Semester project

ENG 500, Fall 2008

Summary

Write an essay or create a similar project which engages one or more of the issues raised by our course texts.

Description

At all levels, academic disciplines involve copious writing, and most workplaces are no different. Show your knowledge of English studies by producing one of the many written works which make up its professional discourse. The course texts provide strong direction; they confront many of our course objectives directly and serve as models of academic discourse. We will discuss both their content and their function in depth, providing opportunities for you to consider how you can add your voice to the conversation.

Form and content you select should fit your professional goals. For example, students considering additional graduate study in English should write an academic essay. If your workplace requires professional development such as attending conferences, you could create a conference presentation and accompanying handout. Other forms are also viable. The issues you approach should match your long-term interests and work in English studies, whether literature, media studies, pedagogy, or a combination of areas.

Objectives

The objectives for the semester project mirror those of the course. You will produce a scholarly essay, presentation, website, or similar written work which has the following qualities:

Strong analysis: demonstrate a line of reasoning about a topic; write an argument, not just a list of facts or a summary of the thought of others;
Copious evidence: use multiple well-considered quotations, examples, and other source material to make your argument;
Adequate development: extend your analysis beyond the obvious or well-known, offering new insights about the stylistic concepts you engage;
Articulation: connect your work to others in English studies and/or other discourses;
Relevance: select a topic and focus relevant for English studies, or explain why a particular approach is valuable;
Originality: avoid rehashing other work—find a new perspective, approach, synthesis, or application of existing ideas;
Conventional style: Follow the professional conventions of English, as expressed in MLA Style Manual and our course texts.

Those qualities imply the following skills:

A wide variety of different reading techniques: aggressive skimming, looking at references, reading reviews, careful close reading;
Using tools which help manage research and writing—library catalogs, advanced functions of Google, citation managers, advanced functions of word processors;
Gauging the influence of other texts in English studies and other disciplines;
Finding connections between your scholarship and up-to-date research in English—both summarizing and building successfully on the ideas of others;
Calling upon your practical experience in English without undergeneralizing&mdashl;that is, avoiding “What I do in my classroom” syndrome;
Negotiating scope: learning how much material you can tackle in a fifteen-page essay;
Reviewing and reading reviews: writing scholarly reviews, and working with reviews others write of your work.

Milestones, schedule, & grading breakdown

Milestone	Description	Due date	Points
Prospectus	A short statement, modeled on a scholarly abstract, outlining the project you plan to complete. Include a list of the sources which you’ll use.	10/15	50
Presentation	A short presentation, modeled on a conference presentation, which epitomizes your argument. Prepare an accompanying handout as well.	11/19	50
Draft	A draft, ideally complete, showing the focus of your project and the issue(s) you are dealing with.	11/19	100
Review	Write a review of another student’s draft. Submit one copy to me and one to your review partner. Your model is the academic peer review.	12/03	50
Final	Your final project. If possible, submit the draft as well.	12/17	350

Tips

Start early. The sooner you begin thinking about this project, the better. Hopefully, the schedule outlined here will encourage you to develop your ideas over time—an approach which, for most academics, works far better than frantic last-minute writing.

Use the models. Don’t undervalue the importance of modeling—good scholars never turn down a chance to look at a model in the hopes of understanding a form. Each milestone has at least two models on the course web site. More are easy to find—ask me if you need help.

Seek out my help. I block out huge amounts of time to review student work. Your work. Please don’t hesitate to ask for help any time. I will never embarrass you because you sought my assistance or advice. (I do reserve the right to hold your feet to the fire; know I always do so with your best interests in mind.)

Get your classmates involved. Don’t hesitate to talk about your work in class or on the weblog, if our discussions turn toward material germane to your focus. If the opportunity arises, discuss your project with your fellow students during breaks or on your own time. Create a weblog post with some of your ideas. And ask one or more to provide a frank critique of a draft.

Back up your work. If you compose your project using a computer, use the WIU network storage, CD-RWs, or other means of backing up your work. This is especially important for folks who use Flash drives, which are easily lost or stolen.

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