BIS 361
Studies in American Literature: The 1930s
Winter 2007
Close Readings Assignment
close reading #1 (Chandler) due in Blackboard dropbox by 10:50 a.m.
on Tuesday, Jan. 16;
close reading #2 (Cather) due in Blackboard dropbox by 10:50 a.m.
on Thursday, Feb. 8
The purpose
of these close readings is to learn how to analyze deeply a short
literary passage, which is a critical
skill in literary studies and is helpful for analyzing any kind
of written text.
Start by choosing one
"rich" (that is, robust and interesting) passage of at least three sentences but
no longer than seven sentences, preferably a single paragraph or other kind of
"unit" of writing, from the assigned reading (the first eight chapters of The
Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler for the first close reading, and "Old Mrs.
Harris" by Willa Cather for the second close reading).
Then, read section II ("Writing It") of
Prof. McClennan's guide.
Following Prof.
McClennan's suggestions, write a paper of about 250 words (no fewer than
200 and no more than 300). At the top of the page (after your header and
title but before you begin your essay text), indicate the page number(s)
of your chosen passage. For the Chandler book, please also
indicate the chapter number. That way, I can find your passage even if
your book has different page numbers than mine.
-
As a formal piece of university writing, your close
reading paper should be typed and double-spaced throughout, using a
standard font (like Times New Roman) in 12-point size, and with margins
of one inch all the way around each page. Provide an MLA-style header
and essay title as explained in #20 and #22 in "Tips for Better Prose"
at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Prose.html >. Please do not use a cover page or footnotes. If
you wish to quote, do so only after reading Becky Rosenberg's
document, "Using Direct Quotation" at <http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/Quotation.html>. If you paraphrase or quote your author, you can provide just a page number if it is obvious that
it is your author whom you are citing. You do not need a Works Cited
page.
-
After your paper
is carefully written, it will be time for editing and proofreading. Because all
teachers have their own idiosyncratic preferences for writing, you should learn
what mine are by reading "Tips for Better
Prose."
Reading this document is a required part of the
assignment. I recommend printing that document, and, after you finish
writing your paper, check the items off one by one to make sure your
paper is as mechanically sound as you can make it. Although the
mechanics of writing are less important to me than the ideas expressed,
the mechanics inevitably improve the effectiveness of your communication of ideas, which, after all, is
your ultimate goal with each piece of writing that you do.
-
When you think
you have a completed draft, do a final word count (in the Tools pull-down menu
of Microsoft Word) to make sure your paper meets the length requirement.
Highlight just the text of your paper--not the header, title, or passage
page numbers--when you do your word count. Do not put the word count in
your paper, though. I can check that myself.
-
Needless to say, your work must be entirely original.
Using another person's ideas or words without proper attribution, whether
intentional or accidental, constitutes plagiarism, and will result in a zero
on this assignment. Please re-read "Policy on Academic and Behavioral Conduct"
at <http://www.uwb.edu/students/policies/academicconduct.xhtml
>.
To submit your paper in the Blackboard
Dropbox, carefully follow these
instructions:
- You must have
an electronic copy of your paper on the computer you use to submit the paper
electronically. That means the paper needs to be a Microsoft
Word document located on your
computer's hard drive (if you have Internet access at home or work) or on a
floppy disk, flash drive, or CD that can be inserted into a computer on
campus. Allow time for that. (If you do not own Microsoft Word, you can
purchase a deeply discounted copy through ASUWB <http://as.uwb.edu
> or else use one of the campus
computer labs.)
- This is important: Name your Word
file exactly in this format:
LastnameFirstinitialCR1 (for close reading #1)
or LastnameFirstinitialCR2 (for close reading #2).
For example, if you name were Susan Husky, your filename would be HuskySCR1 for
the first close reading and HuskySCR2 for the second close
reading. Note that there is no
spaces anywhere in the file name.
- Log onto the
BIS 361 Blackboard area at <http://bb.uwb.edu/>.
- Click on
the "Tools" button.
- In the
"Tools" area, click on the "Digital Drop Box" button.
- Click on the "Send File" button (not the "Add File" button).
- In the
box labeled "Title," type your last name (with only the first letter
capitalized), then a space, then your first initial (capitalized), then a
space, and then the word "Close Reading" (capitalized but without the
quotation marks). For example: Husky S Close Reading 1 for the first close reading and Husky S Close
Reading 2 for the second close
reading. Note that for this title, you need to use
spaces, unlike the name of your Word document, which cannot have spaces in it.
- Use the
"Browse" button to find your computer file that contains your paper. Leave the
"Comments" box blank (unless, for some reason, you need to tell me something
about your document).
- Press the
"Submit" button. You should then arrive at "digital receipt" page.
Required: Print and save this receipt
page.
- After
your document is submitted, log out of Blackboard and close the browser window
to protect your Blackboard account.
Criteria for grading:
Please carefully read "Criteria for Assessing Writing" at <
http://faculty.washington.edu/davidgs/WritingAssess.html>
for an explanation of these items:
|
Content
|
50 percent
|
|
Organization
|
10 percent
|
|
Reasoning
|
20 percent
|
|
Rhetoric
|
10 percent
|
|
Conventions
|
10 percent
|
|
TOTAL
|
10 percent of course grade (the higher of two
scores will count for the full 10
percent)
|
Let me emphasize that I expect your best
effort in this and every exercise. It is worth the investment of
your time and effort to do the best you can.
Some additional advice:
- Get in the habit of saving your work often
(maybe every ten minutes) so you do not lose everything when your
computer freezes. It also is a good idea to keep multiple copies in
different places, such as on a different computer, on diskettes or flash
drives, or in your electronic "shell" on UW student computer server. I
usually e-mail important files to myself at the end of the work day, so
if my computer blows up, I still can retrieve my work.
- Visit the Writing Center (see <http://www.uwb.edu/writingcenter/>). They are professionals trained to help you
become a better writer, so visit them! Remember that their goal is to
help you become a better writer, not to make this particular paper
better, so you are responsible for applying what they teach you to this
paper and others that you will write.
- I do not have time to read rough drafts
except as described above,
but I am very glad to discuss your paper as you work on it. You would
be wise to visit me during office hours (see syllabus) to make sure you
are on the right track, to see whether your thesis makes sense to me,
and to get advice about any particular difficulties you might be
encountering.
- Re-read this assignment sheet just before
submitting the final copy of your paper to make sure it meets all of the
requirements.
- If you are an
Interdisciplinary Studies major, remember
to keep your graded paper, with my comments, for the
graduation portfolio that you will complete in your senior seminar (see
<http://www.bothell.washington.edu/IAS/degrees/BLS/requirements.html#graduate>).
This page last updated January 21, 2007.
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