How I met the learning outcomes for English 251

1.  LITERARY TERMS

At the beginning of the semester, I wrote a lot of concept posts that talked generally about a single literary term.  Now, each of my posts ties literary terms/methods into textual analyses. Usually, I try to explain the effect of one or several literary elements within a text, as with my analysis of the epigraph in Outliers and my review of A Wrinkle in Time.  My final paper discusses metaphors, images, and symbols in Jane Eyre.

2.  GENRES

Here is a list of my personal readings by genre.

Fiction:

Gothic romance (Jane Eyre)

Historical fiction (The Book Theif)

Postmodern literary fiction (A Visit from the Goon Squad)

Horror/nonsense (The Metamorphosis)

Poetry:

Vilanelle (One Art)

Free verse poem (Northern Pike)

Religious prose poem (Heavenly Father, Eartly Father)

Lyric poem (My Papa’s Waltz)

Drama:

Modern tragedy (Death of a Salesman, the entire play)

High comedy (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)

Musical (Les Miserables)

Postmodern drama (A Wrinkle in Time)

Creative Non-Fiction:

Personal essay (What It Is)

Philosophy (Outliers)

Literary criticism (Jane Iterare)

History (Richard III in History of English Speaking Peoples)

3.  ARGUMENTS

I usually tried to demonstrate how a text’s form contributed to a certain theme or overall effect.  After we reviewed the “Better Thesis Statements” presentation, I started to realize that this sort of explication, while at times insightful, can also be less consequential and does not necessarily divide an educated audience.  So I tried loosely applying some of the "Better Thesis Statements" types of claims to my blog posts.  For example:

In The Story, I make a definition claim: “The Metamorphosis may not have all the linguistic play of Winnie the Pooh, but you can add this story to Jocelyn’s nonsense genre.”

In Dragging Richard, I make a comparison/policy claim:  “[Churchill] is also a little more subtle [in his bias], if not any less partial, because his content is very analytical.  Readers of Churchill need to be on their toes, so as not to accept his bias as fact.”

In My Papa’s Waltz, I make a cause & effect claim: “The tone shifts between fond and reproachful.  …I think the speaker doesn’t let go because of his mixed feelings.”

4.  SOCIAL/CREATIVE ENGAGEMENT

Since creating a blog was already one of my personal goals for this semester, I made a special effort to be creative with my posts, including my personal learning plans (Plan 1 and Plan 2).  People sometimes left comments saying how they appreciated my entertaining voice (Facebook) or creative formatting (Self-Made Heroes).  I liked being able to start a sort of dialogue with my posts, as when I made my “Dreamless” response to Briggs’ post or when I posted my final paper ideas on a Goodreads discussion.  Ultimately, literature ended up being very personally impactful (My Papa’s Waltz analysis), but I didn’t share that one because sometimes there is a fine line between being social and making people uncomfortable.

5.  TOOLS/PEDAGOGY

I’ve made an effort to manipulate font, color, and outside media in order to better get my message across in many of my posts.  In Macy’s and Mapping, I used charting as a mode of analysis.  I enjoyed sharing elements of my final paper with classmates, Goodreads users, and family members.  One person from the Goodreads discussion sent me an email recently asking how my paper went and if he could read the final draft.  I also ended up incorporating ideas from my final paper into a presentation for my 295 class.

Kirsten and Taylor had the greatest influence on my learning.  Both helped a lot with my essay, and Kirsten almost always gives me encouraging comments on my posts.