T5Th5, Scott 104

Jonathan Bass
Office: Murray 032
Office Hours: Tues 1.30-2.30 PM
Website: http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~jbass
Spring 2003

Texts available at the University Bookstore:

The Norton Anthology of Poetry (shorter 4th ed.)
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
M. H. Abrahams, A Glossary of Literary Terms

Additional material will be handed out in class or posted online.

Four papers of 3, 5, 5, and 7 pages respectively

One sestina.

Regular short written assignments or light research to be completed outside of class with readings. A possible oral presentation.

Five in-class writing exercises. Two may be missed or dropped.

Active in-class participation, including visible preparation and enthusiasm.

The bulk of your final grade will depend on the four papers (weighted according to their assigned length). The remainder of the grade will depend on in-class participation, attendance, and your enthusiastic performance on the supplementary exercises. Roughly that comes down to 80% of the grade for the papers, 20% for everything else.

Classroom participation is a necessary (but not a sufficient) condition for an A. If you do well on the papers but do not share your ideas verbally in class, you will not get an A.

Policies:

Late work will be reduced by one full letter grade per class meeting. All late work should be discussed with the instructor who will comment on the late work at his discretion. Work that is exceptionally late will not be accepted save under equally exceptional circumstances.

After four absences you risk failing the course. These four absences should cover sickness and emergencies. Attendance at all classes is expected.

Regular latenesses will count as half-absences.

Read all poems at least twice before class. Bring the Norton text to each class, along with copies of any of the assigned poems for that day.

Don't plagiarize. Review the University's strict plagiarism policy.

Decorum:

Please refrain from exiting and then returning (for whatever reason) to the classroom during the span of each class as others will find this action disturbing.

Please silence your cellphones before coming to class.