Assignment 1 is about basic concepts related to the analysis of short fiction. You will demonstrate your understanding of these concepts by answering questions at the end of the lecture. You will submit your answers as your Assignment 1 file according to the guidelines below.

--Read the What Is Analysis? document carefully.
--Read the Elements of Fiction Analysis document carefully.
--Read the Basics of Fiction Analysis document carefully.
--Read the Quotation Marks section of the Online Grammar Handbook.

Contents
Course Description
About Analysis
ASSIGNMENT 1 REQUIREMENTS

Course Description

Welcome to your English 1302 online course. English 1302 is a continuation of English 1301, with emphasis on analysis of readings in prose fiction. Students will use literary elements to interpret short fiction. In this online course, you will cover the same material that you would in a traditional classroom. This three-credit course is transferable and may be a requirement for many majors. This online class is designed to add flexibility to your schedule. It is not, however, an easier version of a classroom English 1302 course. If anything, you will likely find this online course harder because you must read all the information that otherwise might be delivered in an instructor's lecture in a classroom.

Remember that the online documents replace classroom lectures. You are responsible for studying the required materials. The online assignment lectures include specific information and samples that allow you to complete particular assignments more easily. These materials should be studied carefully.

• To pass this course with a final grade of C, students must satisfactorily complete 6 core assignments and an orientation quiz, score a cumulative 40 points on six reading quizzes, and satisfactorily complete a C exam.
  
• To pass this course with a final grade of B, students must satisfactorily complete 6 core assignments and an orientation quiz, score a cumulative 45 points on six reading quizzes, and satisfactorily complete a C exam and a B exam.
  
• To pass this course with a final grade of A, students must satisfactorily complete 6 core assignments and an orientation quiz, score a cumulative 45 points on six reading quizzes, and satisfactorily complete a C exam, a B exam, and an A exam.

About Analysis

Analysis is a process that draws logical conclusions, or interpretations, from a set of facts. To make an interpretation effectively, you must base it on a set of facts. In addition, you must make the reader aware of the facts that allow you to make the conclusion. If you recall your English 1301, you will write your analytical essays using the referential-interpretive purpose. You will not be allowed to use first-person and second-person pronouns in your analyses except when they appear in direct quotes. Keep that in mind for this assignment, too.

When you analyze short fiction, you must closely examine (and think about) the story. An analysis of fiction is not simply an identification of literal images or events in the story. Those literal images or events are called the facts of the story, and you would use those facts in your plot summary or as support for your analytical conclusions. The analytical conclusions you make will be the chief part of your analytical writing about fiction. Some analytical conclusions might be who the central character is, whether the central character is static or dynamic, what the central conflict is, what the climax is, what the tone of the story is, what a symbol in the story means, and so forth.

After you read the four documents noted in the preparation section above, answer the questions below.

First, copy the headings and the ten numbered questions and the Personal Information requests below into a new document in your word processor. Do not include the little crosses.

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What Is Analysis?

1. What is a plot summary?

2. What do you think a "willing suspension of disbelief" is?

3. What are the two kinds of thinking required for good analysis? Do you believe that both kinds of thinking are necessary to analyze fiction? Why or why not?

4. What do you think Basho's famous haiku means (in 50 words or fewer)?

Elements of Fiction Analysis

5. What is point of view in a story?

6. What is a central character's key trait?

Basics of Fiction Analysis

7. What is the climax of a story?

8. In a short story, the central character's beginning key trait is changed permanently at the end of the story. Is this central character static or dynamic?

9. What are the two main analytical hot spots in a story?

Quotation Marks

10. If you want to use dialogue (already enclosed in quotation marks) as a direct quote, what sort of punctuation do you need to use?

Personal Information

My Final Grade Goal for this course:


I can be reached at the following Email address:


The word processor I usually use is:


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Second, using the new document you have created, provide the identifying information you will include with each submission. In the upper left corner of your document, type:

• your name,
• your section-synonym number (16590),
• the assignment number (Assignment 1 for this submission),
• and the date of submission.

• Write complete sentences to answer the questions. Some answers may be one sentence long, but other answers may be several sentences long.
• Do not copy the answers directly from the documents. Use your own words to paraphrase the information in the course documents.
• Do not use direct quotes in this assignment.
• Do not use first-person or second-person pronouns to write this assignment. If you are not sure what these pronouns are, review pronouns at this link in the Online Grammar Handbook.

In the File Name box, name your file. You will always name your file based on the policies included in the How to Save and Name a File section of the Course Guidelines document. In short, you will use your last name, the assignment number, and the extension .rtf or .doc or .docx in your file name. For example, my file name for Assignment 1 would be skrabanek1.rtf or skrabanek1.doc or skrabanek1.docx. Obviously, your file name would use your last name. Find the Save In window. You should create a specific folder to hold your English 1302 work. Then click Save.

Important Note: If you do not follow this file-naming policy, I will return your file ungraded for correction.

Another Important Note: If you are using Open Office, be aware that this word processor does not deal with rtf format very well. Use doc or docx format instead. When you get ready to save your file, choose Save As from the File menu. Open the dropdown menu that appears and choose Word 97/2000/XP (doc) format. Another query box should open. Choose Keep Current Formatting. If you follow this process in Open Office, I should be able to read your file. If not, I will let you know.

On the submission page, you will find three sections. The first section, Assignment Information, repeats the earlier page. The Assignment Materials section contains a big comment box and a window to attach your properly named coursework file. In the Comments box, include:

• your last name
• the coursework being submitted: Assignment 1; Assignment 2 revised; B exam, etc.

Right after you submit your file, you should go to your grade list under the Student Tools button. If your file has been properly submitted, an ! (exclamation mark) will show as your grade for that assignment. If nothing shows in your grade list, or if a blue clock disc shows, you have not submitted your work properly, in which case you need to try again.

After 3-5 days (not including weekends), you should use the same link to check on your work. (Some assignments are graded in less time, and some take longer.) I will attach the graded file, provide a few comments, and indicate a score.

• If your grade list shows a gold disc, the submission has not yet been graded.
• If the score is 1, the submission has been graded and accepted.
• If the score is 0, some correction needs to be made before the submission will be graded or accepted. The problem may be an incorrect file name or file format. It may be a more serious problem, such as your need to revise the content or grammar of the submission.
• If a blue clock disc shows, the submission is "in progress" and has not been properly submitted. You must return to the submission page and be sure you submit the file properly.

• Regardless of your grade, you should download the graded file and read my comments. Progress in this course usually means not making the same mistakes in your following submissions.
• To download your graded file to your computer, right-click on the name of the attached file and save it to your chosen location. You should rename the graded file to keep it separate from your original submission file.
• Retrieve your file, read my notes, and take the appropriate action. If the submission is accepted, move on to the next assignment. If the submission is not accepted, make any necessary corrections and resubmit the work promptly. I do not grade following submissions until a preceding assignment is accepted. If you do not submit a revision within seven days of my return of your graded submission, you will receive a late assignment submission penalty point. If you accumulate three or more late assignment submission penalty points, you are limited to a final grade no higher than C. If you do not submit a revision within 14 days of my return of your graded submission, you will be dropped from the course for lack of progress.

All students must complete Assignment 1.

Submit this assignment using the Submissions button in Blackboard.