University of Ottawa

Department of English
Literature and Composition 1
Eng1120Y
Winter 2017
Professor: Breid McIlkenny
Office: 329Hamelin Hall (formerly Arts Building)
Office Hours: Tues: 2:45-3:45; Thurs: 1:15-2:15
Tel: 613 5625800 ext. 1159
E-mail: bmcilken@uottawa.ca
Course Description:
Power and Powerlessness
Literature increases our understanding of the real world and our place within it. That place is often dictated
by the power or otherwise a person holds within society and takes many forms: familial, religious, cultural,
and societal. The significance of power in relation to the human condition is a theme that is explored often by
authors of fiction. Such writing enables students to look at the ways issues of power are presented and offers
a range of perspectives and interpretations. The short stories and the novel we shall be reading this semester
will provide opportunities to explore these issues as a means of understanding positions of power and the
ways in which they shape human life.
Course Goals:
The texts we shall explore in this course will provide opportunities for students to engage in discussion and
analysis of the various presentations of power and powerlessness and their repercussions within the given
contexts. The material will also serve to equip students with the necessary skills to develop relevant ideas
about the texts, and to construct organized written arguments that are both cogent and academic. In this
course, the writing process is as important as the product.
ENG1120 is divided into three main areas of focus, each of which builds on the one before and helps
students understand the process of creating an academic essay:

Critical reading

Engagement in and use of research

Creation of strong critical argument

Teaching Methods
The approaches used in teaching this class will include lectures, PowerPoint slides, videos, and group
discussion.
Required Texts
Course Pack: ENG1120K, X & Y. Available at the docUcentre, University Centre 0024.
Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea (Penguin Student Edition). Available at Benjamin Books (corner of Osgoode
and King Edward). You will need to have the novel and Course Pack in order to keep up with the course

work and prepare for the final exam. You will also wish to keep and make frequent reference to the handbook
you used for ENG 1100.
Mark Breakdown
Attendance and Participation10%
Short Assignment #1 Analysis 10%
Short Assignment #2 Research 10%
Short Assignment #3 Argument (Research Essay Proposal) 10%
Research Essay 30%
Final Exam (in the exam period) 30%
TOTAL: 100.00%
Unless stated otherwise, the short stories and the novel will be dealt with on Tuesdays.
Semester Schedule
Week 1: Jan 10 & 12
Reading: Introduction to the Course
Why do people read and study literature?
Novel and short story openings
Story: The Lottery (Jackson) (Thurs)
Week 2: Jan 17 & 19
Reading: Reading with a critical eye
Reading for comprehension and understanding
of point of view
Story: Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
Week 3: Jan 24 & 26
Reading: Critical analysis: structure and meaning
Story: Araby (Joyce)

Jan 26 Short Assignment 1 (Analysis) Due

Week 4: Jan 31 & Feb 2

Research: Understanding the research process
Prewriting process
Posing a research question
Story: Evelyn (Joyce)

Week 5: Feb 7 & 9

Research: Synthesizing information to support
your own ideas
Incorporating and integrating sources
Story: The Garden Party (Mansfield)
Week 6: Feb 14 & 16

Feb 17 Short Assignment 2 (Secondary Sources) Due

Submission venue to follow

Research: Finding appropriate sources

Visit from the reference librarian (Thurs)
Novel: Wide Sargasso Sea (Rhys)
Week 7: Feb 28 & March 2
Argumentation: Formulating a thesis (drafting)
Novel: Wide Sargasso Sea
Week 8: March 7 & 9
Argumentation: Choosing and developing
main points
Novel: Wide Sargasso Sea
Week 9: March 14 & 16

March 16 Short Assignment 3 (Research Essay Proposal) Due

Argumentation: Selecting and developing

main points
Novel: Wide Sargasso Sea
Week 10: March 21 & 23
Argumentation: Organization understanding
rhetorical patterns
Choosing most persuasive structure for essay
Story: Babylon Revisited (Fitzgerald)
Week 11: March 20 & 30
Argumentation: Introducing and concluding
the argument
Story: The Daughters of the Late Colonel (Mansfield)
Week 12: April 4 & 8

April 8 Research Essay Due

The examination essays

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Minor adjustments may be made to the course outline during the semester.
Attendance Policy and Participation Requirements:
Students are required to attend all classes and to participate in discussion. Assignments must be submitted
on their due dates at the beginning of class. I do not accept essays sent by fax or e-mail.
PLEASE NOTE: No extensions will be granted, except with medical documentation validated by the
University of Ottawa Health Centre, or, in the case of a personal crisis, a letter from the Universitys
counselling service. You will submit to me the official University of Ottawa medical certificate or
counsellors letter. Please do not bring notes from your family doctor; take them to the University Health
Service. Other than for cases of major emergencies, medical documentation will not be accepted after the
event without prior notification. You must contact me by e-mail as soon as a problem arises.
Late Submissions: In this class, each assignment builds upon the one before it; consequentially, late
assignments without an extension will receive a stiff penalty (including those handed in after class begins).
If you miss a deadline, your mark immediately drops by 50%. No assignment is accepted seven days after
the due date. Late assignments are graded but not corrected.
The Secretariat of the English Department will not accept papers, either by hand, fax, or e-mail.
Each assignment must have proper documentation of any outside sources used by the student. Evidence of
academic fraud and/or plagiarism will result in the student being reported to Faculty, and the
assignment being given an F grade. In such cases, no excuse will be accepted, including the excuse
that the fraud was unintentional.
For advice on planning, and documenting essays in MLA Style Format, please refer to the Departments
Style Sheet, Working with Sources: Introduction to Research in English Literature.
Writing Centres
The University has two writing centres. The first is The Writing Centre. It is a service set up to help
students who are taking courses with the English Department. You will find it on the fifth floor of Hamelin
Hall, Room 526. You may need to make an appointment for this one - check out their website.
The Writing Help Service is available to all students and is situated in Morisset Hall, Room 005.
These centres will not proofread but will offer advice, and are both manned by post-graduate English
students.
Classroom Etiquette
Cell phones must be switched off during class. Laptop computersmay be used for note taking purposes only
or to access stories. Lively discussion of the course material is welcome,but private conversations, texting,
and all other disruptive behaviour are not.
Please ensure that any e-mail communication is sent through your University webmail account.