INTD 105 | The Battle for Christmas
PAPERS AND EXAMS
For general policies on papers and exams, see The Fine Print.
Exams
There are no exams in this class.
Papers
You will submit six completed papers and six paper drafts for this course.
The Online Writing Guide offers help on a wide range of essay-writing matters, including proper conventions for citation. Follow MLA format for citations.
Submitting Papers and Drafts
All papers and drafts for this class must be submitted electronically by 9:00 a.m. of the due date. Late papers lose one-half grade per day. Late drafts receive no credit.
When submitting papers and drafts, please be sure to follow the instructions below precisely - especially when it comes to naming and saving your files.
Step One: Saving The File
- If you have composed your essay using Microsoft Word:
- Name the file <paper1_yourlastname> for the first paper, <paper2_yourlastname> for the second paper, etc. Do not include the angle brackets < >, and do not include spaces in the filename.
- If the paper is a draft, name it <draftpaper1_yourlastname>, <draftpaper2_yourlastname>, etc.
- If you have composed your essay using another word-processing application:
- Save the file in "rich text format," also known as "rtf". This option may appear when you use the "Save As" command in your program.
- Name the file <paper1_yourlastname> for the first paper, <paper2_yourlastname> for the second paper, etc. Do not include the angle brackets < >, and do not include spaces in the filename.
- If the paper is a draft, name it <draftpaper1_yourlastname>, <draftpaper2_yourlastname>, etc.
Step Two: Delivering The File
- If you're using a PC:
- Navigate as follows: Start > Run > \\files\inbox > English > Schacht
- You can't open the folder named Schacht. However, you can drag your saved file onto the folder icon. Doing so will deliver your file to my InBox.
- If you're using a Mac:
- Navigate as follows: Go > Connect to Server > type files.geneseo.edu then press Connect > type Geneseo name/password > InBox > English > Schacht
- You can't open the folder named Schacht. However, you can drag your saved file onto the folder icon. Doing so will deliver your file to my InBox.
Be sure to select InBox before looking for English. If you select English first you'll get off course.
For additional information on using InBoxes and OutBoxes, download and consult the pdf titled "In & Out Boxes" from CIT's Quick Guides page.
Please note that on a PC you can only navigate to my InBox with the instructions below from a computer on campus. To navigate to my InBox from an off-campus PC, follow CIT's instructions for using Virtual Private Networking (VPN). On a Mac, you can navigate to my InBox from any computer connected to the internet, whether on campus or off campus. Although CIT provides instructions for using VPN with a Mac, you should be able to connect to my InBox on a Mac without using VPN.
Return of Work
I will return your electronically submitted work by email.
First Paper
Draft due September 9. Paper due September 16.
First, read the sections of the Geneseo Online Writing Guide that discuss Lucidity, Simplicity, and Directness and Care and Imagination. Then, write a three-page essay about a Christmas or other winter holiday tradition that has been important in your family. Describe the tradition in detail and and explain why and how the tradition matters to your family.
Second Paper
Draft due September 23. Paper due September 30.
First, read the section of the Geneseo Online Writing Guide on Organization: Body, paying special attention to the point about counterarguments. Then, write your own "master-slave" dialogue on the model of the dialogue between Horace and Davus. In the dialogue, allow your "inner slave" to challenge a belief, value, or practice that is important to you. (The belief, value, or practice need not be Christmas-related.) Your Davus should get the bulk of the speaking time in this conversation. He or she must not only take a position against you but also defend that position with logic and evidence. If you prefer, you can write this paper in the form of an essay.
Third Paper
Draft due October 7. Paper due October 14.
Choose one of the following assignments:
- Write a 3-4 page essay assessing the relative strength of Foster's and Nickell's arguments concerning the authorship of "A Visit from St. Nicholas." Your thesis for this essay will be a claim about who makes the stronger argument. To support your thesis, you will compare and evaluate the evidence and reasoning used by Foster and Nickell to support their respective theses. Include a "Works Cited" page with your essay, and use Modern Language Association (MLA) format to reference the works you discuss.
- Write a 3-4 page essay that assesses how Nissenbaum's interpretation of "A Visit from St. Nicholas" would be affected by the conclusion that Livingston rather than Moore authored the poem. Exactly how and why does authorship matter to Nissenbaum's interpretation? Can the interpretation stand if Nissenbaum's attribution to Moore is mistaken? If so, how? why? Are there any lessons to be learned about the nature of literary interpretation itself from the very existence of the problem you are tackling in this essay?
- Co-author an article at the Geneseo Collaborative Writing Project on "A Visit from St. Nicholas." At a minimum, the article should provide historical background on the poem; offer a thorough explanation of the authorship controversy, with detailed explanations of Foster's and Nickell's arguments and best evidence; and explain Nissenbaum's interpretation of the poem. The article can also go beyond this, however, to incorporate the findings of any additional research on the poem that you decide to conduct, links to relevant websites, and even your own thoughts about how the poem should be interpreted. If you choose this option, your grade will reflect both the significance of your own contribution and the thoroughness, organization, and polish of the finished product. The "draft" of the article due October 7 will be a preliminary version readable on the website.
Fourth Paper
Draft due October 21. Paper due October 28.
Choose one of the following assignments:
- Find a primary source text from the nineteenth-century that describes Christmas customs, traditions, or activities. Write a 3-5 page essay that (1) briefly summarizes some aspect of the text related to Nissenbaum's analysis of Christmas's evolution in America, and (2) demonstrates how the text either supports, contradicts, or adds to Nissenbaum's analysis. Document your use of this source and Nissenbaum using MLA citation conventions.
- Find a scholarly monograph - book, chapter, or journal article - on any aspect of Christmas customs or Christmas literature. (Coffee-table books and encyclopedias are not scholarly texts.) Write a 3-5 page essay that (1) briefly summarizes the thesis of the monograph, and (2) demonstrates how the monograph either supports, contradicts, or adds to Nissenbaum's analysis of Christmas's evolution in America. Document your use of this monograph and Nissenbaum using MLA citation conventions.
Fifth Paper
Draft due November 4. Paper due November 11.
Write a 3-5 page essay offering an interpretation of how Dickens's A Christmas Carol treats one of the themes listed at the Virtual Coffeehouse. (Your interpretation must have an original thesis - that is, it cannot simply repeat or restate a view that we have explored in class or that another student has set out in a discussion thread. Your interpretation may overlap ideas discussed in class or at the Coffeehouse but must also cover territory of its own.) Support your interpretation with evidence from the story itself and, as appropriate or necessary, from the introduction and notes to the Hearn edition, from Nissenbaum, and from other secondary sources of your choosing. Your essay should demonstrate your understanding of how A Christmas Carol is a work of its time.
Sixth Paper
Preliminary version due November 30 December 2. Final version due December 5 December 9.
Re-write the fourth or fifth paper.
As you re-write, keep a running "journal" of your revisions in a separate file. Name this file <journal_yourlastname>. In your journal, explain the reason for each revision that you make. (See below for a list of reasons you can choose from for most revisions.)
In your journal, identify revised segments of your original by page number and paragraph number (if revising a full paragraph) or by page number and line number (if revising less than a full paragraph). Page and paragraph numbers will be visible at the bottom of your window in Word if you have selected View > Page Layout.
To understand what I want you to do in your revision, look at the column headed Revision in the Intd 105 Rubric. Where appropriate, or course, substitute the headings from my rubric for others used in this one. (For example, my rubric has an "Artistry" column instead of a "Directness and Succintness" column.)
To make your revisions, then, you'll need to have three windows open at once: your original essay, your revised essay (in progress) and your journal. Be sure that the page, paragraph, and line references in your journal point to your original.
For most revisions, you can choose from the following list of reasons. If you don't see a reason below that covers a given revision, explain your reason in your own words.
- New thesis
- Thesis revised
- New idea added and developed
- Evidence added or altered
- Transition added or altered
- New main idea for paragraph
- Topic sentence moved
- Wordiness reduced
- Sentence rhythms improved
- GUPS (grammar, usage, punctuation, or spelling problem corrected)