For six class periods early in the semester you will turn in a paragraph in which you analyze and discuss a short passage of your choosing from the reading for that day. These rarely, and only optionally, relate to the daily question on the schedule, which is a discussion preparation prompt. These paragraphs are due in class, not after class, and not in my mailbox or my office. I will grade only the paragraphs I receive in class. The dates due and works covered are:

8/31     F          Gilgamesh, IV-VIII
9/5      W     Herodotus, The Histories, pp. 3-45 (I.1-95)
9/10    M      Herodotus, The Histories, pp. 197-210 (III.61-86), 413-439 (VII.1-60)
9/14     F          Herodotus, The Histories, pp. 501-43 (VIII.1-120); 600-603 (IX.114-22)
9/19    W        Euripides, Medea
9/24    M         Euripides, Bacchae

In your discussion, make points. Do not merely summarize what you have read. Unlike the longer papers which are driven by open-ended questions, these paragraphs develop from close attention to a small passage of text. Show how you read it, why it is significant, or how it relates to major themes in the work. Show that you are getting familiar with how to quote and work from primary source material to make your own points. Do not strand the quotes. Use pithy snippets or bits of text as strong supports, but make the bridge your own. Aim for about 1/2 page in length. The entire document may not be longer than 1 page of double-spaced 12-point type (usually around 250 words).

Since professors often want “more stuff,” to quote Professor Hashimoto, director of the Whitman College Writing Center, you may well find that your later paragraphs are closer to one page in length, in response to feedback. Striving for the shorter length, however, encourages you to do quite a bit in a brief space. As my sample title in the sample header below suggests, professors also often want you to “push back” or read against as well as with the grain of the text. “Hm, wasn’t Gilgamesh famous for ‘raising’ Uruk—the epic begins and ends with this emphasis—so why focus on ‘razing’ rooftops?” That said, we also push you for balance and encourage you to let texts take you into strange and unexpected perspectives. We want you to avoid anachronism, sweeping universalism, reader-absorption and progressive fallacies. In other words, please read also with the grain of the texts in ways which might push against readers’ initial responses and move readers outside their comfort zones, but, again, not to excess.

Give your papers MLA style headers as in the Hacker sample headers on pages 151 and 153. In Word you would use “View” and then “Header and Footer” to automatically add your last name and let the computer do your page number for longer papers:

You do not need to give the lines and work in your title, although it might be a useful shorthand to direct your readers to your quote(s). Double-space throughout your paper. At some point in the paragraph, quote from the passage you are working on (do not give the entire passage at the top of your paper). Use parenthetical citations, following the guidelines for MLA documentation from Diana Hacker's A Pocket Style Manual. In the parenthetical citation, give either the page number or book and line numbers, but not both. Be consistent. Demonstrate that you know how to quote lines of verse, use ellipses, brackets, and quotation marks correctly (115-35). At the bottom of your page, type a work(s) cited, also following MLA form (135-48, 152, and 154).

Each paragraph is worth 20 points: 10 points for mechanics, 10 points for analysis. Stop turning in daily paragraphs when you have earned 100 points, or are satisfied with your total. You may not rewrite paragraphs or turn in more than 6 or more than one per class. No more than 100 points total are possible with no extra credit or substitutions. I will take points off for spelling, usage, and punctuation errors; double points off for sentence fragments, run-on sentences, documentation errors, and misspelling the author's name, the title of the work, or characters' names. These are warm-up exercises, designed to get everyone up to speed and to remind us of the expectations as we begin longer writing assignments. While these are "points off" exercises in terms of mechanics, pay particular attention to your analysis grades which are "points earned" and a better guide for grading of the longer papers.

Be ready to share your choice of quote and paraphrase your assertions at the beginning of the period (although we will not get to hear everyone’s ideas each time). This should give you something you are eager to share during discussion that day and remind us all to pay attention to, and return to, the texts, which are our primary source evidence for this course.

**THESE ARE CURRENTLY UNDER REVISION, THOUGH I WILL LIKELY CONTINUE TO DO A CONCESSION REFUTATION AND ABSTRACT, TEXT-SPECIFIC DEFINITION PAPER USING NEW TEXTS, FOR WHAT THESE LOOKED LIKE IN 2006-7 SEE

You will write four more traditional college papers. Paper #1 is 1 page long and due on October 1 (see syllabus under October 1 for topic). This first paper asks you to write before we have discussed the text as a group. The rest of the papers will address material already discussed. Paper #2 on an ethical dilemma which faces one of the characters encountered thus far is 3 pages (see syllabus under October 12 for topic). Papers #3 & #4 are 5-6 pages long. Due dates are given above in the grade percentages section and below on the schedule. Your papers should not be merely descriptive, informative or summary. Articulate a negotiable thesis or argument. That is, you should support one or more positions on an issue or point, even if you end with some remaining uncertainty and thoughtful questioning. See the section on paragraphs above also for some suggestions of what I look for in academic close-reading papers based on primary source quotes as evidence. I provide more guidelines on papers, revision questions, and my grading in class handouts and on-line at http://people.whitman.edu/~bormans/F07assign.htm.

Papers must be typewritten, double-spaced, have a title and use MLA parenthetical and works cited citation forms. You will do two required peer edits of a draft of paper #3. Classes often vote to also peer edit paper #4.

Late papers will be marked down. If the paper is turned in anytime within 24 hours of when it was due it will be marked down one grade level (e.g. from B+ to B). After that the grade will be lowered one level for each additional day which the paper is late. Instead of revisions to improve grades, I offer you the option of writing another 5-6 page paper (due by December 3). If you do the optional fifth paper I drop the lowest grade of the three last papers (Papers #3-5, all worth 150 points out of the 1000 points possible in the course). While I will suggest multiple paper topics to choose from for papers #3 and #4 you can e-mail me (or post to CLEo on the days suggested on the syllabus) your own paper topic for approval. We can negotiate topic changes up until 50 hours before the due date but no later. I suggest you consider your own prompts from the CLEo exercises as starting points for new topics. Writing from what interests you will likely generate more lively and unique papers that stand out from the crowd.

**THESE ARE CURRENTLY UNDER REVISION. TO SEE WHAT THESE LOOKED LIKE IN 2006-7 SEE

I have had a few requests for more information on less-traditional paper topics which are possible this second semester. Keep in mind that I want you to do only one of either of these possibilities during the semester (no more than one creative and one core experience altogether in the 3-4 longer papers). I still want you to come up with your paper topics and approaches but keep these guidelines in mind.

If you do the creative paper option, you still need to clarify what it is in the original that you respond to and how (intentionally with or against the grain and how so and why). Look to your information on the interpretive presentations which include Parts One and Two. These papers would still incorporate these elements integrated or set apart from one anther. Thus if you do a mostly in your voice creative piece, you will need more extensive "notes."

For example, you might have an introduction/preface which addresses these points or a set of end or footnotes that does this. If you are inspired by the romantics to write poetry, you might need the notes to explain. If you write a missing scene from one of the works, you should also make the continuity and intentional parodying or anachronisms clear in notes.

If you do something more in the voices of the texts, this is less necessary but you must still have your spin involved. If you do a dinner table debate between major characters or authors with extensive word-for-word quotation, you might need to include yourself at the table to clarify how you are interpret and interact with the material.

If you do a core experience response, you must still ENGAGE HEAVILY THE SPECIFICS of core texts. We tend to privilege readings which are more unusual or which are more "evenhanded" but there should be more leeway in this type of paper than in many for "ranting" or "gushing." The final exam example I gave you about choosing two texts to remove and discussing what would be gained AND WHAT LOST by jettisoning these works is an example of how we like you to still exercise balance and consideration of the devil's advocate.

Longer papers will be typewritten and double-spaced, using the same MLA headers and Works Cited pages as earlier (see Hacker for models). Your longer academic essays should articulate a thesis or argument (i.e., take a position on an issue or point, even if not conclusive), and not be merely descriptive, informative or summary. Remember I prefer focused, specific, close readings. Be very, very focused if you do more than one work. You can be somewhat more far ranging if you stick to one work.

The core texts were chosen in part for their complexity and ambiguity and professors tend--myself included--to privilege readings which acknowledge this, though a creative approach we have not touched on thus far is often strong enough to make a good impression. Alternately, it can be the sub-distinctions and details you pick out of a striking passage, or the choice to focus on an obscure and easily-overlooked theory that make your reading richer and more unique, rather than the ambiguity of the text. The "something more" your distinct voice brings to the discussion because you engaged the text fully outside of class is what I look for and value highly when reading these.

• You own this material. You have understood it, thought through its complexity, and come to a current personal reading of key elements in it. You would be able to engage in lively talk about it on the spur of the moment.

• Your voice and main points are engaging, creative, unique and confidently assertive.

• You have considered the main, contrary readings and conceded and refuted them as necessary.

• You have used the details of the primary source evidence to support your nuanced reading.

• You have kept in mind the current professor’s tendency to privilege complexity, nuance, and attention to primary-source ambiguities.

content originality, careful thought, clearly defined central idea or thesis, substantial and concrete support of the central idea

organization clearly ordered plan of development, consistent development of central idea, unified and coherent paragraphs, effective transitions between ideas

expression appropriate, clear, and accurate choice of language, complete, clear, and varied sentence structure

mechanics consistent and correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, and usage, correct citation and documentation form

I encourage you to ask yourselves these questions when revising or editing for your peers. Although grading is attuned to the specific assignment, I often have the following in mind when grading your work.

5) Do paper and tone demonstrate balance or awareness of the D.A., other interpretations, or weaknesses in your position?

7) Is your paper creative and original (in topic, format, or spin and/or in smaller units like language and examples)?

8) Are your examples or quotes focused, detailed, and specific in order to explain and support your assertion(s)?

10) Are you aware in this paper of audience and assignment, whether or not you follow them completely?

Cover Sheet and Self-Assessment Instructions

This assignment is designed both to improve your writing and to assist me in responding effectively and efficiently to your writing.

1. Attach a cover sheet to your essay. On this typed sheet (or sheets if you need more than one page) you should have:

(a) your name and the title of the essay

(b) your thesis statement in a sentence of two. This may be drawn directly from the essay or it may be worded differently. It should state clearly and precisely what your argument for the essay will be. It should also be clear to me from reading your thesis statement what text(s) you will be examining.

(c) a list of your key sentences (one from each paragraph worded exactly as they are in the essay) in order. That is, starting with the first paragraph following the introduction, type (or cut and paste) in order the key sentence from each paragraph of the essay. If there are eight paragraphs, there should be a list of eight key sentences.

2. Using either the back of the last page of the essay or a separate sheet of paper stapled at the back of the essay, write a self-assessment both of your writing process (how did this essay go for you, where did you struggle or get stuck, what went well and what didn’t) and the product (what do you think are the essay’s strengths and weaknesses?). I will read this after I read and evaluate the paper but before I write my final comments to you. It will assist me in offering you the most useful feedback I can.

When coming up with your own topics, remember I expect them to a) significantly engage recent reading(s) b) be focused and manageable and c) based on personally-voiced assertion.

Longer paper peer editing feedback

When writing up your comments keep the following in mind. What sorts of comments would you like to receive to help you revise and improve your papers? Just telling someone the paper is good does not help in revision. Telling them specifically what was good about it is better but most writers appreciate encouragingly worded suggestions for improvement much more. Note mechanical and surface errors but these are not substantive comments. I consider that almost not at all in evaluating your peer comments for one another. Please do not fill the paper with red commands about grammar and mechanics (for example, “Never end a sentence with a preposition!” or “Don’t use passive voice!”). Peer exchange is brainstorming for substantive growth amongst colleagues about what the writers are actually arguing and saying in the content of their papers. This is not a “correcting” or “copy editing” exercise.

In addition to the required elements of your peer editing (marked 1-5 below), for your end comments you might consider any of the following qualities of the draft so far. You do not have to type these comments up but please make them legible.

COMMON ELEMENTS PROFESSORS LOOK FOR IN GOOD PAPERS

CONTENT originality, careful thought, clearly defined central idea or thesis, substantial and concrete support of the central idea

ORGANIZATION clearly ordered plan of development, consistent development of central idea, unified and coherent paragraphs, effective transitions between ideas

EXPRESSION appropriate, clear, and accurate choice of language, complete, clear, and varied sentence structure

MECHANICS consistent and correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, and usage, correct citation and documentation form

Peer Editing Exercise for Paper Three

1) Underline and mark with a ˜ your favorite line, point or paragraph. At the end of the paper after a ˜ write why it is your favorite part of the draft thus far. Feel free to comment on more good points.

2) Underline and mark with a * a part you think could use work. At the end of the paper after a * explain what you would like to see (for example, clearer explanation, more details, or support for a controversial statement).

3) Ask at least two informational and two devil’s advocate questions (mark them “Info. ?:,” and “D.A. ?:” in the margins or in the end comment).

Informational questions might be purely requests for additional information or might be more “have you considered ___” or “does this remind you of ___” or “wouldn’t it be good to look at book ___ to add to this” sorts of questions. They might be questions for clarification.
The devil’s advocate questions would push for strengthening the point of the paper by suggesting ways to read against it. Neither you nor the writer has to be heavily invested in these questions, but it is a good exercise to consider “what if the opposite of this thesis or this sub-point of the argument were true or this exception to the correct general argument were considered?”

4) Ask for “more” of the paper. After MORE: write something you think would enrich the paper. Sometimes the good line or idea you marked at the beginning will suggest good elements in the paper you would like to read more of in the revision.

5) Comment on your peer’s thesis.

Is it negotiable? Does it seems like anyone would say, “Well, yes of course. So what? What else are you building upon that idea?” On the other hand, does it seem too risky and controversial to support?
Is it focused, detailed, and specific enough?
Does it seem to have changed by the conclusion or not to fit the body of the paper?

Advance questions

On the schedule attached to the syllabus, I like to give questions to consider for classroom discussion due that day. These are frequently based on shared core faculty input and interests. These are to help you focus your reading, especially if you are concerned about what to prepare for classroom discussion. These are casual and optional prompts. We may not end up discussing them in class if student interests take another direction. You are always welcome, however, to bring them up and your prepared responses.

Small group discussion days

These vary in assignment and I will be updating your information in class.

Class participation

This course will be primarily conducted as a discussion course. Students must complete all assigned readings by class time and must be prepared to discuss those readings. Energetic, pithy, and thoughtful participation in discussion is a vital element of this course and constitutes a significant portion of your grade. Quality is more important than quantity. Do not dominate or recede from view. Considerate, active, and interested listening is also a component of participation. Apt questions and encouragement of quieter members of class count towards good participation. You can strongly disagree with one another but you must work to insure no voice is silenced. In an atmosphere that is intellectually rigorous, full of reading against and with the grain and brainstorming, there may be moments when there is an unintentional foul. We do not want to get so caught up in the rules that we forget to be swept up in the intellectual give and take. Nonetheless, I suggest the following guidelines:

· Don’t ask, feel free to tell: You may find yourself commenting on—or feeling silenced by—moments in the texts or discussion which impinge on your personal experience regarding religions, cultures, genders, sexual practices, economic classes, social classes, learning or physical impairments, health issues, abuse, ecological perspectives and so on. Please do not ask your classmates if there are any members of a particular group present. If you want to speak out of an affiliation feel free to do so and expect classmates to engage in the discussion with that shared knowledge.

· Don’t spokesperson or ask someone to spokesperson: No one person can authoritatively spokesperson for a whole group and it is exhausting and often nerve wracking to be asked to do so. Speak as yourselves. Or talk in third person instances: “Some would say Perpetua gets better coverage and a larger role than Felicity because she’s the master not the slave.” Or take it right back to the text as we love you do in this course: “Doesn’t the text imply a radically different approach to homo-social bonding than what you just said? It makes Enkidu much more important than the renewal of seasonal fertility by sex with the sanctioned priestess at these lines.”

· Assume a classmate: Although we might not have representatives of all groups present, it is useful to “assume a classmate.” If we assume a classmate with a learning disability or a parent who died of AIDS or who believes in multiple gods, we might find ourselves learning to think in intriguing new ways from multiple perspectives.

Improvement and falling off of participation are considered in the final participation grade for the semester. To receive a good grade you will actively advance the discussion, and always speak to the point with a careful use of evidence from the text and a consciousness of your own proper level of participation. Strive to be articulate, original and insightful. You will give me participation self-evaluations periodically during class and I will give you midterm participation feedback.

As our shared syllabus mandates, “Attendance, itself, is necessary but not sufficient. Students must participate in the conversation.” As a group General Studies 145-146 faculty have high expectations for participation, attendance, being on time and actively engaged. Repeated absences, tardiness and disruptions will result in a drop in the participation grade itself. In addition to the weight given to participation as part of your overall grade, it is possible for absences and being late to lower a student’s overall grade in the course. I will be assigning you 0, ü-, ü, ü+, + daily grades on participation. If you have more than five 0’s for the course it will drop your overall course grade. Excused absences are 0’s unless you do the required make-up exercises (usually the required exercises plus a paragraph response to the daily question on CLEo forum, but check with me to make sure). Make-up work for excused absences must be handed in within a week of the missed class period. You are responsible for signing in on the daily sheet. Consistently being late and not doing preparation work (such as CLEo or at home exercises) can add up to additional 0’s. Students are expected to regularly attend class, to arrive on time, and to respect the professor and their fellow students. That said, a solid student who has good participation credit in the course need not explain or worry unduly about having 2-3 0’s on the book at the end of the term.

CLEo Exercises
To help insure that student interests are central to our discussions, you will do some prewriting and consideration of texts on CLEo throughout the semester due by 9 am on the day we discuss the reading. These are not due when we have paragraphs or papers or interpretive presentations due (and on some days when I plan on having other exercises). While some of these are already on our schedule, I will post others in response to the way class discussions are evolving. So listen up in class and check e-mails to keep up with all CLEo exercises. CLEo exercises are explained in short headers on CLEo also. You will often be asked to do one of the following five things:

A) Answer the daily question for the day. In the online discussion format, you will address the daily question, including a relevant quote on your point with parenthetical citation. You can reply and engage with your other small group members on this topic or generate your own separate threads for the discussion. This need not be lengthy and formally constructed, but it should be thoughtful and apt. CLEo prompts simply remind you of the daily question for that day.

B) Direct our attention to a quote from the reading for that day using parenthetical citation and explain why you want us to consider it with you. This is very similar to but less formal and lengthy than your paragraph exercises.

C) What larger Antiquity (and Modernity?) dialogues are raised in this section and what characterizes this way of entering the discussion in this part of the work? Refer back to earlier authors (or later if you are familiar with them) using parenthetical citation as appropriate.

D) Suggest one open-ended advance question you would like to hear us all discuss. Share a quote that relates to your question from the reading for that day, as well, using parenthetical citation. You should have thoughts about how you would answer this but feel there are many possible responses. Do not ask purely information or clarification questions, questions which require knowledge outside the primary reading, and questions that are really comments (such as, "Why is X such a wimp?"). While advanced questions are still provided on the schedule, we may choose as a group to sideline them in favor of student prompts.

E) Write a possible paper topic related to the reading for the day. This might look like D above or the advance questions provided or might be very differently imagined (including creative writing options).

I will use these sporadically to direct our discussions for the day based on your interests and input. This should help practice some key skills of close-reading and class discussion, but also prepare you to take part in the class discussion. I can also “cold call” on students while knowing there is something good you have to share that day. Remember the main point you made as I may ask you about it in class. If the CLEo threads spontaneously continue or redirect additional discussion before or after the relevant class that will certainly be a favorable additional element for class participation. Some CLEo exercises may not be based on these five categories and I may add or delete some of these during the course. Any such changes will be announced in class. While CLEo exercises are not weighted heavily in the grading (the 5% is based on good faith effort), their quality is also taken into consideration in your Discussion/Small Group participation grade. To get started on CLEo go to https://cleo.whitman.edu/portal/ . Enter your Whitman e-mail id and password in the boxes along the upper right to log in. Go to “Forum” by clicking on the link on the left. Click on “9/3 M Gilgamesh, IX-XI CLEo Assignment.”

Classroom participation feedback

Mid-Semester Evaluation – complete this before next class!

Please write me a brief note describing your thoughts on your participation in our class meetings so far. Think about the strengths that you have displayed so far, as well as ways that you can improve. Did you “actively advance the discussion, and always speak to the point with a careful use of evidence from the text and a consciousness of your own proper level of participation” and “Strive to be articulate, original and insightful” (core syllabus). Keep in mind:

◦ The quality of your participation is much more important than the quantity of time that you’re speaking.

◦ Participation matters in group activities as well as in whole-class discussions.

◦ There are important aspects of participation beyond stating your views, such as asking questions and encouraging others.

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I’ll return this to you with my reaction to your thoughts and my own sense of your participation, along with a general indication of your participation grade so far.

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End of Semester Evaluation – complete this before next class!

Please write me a brief note describing your thoughts on your participation since the mid-semester evaluation. Have you maintained your earlier strengths? Have you been able to make the improvements that were identified? Are there any new issues that have arisen?

[large space]

I’ll return this to you with my reaction to your thoughts and my own sense of your participation, along with your overall participation grade. Consistency and improvement are considered positively and falling off of participation affects the overall grade negatively.

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Leading Class Discussion

The discussion leaders in Spring semester will be responsible for studying the material with particular thoroughness, bringing in questions to discuss and passages to focus on, planning any activities they feel will enhance learning on those days, and then leading the session. I will not interfere in the student leadership on those days though I will: make announcements at the start of class, chip in ideas or reemphasize questions that have not been fully answered if it seems helpful, and do a final wrap-up in the last 5-10 minutes of the class. This way of conducting some of the classes seeks to promote one of the most essential aspects of what Core is designed to do—give students an opportunity to engage with great works from the past intensively with reference primarily to the texts alone and helping one another to reach a greater understanding. It is also designed to encourage the further development of public speaking skills.

Discussion leaders may choose to come see me in the days before the class in order to discuss the text or approach, but this is not required. If I have materials that I believe may be of use, or if I have questions I want to suggest for the day, I will give them to you probably by email—you are under no obligation to use my suggestions.

I encourage you to be creative in your use of the class time. While simply coming in with questions may seem like an easy way to do the class, often students discover that discussion leading is tougher than it looks. You might want to have at least some portion of the class planned around something other than a whole group discussion—pair or small group discussions, an ad-hoc debate, a dramatic interpretation, a time when each person looks solo at a particular passage and jots ideas down, a game of some sort all come to my mind as possibilities.

I will evaluate each group of students who do discussion leading on their preparation for and leading of the discussion and that evaluation will figure in the final evaluation of participation for the course. The evaluation will be brief and simple, based on the following criteria:

Make sure everyone in your groups participates actively in leading.

Interpretive presentations

FALL SEMESTER INTERPRETIVE PRESENTATIONS:

In three person groups of your own choosing, you will give an interpretive oral presentation once during the semester. You can take 30-35 minutes of the class period (around 10 minutes per student, though half of that done substantively would be fine). Leave me at least 10 minutes for class business and transitions, at least five minutes of that time at the end of the class. You are responsible for demonstrating--and will be graded individually for--your presentational skills and content. Each participant will hand in a copy of their informal outline or notes for their part. A group handout for the class is encouraged, also. Often these might give the major quotes responded to in your presentation. While you can encourage the rest of the class to take part in your presentation, you are responsible for showing your own substantive engagement with the reading.

This is your interpretive response to the primary source. This is not meant to present researched, secondary source or context information. Focus on what is read for that day (not earlier or later in the text). Part One is non-traditional (not like an academic essay). It could involve debates, reviews, court trials, storytelling, demonstrating skills, teaching, responding in singing, painting, dancing, board games, or enactments (some characters or authors from earlier texts could be included). Your group, as individuals, or smaller groups, could do more than one style of interpretation. Part Two ensures that we do not lose sight of the primary source evidence. This can be done individually or as a group, interspersed throughout or in introduction or summation. Include your purposes in choosing your approach. Consider two key issues often addressed in responding to texts from antiquity, anachronism and being "faithful" to a source or "the worldview" of the piece. Also respond to your reasons for and awareness of adaptation, rejection, parody of elements in--or whole--primary readings for that day.

Your group will meet with me outside of class beforehand. Presentations will be on: 1) 9/17 M Medea (Group should meet with me by 9/10), 2) 9/26 W Tragedy Comparison (Group should meet with me by 9/19), 3) 10/5 F Plato (Group should meet with me by 9/28), 4) 11/9 F Apuleius (Group should meet with me by 11/2) and 5) 11/28 Augustine (Group should meet with me by 11/14—unusually early due to Thanksgiving). Other possibilities (if you can get a whole group to switch from one of the above) include 10/19 Job or 10/26 Luke (note a paper is also due that day).

SPRING SEMESTER INTERPRETIVE PRESENTATIONS:

**NOTE THESE ARE UNDER REVISION** what follows are some common evaluation issues

1. Memory and Preparation: Do you have open-ended questions rather than a series of foregone conclusions? You might, for example, ask some questions to which you do not know the answer? Do you have plenty of questions in case discussion is not as fulsome as you expect? Do the questions and responses indicate a thorough familiarity with the chosen works as well as a general familiarity with other works from the course? Does the presenter freely offer particulars from the texts in order to respond to or redirect discussion?

2. Listening: Does the presenter hear and respond to the questions and answers being raised? Are you willing to leave some silence and push classmates for their responses, as well as being prepared to respond extensively. Do you try to include a majority of classmates and keep the discussion going round (and not teacher focused)?

3. Demeanor: Does the presenter deal well with the pressure of being asked to come up with responses on the spot? Does the presenter appear collected and confident? Is the presenter willing to entertain counterarguments and evidence? Is the presenter willing to admit what s/he does not know? Does the presenter appear most of all to be concerned about understanding the works?

All members should take part in the last two exercises, if not all three. All these elements should focus on the reading for the day alone and not the whole text. You should also leave me at least 6 minutes for class business. Your grade for the presentation is for your individual oral presentation, although your group cohesion and supportive gestures are considered as part of your small group participation grade for the course.

Hand-out for interpretive presentations

Do you do Part One and Part Two and fulfill the assignment? Ask in required meeting with me if you are concerned about what the assignment includes. This includes sticking to the reading for that day, for that is how we are covering the material together with depth and nuance.

Accuracy and Textual Engagement

Do you engage the text significantly and accurately with familiarity? A handout of specific quotes might be part of what you give the class or me with your required individual outline/notes. Yet do NOT read aloud from a prepared script! It is fine to use your text or outline with quotes.

Relevance to Core/Text

Do you keep in mind the relevance of your presentation to the text and the course? This is more important in your Part Two, than your Part One.

Creativity/Ownership of Material

This is central to your Part One, but often shows up nicely in Part Two, as well. Have you made this somehow your own, as well as our shared work? Do you show originality and personal voice?

Performance/Communication to Class

Do not read aloud from a script (unless doing a “reader’s theater” and making sure there is plenty of body movement, vocal range and so on to compensate). Do make eye contact with classmates and not just your professor. Be animated, varied, mobile, clear, conversational, loud enough, and well-paced. Try to get the audience to come along with you and offer some feedback (sitting forward, nodding, laughing or taking part).

SEE ALSO THE FINAL PRESENTATION CRITERIA, FOR ORGANIZATION, THESIS—AS WELL AS LISTENING AND DEMEANOR IN QUESTION AND ANSWER--ARE ALL ALSO RELEVANT FOR ALL PRESENTATIONS.

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Oral finals

FALL ORAL FINALS:

INDIVIDUAL ORAL FINAL EXAMS ARE SCHEDULED THROUGHOUT FINALS WEEK. WHILE THE FORMAT OF THE FINAL MAY CHANGE SOMEWHAT IN RESPONSE TO CURRENT STUDENTS’ INTERESTS, SEE http://people.whitman.edu/~bormans/assign0607.htm#final FOR THE USUAL FORMAT.

FINAL PRESENTATIONS ARE JUDGED ON:

1. Organization: How clearly laid out is the presentation? Is the thesis clearly indicated at the start? Is it clear which works will be used? Are the points presented in a logical flow?

2. Evidence: How strong is the use of specific evidence, including quotations, from the chosen texts? Does the evidence move beyond the most obvious, indicating careful reading and rereading? Is the evidence suitable to demonstrate the argument(s)?

3. Theme and thesis: How clear is the chosen theme and thesis? How interesting is it? Is it creative, innovative, surprising in some way? Does it connect to major issues for the chosen works?

4. Appeal: How engaging is the presentation? Is the presenter lively and animated? Is the voice clear, conversational, loud enough to be heard, and well paced?

DISCUSSION AFTER THE PRESENTATION IS JUDGED ON:

1. Listening: Does the presenter hear and respond to the questions being asked?

2. Memory and Preparation: Do the responses indicate a thorough familiarity with the chosen works as well as a general familiarity with other works from the course? Does the presenter freely offer particulars from the texts in order to respond to the questions?

3 Demeanor: Does the presenter deal well with the pressure of being asked to come up with responses to questions on the spot? Does the presenter appear collected and confident? Is the presenter willing to entertain counterarguments and evidence? Is the presenter willing to admit what s/he does not know? Does the presenter appear most of all to be concerned about understanding the works?

Anonymous feedback survey

I usually maintain an anonymous feedback survey at surveyanywhere.com. While the emphasis is on improving future semesters, I also encourage ongoing, current responses for change. Surveyanywhere.com has time and number of responses cut-offs so this link may not work. The 2007-2008 survey is at: http://www.surveyanywhere.com/cgi-bin/sa.cgi?id=1848565812161112225.