Reading Fiction

Curriculum guideline

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Course
ENGL 1106
Discontinued
No
Course code
ENGL 1106
Descriptive
Reading Fiction
Department
English
Faculty
Language, Literature & Performing Arts
Credits
3.00
Start date
End term
201830
PLAR
No
Semester length
15 weeks
Max class size
35
Contact hours
4 hours per week
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Learning activities

Some or all of the following methods will be used:

  1. Lecture/discussion
  2. Group work
  3. Peer editing
  4. Instructor feedback on students’ work
  5. Individual consultation
Course description
In this course, students will read, discuss and write about fiction. Works assigned will emphasize a variety of genres, such as realism, fantasy, mystery and romance, and may reflect significant developments in the history of fiction.
Course content

All first-year English literature courses share the following features:

  1. Students are instructed in the writing of critical essays on literary subjects.
  2. Students are taught to recognize and understand a variety of literary devices and textual elements, such as metaphor, symbolism, distinctions between author and narrator/narrating persona, and issues of language and of structure, as appropriate to the genres and texts studied.
  3. Readings and topics vary among sections of the same course, according to each instructor’s selection; however, all course materials are consistent with the objectives/outcomes for this course.

In English 1106, students will read both short stories and novels in at least three different genres of fiction, such as realism, romance, mystery and fantasy.

Learning outcomes

Upon completion of any first-year English literature course, the successful student should be able to

  1. read receptively and reflectively, with sensitivity to the subtleties of language;
  2. recognize and understand literary devices;
  3. practice writing as a process involving pre-writing, drafting, revising and editing;
  4. write an essay of literary analysis that develops an interpretive thesis supported by appropriate and correctly cited evidence; and
  5. give and receive constructive criticism on written work.

Upon completion of 1106, the successful student should also be able to

  1. recognize different strategies of narrative development in fiction;
  2. discuss elements of fiction, such as plot, setting, character, and point-of-view;
  3. understand the features and concepts of genre in fiction; and
  4. identify and define the interpretive elements of themes in fiction.
Means of assessment
  1. A minimum of two formal academic essays, with a combined value of at least 40% of the course grade.
  2. A minimum of 80% of the course grade will be based on writing assignments (essays, essay-based exams, journals, paragraphs).  A maximum of 20% of the course grade may be based on informal writing (quizzes, short answer tests); oral reports/presentations; participation/preparation grades; and/or other non writing-intensive assignments.
  3. A minimum of 15% of the course grade will be based on in-class writing (essay or exam).
Textbook materials

Sample reading list A:

  • The Norton Anthology of Shorter Fiction
  • Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility
  • Bram Stoker, Dracula
  • Alice Munro, Selected Stories

Sample reading list B:

  • Contemporary Women's Short Stories: An Anthology
  • Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
  • Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
  • Ian McEwan, The Cement Garden
  • Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
  • Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki, Skim
Prerequisites
  • Any College entrance Language Proficiency Requirement EXCEPT the Douglas College Course Options in ELLA or ENGU, OR
  • a minimum grade of C- in ELLA 0460, or a minimum grade of C- in both ELLA 0465 and 0475, OR
  • a minimum grade of C- in ENGU 0450 or ENGU 0455 or ENGU 0490
Which prerequisite

In combination with another 1100-level English or CRWR course (as per College calendar requirements), this course may serve as a prerequisite for any 2nd year English course.