Discussion Forum Personal Responses and Classmate Responses

You will be assigned to a discussion forum group of 5-6 students.  In your Discussion Forum, you will post a series of seven graded mini-essays (called PRs, "Personal Responses"), three sets of ungraded "Pre-Video Analysis" questions, and fourteen ungraded Classmate Responses over the course of the quarter.  The two weakest Personal Responses will be dropped; the five strongest will together count for 10% of your final course grade.

To receive credit for each Personal Response, you must also submit TWO classmate responses by the designated Classmate Response due date (see below or the course Calendar of Assignments.)  Additionally, to receive credit for PR 2, PR 4, and PR6 (the mini-essays focusing on the analysis of a required video), you must submit an ungraded set of "Pre-Video Analysis" questions PRIOR TO THE DAY THE CLASS DISCUSSES THE REQUIRED VIDEO (see course calendar).  The ungraded "Pre-Video Analysis" questions prepare you to notice important aspects of the assigned video which you will write about in PR 2, PR 4 and PR 6.  The ungraded Classmate Responses put you into dialogue with other members of your Discussion Group about their responses to the same assignment.  Both kinds of ungraded posting ("Pre-Video Analysis" questions and Classmate Responses) are included in the "participation" portion of your final grade.

Personal Responses are due to your assigned Discussion Forum no later than 6 PM on the Fridays indicated on the course calendar (for specific due dates, see class Calendar of Assignments or below). Start a new "thread" for each Personal Response.  The SUBJECT LINE for a Personal Response must include the abbreviated PLAY TITLE (e.g. MND, HV, MAC, HAM, TEMP) and, if applicable, the word "video"; for Personal Responses focussing only on the text rather than on performance analysis, it is helpful for the subject line to indicate the general topic of your posting (e.g. "MND fairies").

Classmate Responses are due to your assigned Discussion Forum no later than 6 PM the following Monday (dates are indicated on the course Calendar of Assignments, or see below).  To submit a Classmate Reponse, hit the "reply" key from within the text of the posting to which you are responding so that your response is directly linked to the PR of your classmate.  (Do NOT start a new discussion thread when submitting a Classmate Response.)

MINI-ESSAY "PERSONAL RESPONSE" GUIDELINES:

Each discussion forum personal response should consist of 2-3 well-developed, edited, thoughtful paragraphs.  These compact mini-essays should be focused, highly structured (i.e. well organized), written in grammatically correct prose (no sentence fragments; no slang; watch punctuation and word choice!); and supported by appropriately detailed textual evidence (i.e. you must CITE THE TEXT OF THE PLAY to back up your ideas).  Document your textual support with act, scene and INCLUSIVE line numbers (rather than a page number) in parentheses immediately following the quotation.  You may use either roman or arabic numerals for act and scene numbers, but only use arabic numerals for the inclusive line numbers; act, scene and inclusive line numbers should be separated by periods:  so, "I.i.1-10" and "1.1.1-10" are both acceptable ways of indicating "act one, scene one, lines one to ten."

Your personal response should engage the primary reading in a way that demonstrates you have thought about the study questions and read the text closely.  Your personal response MUST include citation from the text of the play (include the act, scene and line numbers you are citing in parentheses following the quotation).  I suggest that you use the study questions provided for each text as a way to jump-start your thoughts, but you are not required to respond to one of them.  Other possibilities include the following:

• offer a close reading of a significant speech or dialogue AND explain what it reveals about Shakespeare's intended purpose or its connection to what you see as the overall message of the play;
• choose an image or group of closely related images in the play and discuss how it relates to what you see as a significant message of the play;
• compare/contrast the treatment of a theme, character, plot element, etc. with the way a similar theme, character etc. appeared in a play read earlier this quarter AND explain what it reveals about Shakespeare's intended purpose or the overall message of the text;
• analyze an overarching theme or symbol in the text, providing specific textual references and giving your own insight as to what Shakespeare is trying to accomplish;
• or find another way to provide more than merely a surface reading of a portion of the text.

Your personal response essays can be created using your normal word processor (so that you can use e.g. the spell check and grammar check functions), but they should then be cut and pasted into the PolyLearn Discussion Forum message screen; you cannot submit them as attachments. Note that formatting (underlining etc.) may not transfer from your Word Processor; use the formatting tabs in the Discussion Forum to format your response.  You may not be able to modify your reponse once it is submitted, so proofread carefully!  Citations from the play should be documented parenthetically, using act, scene and inclusive line numbers separated by periods.  You may use either roman or arabic numerals for act and scene numbers; use arabic numerals for the inclusive line numbers of the text you have quoted (e.g. MND 1.2.1-10 or MND I.ii.1-10 are both acceptable).  Do NOT quote secondary sources (e.g. text introductions, footnotes, or online readings).  The information they contain is now "yours," and for the purpose of this assignment, you can mention it as relevant to your argument without specific documentation.

Start a new "thread" for each of your seven Personal Responses.  The SUBJECT LINE for a Personal Response must include the abbreviated PLAY TITLE (e.g. MND, HV, MAC, HAM, TEMP) and, if applicable, the word "video"; for Personal Responses focussing only on the text rather than on performance analysis, it is helpful for the subject line to indicate the general topic of your posting (e.g. "MND fairies").

Each personal response will be graded on a 4.0 scale using the usual values (4.3=A+, 4.0 = A, 3.7 = A-, 3.3 = B+, etc.) Only truly excellent responses -- those which meet all assignment guidelines, with well chosen textual support and some analysis rather than just summary -- will earn A-range grades.  Strong responses (i.e. those which are solid and well written but perhaps on the short side, sparse on textual support, or do not follow all assignment guidelines) typically earn B-range grades.  Mediocre responses will earn C-range grades; such responses may include too much summary and not enough explanation or analysis; or they may be too brief, lack adequate, well chosen textual support, or present shaky reasoning.  Weaker responses (too brief, undeveloped, and/or carelessly thrown together; lacking proper documentation of citations; etc.) will receive D-range grades.  Responses that ramble without focus, that do not have a clear thesis, or that DO NOT CITE THE PLAY, will not receive credit. The Graduate Assistant and/or Instructor may comment on your Personal Discussions within the discussion forum, but letter grades will only be reported privately, via direct personal email and the Gradebook section of PolyLearn.  Please contact your Graduate Assistant if you are unsure about the quality of your responses.  While only your personal responses (not your classmate responses) will factor into the written work component of your final course grade, remember that you will NOT RECEIVE CREDIT FOR YOUR PRs UNLESS YOU HAVE ALSO SUBMITTED THE REQUIRED CLASSMATE RESPONSES (and, for video analysis PRs, the required "Pre-Video Analysis" questions) by the deadlines below and on the course Calendar of Assignments!
 

CLASSMATE RESPONSE GUIDELINES:

By 6 PM on the Monday following submission of a Personal Response, you must have read through ALL Personal Responses posted by the other members of your discussion group and post brief classmate responses to two of them. Your classmate responses should be at least one thoughtful and substantive paragraph in length (no less than 100 words), and should address both your classmate's ideas and the Shakespearean text, WHICH YOU SHOULD QUOTE AT LEAST ONCE, using a citation which was NOT included in the PR to which you are responding.  You must post two classmate responses in order to receive credit for each of your Personal Responses.

Prior to posting a Classmate Response, read through ALL the personal responses posted by the other members of your Discussion Forum group and choose the two to which you will be able to respond most substantively and fruitfully.  (This will usually be the Personal Responses which you find strongest / most interesting -- but it might also be one with which you disagree, provided that you do so RESPECTFULLY and that you back up your assertions with textual support.)

Remember: the best classmate responses are neither mean-spirited nor lazy ("I agree with everything s/he said"). It's not about criticizing your classmate's thoughts, nor is it about praising them.  The best classmate responses build on your classmate's ideas or offer another way of understanding the the issue/work which your classmate wrote about.  Be sure that you address BOTH your classmate's ideas AND your own thoughts about the text (which you should cite at least once, choosing a citation that was NOT quoted by your classmate in the PR to which you are responding).

Note:  Classmate Responses are due by 6 PM the Monday after the Personal Responses were due; for the specific due dates, see the class Calendar of Assignments or below.

Your 14 classmate responses will factor into the participation component (rather than the written work component) of your final grade.  Please note however that you will NOT RECEIVE CREDIT FOR YOUR PERSONAL RESPONSES UNLESS YOU HAVE ALSO SUBMITTED THE REQUIRED CLASSMATE RESPONSES (i.e., for every TWO classmate responses, you will receive credit for ONE of your personal responses).  If at the end of the quarter you have not posted fourteen classmate responses to your Discussion Forum, you will NOT receive credit for all of your personal responses.

PR"Mini-Essay", CLASSMATE RESPONSE, and "PRE-VIDEO ANALYSIS QUESTIONS" DUE DATES:

• PR 1 (on A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare's text only -- not performance analysis):  post by 10 PM on F 4/6.  [NOTE:  to receive credit for PR 1, you must submit TWO classmate responses to other members of your Discussion Forum group by 10 PM on M 4/9.]
• Pre-Video Analysis questions (based upon your personal responses to the assigned video questions for A Midsummer Night's Dream; ungraded but required to get credit for PR 4): post BEFORE class meeting on Th 4/12 (the video analysis discussion day for MND)
• PR 2 (performance analysis of the Joseph Papp production of A Midsummer Night's Dream based upon the assigned video questions for A Midsummer Night's Dream): post by 10 PM on F 4/13.  [NOTE:  to receive credit for PR 2, you must submit the Pre-Video Analysis questions before class on Th 4/12 AND you must submit TWO classmate responses to other members of your Discussion Forum group by 10 PM on M 4/16.]
• PR 3 (on Henry V, Shakespeare's text only -- not performance analysis):  post by 10 PM on F 4/20.  [NOTE:  to receive credit for PR 3, you must submit TWO classmate responses to other members of your Discussion Forum group by 10 PM on M 4/23.]
• Pre-Video Analysis questions (based upon your personal responses to the assigned video questions for Henry V; ungraded but required to get credit for PR 4):  post BEFORE class meeting on T 4/24 (the video analysis discussion day for HV)
• PR 4 (performance analysis of Laurence Olivier's Henry V based upon the assigned video questions for Henry V): post by 10 PM on F 4/27.  [NOTE:  to receive credit for PR 4, you must submit the Pre-Video Analysis questions before class on T 4/24 AND you must submit TWO classmate responses to other members of your Discussion Forum group by 10 PM on M 4/30.]
• NO PR DUE F 5/4 (midterm exam week)
• PR 5 (on Macbeth, Shakespeare's text only): post by 10 PM on F 5/11.  [NOTE:  to receive credit for PR 5, you must submit TWO classmate responses to other members of your Discussion Forum group by 10 PM on M 5/14.]
• Pre-Video Analysis questions (based upon your personal responses to the assigned video questions for Hamlet; ungraded but required to get credit for PR 6): post BEFORE class meeting on Th 5/17 (the video analysis discussion day for Hamlet)
• PR 6 ( performance analysis of Laurence Olivier's Hamlet based upon the assigned video questions for Hamlet: ) post by 10 PM on F 5/18.  [NOTE:  to receive credit for PR 6, you must submit the Pre-Video Analysis questions before class on T 5/17 AND  you must submit TWO classmate responses to other members of your Discussion Forum group by 10 PM on M 5/21.]
• PR 7 (on The Tempest, Shakespeare's text only -- not performance analysis):  post by 10 PM on F 5/25.  [NOTE:  to receive credit for PR 7, you must submit TWO classmate responses to other members of your Discussion Forum group by 10 PM on M 5/28.]