Spring semester 2017/18
BTAN10000BA-K2 01
Essay Writing and Research
Type: seminar, 2 hrs, graded, 1st year
Credits: 2
Time & Place: Mon, 4.00-5.40 p.m.; Rm 54; Tue, 10.00- 11.40 p.m.; Rm 106
Instructor: Gabriella Moise
Office hours:
Mon, 1.00-2.00 p.m.; Tue, 2.00-3.00 p.m.; Main Bldg, 116/4
E-mail:
Course Description:
Primarily the course aims at assisting students with research methodology and improving on writing skills with special focus on academic writing i. e. the production of essays and/or research papers. Students will get acquainted with the basic research skills such as the efficient utilisation of library facilities, search engines, electronic databases, error-free employment of the MLA style. The seminar also targets at getting students familiar and secure with the employment of the appropriate structure of an essay: how to formulate your thesis statement, the coherence of argumentation, the proper manner of citing your primary and secondary sources, how to integrate quotes into the body of your text, the essence of a good conclusion, and finally the common (thematic and stylistic) blunders one should avoid.
Course Requirements:
Class attendance: more than three absences will result in failing the entire seminar.
Participation: Students are expected to prepare for each and every class with special attention to the written assignments and keeping deadlines. Since the course is structured in a consecutive manner i. e. one class is built upon the other, the success of the seminar and also one’s potential sense of achievement highly depend on students’ work ethics.
Minor written assignments: Closely related to the aforementioned duties. Each written assignment—such as an introductory paragraph (including the thesis statement), a summary on Randall Stevenson’s “Forster and Modernism” (app. 350-450 words), a short response paper on Frederick C. Crews’s “E. M. Forster: The Limitations of Mythology,” with the help of supportive questions (app. 300-400 words), MLA test, plot test on the novel—adds to the final grade. For detailed description of the grade components, check “Grading Policy.” Naturally, late submission of the tasks will lower the final grade. Minor assignments set in bold in the chart (see below) are crucial components of the final grade, that is, if any of these are not completed the final grade cannot be given, the course is failed.
Short essay: an app. 600-800 word essay, written on the novel on your chosen theme. You do not necessarily have to employ secondary material to this assignment; however, this can be the basis of your later term essay. Mind this is not a plot summary of the novel but the evaluation of your thesis and argumentation about the selected theme. You are encouraged to use the primary material for the analysis.
Term essay: an essay of approximately 1600-1800 words that meets the formal and academic standards of a research paper on E. M. Forster’s A Room with a View. Secondary materials (the use of at least TWO academic sources proper, preferably printed or in case of a lack of the relevant printed secondary sources digital databases can also be used such as JSTOR or EBSCOHost) and scholarly documentation, conforming to the requirements of the MLA Style Sheet, are required. Sources not meeting the academic standards (e. g. Wikipedia, Gradesaver, Sparknotes etc.) on no condition can be used in the essays.
No grade can be obtained unless ALL the essential course components are fulfilled. Students need to reach at least 50 % in order to get a pass mark for the course.
Plagiarism and academic dishonesty will be penalised as described in the Academic Handbook of the Institute (excerpts see below). The essay is to be submitted by the defined deadline, otherwise the grade will be lowered (see below). The essay will only be accepted in a word processed (typed) format.
The cover sheet of the essay must contain the title of the essay, the name of the student, the name and code of the course, the name of the tutor, the date of submission, and the following statement: Hereby I certify that the essay conforms to the international copyright and plagiarism rules and regulations. Students must also sign the statement.
Plagiarism and its consequences
Students must be aware that plagiarism is a crime which has its due consequences.
The possible forms of plagiarism:
1. word by word quotes from a source used as if they were one’s own ideas, without quotation marks and without identifying the sources;
2. ideas taken from a source, paraphrased in the essay-writer’s own words and used as if they were his/her own ideas, without identifying and properly documenting the source.
Plagiarism, depending on its seriousness and frequency, will be penalised in the following ways:
1. The percentage of the submitted paper will be reduced.
2. The essay will have to be rewritten and resubmitted.
3. In a serious case, this kind of academic dishonesty will result in a failure.
4. In a recurring, and serious case, the student will be expelled from the English major programme.
Late Submission Policy
1. Deadlines must be observed and taken seriously.
2. Essays and written assignments submitted after the deadline will be penalised by a reduction in the percentage (see reduction policy chart below). More than one week delay in submitting your term essay will result in a failure of that particular component of the grade. In exceptional and well-documented cases, the extension of deadlines can be negotiated with the course tutor well in advance (but not after, or on the day of the deadline).
NB: Students’ linguistic competence has a considerable impact on their final grade!
COURSE COMPONENTS / RESEARCH PAPER EVALUATIONMinor assignments / 40% / Statement of thesis/introductory paragraph / 4
Short essay / 15% / Quality of argument / 15
Term essay / 45% / Coherence of structure / 13
Total / 100% / Scholarly documentation / 6
Level of language / 7
Total / 45
LATE SUBMISSION REDUCTION FOR THE ASSIGNMENTS / MINOR ASSIGNMENTS 40%
Delay (days) / Reduction / Plot test / 5
1–2 / 2 / Introductory paragraph / 5
3–4 / 4 / Response paper on criticism / 12.5
5–7 / 7 / Summary on criticism / 12.5
MLA test / 5
Week / Date /
Assignment
1 / 12/13Feb /
Orientation
Discussing the structure of the seminar, highlighting the course requirements specified in the syllabus and outlining the assignment for next weekHW for Week 2: Correct “Titles, Introductory paragraphs, Conclusions” sheet (to be downloaded individually from the instructor’s “Course Materials” site)
HW by Week 4: you have to finish reading E.M. Forster’s A Room with a View
2 / 19/20
Feb / The Structure of the Essay
(thesis statement, introductory paragraph, coherence, conclusion)
“About Essays in General” in Essay Writing pp 12-23
“Writing about Literature” in Strategies for Successful Writing pp 271, 278-295 (reading materials are available on the instructor’s “Course Materials” site)
3 / 26/27Feb / Library research
Visiting the departmental library (getting familiar with the utilization of the library catalogues, databases, and search engines e.g. JSTOR, ProQuest, EBSCOhost)
4 / 05/06
March / Reading Literature Critically I
E.M. Forster, A Room with a View
Plot test on the novel!!!
5 / 12/13 March / Reading Literature Critically II
E.M. Forster, A Room with a View + highlighting potential themes/topics/motifs based on your reading experience
HW for Week 6: Write an introductory paragraph with a proper thesis statement based on Forster’s A Room with a View.
6 / 19/20
March / Reading Theory I
Stevenson, Randall. “Forster and Modernism.” The Cambridge Companion to E. M. Forster. Ed. David Bradshaw. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2007. 209-222.
(the article concerned is available on the instructor’s “Course Materials” site)
HW for Week 7: summary (app. 350-450 words) on Randall Stevenson’s “Forster and Modernism” (the guidelines to summary writing are available on the instructor’s “Course Materials” site)
7 / 26/27
March /
Discussing your introductory paragraphs I
(based on the correction sheet “Introductory paragraph” uploaded on the “Course Materials” site)8 / 02/03
Apr / CONSULTATION WEEK (No class!)
9 / 09/10
Apr /
Discussing your introductory paragraphs II
(based on the correction sheet “Introductory paragraph” uploaded on the “Course Materials” site)+ Discussing your summaries
HW for Week 10: response paper on Crews’s “E. M. Forster: The Limitations of Mythology” with the help of targeted questions to be sent via Neptun
HW for Week 11: Write a short essay (app. 600-800 words) on Forster’s A Room with a View based on the structure and analytic components previously discussed.
10 / 16/17
Apr / Reading theory II
Crews, Frederick C. “E. M. Forster: The Limitations of Mythology.” Comparative Literature 12.2 (Spring, 1960): 97-112.
(students are expected to search for, download and print the essay from JSTOR)
HW for Week 10: download the MLA style sheet and skim it through to be able to raise questions at the time of the class
11 / 23/24
Apr / Introducing MLA; Discussing the idea of plagiarism
(based on the MLA Style sheet)
Short essay deadline!
12 / 30 Apr/
01 May / MLA in practice (based on the correction sheet uploaded on the “Course Materials” site)
13 / 07/08 May / Discussing your short essays