TAN111E - The Study of Literature

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1. COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course provides students with insights into what is meant by literature in general, the structure and elements of a literary work. Students will read across centuries of English literature as American and British literature, mainly focusing in proses and poetry, to see how great authors have addressed these problems. Through a sustained and rigorous attention to student’s writing and interpretive skills, the course will leave students better prepared to explore and contribute to the written world. This course offers skills required for the English-intensive majors but welcomes anyone who wishes to become a better writer, reader, and thinker.

2. COURSE CONTENT 

No.	Content	Time Allocation				Contribution to CLO
		Hour(s) on the class		Essays, exercise,  Assignments...	Self-study with teacher’s tutorials
		Lecture	Practice
1	Course Introduction and Orientation	1	2	3	4	8,10
2	Plot	1	2	3	4	3,5,6,7
3	American History and Literature: Realism and Naturalism	1	2	3	4	1,5,6,7
4	Setting and Gone with the wind	1	2	3	4	3,5,6,7
5	Characters and Gone with the wind	1	2	3	4	3,5,6,7
6	Point of View, Style and Irony	1	2	3	4	3,5,6,7
7	Symbols and Themes	1	2	3	4	3,5,6,7
8	Poetry and Introduction to Harlem Renaissance	1	2	3	4	4,5,6,7
9	Poetry and Dreams by Langston Hughes	1	2	3	4	4,5,6,7
10	British Literature: An Overview of Literary Movement	1	2	3	4	2,5,6,7
11	British Romanticism and Poem Translation	1	2	3	4	4,5,6,7
12	Pride and Prejudice: Plot, Setting, Characters.	1	2	3	4	5,6,7
13	Pride and Prejudice: Symbols, Themes, Style and Irony.	1	2	3	4	5,6,7
14	Literary Analysis: Group Presentation (1)	1	2	3	4	5,6,7,9
15	Literary Analysis: Group Presentation (2)	1	2	3	4	5,6,7,9
Total		15	30	45	60

3. COURSE ASSESSMENT

- Score ladder: 10

- Type of assessment:

Form		Contents	Criteria	CLO	Proportion
Formative	Attendance	Class Attendance and Quizzes	Students are expected to attend the class regularly and punctually. Absence must not be over than 25% lessons of the whole course.  Students are expected to complete the quizzes delivered in class. Failure in doing the quizzes might be seriously affected total 10% of this assessment.	7,8,9	10%
	Oral Presentation	Group Presentation: Analyzing one exemplary work up to their discretion. The analysis must be followed the guidelines of analyzing elements of fiction that are covered during the course.	Time budget: 20 minutes. Weighting: - Contents: 60% - Presentation skills: 40%	3,4,5,6,7,9,10.	30%
Summative	Final Assignments	Final Examination	MCQ + Writing (60 mins)	1,2,3,4,5,6,9.	30%
		Individual Portfolio: Each student will be required to write at least THREE essays that the instructor may assign after a class.	At least 350 words each essay. Essay Suggested Checklist: 1. Writing about Tara before and after the War. 2. Writing about two characters of “Gone with the Wind”. 3. Writing about the plot/conflict in “The South of the Slot”. 4. Writing about the plot of “The Prince and The Pauper”. 5. Writing about themes of “The Great Gatsby” 6. Writing about the role of setting of “Dreams”. 7. Writing: comments on “I was lonely as a cloud”. 8. Writing about the themes of “Pride and Prejudice”. 9. Translate an English poem into Vietnamese or vice-versa. 10. Write an English poem.	3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10.	30%
				Total:	100%

 

Detailed Description of Assessment Criteria

* Formative assessment

1. Class attendance and Quizzes: 

• Students are expected to attend the class regularly and punctually. Absence must not be over than 25% lessons of the whole course. 
• Students are expected to complete the quizzes delivered in class. Failure in doing the quizzes might be seriously affected total 10% of this assessment.

2. Oral presentation: 

• Students work in group of five to six students to analyze one exemplary work up to their discretion. The analysis must be followed the guidelines of analyzing elements of fiction that are covered during the course. 

• Criteria:

Criteria	Rating Excellent	Rating Good	Rating Satisfactory	Rating Needs Improvement	Score
	Points 10-9	Points 9-8	Points 8-7	Points 7-6
Introduction	(1) Gets attention   (2) Clearly identifies topic (3) Establishes credibility  (4) Previews the main points	Meets any three of the four criteria	Meets any two of the four criteria	Meets only one of the four criteria
Body	Main points are clear, well supported, and  sources are documented	Main points are somewhat clear, some support, and some documentation	Main points need clarity and support lack of sources and  documentation	Main points are not clear and have no support and no sources or documentation
Conclusion	(1) Reviews main points (2) Brings closure (3) Memorable	Reviews main points, brings  closure	Brings closure	Does not bring closure; the audience is left hanging
Eye Contact	Eye contact with audience virtually all the time (except for brief glances at notes)	Eye contact with audience less than 80% of the time	Eye contact with audience less than 75% of the time	Little or no eye contact
Use of Language	Use of language contributes to efficiency of the speech, and vocalized pauses (um uh er etc.)  not distracting	Use of language does not have negative impact, and vocalized pauses (um uh er etc.) not distracting	Use of language causes potential confusion, and/or vocalized pauses (um uh er etc.) are distracting	Use of language is inappropriate
Body language	Body language, gestures, and facial expressions  adds greatly to the message	Body language,  gestures, and facial expressions compliment message	Body language,  facial expressions and gestures lack variety and spontaneity	Body language, gestures, and facial expressions are lacking or inappropriate
Clarity	Speaks clearly and distinctly all the time with no mispronounced words	Speaks clearly and distinctly nearly all the time with no more than one mispronounced word	Speaks clearly and distinctly most of the time with no more than two mispronounced words	Often mumbles or cannot be understood with more than three mispronounced words
Topic is specific, follows assignment Adapted to audience	Topic is specific, appropriate and  adapted	Topic is clear appropriate and  somewhat adapted	Topic lacks clarity and focus needs adapting to audience	No specific purpose--inappropriate for audience or  occasion
Visual Aids	Visual aids well-chosen and presented	Minor problems with visual aids	Significant problems with visual aids	No visual aids
Time	Within allotted time	Within 10% of allotted time	Within 20% of allotted time	Not within 20% of allotted time
Total					/100

*Note: The total score should be converted into 10-scale after being graded.

 

* Summative assessment

1. Individual Writing Portfolio

• Each student will be required to write at least THREE essays that the instructor may assign after a class. This aims at tracking your progress throughout the course, and will serve as a tool to scrutinize the quality and Efficiency  of the program.
• Essay Checklist

1. Writing about Tara before and after the War.
2. Writing about two characters of “Gone with the Wind”.
3. Writing about the plot/conflict in “The South of the Slot”.
4. Writing about the plot of “The Prince and The Pauper”.
5. Writing about themes of “The Great Gatsby”
6. Writing about the role of setting of “Dreams”.
7. Writing: comments on “I was lonely as a cloud”.
8. Writing about the themes of “Pride and Prejudice”.
9. Translate an English poem into Vietnamese or vice-versa.
10. Write an English poem.

• Submission: to be announced. 
• Criteria:

Criteria	Rating Excellent	Rating Good	Rating Satisfactory	Rating Needs Improvement	Score
	Points 20-18	Points 19-16	Points 15-12	Points 11-6
Organization and Development	Writing lacks logical organization. It shows some coherence, but ideas lack unity. Serious errors. Main points lack detailed development. Ideas are vague with little evidence of critical thinking.	Writing is coherent and logically organized. Some points remain misplaced and stray from the topic. Transitions evident but not used throughout essay. Main points are present with limited detail and development. Some critical thinking is present.	Writing is coherent and logically organized with transitions used between ideas and paragraphs to create coherence. Overall unity of ideas is present. Main points well developed with quality supporting details and quantity. Critical thinking is weaved into points	Writing shows high degree of attention to logic and reasoning of points. Unity clearly leads the reader to the conclusion and stirs thought regarding the topic. Main points well developed with high quality and quantity support. Reveals high degree of critical thinking.
Level of Content	Shows some thinking and reasoning but most ideas are underdeveloped and unoriginal.	Content indicates thinking and reasoning applied with original thought on a few ideas.	Content indicates original thinking and develops ideas with sufficient and firm evidence.	Content indicates synthesis of ideas, in- depth analysis and evidences original thought and support for the topic.
Grammar & Mechanics	Spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors create distraction, making reading difficult, fragments, comma splices, run-ons evident. Errors are frequent.	Most spelling, punctuation, and grammar correct allowing reader to progress though essay. Some errors remain.	Essay has few spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors allowing reader to follow ideas clearly. Very few fragments or run-ons.	Essay is free of distracting spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors; absent of fragments, comma splices, and run-ons.
Style	Mostly in elementary form with little or no variety in sentence structure, diction, rhetorical devices or emphasis.	Approaches college level usage of some variety in sentence patterns, diction, and rhetorical devices.	Attains college level style; tone is appropriate and rhetorical devices used to enhance content; sentence variety used effectively.	Shows outstanding style going beyond usual college level; rhetorical devices and tone used effectively; creative use of sentence structure and coordination
Format	Fails to follow format and assignment requirements; incorrect margins, spacing and indentation; neatness of essay needs attention.	Meets format and assignment requirements; generally correct margins, spacing, and indentations; essay is neat but may have some assembly errors.	Meets format and assignment requirements; margins, spacing, and indentations are correct; essay is neat and correctly assembled.	Meets all formal and assignment requirements and evidences attention to detail; all margins, spacing and indentations are correct; essay is neat and correctly assembled with professional look.
Total					…/100

*Note: The total score should be converted into 10-scale after being graded.

2. Final Examination

- Duration: 60 minutes.

- Contents:

Literary Theory: multiple-choice, True/False, gap-filling questions.

Understanding literary works: multiple-choice, True/False, gap-filling questions.

Writing an around-300-word response to literary issues: 01 short-passage writing question.