ENG 306W: Writing about Children's Literature
Joseph T. Thomas, Jr.
email: jtthomas@mail.sdsu.edu
!!!! IMPORTANT: Online Schedule !!!!
(These schedules are tentative. Check back often for changes and additions)
Attendance and Quizzes:
Because the success of the class depends upon your discussion and interpretations of the various texts we encounter, you should attend every class session. I will compose tests based on what we do in the classroom--from my lectures and your comments and ideas. This course is designed to facilitate your learning; thus, we will spend a large amount of our time discussing and interrogating what you find interesting and compelling about the works I assign. Of course, I will lead our analysis, playing, at times, devil's advocate, providing you with various and sometimes contentious readings of the literature. You will be evaluated on how actively you participate in and extend our classroom discussions, so please come to class with something to say. I may give reading quizzes if it seems that the class is consistently unprepared.
Late Work:
Work will be turned in on the date due or not at all. We all have schedules, and it is imperative that we keep to them. However, I am not completely draconian. In extreme cases I may accept late work, but don't count on it.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is taking someone else's words, idea, or argument and claiming it as your own. Don't do it. Cite all your sources and think for yourself. I am unforgiving when it comes to plagiarism. Plagiarism will earn you an F for the course, and, in egregious cases, may result in expulsion from the university. Please familiarize yourself with CSUN plagiarism policies, discussed in your handbook. Keep in mind, throughout the syllabus and on my links page are links to many useful web sources. Do not take the words or ideas from any of these sources without providing the appropriate citations. This goes for oral presentations as well as written work.
GRADES:
Attendance/In-class Writings (20%):
We will have many in-class writing assignments throughout the semester. These cannot be made up, and are generally of the pass/fail variety.
Paper 1 (10%):
For our first paper, due date to be announced, you will choose from one of the text's we've read in 306A and engage it using the terms and concepts we've been exploring in both classes. This paper will be about four or five pages (about 1,000 to 1,250 words in length). No outside sources are necessary.
Paper 2 : (10%):
For this paper, you will write a four or five page engagement with the text your group in 306A is presenting. Thus, if your group presents on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, you will write on that book. The due date will be announced in the coming weeks.
Article Review (15%):
As we approach mid-term, you will begin researching children's literature journals and books in the library. From your researches, you will choose one article or chapter--to be approved by me--and write a careful analysis/engagement of it. This paper should be 1,000 to 1,500 words in length, and will demand that you familiarize yourself with whatever texts are being discussed in the article or chapter.
Thesis Statement/Prospectus (10%):
After mid-term, you will begin researching your final paper. Your prospectus, which will be around three to four pages (750 to 1,000 words), will outline, in paragraph form, the subject you wish to explore in your final paper.
Annotated Bibliography (15%):
This project is simply an objective rendering of the research you've performed for your final paper. After each alphabetical entry, you will provide a one to two paragraph annotation. These annotations will sketch out the source's thesis and explain how you plan to incorporate the source in your final paper. I expect at least four journal articles (from print sources) and two book chapters. You may use Internet sources, but they must be from reliable sources.
Final Research Paper (20%):
This will be a thesis-driven, argumentative piece of writing engaging some aspect of children's literature. It must be seven to eight pages (1,750 to 2000 words).