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There are two course-enhancement projects for my English 205.   I'll review the organization for the first of them here.  Since they work the same way, the second one will be easy to use after you've done the first one.

The first project is to be done during the first half of the semester, in time for the midterm, and the second project is to be done during the second half of the semester, in time for the final.

The first project studies two figures we are not discussing in class--Jonathan Edwards and John Woolman. Specifically, this first enhancement project examines Edwards's sermon (the first sermon we've studied) "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" (1741) and excerpts from Woolman's Journal (1756-1772).  (Both of these writings are in our text.)  These two writings can be considered not only in comparison and contrast with each other, but also within the context of some of the other writers we've studied.

The project has three parts: the General Introduction, which sets up both projects (you are reading it now); Explanatory Highlights and Questions for each work (Section A is for Edwards, Section B for Woolman); and Leading Questions. The final section poses questions that lead to further thinking about the writers.  From the material of these questions will come the question on the midterm concerning this project. It will be worth 20% of the midterm.

The second project provides for further study of two figures we will discuss in class, Edgar Allan Poe and Herman Melville.  We'll study reviews that they each wrote of two different books of short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne.  Most of you have read some of the stories (or "tales," the term they used) in these collections--stories like "The Minister's Black Veil" and "Young Goodman Brown."  In this project, you'll read what two of Hawthorne's contemporaries thought of him and his stories.  In this way, this second project really delves into three writers we will study in our class.

To complete these projects successfully, first you must have read the two sets of selections thoughtfully. In addition, since my comments are keyed to certain passages in the works (quoted sections in this project are taken directly from the writings), the project will be of most benefit to you if you have the writings with you when you work on it; and probably notepaper, too.

I recommend that you work on each of these projects twice, the second time coming a day or two before the respective exam. Between the two times through the projects, you will have time to think about the writings in the context of our course.  The second time through will be surprisingly valuable.

On both the midterm and the final, the questions over these projects count heavily.

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