Category Archives: Assignments

This PDF contains the first set of poems we’ll workshop this semester. They’re in the order I received them. This is the second set of poems.

Remember, you need to bring an electronic version of your notes on these fragments. I suggest using the fiction criteria on the course syllabus in the writing of your notes.

From Richard Gray’s A History of American Literature: “Brown is exploring the two prevailing systems of thought in early America: respectively, the rationalism of the Enlightenment and the mysticism of Christianity. He is also casting both into doubt” (97-98). What … Continue reading →

How do we move from an exterior to the inner life of a character? One method: exterior description of character and setting (at least three sentences) explicit thoughts about the setting (one sentence): “He thought,” “she thought” implicit thoughts/interior monologue … Continue reading →

Which of the objections (generated by either you or a peer) to your thesis or supporting points are most likely to be presented by your audience? Of these, which do you want to refute or concede? How can you directly … Continue reading →

What worked well as you wrote poems for class this semester? What could have been better? If you had another week to finish this assignment, how would you use that time? Describe the process of assembling the portfolio: what did … Continue reading →

Let’s follow the directions Graff and Birkenstien give on page 90, but replace the paragraph they provide with the following, from Ruland and Bradbury’s From Puritanism to Postmodernism: Because of such exclusions, much later American writing, and some would say the American imagination itself, … Continue reading →

Here are the first few pages of the short story “Ender’s Game.” Here are the first few pages of the novel Ender’s Game. Practice peer review by comparing them and addressing these questions (which can also be found at the link … Continue reading →

Draft or revise a tentative thesis statement in an open doc window. Trade machines. Answer these questions about the thesis in front of you: •            Is the thesis debatable? Exactly who would disagree with it? Why? •            How could the … Continue reading →

I can’t be in class on Friday. Please send me, before 5:00 PM on Friday, an email that states the most important point of Prose’s chapter entitled “Gesture” and a very brief explanation of why that point matters. Also, address … Continue reading →