Kerri Shaw LIT144

Lit 144 - Syllabus Introduction to Fiction

Kerri Shaw				E-mail: Kshaw@ednet.rvc.cc.il.us
Office CL 1 G46				Mail Box: CL1 G03
Voice Mail 921-3309

Course Description:

	Introduction to Fiction involves reading and discussion of representative short stories and novels, with some attention to critical work on fiction. Students will increase their enjoyment and appreciation of fiction by reading a variety of works and writers; come to understand the forms and fuctions of prose fiction; be able to use relevant critical terms effectively; and analyze and interpret prose fiction both in class discussion and in formal critical essays.

Required Materials:

	Books:
	Griffith, Kelley. Writing Essays about Literature. 6th ed. Boston: Thomson Heinle, 2002.

	Roberts, Garyn. The Prentice Hall Anthology of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Upper Saddle River:
		Prentice Hall, 2001.

	Scott, Melissa. Dreaming Metal. New York: St. Martins, 1998.

	Leguin, Ursula K. The Wizard of EarthSea -- on order

	Supplies:
	Material for note taking in class
	Computer discs
	Folders for collecting handouts and journal entries

	Additional:
	A working knowledge of RVC’s Ednet system. The Library offers free training sessions on the Ednet systems and students will need to know how to both send and receive messages via Ednet.

Policies:

	Attendance:
	You are expected to attend every class meeting, failure to do so can and will negatively affect your performance in class and your grade. Missing 4 class meetings will constitute grounds for lowering your final grade by one letter; missing 6 class meetings will constitute ground for failing the course. If you must be absent, you are responsible for checking for any handouts, updates, announcements, or assignments distributed in your absence. Students who arrive more than ten minutes late to class will be counted as absent.

	Late Work:
	Late work of any kind is not acceptable in this course, without prior arrangement with the instructor. If you must miss a class during which an assignment is due, please turn your work in ahead of time; In-class work (quizzes, group projects, impromptu writing assignments) may not be made up. Students will receive a zero for any work not turned in on time.

	Format:
	To avoid confusion about margins and page lengths, and to help ensure that all student work is graded fairly, all assignments completed outside of class must be presented in the following style:
	1. on good quality white paper 2. in laser quality black print 3. in Ariel 12 point font 4. double-spaced 5. with 1 inch margins 6. documented according to MLA style
	In-class assignments must be completed in blue or black ink, on white or yellow paper, in a clear and readable style.

	Special Needs:
	If you have special educational and/or physical needs that require class accommodation, please feel free to discuss them with me. The Office of Student Services is responsible for evaluating and registering academic disabilities, and students seeking special accommodations should contact them.

Assignments:

	Exams:
	There will three exams over the course of the semester. Exams will include material on both the basic elements of prose fiction and the content of specific literary works covered in class. A variety of review materials will be provided for each exam.

	Papers:
	There will be two major papers due over the course of the semester, each following an important cluster of texts. Each paper will ask you to analyze/interpret two or more texts we have covered in class. Topic and text options for individual papers will be discussed in class. Specific instructions for the production of each paper will be provided.

	Journals:
	Students will be asked to produce a variety of informal written assignments in which they respond to various aspects of the texts being read in class. Journal entries, in both print and electronic forms, will form the basis of a number of small group activites over the course of the semester. Specific instructions for the production of journal entries and for group activities will be provided.

	Quizzes:
	The instructor reserves the right to administer unannounced quizzes as necessary over the course of the semester.

Grades:

There will be between 1100 -1300 points possible in the course. The point values are distributed as follows:
	Exam One Exam Two Exam Three Paper One Paper Two Journals Quizzes		150 points 150 points 150 points 150 points 250 points 200 points 100 -200 points
Grades will be assigned according to the attached departmental guidelines, and calculated according to the following point scale:
	90 - 100 =A 80 - 89 =B 70 - 79 =C 60 - 69 =D under 60 =F