Welcome to your course blog

Welcome to your course blog. Throughout this semester, we'll be using this blogspace to expand upon the readings, to ask and answer questions, and to pursue new directions in class conversation. For those of you who may be shy, the blogspace is also an excellent place to express yourself.

I encourage you to be creative and innovative in your postings. But as you post, please keep in mind the following guidelines:

1. You need to post at least once for each novel over the course of the semester. No more than one post per week, however, will be counted. You must post on the novel by the deadline listed on the syllabus (in general, by 11 p.m. EST on the last day that we discuss the novel).

2. Postings should be about 350 words (about 1 1/2 double-spaced pages) and should incorporate material from the reading or films. The post must clearly demonstrate that you’ve read the assigned reading and thought about it. Please choose a clear and descriptive title for your post.

3. Your blogger tone may be less formal than what you might use in a paper, but you should remember that this is still a course-related blog. In other words, this is not your facebook/myspace page or a personal blogspace. Please make sure that the content of your postings is related to the course, its materials, or our class discussions.

4. Suggested topics: You may ask and answer a question about the assigned reading, pursue a topic of conversation that came up in class discussion, synthesize the week's readings, or respond to a previous posting. If you respond to a posting, please comment in a new blog post, rather than using the "comments" section, just to make it easier to find.

5. You are welcome to respond respectfully to another person’s blog posting. If you choose to do so, please avoid personal attacks. Remember to be professional.

6. Remember that this is a public space, accessible and available to anyone. One useful way to think about it: avoid posting anything that you wouldn’t want a future employer to read.

7. Please review the university plagiarism policies (all of which apply to this blog), and remember to cite page numbers or outside sources when appropriate.

8. Blogs will be evaluated on a three-point scale (see syllabus). Grades will not be public.