Author+Paper

American Literature Your Choice Author/Literature paper assignment

The goal of this paper is that you will research an American author of your choice from units five to eight and write about him or her. You should cover his or her life, philosophies, writing, influences and how he/she fits into or relates to a literary movement. You should use examples from at least two of his or her works of literature (at least one of these should be a work we are not reading in class). __The main focus of the paper should be the author’s writing, so your treatment of his or her life should focus mainly on events that shaped his/her writing. Similarly, your treatment of his/her philosophies should be focused on how these affect the writing. You should use examples from his/her writing to illustrate and support points you make about his/her writing/philosophies in general.__ On the day your paper is due, you will be asked to make a 3-5 minute presentation to the class. You may simply read your paper to the class, or you may speak from your outline, prepared notecards, etc. The goal is that you will give us helpful background information as we study the literature of the author you wrote about. Note: unlike written assignments, the oral presentation cannot be emailed to me after the school day to be considered on time. See the oral presentation rubric for more details on requirements of the oral presentation. You are expected to do a rough draft. However, submitting it to me ahead of time is optional, though strongly recommended. If you turn in a draft, it will be due one week before the final, and the **rough draft** of this paper will be worth a maximum of 15 extra-credit points. I will then give you feedback on the rough draft intended to help you do a better job on the final. The **oral presentation** will be a 15-point, required assignment. The **final version** of this paper will be a 100-point, required assignment. As always, late assignments will lose ten percent per calendar day. If you are not ready to give your oral presentation by the due date, you may lose the opportunity to do it at all. If you are absent on your due date, you must turn in work on the day you return to class. If I am absent on your due-date, an oral presentation should wait until I return, but you must submit written work to the substitute teacher or my mailbox or email (even if no one reminds you). If school is cancelled unexpectedly on your due-date, the due date will be the very next school day.

__Mechanics__: Your paper should be free of spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors. Papers with an average of 10 or more mechanical errors per page may be returned to the student and the grade withheld until corrections are made (and the paper will be considered late). The required length of your paper will vary depending on which unit your author is in. Unit 5 papers must be at least 600 words long. Unit 6 papers must be at least 700 words long. Unit 7 papers must be at least 800 words long. Your word count should not include the works cited page and the word count should be given as a part of your heading (most spell-checkers will give you a count of your words). Your paper should have a title, preferably one that makes readers want to read the paper. Please do not manipulate margins, print size, or line spacing to make your paper appear longer or shorter than it is. Your **paper (and rough draft) should be typed** and **double-spaced** with margins no larger than one inch and print size no larger than 12-point. Your paper must include a works cited page. All documentation of sources should appear in the MLA parenthetical style (we will go over this in class). Note: it is extremely important that you cite your sources (both of words and information). Failure to do this properly is plagiarism, and **the minimum penalty for plagiarism is that the ungraded paper will be returned and considered late until resubmitted without plagiarism. Papers with blatant plagiarism must be redone for a maximum grade of 50%.** Claims of ignorance about what plagiarism is will not be accepted as an excuse for plagiarism. Turning in a rough draft is a good way to help prevent problems with plagiarism. If you do submit a rough draft, one of the criteria I will use to grade the final version of your paper is how much it has improved over the draft and whether/how well you have addressed the problems I pointed out in the draft.

__ AUTHOR OPTIONS AND DUE DATES: __

If you choose to turn in a rough draft of your paper, it is due one week before your due-date (with the exception of Walt Whitman). The oral presentation to the class will be due on the same day your paper is due. The asterisks denote writers whose work we may not be reading in class. Note: depending on your due date, grades for these three assignments may count toward third or fourth quarter at the teacher’s discretion. Note: I reserve the right to move due-dates later if our progress though the literature warrants this.

Unit 5 - 600 Words Walt Whitman Wed., Feb. 26th Emily Dickinson Fri., Feb. 28th Mark Twain Wed, Mar. 5th

Unit 6 - 700 Words Bret Harte Thurs., Mar. 13th Kate Chopin Mon., Mar. 17th Charlotte Perkins Gilman Tues, Mar. 19th Hamlin Garland Fri., Mar. 21st Jack London Tues, Mar. 25th Stephen Crane Thurs, Mar. 27th Edwin Arlington Robinson Mon., Mar. 31st Paul Laurence Dunbar Mon, March 31st

Unit 7 - 800 words Ezra Pound Wed, April 2nd T.S. Eliot Thurs, April 3rd William Carlos Williams Friday, April 4th Gertrude Stein Mon., April 7th Carl Sandburg Tues., April 8th Edna St. Vincent Millay Wed, April 9th Countee Cullen Thurs., April 10th Langston Hughes Thurs., April 10th E.E. Cummings Fri., April 11th Robert Frost Tues.,April 15th Ernest Hemingway Wed., April 16th F. Scott Fitzgerald* Mon., April 28th Willa Cather* Mon., April 28th

Questions__: This paper is very important not only to your grade, but to your experience in this course. It is your responsibility to read this assignment sheet carefully and acquire all the information necessary to write a satisfactory paper, therefore: IF ANY PART OF THIS ASSIGNMENT IS UNCLEAR TO YOU OR IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT IS EXPECTED OF YOU, LET ME KNOW A.S.A.P.__

NOTE: YOU MUST KEEP TRACK OF YOUR DUE-DATES! DO NOT EXPECT ME TO REMIND YOU!

To Parents: Please read over this sheet and write down your son/daughter’s topic and due date, and please check in with him/her occasionally to see that he/she is progressing on this assignment. This is an extremely important assignment. A student who skips it will certainly fail the quarter and may fail the semester. If you have questions, please email me at zente@wawm.k12.wi.us.

Parent Signature:

Student Name _Author Hour _ Time Date

American Literature Author Oral Presentation Evaluation 1. good knowledge about author none poor fair good excellent 2. covers life of author thoroughly none poor fair good excellent 3. covers writing of author thoroughly none poor fair good excellent 4. supports with textual examples none poor fair good excellent 5. ties to literary/historical context none poor fair good excellent 6. deals w/ philosophy/beliefs of author none poor fair good excellent 7. ties other info of author to writing none poor fair good excellent

8. good eye-contact none poor fair good excellent 9. good enunciation/clarity/rate none poor fair good excellent 10. effort and enthusiasm none poor fair good excellent 11. good use of note-cards/outline none poor fair good excellent 12. good use of visual aid(s) none poor fair good excellent 13. attentiveness to other presenters none poor fair good excellent 14. overall impact of presentation none poor fair good excellent

Grade ___ =__ _ points out of 15

STUDENT CHOICES

2nd hour

Walt Whitman Wed., Feb. 26th Nick R Emily Dickinson Fri., Feb. 28th Leslie M Mark Twain Wed, Mar. 5th Jonah R

Bret Harte Thurs., Mar. 13th Cody S Kate Chopin Mon., Mar. 17th Donald Z Charlotte Perkins Gilman Tues, Mar. 19th Samantha H Hamlin Garland Fri., Mar. 21st Sam S Jack London Tues, Mar. 25th Dustin N Stephen Crane Thurs, Mar. 27th Rachel M Edwin Arlington Robinson Mon., Mar. 31st Meegan N Paul Laurence Dunbar Mon, March 31st Tyler R

Ezra Pound Wed, April 2nd Julia A T.S. Eliot Thurs, April 3rd Krystal L William Carlos Williams Friday, April 4th Michael H Gertrude Stein Mon., April 7th Ryan S Carl Sandburg Tues., April 8th Brooke K Edna St. Vincent Millay Wed, April 9th Taylor C Countee Cullen Thurs., April 10th Langston Hughes Thurs., April 10th Andrew R E.E. Cummings Fri., April 11th Bailey K Robert Frost Tues.,April 15th Emily R Ernest Hemingway Wed., April 16th Guadalupe R F. Scott Fitzgerald* Mon., April 28th Gabby C Willa Cather* Mon., April 28th

3rd Hour

Walt Whitman Wed., Feb. 26th Emily Dickinson Fri., Feb. 28th Nyshka M-V Mark Twain Wed, Mar. 5th Tash B

Bret Harte Thurs., Mar. 13th Alexandra A Kate Chopin Mon., Mar. 17th Megan Y Charlotte Perkins Gilman Tues, Mar. 19th Brooklyn B Hamlin Garland Fri., Mar. 21st Nathon S Jack London Tues, Mar. 25th Krista Z Stephen Crane Thurs, Mar. 27th Gunther H Edwin Arlington Robinson Mon., Mar. 31st Angela G Paul Laurence Dunbar Mon, March 31st Christian C

Ezra Pound Wed, April 2nd Michael W T.S. Eliot Thurs, April 3rd Erica J William Carlos Williams Friday, April 4th Frankie C Gertrude Stein Mon., April 7th Michael C Carl Sandburg Tues., April 8th Edna St. Vincent Millay Wed, April 9th Sam D Countee Cullen Thurs., April 10th Langston Hughes Thurs., April 10th Kennedy L E.E. Cummings Fri., April 11th Daniel G Robert Frost Tues.,April 15th Megan K Ernest Hemingway Wed., April 16th Gillian H F. Scott Fitzgerald* Mon., April 28th Mady C Willa Cather* Mon., April 28th Morgan C

5th hour

Walt Whitman Wed., Feb. 26th Sarah S Emily Dickinson Fri., Feb. 28th Mark Twain Wed, Mar. 5th Derrick O

Bret Harte Thurs., Mar. 13th Kate Chopin Mon., Mar. 17th Adrianna F Charlotte Perkins Gilman Tues, Mar. 19th Sofie K Hamlin Garland Fri., Mar. 21st Cordel Z Jack London Tues, Mar. 25th Jon W Stephen Crane Thurs, Mar. 27th Sid W Edwin Arlington Robinson Mon., Mar. 31st Halle E Paul Laurence Dunbar Mon, March 31st Ciarra G

Ezra Pound Wed, April 2nd Arisa H T.S. Eliot Thurs, April 3rd William Carlos Williams Friday, April 4th Gertrude Stein Mon., April 7th Nina C Carl Sandburg Tues., April 8th Cassy L Edna St. Vincent Millay Wed, April 9th Kaitlyn L Countee Cullen Thurs., April 10th Langston Hughes Thurs., April 10th Brianna R E.E. Cummings Fri., April 11th Robert Frost Tues.,April 15th Tyler B Ernest Hemingway Wed., April 16th F. Scott Fitzgerald* Mon., April 28th Willa Cather* Mon., April 28th Zach K