* Class attendance is mandatory; it counts 40% toward the course grade since it is taken in the form of a short quiz on the material (reading assignment) due on that day as well as lecture notes; these true/false and multiple-choice quizzes cover reading assignments and the contents of classroom lecture handouts and discussion;
* Four 4 page (single space and font-size 12) papers, 40%. The paper is an exercise of your analytical and interpretive skills. As a literary critic, you need to interpret the ideas and attitudes presented in a literary work, discuss the author’s aesthetics (the art or way s/he organizes his or her material). Every time you introduce a fictional detail or scene, some significance has to be attributed to it by way of analysis or interpretation. You need to write formally instead of the way you speak; and you need to proofread to eliminate typos and syntactical errors. A title is absolutely necessary and it should nicely sum up your paper like a cap-stone, therefore, must be more meaningful than “the first paper”. References to secondary readings by critics are not necessary but greatly encouraged if their interpretations and critical perspectives influence your take on a certain work. Submit your review in Word as email attachment. Your are responsible for keeping all the graded papers.
* One 10-minute oral presentation in the last week of class sharing your insights into and overall view on the themes, intellectual preoccupations, and authors that have been introduced in class, 10%;
* Final, which may be taken home and open-book, to identify and interpret short excerpts taken from primary literary texts; 10%.