Classic Literature Discussion Post
Budget: $10 – $30 USD
In a post below, respond to the following prompt. After you post, you must respond to two of your classmates' posts. Note that there is a 30 minute delay between the time you post your response to the prompt and the time you are able to see other students' posts.
Your first post is due on Thursday by 11 p.m. CST. Your responses to two other students are due on Saturday by 11 p.m. CST.
Your response should be at least 250 words long minimum to receive any credit. Your responses to other students' posts must be at least 100 words long to receive any credit. Simply responding with how much you agree with or how much you like the post will not count. Please think about the questions and your peers' responses and reply thoughtfully and courteously, according to netiquette rules. Use good English grammar, correct punctuation, and complete sentences. While the posts will mostly be judged by their thoughtfulness and completeness, I reserve the right to take off points for grammatical errors, especially if they interfere with the clarity of the post.
In addition to the requirements mentioned above, please make sure to adhere to the following writing guidelines:
Begin with a topic sentence/main idea. Do not begin with a summary of anything from the book or any unnecessary thoughts.
Do not use "I" or "you." Writing about history, like writing about science, is not writing about yourself. It requires you to describe the historical situations you are writing about objectively without reference to you self ("I think that...," "My opinion is...").
Do not introduce an idea that you cannot support through specific, textual examples. This will allow you to avoid letting logical inaccuracies creep into your writing. If you do not use examples from the texts to support your claims, then your claims will be disregarded and you will fail to earn any points.
If you need a refreshing on how to incorporate and cite quotations in your writing, see the handout "How to Write a Literary Analysis" in the instruction to the Module 1 Assignment.
Reread what you've written carefully to make sure that your ideas, information, and organization are clear.
Grading Criteria
This assignment is worth 12 points and will be graded using the rubric detailed in the Forums section in the Syllabus.
Prompt
Reread descriptive passages from "The Wanderer" and/or Beowulf. Concentrate on those passages that focus on how people look and dress and how the landscape is presented. In other words, concentrate on the scene of the action, and not the action itself. Then do the same thing with Chaucer's "General Prologue." Finally, write a brief analysis that contrasts the mood of Anglo-Saxon and Middle English poetry. How do you account for the differences? Do these differences reflect specific changes in English society? For more information on how mood works in literature (and how it differs from tone), watch a presentation from Oregon State here. Make sure to use evidence from the texts to prove your point.
Your first post is due on Thursday by 11 p.m. CST. Your responses to two other students are due on Saturday by 11 p.m. CST.
Your response should be at least 250 words long minimum to receive any credit. Your responses to other students' posts must be at least 100 words long to receive any credit. Simply responding with how much you agree with or how much you like the post will not count. Please think about the questions and your peers' responses and reply thoughtfully and courteously, according to netiquette rules. Use good English grammar, correct punctuation, and complete sentences. While the posts will mostly be judged by their thoughtfulness and completeness, I reserve the right to take off points for grammatical errors, especially if they interfere with the clarity of the post.
In addition to the requirements mentioned above, please make sure to adhere to the following writing guidelines:
Begin with a topic sentence/main idea. Do not begin with a summary of anything from the book or any unnecessary thoughts.
Do not use "I" or "you." Writing about history, like writing about science, is not writing about yourself. It requires you to describe the historical situations you are writing about objectively without reference to you self ("I think that...," "My opinion is...").
Do not introduce an idea that you cannot support through specific, textual examples. This will allow you to avoid letting logical inaccuracies creep into your writing. If you do not use examples from the texts to support your claims, then your claims will be disregarded and you will fail to earn any points.
If you need a refreshing on how to incorporate and cite quotations in your writing, see the handout "How to Write a Literary Analysis" in the instruction to the Module 1 Assignment.
Reread what you've written carefully to make sure that your ideas, information, and organization are clear.
Grading Criteria
This assignment is worth 12 points and will be graded using the rubric detailed in the Forums section in the Syllabus.
Prompt
Reread descriptive passages from "The Wanderer" and/or Beowulf. Concentrate on those passages that focus on how people look and dress and how the landscape is presented. In other words, concentrate on the scene of the action, and not the action itself. Then do the same thing with Chaucer's "General Prologue." Finally, write a brief analysis that contrasts the mood of Anglo-Saxon and Middle English poetry. How do you account for the differences? Do these differences reflect specific changes in English society? For more information on how mood works in literature (and how it differs from tone), watch a presentation from Oregon State here. Make sure to use evidence from the texts to prove your point.