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Course : Survey of English Literature I

Course Number
ENGL 2813
Section Number
x40
Semester
Summer II 2022
Location
N/A
Days & Times
Final Exam Day/Time
Thursday, August 04, 2022 12:01 am - 11:59 pm

ENGL 2813 English Survey of Literature I

SUMMER II ENGL 2813 x40 (ONLINE course on D2L)

 

Dr. Peter Fields, assoc. professor of English

peter.fields@msutexas.edu

Bea Wood 230 in Prothro-Yeager

 

Office Hours: MTWR 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. My office is Bea Wood 230, the second floor of Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities and Social Sciences (the side closest to the dormitories). Send me an email if you are coming up. For other times, let’s make an appointment.

 

ZOOM BY APPOINTMENT: Make an appointment with me by email. At the agreed-upon time, I will send you the link.

 

OFFICE PHONE: My campus office phone is 940-397-4246. If I am not able to answer immediately, please leave your name, message, and the number to call you back. OUTLOOK (my email) will save your voice message and alert me to it

 

Required books. For our ESSAY you will need the scholarly essays in these editions:  

Beowulf: A Verse Translation. Translated by Seamus Heaney. Edited by Daniel Donoghue. 2nd Norton Critical Edition. Norton, 2019. ISBN: 978-0-393-93837-1.

 

Sir Thomas Malory. Le Morte Darthur: Selections. Broadview Anthology of British Literature Edition. Broadview Press: 2015. ISBN: 978-1-55481-159-5.

 

John Milton. Paradise Lost. Edited by Gordon Teskey. Norton Critical Edition. Norton, 2005. ISBN: 978-0-393-92428-2.

 

The Showings of Julian of Norwich. Edited by Denise N. Baker. A Norton Critical Edition. Norton, 2005. ISBN 0-393-97915-6.


COURSE GOALS

Read literary texts united by their interest in fate, destiny, and providence

Describe key moments in texts; discuss fate, destiny, and providence.

Engage in a writing process and utilize credible sources.

Use sources ethically and follow a designated style guide [MLA].

Demonstrate proficient use of Standard Written English.


DUE DATES & GRADE VALUE AT A GLANCE: 

Each PowerPoint is 30 percent of the grade; the Essay is 40 percent:

PowerPoint 1 Beowulf & Malory is due before 11:59 PM Friday July 15;

PowerPoint 2 Milton & Julian is due before 11:59 PM Friday July 29;

the ESSAY is due before 11:59 PM Thursday August 4.


FIRST TWO WEEKS: July 5 - July 15 – BEOWULF & MALORY

 

PowerPoint 1 Beowulf and Malory’s Le Morte Darthur is due in the drop box before 11:59 PM Friday July 15. PowerPoint 1 features description paragraphs and images relevant to Beowulf and Mallory’s Le Morte Darthur [Death of Arthur]. For one of the two texts, we need ONE description paragraph; for the other, we need TWO description paragraphs (you choose which). For the text that you write TWO description paragraphs, make sure they address a different moment from each other, a different passage with a different quote.

 

Be familiar with the Race with Breca (lines 491-661), but you cannot use it because I have already claimed it for the model PowerPoint 1. Here are the passages you can choose from for your description paragraphs for BEOWULF in PowerPoint 1 Beowulf & Malory:

 

BEOWULF:

The FIGHT with Grendel: lines 662-835.

The FIGHT with Grendel’s mother: lines 1251-1650. Hrothgar’s homily on Pride and Heremod: lines 1651-1798.

The FIGHT with the Dragon: lines 2200-2354; 2510-2820.

The FUNERAL of Beowulf: lines 3076-3182.

 

Malory’s LE MORTE DARTHUR: For background be familiar with the Tarquin episode (pp. 55-61), but you cannot use it for your PowerPoint 1. I have already claimed it for the model PowerPoint.

From The Marriage of King Uther unto King Arthur: pp. 31-43. Every page is important but students are drawn to the episode of Uther's deception pp. 31-37 and especially the episode of the Sword in the Stone pp. 37-43.

From A Noble Tale of Sir Launcelot du Lake: The Adventure of the Chapel Perilous pp. 69-78.

From Sir Tristram de Lyones (Selections concerning Lancelot and Elaine of Corbin): Dame Elaine of Corbin tricks Lancelot into conceiving a son by her pp. 79-87; the Holy Grail heals Lancelot after a long period of madness pp. 87-101; Lancelot cannot accept a happy life with Elaine at the Joyous Isle and calls himself The Knight That Hath Trespassed pp. 101-109.

From The Noble Tale of the Sankgreal: Galahad sits in the Siege Perilous and the visitation by the Holy Grail to the round table pp. 110-122 (note: you cannot use this episode because I have claimed it for the model PowerPoint 1); Lancelot confesses his great sin to the hermit pp. 125-132; Lancelot is driven back by the Grail and lies in a coma for 24 days pp. 140-147; Galahad sees Christ rise from the Grail pp. 149-154; Galahad completes the quest of the Grail in Sarras pp. 155-160.

From The Death of Arthur: pp. 246-309: Agravain and Mordred arrange for the discovery of Lancelot's adultery with Queen Quinevere pp. 246-254; Lancelot rescues Queen Guinevere but kills the brothers of Gawain at the same time pp. 256-282; Lancelot retreats to Benwick in France and reluctantly fights Gawain who is mortally wounded pp. 282-294; the death of Gawain and Arthur pp. 294-309. 

The due date for PowerPoint 1 is 11:59 PM Thursday September 23; the drop box will mark subsequent submissions as late. The late penalty is capped at 10 points out of 100. If you know you are going to be late, the best bet is to do your best.

 

THIRD AND FOURTH WEEK: July 18-29 – MILTON AND JULIAN OF NORWICH

POWERPOINT 2 Milton’s Paradise Lost and Julian of Norwich’s Showings [Revelations of Divine Love]. In CONTENT see the model for PowerPoint 2. PowerPoint 2 is due before 11:59 PM in the drop box Friday July 29.

For PowerPoint 2—description paragraphs and images pertaining to Milton’s Paradise Lost and Julian of Norwich’s Showings [Revelations of Divine Love]—we do the same thing. We need TWO description paragraphs for one of the texts, and ONE description paragraph for the other. For the text that you write TWO description paragraphs, make sure they address a different moment from each other, a different passage with a different quote. For instance, if you do the WAR IN HEAVEN for Milton, do DIFFERENT episodes of that war: e.g., Satan’s wound from Michael and the Son’s victory over Satan (6.723-892).

 

 

Here are describable scenarios for description paragraphs:

 

Milton’s Paradise Lost:

Satan, Sin, and Death at the gates of hell: 2.629-1055.

Satan observes Adam and Eve; Eve’s initial reluctance to accept Adam: 4.288- 538.

The Dream Satan plants in Eve’s sleep: 5.26-135.

War in Heaven: Michael wounds Satan: 6.245-353

War in Heaven: Satan and rebel angels deploy cannons; God’s angels react by throwing mountains at the rebel angels; total destruction of heaven: 6.469-679.

The Son drives the Ezekiel chariot and drives Satan and rebel angels out of heaven: 6.680-912.

Adam tells Raphael about the creation of Eve: 8.349-653.

The Fall of Adam and Eve: 9.445-1189.

Punishment of Satan, Sin, and Death: 10.410-640.

The Son judges Adam and Eve: 10.68-223.

Michael leads Adam and Even from the Garden: 12.375-649.

 

Julian of Norwich’s Showings [Revelations of Divine Love]

 

The PowerPoint starts with a title slide; each subsequent slide features a description paragraph and at least one relevant image for that paragraph. Students are free to gut the model PowerPoint (see CONTENT in D2L). They may find their own images by googling search terms and adding the word “images.” Students should NOT adapt the model PowerPoint’s description paragraphs for their own use; they should NOT use the same images. Please pick different scenes and passages from those in the model PowerPoints. Pick different scenes and passages from the models found in this syllabus.

 

The due date for PowerPoint 2: Milton & Julian is 11:59 PM Thursday November 11; the drop box will mark subsequent submissions as late. The late penalty is capped at 10 points out of 100. If you know you are going to be late, the best bet is to do your best.

LAST WEEK August 1-4: The ESSAY COMPARING TWO WORKS

 

THE ESSAY IS DUE IN THE DROPBOX BEFORE 11:59 PM ON THE DAY OF OUR FINAL: THURSDAY AUGUST 4. The ESSAY is not a PowerPoint. But it does utilize two of the description paragraphs previously represented in PowerPoints 1 or 2. Each of the two description paragraphs must be from DIFFERENT works.

 

 

The ESSAY (six paragraphs):

 

The ESSAY begins with an INTRODUCTORY paragraph that explains the student’s comparison between TWO of the four works we are examining. This introduction makes brief mention of the key scenes or moments in each of the two works that pertain to the comparison. The comparison is what both works have in common about fate, destiny, or providence—and/or how they might differ.

 

The ESSAY features TWO description paragraphs that were originally in a PowerPoint, one for each of the two works the student is comparing. They may need to be revised as per the instructor’s feedback and rubric comments when grading the paragraphs at the PowerPoint stage. For the Essay, the two description paragraphs (one from each work) becomes paragraphs 2 and 3.

 

The ESSAY now needs TWO supporting paragraphs. Each supporting paragraph becomes paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Essay.

 

CHECKLIST for PARAGRAPHS THREE AND FOUR:

Introduce scholar, title of essay (in quotation marks).

Explain the relevant idea in your words.

Briefly review the relevant scene—use as many specific details as possible.

Close on a significant quote from the scholarly essay (NOT the story)

Provide parenthetical page from the PDF

 

Supporting sources must come from our required books. Depending on which works you are comparing, here are the sources you can choose from in the databases ACADEMIC SEARCH COMPLETE:

 

For Beowulf (from our required book), choose one of these three essays: Marijane Osborn’s “The Great Feud: Scriptural History and Strife in Beowulf,” (esp.139-40, 142, 146-50), Roberta Frank’s “The Beowulf Poet’s Sense of History” (esp. 174-82), or Jane Chance’s “The Structural Unity of Beowulf” (esp. 160-67).

 

For Malory (from our required book), I would like everyone to use Ramon Lull, “The Book of the Order of Chivalry” (336-41).

 

For Milton (from our required book), choose ONE of these essays: Lewis on Satan (401-07), Lewis on Adam & Eve (453-55), Gross on Satan (420-24), Lewalski on Adam and Eve (466-76), or Frye on Adam and Eve (458-65).

 

For Julian (from our required book), I would like everyone to use Denise Baker’s introduction (esp. xiii-xvii).

 

Concluding paragraph: The conclusion should start with dynamic description of a moment or scene in one of your two works (perhaps two or three sentences). Perhaps you are giving us more detail from the scene you already described in par. 2 or 3 of the Essay, or you are offering a different but relevant moment. Then close the conclusion with a relevant thought or idea (perhaps two or three sentences). The conclusion is NOT a review of your paper; it is more like an epilogue or coda.

 

 

The ESSAY requires a two-item Works Cited. Here are the citations you can use:

 

Works Cited

Note: For hanging indent, type the item without indenting, highlight with cursor, right click, click on paragraph, then special, and then hanging.

 

Baker, Denise N. Introduction. The Showings of Julian of Norwich, edited by Denise N. Baker, Norton, 2006, pp. ix-xix.

 

Chance, Jane. “The Structural Unity of Beowulf: The Problem of Grendel’s Mother.” Beowulf: A Verse Translation, 2nd Norton Critical Edition, translated by Seamus Heaney, edited by Daniel Donoghue. Norton, 2019, pp. 153-68.

 

Frank, Roberta. “The Beowulf Poet’s Sense of History.” Beowulf: A Verse Translation, 2nd Norton Critical Edition, translated by Seamus Heaney, edited by Daniel Donoghue. Norton, 2019, pp.168-82.

 

Frye, Northrop. “From Children of God and Nature.” Paradise Lost by John Milton, edited by Gordon Teskey, Norton, 2005, pp. 458-65.

 

Gross, Kenneth. “From Satan and the Romantic Satan: A Notebook.” Paradise Lost by John Milton, edited by Gordon Teskey, Norton, 2005, pp.420-24.

 

Lewalski, Barbara K. “From Higher Argument: Completing and Publishing Paradise Lost. Paradise Lost by John Milton, edited by Gordon Teskey, Norton, 2005, pp. 466-76.

 

Lewis, C. S. “The Fall.” Paradise Lost by John Milton, edited by Gordon Teskey, Norton, 2005, pp.453-55.

 

Lewis, C. S. "From Satan." Paradise Lost by John Milton, edited by Gordon Teskey, Norton, 2005, pp. 401-07.

 

Lull, Ramon. The Book of the Order of Chivalry. Le Morte Darthur: Selections, by Thomas Malory. Broadview, 2015, pp. 336-41.

 

Osborn, Marijane. “The Great Feud: Scriptural History and Strife in Beowulf.” Beowulf: A Verse Translation, 2nd Norton Critical Edition, translated by Seamus Heaney, edited by Daniel Donoghue. Norton, 2019, pp. 39-53.

 

The due date for the ESSAY is 11:59 PM Thursday August 4; the drop box will mark subsequent submissions as late. The late penalty is capped at 10 points out of 100. If you know you are going to be late, the best bet is to do your best.

 

DISCUSSION FORUM, TOPIC, and the THREAD

The most dynamic point of contact between your thinking and that of the instructor is the THREAD. Go to CONTENT in D2L. Click on the relevant Discussion Forum. Next to the forum’s title is a drop-down arrow for VIEW TOPIC. Click on that topic for an opportunity to start a THREAD.

 

A THREAD is a paragraph (or more than one) that you draft for input from the instructor. You can copy and paste from your own document. NOTE: do NOT use the attachment feature. Put the paragraph(s) directly into the text box for the THREAD. When you submit the THREAD, D2L notifies the instructor who replies with input about your paragraph. Students can OPEN anyone’s THREAD.

 

If you wish for me to see the whole POWERPOINT—the images included—you can use the ATTACHMENT feature. But the description paragraphs must be in the TEXT BOX.

 

The THREAD is optional; it is for those who want input before submitting their assignment to the drop box for a grade. The THREAD is only useful if the submitter does so in a timely fashion.

 

If students submit a paragraph (or even a whole PowerPoint) by email attachment, the instructor will examine it for the most obvious concerns. If the student then feels confident, he or she can submit the word-content as a THREAD for much closer inspection of the student’s writing-in-progress.  

 

SUBMISSION TO THE DROP BOX:

Students must submit their PowerPoints and Essay as documents to the DROP BOX in order for them to be evaluated (by feedback box and attached rubric) and graded. The PowerPoints cannot simply be a link or URL. I do NOT have permission to open password-protected links in Google.

 

Plagiarism:

Any use of a non-documented source as if it were a student’s original work is academic dishonesty. The grade will be a “0” (no points) for the assignment and the student can no longer attend the course. The semester grade reflect the “0” for the assignment.

 

Readability & Originality:

The rubric has a category devoted to legibility and originality. Student writing must be readable and original. Students should NOT adapt material from either the instructor’s models or the paragraphs other students submit in a THREAD for input by the instructor.

 

Language too close to source:

Students sometimes borrow the phrasing of the play or their scholarly sources as if it were their own. Students certainly can use key words from their sources, but they must use their own phrasing—not the source’s.


Attendance:  

In D2L log-in history indicates the most recent date the students have logged into the course. I will use D2L to track attendance.

 

Students with disabilities:

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guarantees reasonable accommodation. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Disability Support Services in Room 168 of the Clark Student Center, 397-4140.

 

Writing Proficiency Requirement:

All students seeking a Bachelor’s degree from Midwestern State University must satisfy a writing proficiency requirement once they have 1) completed 6 hours of Communication Core and 2) earned 60 hours. Students may meet this requirement by passing the Writing Proficiency Exam, passing two Writing Intensive courses, or passing English 2113. If you have any questions about the exam, visit the Writing Proficiency Office website or call 397-4131.

 


CHECKLIST for a DESCRIPTION paragraph:

TOPIC IDEA: A DESCRIPTION paragraph starts with a topic idea that say something about fate, destiny, or providence.

DESCRIPTION: The paragraph then uses dynamic descriptive details to capture the moment and convey the character’s experience in the story. Avoid broad summary and plot points; bear down on the moment in the text, convey the action, and paint a picture.

INSIGHT: Just before the significant quote at the end, revisit the topic idea. Try to get at the most important idea about fate, destiny, or providence.

SIGNIFICANT QUOTE: Provide a relevant quote from the scene you are describing—it needs to be a complete thought. For Beowulf, provide parenthetical line numbers for the quote at the end; for Mallory, the parenthetical page; for Milton, parenthetical book and line numbers; and for Julian, parenthetical page and chapter.

 

Here are model DESCRIPTION paragraphs. NOTE: Make your description paragraphs about DIFFERENT scenarios and quotes—do NOT copy, adapt, paraphrase or otherwise appropriate the word content or quotes of these models.

 

For Beowulf:

[TOPIC IDEA ABOUT FATE:] For Beowulf, fate is an outcome of God’s will. He is so convinced that God is instrumental in fate that he strives to keep the fight equal. Fate then must tip the balance. Beowulf would accept his own death and defeat as long as that outcome is God’s verdict. [DESCRIPTION:] During the race with Breca, Beowulf finds himself pulled under repeatedly by sea creatures while Breca swims along beside him, inexplicably unmolested by the denizens of the deep. The creatures ignore Breca and take turns glomming onto Beowulf, grabbing hold of him like undersea wrestlers. He must peel their bodies away from him just long enough to bring his sword to bear. Each time he breaks the surface to catch his breath another creature pulls him down, entwining him all over again until he can grab hold of it, pull it away from his body, and then dispatch it with his blade. This type of one-on-one wrestling at close quarters has always characterized Beowulf’s fighting style, whether he was fending off trolls, giants, or sea serpents. Finally, after an exhausting night of hand-to-hand combat, Beowulf breaks through the waves for the last time, takes a breath, and remains free of antagonism from below. A bright morning sun shines down like God’s own beacon on his face. He rejoices in the warmth and bright light and a deep down sense of God’s approval. The sun also makes a special point of gleaming and sparkling on the hides of his nighttime adversaries, whose scaly corpses now line the shore as if carefully placed there for human inspection. [INSIGHT:] Beowulf shares this experience with King Hrothgar in order to establish his credentials as someone called to a special purpose—his own special fate as long as Beowulf keeps the fight equal and one-on-one: [QUOTE:] “I hereby renounce,” Beowulf declares to King Hrothgar, “sword and the shelter of the broad shield, / the heavy war-board; hand-to-hand / is how it will be, a life-and-death / fight with the fiend. Whichever one death fells / must deem it a just judgment by God” (436b-41).

 

For Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur [The Death of Arthur]:

[TOPIC IDEA ABOUT DESTINY:] In Malory, destiny hardens the heart of Lancelot’s adversaries as part of their punishment for violating chivalry. Destiny will make sure that the foes of Lancelot will stubbornly persist in their evil ways because Lancelot’s inevitable victory is itself a warning to evildoers. [DESCRIPTION:] Running at each other with their lances, Tarquin and Lancelot knock each other off their horses. They are both momentarily dazed. Then they grab their swords and shields and grapple up close, at times breathing in each other’s face. The ground glistens and sparkles with flecks of their blood. The two are equals in skill and bravery. Finally, Tarquin steps back. He is not angry or frightened. He is deeply impressed, even a little in awe. He loves this knight like a brother. Part of him wants to throw down his sword, swear his allegiance, and ride with him against his enemies, whoever they might be. Tarquin had plowed his way through the Knights of the Round Table in quest of the knight who had killed his brother—that knight was none other than Lancelot. But now Tarquin questions himself. This fighter made him reconsider his quest. So long as this knight was not Lancelot, Tarquin was determined to make peace with him. Tarquin was ready to set free all the knights he had imprisoned if only this knight would be his brother in arms. Lancelot also took stock. He had absorbed as many wounds as Tarquin. The armor of both men had absorbed many slits and dents without either gaining the advantage. Lancelot noticed that Tarquin seemed of a new mind and reluctant to press the fight. So he took a risk and revealed his identity that he was indeed Lancelot. Tarquin seems anguished and deeply disappointed. He greets Lancelot cordially—but then the two men fly at each other like two bulls, once again the metal of their armor loudly clanging against each other and their swords piercing the seams over and over, bespattering the grass once again with their blood. [INSIGHT:] Destiny will settle for nothing less than the death of Tarquin. Destiny has no interest in reforming or redeeming Tarquin despite what seems to be his honest and sincere profession of love and loyalty, not to mention his heartfelt willingness to turn over a new leaf: [QUOTE:] “So be it,” Tarquin had promised, “that thou be not he, I will lightly accord with thee, and for thy love I will deliver all the prisoners I have, that is three score and four, so thou would tell me thy name. And thou and I will be fellows together, and never to fail thee while that I live” (57).

 

Also for Malory’s Le Morte Darthur:

[TOPIC IDEA FOR DESTINY:] Destiny is fulfilled when the Holy Grail appears to the knights of the round table. The feast of Pentecost celebrates the advent of the Holy Ghost, which literally comes true at Camelot, but the effect is dynamically fateful and may mean the dispersal of the knights to parts unknown, much to King Arthur’s distress. The Sankgreal is Christ’s bodily presence in a cup. It is the kingdom of God in the form of food and drink. [DESCRIPTION:] During the joust, young Galahad (son of Lancelot) knocked all the knights off their horses, except for his father and Percival. When requested by Queen Guinevere, Galahad opened his visor. Never did two people look more alike than Galahad and Lancelot, confirming they were father and son. She announced that Lancelot was eight degrees in lineage from Jesus Christ and Galahad was nine. As of the coming of Galahad, all prophecies could be fulfilled. When the knights took their seats, Galahad is out of his red-plated armor. He is now wearing a red silk robe and over it a cloak trimmed in white ermine. His seat at the round table is Siege Perilous, the seat predestined for the knight who would achieve the Sankgreal. Suddenly, the knights heard an explosive sound. The whole castle trembled as if it were about to fall. The Sankgreal was borne to the middle of the roundtable. No one could see who carried the cup. Over it was draped white samite, but this silken veil was lit up from inside by a light seven times brighter than the daytime sun. The knights turned to each other and marveled at how each of them—their faces—were also shining with light. Then the castle was filled with delightful scents including those that came from a banquet miraculously set before them. But the light went out; the cup was gone. The knights are beside themselves. King Arthur said everyone should just thank the Lord. But Gawain (Arthur’s nephew) vowed an oath to look for the Grail so that he might see it without any covering. To King Arthur’s immense vexation, all the knights made a similar vow, so overcome were they by the shining visitation of the Sankgreal. [INSIGHT:] Destiny is like a train on a track. It is so undeviating and so relentless that it can be overwhelming, even destructive: [QUOTE:] “So in the midst of the blast entered a sunbeam, more clearer by seven times than ever they saw day, and all they were alighted the grace of the Holy Ghost” (120).

 

For Julian of Norwich’s Showings [Revelations of Divine Love]:

[TOPIC IDEA ABOUT PROVIDENCE:] Julian argues that God’s providential model is homely love: that is, about the nitty gritty—little things that make up our everyday life but which were anticipated from the foundation of the cosmos. [DESCRIPTION:] We should not think of a far-off monarch looking down upon little ants. Instead, we should think of our bodies—our everyday activities--almost the way a nurse might attend us in the hospital or, even better, a nurse who visits us in our home as we live our lives. If we dribble milk down our chin while we eat our Cheerios, the nurse is there is to dab the milk with a napkin. She thinks nothing of invading our privacy because the nurse is embedded in everything we do. We wear the nurse like a garment. Her arms extend along our arms. Our head is under her chin. We always sit on her lap. We are like a toddler or even an infant that needs changing. We can cry and protest, but the nurse is already tending to our needs even before we know we are hurting or uncomfortable. Even better, think of a mother and the rambunctious toddler who tries to get out of his mother’s embrace. She is working on the smear of dirt on his cheek. She is kneeling beside him. Her hold on the child is secure. She uses her own saliva and fingers to rub the skin clean from the stain. She thinks nothing of this technique because she is no stranger to this child. She did not just come upon the child. This is her child. His skin is really her skin. [INSIGHT:] Providence is a homely love that pours down into the nooks and crannies of our flesh and blood existence. This foreseeing wisdom keeps pace with us in our everyday lives: [QUOTE:] “In this same tyme that I saw this sight of the head bleidyng, our good Lord shewed me a ghostly sight of his homely lovyng. I saw that he is to us all thing that is good and comfortable to our helpe. He is oure clothing that for love wrappeth us and wyndeth us, halseth us and all becloseth us, hangeth about us for tender love that he may never leeve us.” (9; ch. 5).

Criteria for description paragraphs & PowerPoints

Topic ideas – Paragraph starts with idea about fate or destiny

Insight – returns to, and refines, topic idea about fate or destiny (just before closing quote).

Insights come just before the quote that closes paragraph.

Description – 1 par. for one story; 2 pars. for the other. Sensory details express action, feelings, and paint a picture. 

Quotes – verbatim from our text at end of paragraph w. parenthetical line numbers for Beowulf, book and line for Milton, page number for Mallory, and page and chapter for Julian.

Readability & Originality - Phrasing, word choice, aesthetic are effective and original.


Criteria for the ESSAY:

Introduction – Compares 2 of our works; topic sentences for description pars.  Compares two works in intro about fate, destiny, or providence.

Insight – Returns to, and refines, topic idea; each sup. par. explains sup. source

Description –sensory details express action, feelings, and paint a picture. 

Quotes –comes from story at end; for supporting paragraph, quote from supporting source at the end.

Readability & Originality - Phrasing, word choice, and format are readable & original.


Attendance is by log-in history.

Late work is accepted by D2L in the drop box and flagged as late. The late penalty is capped at 10 points out of 100.

Note: You may not submit a paper for a grade in this class that already has been (or will be) submitted for a grade in another course, unless you obtain the explicit written permission of me and the other instructor involved in advance.

Plagiarism is the use of someone else's thoughts, words, ideas, or lines of argument in your own work without appropriate documentation (a parenthetical citation at the end and a listing in "Works Cited")-whether you use that material in a quote, paraphrase, or summary. It is a theft of intellectual property and will not be tolerated, whether intentional or not.

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As an MSU Student, I pledge not to lie, cheat, steal, or help anyone else do so."

As students at MSU, we recognize that any great society must be composed of empowered, responsible citizens. We also recognize universities play an important role in helping mold these responsible citizens. We believe students themselves play an important part in developing responsible citizenship by maintaining a community where integrity and honorable character are the norm, not the exception.

Thus, We, the Students of Midwestern State University, resolve to uphold the honor of the University by affirming our commitment to complete academic honesty. We resolve not only to be honest but also to hold our peers accountable for complete honesty in all university matters.

We consider it dishonest to ask for, give, or receive help in examinations or quizzes, to use any unauthorized material in examinations, or to present, as one's own, work or ideas which are not entirely one's own. We recognize that any instructor has the right to expect that all student work is honest, original work. We accept and acknowledge that responsibility for lying, cheating, stealing, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty fundamentally rests within each individual student.

We expect of ourselves academic integrity, personal professionalism, and ethical character. We appreciate steps taken by University officials to protect the honor of the University against any who would disgrace the MSU student body by violating the spirit of this creed.

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All students seeking a Bachelor's degree from Midwestern State University must satisfy a writing proficiency requirement once they've 1) passed the 6 hours of Communication Core and 2) earned 60 hours. Students may meet this requirement in one of three ways: by passing the Writing Proficiency Exam, passing two Writing Intensive Courses (only one can be in the core), or passing English 2113. If you have any questions about the exam, visit the Writing Proficiency Office website at https://msutexas.edu/academics/wpr, or call 397-4131.

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