other kind of formal writing.

Privacy Policy
To ensure privacy, student papers may be obtained, by the student personally, when papers are
returned in class or picked up during the instructors office hours. Papers will not be available
otherwise, and grades will not be posted in any public places on campus or online.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism, the theft of anothers words or ideas, is a serious academic offence, which can
result in a mark of zero for an assignment and, in some cases, expulsion from the university.
Plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated and will result in disciplinary measures. The College
of the North Atlantic values academic integrity. Cases of plagiarism may be referred to the
Campus Administrator. Students should consult the Student Handbook for more information on
academic offenses. I would highly recommend that students make themselves aware of the
proper procedures for using the Internet for research purposes. Please make time to sit down
with me if you have any specific questions about avoiding plagiarism in your academic writing.