1. address a work of literature, text, or topic you have been assigned to read or discuss for class
2. apply a critical approach that we have discussed in class to interpreting that piece of literature (the most popular will be reader response)
3. refer to secondary supportive materials

A blog is a short piece of writing presented on a web site. Think of blog and forum entries as precise pieces of writing where you argue a specific point about a text and support it with primary and secondary evidence. Blog entries should be no less than 350 words and no more than 1000.

Each blog or forum entry should address a particular text or subject in a number of ways:

1. Your interpretation of the work using any critical method that you would like. See Writing Essays about Literature for some suggestions. Your interpretation of any aspect of the primary text should be your major focus.
2. Secondary interpretations. Since you are new at addressing literary works, you should consult secondary sources for additional interpretations to help you develop your critical approach. Use online sources as well as books from the library to help you with your journal. Be sure to practice correct MLA citation method.

The blog portion of your portfolio is designed to get you thinking and writing about literature in a critical way. It’s OK not to like a piece of literature, but you should investigate why you dislike it critically, not just dismiss it like you would a soggy piece of toast. Remember, you job is to respond to the various literary texts, not provide a book report or summary of the plot. Be sure to consult Blogging: Some Considerations and Commenting Online before beginning this requirement.

Logistics

All student blogs and forums will be kept on the LitMUSE Moodle Server. Sign up for an account, if you have not already.

Evaluation

Students will complete any number of blog or forum responses during the course of the semester. Blog entries are about the critical analysis of texts or writing topic. They should be thoughtful and succinct, and have a minimum of 350-400 words. Strong blog entries will refer to specific portions of the the primary text, will make liberal use of links to external sources, will cite sources correctly, will only summarize when necessary, and will have something unique to contribute to the conversation. Remember to proofread carefully before submitting your blog for moderation. Only the best blogs will be promoted to the front page of the site.

Blog and forum entries will be worth a maximum of 10 points. The maximum score for a blog without citing secondary sources will be 8. A plot summary will earn you a maximum of 6 points. Here is a more precise breakdown:

• 10 and 9 points: precise, thoughtful, focused, original, supported; uses secondary sources (not just links to web sites) and cites them correctly; stylistically and mechanically flawless
• 8 points: precise, thoughtful, supported; may or may not use secondary sources; uses links; stylistically and grammatically sound
• 7 points: generally acceptable, college-level work, but not really original; few mechanical and stylistic errors
• 6 points: plot summary or a re-hashing of what everyone else wrote; minor mechanical and stylistic problems
• 1-5 points: did not follow directions; not proofread; not revised; little to no effort; complaining about the assignment

Examples

The following examples are actual student responses published on this web site with their permission.

• Madness or Evil? A Psychological Critique of “The Cask of Amontillado” by Wanda Pavone for ENGL 1102

• Jennifer Bowman
• Leslie Bridges
• Teresa Brown
• Becca Collier
• Tammy Crosby
• Patrick Grieshop
• Shawna Griffith
• Cal Jones
• Lona McGee
• Kimberly Moffett
• Marlena Waddell

An American Dream

First, go to the library and find at least three critical articles (from books or scholarly journals) or books that address Mailer’s novel. Your job will be to read and summarize each article or chapter in a paragraph after you give the correct MLA citation of the article. The OWL at Purdue provides more explanation and an example of an annotated bibliography in MLA format.

Present your annotated bibliography as an entry on your blog. Remember: the articles you use are to come from peer-edited scholarly sources, not random Web sites or wikis. Be sure to evaluate your sources carefully; if you are not sure about a source, check with me before using it. This is in an effort to get you to do some research that does not begin and end with Google. If you run into difficulty, ask a Librarian; they are friendly, knowledgeable people.

1. A biographical sketch of of the author, including a list of works
2. A brief summary of the work’s action, divided by sections or chapters, if applicable
3. Works cited for each section containing strong critical sources: i.e., books and scholarly articles. You may use web sites, but they will be used in addition to the strong sources. Be sure use use correct MLA citation method. Please clear questionable secondary materials with me before using them
4. A commentary that acknowledges key themes, symbols, motifs, passages, etc. in each section
5. Explanatory notes that clarify confusing phrases, words, artifacts, references, etc. Think of these as extended editorial glosses for each section
6. Links to external resources that are applicable to the specific scene you are working on. General links should be included on the work’s main entry
7. A list of study questions that would help students like yourselves figure out the important aspects of each section.

This is a research project. You need to begin any project like this by collecting information on your primary text. Use the first week to read the primary text and spend some time in the library researching your topic before you begin writing anything. All references must be cited according to MLA.

Your job here is to increase your knowledge of the author and the text while at the same time providing resources for others studying the work. Consider Section 1 of Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s as a template for your entries; try to keep as close to that as possible, though it might have to be changed depending on the work you’re annotating.

This is an excellent portfolio submission to work on with several classmates.

Remember: if any response gets too long on the group, you might consider turning it into a blog entry of its own.