ENGLISH 91A: INTRO TO POETRY

Lecture: Tues/Thurs 2:00-3:15 (Humanities 135)

Discussion Sections:
1AFriday 9:00-9:50 (Hum A56)
1CFriday 10:00-10:50 (Hum A48)


TA: Taly Ravid
Email: travid@ucla.edu
Mailbox: 149 Humanities (English Department Office)
Office: Humanities A94
Office Hours: Tues/Thurs 3:30-4:30 and by appointment (at Northern Lights)


SECTION OVERVIEW:
Section is a forum for you to be able to explore and express your thoughts and ideas, take
some risks, ask questions, and engage in discussion with each other. Im a big believer in
trusting your instincts, so indulge your hunches in section! Sometimes disagreement and
debate make for the richest conversations about a workbut youve always got to back up
your thoughts with textual examples (because you want to be convincing) and youve got to
always be respectful of each other (because you want to be good humans).



REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES:

Participation
Section is about lively interchangetherefore attendance & full participation are vital. I
expect you to get to class on time and to notify me if youre going to be absent. I expect you
to come to class each week prepared, having read the assigned poems for the day. I urge you
to read actively. Think about what youre reading as youre reading. Mark up your books,
underline words or lines that strike you, write down questions you want to ask in class. All of
these things will make our discussions richer. Feel free to experiment with ideas and ask
questions, to join as well as create new directions in our conversations.


Weekly Assignments
From week to week, Ill assign quick, informal writing or close reading exercises designed to
get you thinking about words and language and about the specific poems were reading.
These quickie/informal assignments will also help you begin to think about the paper youll
be writing. Your work will not be graded, but Ill read it closely and take it seriously. You
should too. Think of these assignments as opportunities to hone your reading and critical
thinking skills, to experiment, to work on your writing, to develop your ideas, and to
formulate questions.



REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES (CONT.):

Basic Protocol Stuff
No laptops in sectionI want us to engage with each other.
Put your phones on vibrate or silent and make sure theyre out of sight.
No food in class, but feel free to bring your bevvies of choice.
Anything that you turn into me (any homework assignment, writing exercise, etc.)
must be typed, double spaced, in 12 pt. font.

Papers
You will be writing one 6-8 page paper for this class. Well discuss papers in detail as we get
closer to the due date. Well also practice and discuss the elements that go into writing a
strong paper throughout the quarter, but in the meantime here are.

SOME GUIDELINES FOR THE PAPER:
Your paper should have a strong thesis that you support with textual evidence. It
should be well organized with a clear and structured argument.
All papers should be typed in twelve-point font with 1 margins, double-spaced,
page-numbered, and stapled.
Your name, the title of the course, my name and section number, and the date
should all appear on the first page of your paper in the upper left hand corner.
Your paper should have an interesting, informative title.
Format your citations, etc., according to MLA guidelines.
Revise! Proofread! Spell check!

Office Hours
Youre required to come see me at office hours (or make an appointment to meet me
if you cant make it to office hours) at least once in the first five weeks of the quarter.
We can discuss course-material, questions you have about writing, or you can simply come
by and say hello so that I can get to know you. As the quarter goes on, I encourage you to
take advantage of office hours and come talk to me about your papers, your thoughts on the
texts, to ask questions, to discuss your writing, etc.


Resources
Oxford English Dictionary Online: http://www.oed.com
The best source to go to for in-depth definitions, etymologies and usage histories
OWL (On-line Writing Lab) at Purdue Universtity: http://owl.english.purdue.edu
A fantastic resource for grammar help, MLA formatting and style guide, etc.



A NOTE ON PLAGARISM: Every piece of writing that you produce for this course must be entirely
your own original work. Plagiarism is defined as using another persons language, ideas, or thoughts
and representing them as your own. It is a serious offence and will be dealt with severely. Plagiarism
of any kind will result in failing the assignment, the course, and being reported to the Dean of
Students for further academic prosecution. Dont do it! Its not worth it. If you have any questions
about what constitutes plagiarism, come see me.