You should read this page at least every other day. All announcements about the course will be posted here — and I’ll also alert you to the fact that I have sent the class something by ANGEL mail. If you have any questions about the course, please post them here and I’ll answer them as soon as possible. Lydia Fish September 01, 2008, at 01:30 PM
Handing in your research paper as hard copy
Please remember your paper should be handed in as hard copy in class on Thursday. Use one-half inch margins and 1.5 spaces between lines; otherwise use standard MLA format for everything including the internal citations and the list of works cited. (There is a very nice MLA style sheet on the Butler Library website.) Your list of works cited does NOT need to be annotated. You should include a title page with your name, the title of your paper and the word count. Please do NOT fasten your paper together in any way.
You should add a copyright notice to the paper you posted on the wiki. Just add a sentence at the top of your paper: Copyright Yourfirstname Yourlastname, Date that you posted the paper. Lydia Fish December 08, 2008, at 05:40 PM
What knowledge can I assume on the part of my readers?
As you have probably noticed in your reading for your research papers, scholarly writing on any subject assumes that the reader already knows something about the topic under discussion. Therefore, if a Tolkien scholar wants to write about the song Sam sings in the Orc tower, he assumes that the reader knows who Sam is and what he is doing in the tower. At this point you are Tolkien scholars and your fellow classmates (who are also your readers) are also Tolkien scholars and you can make the same kinds of assumptions. If you wish to discuss the song Aragorn sings at his coronation in the Jackson film you do not have to explain who Aragorn is and how he came to be king — and you don’t have to explain who Jackson is! If you are discussing the role of women in Tolkien’s writing, assume that your reader knows Arwen’s story. In other words, plot summaries are unnecessary and should be avoided!
If you want to discuss something in The Silmarillion or even The Hobbit you may have to give a little more detail, since they were not required reading for the class. Shippey is an excellent model for this. If you are writing about something like swords or linguistics you probably need to give your readers a little more detail. Lydia Fish December 01, 2008, at 11:48 AM
Extension of Deadline for Research Papers
Because I was late in posting my individual comments on your rough drafts you may, if you like, post and turn in your completed papers on 11 December instead of this Thursday, 4 December.
Some common problems are:
Quite a few of your papers are merely a series of paraphrases of the work of other authors: this is what author A had to say about Frodo, this is what author B says about Frodo, this is what author C thinks. You need to read all these sources and write a paper based on YOUR thoughts, using your sources to support your argument.
Some of you keep changing your writing style, which leads me to think that you are paraphrasing the work of several other authors. I need to evaluate YOUR writing!!!!
There are a lot of punctuation and spelling errors showing up in these papers. There is no reason for not spelling “Shakespeare” correctly or for writing “site” when you mean “cite”! “Alot” is not a word in the English language. Several of you are using an apostrophe to form the plural of a noun or to form the possessive of “it.” If you haven’t kept your English Handbook from ENG 102, pick up a copy of Elements of Style by Strunk and White at the bookstore and read it carefully! All writing benefits from intelligent proofreading, done by someone other than the author. I have found that students who take their papers to the Writing Help Desk in Butler Library 214 for a little final polishing usually raise their grade by at least one letter.
Please consult your English Handbook or download the MLA Style Sheet from the Butler Library website. Several of you are having problems with internal citations, especially with Tolkien’s works. I will go over this in class on Thursday. Lydia Fish November 28, 2008, at 09:57 AM
Rough Drafts of your Papers
Some of these look very promising and the comments are good. Those of you who have not posted comments on the other students’ papers should do so before class on Thursday.
However, almost no one has included internal citations and a list of works cited and these are essential. I can’t judge your rough drafts until these are added, so please do so immediately. I have no way of knowing which ideas are yours and which ones you are getting from your sources.
A few of the papers are also a little short. Lydia Fish November 11, 2008, at 11:01 PM
Directions for your Research Paper
Your paper should be 3600 words (six pages) in length. (Of course you may make it longer if you like :-)) The title page and list of works cited are NOT included in the word count.
Your paper should be handed in as hard copy. Please use one-half inch margins and 1.5 spaces between lines; otherwise use standard MLA format for everything including the internal citations and the list of works cited. (There is a very nice MLA style sheet on the Butler Library website.) Your list of works cited does NOT need to be annotated. You should include a title page with your name, the title of your paper and the word count. Please do NOT fasten your paper together in any way.
A second copy of your paper should be posted on the wiki. Obviously, you don’t need a title page — just put your name, the title of the paper, and the word count at the top of the page. You also can’t number your pages — just remember that the internal citations and the list of works cited should be in proper MLA format.
You should have ten items in your list of works cited, including six articles from scholarly (peer reviewed) journals. (Of course you may use more sources if you like!)
The hard copy should be handed in on 4 December and posted to the wiki.
I will be happy to look at a draft of your paper. Just bring it to class in hard copy.
If I have made any comments about problems with spelling, punctuation or capitalization with your papers I strongly suggest that you take your final paper to the Writing Help Desk at Butler Library before handing it in! Lydia Fish November 11, 2008, at 10:30 PM
Thanks, Keilah. I thought it was 3600 words, but I wasn’t sure. As long as somebody else remembers it…it’s probably right.
Thanks Again! Joseph Bella? November 09, 2008, at 01:30 PM
Joe, I’m pretty sure she said that it was to be 3600 words which is approximately 6 single spaced pages. As for sources, there should be at least 10: 6 scholarly/peer edited articles and 4 other sources. Make sure your essay has a title too. I think this is all correct. If anybody else notices something wrong, let me know.
Keilah Bradley November 06, 2008, at 12:50 PM
What exactly was the guidlines for this final paper? Word-count, sources, etc, I mean. I know you mentioned it at the end of class last week, however I’d like it up here in writing so I can reference a solid directive, instead of what I can manage to remember.
Thanks Joe Bella? November 05, 2008, at 09:22 PM
I have cleaned up the Italics and lack of a title on my preliminary bibliography. I also switched out one source that happened to be a book review and replaced it with another. Lauren Brych? October 28, 2008, at 07:56 AM
I have cleaned up everything that needed to be thus far. Please let me know if there are any further corrections I need to make. Thank you. Keilah Bradley October 27, 2008, at 09:00 PM
Please let me know specifically what corrections you have made and I will look at them. Lydia Fish November 11, 2008, at 10:30 PM
I have cleaned up my prelimenary bibliograpy. Could you please look at it and tell me if I still have to revise it again. Trudy Antwi October 27, 2008, at 01:21 AM
I used the interlibrary loan last week to request four books. I have not yet gotten an e-mail or anything saying that the books are even on their way. What do I do or who do I talk to in the library about it????? Keilah Bradley? October 20, 2008, at 01:54 PMKeilah Bradley
Dear Keilah
Books take a while because they come via the USPS. However, I would think you should have had some sort of e-mail notification. Why don’t you ask at the Information Commons at Butler Library? Lydia Fish October 20, 2008, at 05:57 PM
Please make sure that you are caught up with ALL your assignments (including your comments on chapter two of J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century) by the next class meeting. If you revise an assignment please send me ANGEL mail so I can find your revision and read it immediately. Thank you and have a great weekend! I’m off to Albany for the meeting of the New York Folklore Society, so I won’t be checking my mail or the wiki again until Monday. Lydia Fish October 17, 2008, at 10:24 AM
If you have changed the topic for your paper, please post your new topic at the TOP of the page. If I have to keep scrolling down the page to look for changes I may easily miss something. Thanks!~ Lydia Fish October 12, 2008, at 10:39 AM
Bibliography from the Professor
On this link I have posted the titles of books in my own library which I think might be useful to you. All of you should check out this page! If a book sounds interesting add it to your preliminary bibliography and order from Interlibrary Loan immediately! Lydia Fish October 12, 2008, at 10:32 AM
According to my records, three students (Sarah Chudyk, Eligh Hanning and Brian Nocov) have not yet posted their LOTR links. If you have not done this because you are having trouble making links on the wiki please ask me or one of the other students for assistance.
Also, Joesph Bella, Sarah Chudyk, Jenelle Jones and Brian Nacov have not yet posted their comments on the Foreword of J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century.
Sarah Chudyk and Jenelle Jones, you have not yet posted the proposed topics of your research papers. Since the preliminary bibliographies for your papers are due on Thursday it is extremely important that you do this ASAP. Please post your topics at the TOP of the page!
Because this is a seminar, it is extremely important that all work be completed by the assigned date. Please post any missing work by the next class meeting and keep up! Lydia Fish October 11, 2008, at 06:43 PM
Please post your comments on chapter one of J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century, “The Hobbit: Re-inventing Middle-Earth” by midnight on Wednesday. Lydia Fish October 10, 2008, at 05:20 PM
Your preliminary bibliography should consist of ten items, six of which should be articles in peer-reviewed journals. (If you are having problems with the concept of peer-review look at the articles on “academic journals” and “peer review” in Wikipedia.) The only exception would be articles in the journals of the various Tolkien scholarly societies, many of which are not technically peer-reviewed.
The other four can be books or scholarly websites or other media. You can, of course, have as many items as you want, but ten is the minimum. If you list websites, make sure that the links work.
Please do not include the books of the trilogy or the films in your bibliography — we will just assume that you all are going to be using them. If you plan to use any of the documentaries or galleries in the extended editions of the films you should list them.
You may use any MLA style guide, but I find that Easybib is easiest and best. Lydia Fish October 10, 2008, at 03:57 PM
Most of the articles online as well as all of the books that I am finding for my topic have to be ILLiad. How are we supposed to post an annotated bibliography if we haven’t even gotten our sources yet? We were told that it could take at least a week to get each source that we request.
Please sign your posts!
Look at the subject headings. What terms are used that make you think this book or article will be useful to you? If there is an abstract, read the abstract. You can even include it as your annotation. This is a preliminary bibliography — it is only a list of books, articles and other media that you propose using to write your paper.
By the time you get around to writing your paper you may have found other or additional sources. Lydia Fish October 10, 2008, at 03:57 PM
The Journal of Popular Culture
- Academic Search Premier
- Literary Reference Center
- International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance with full text
- Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection and SocINDEX with full text.
- From Fall 1995 to present in International Index to Music Periodicals with full text
Are we still meeting in the library in the cyberquad (Rm 314) on Thursday? Keilah Bradley October 07, 2008, at 04:56 PM
Yes, we are meeting in Cyberquad, 314 Butler Library, on Thursday night. Please be on time! Lydia Fish October 07, 2008, at 06:17 PM
Please bring all your postings up to date:
- Clean up all your citations! Easybib will format them for you, including the annotations. Remember that we are using MLA format in this course.
- Make sure that four of the websites you have posted are of use to scholars — if you posted one that was “just for fun,” please designate it as such.
- Post your comments on the Foreword of J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century on the link on the home page before midnight on Wednesday (I finally managed to create the link — it seems that one can’t use periods in the name of a wiki link!)
- Post your proposed topic for your research paper ASAP — you need to get it approved before our library class on Thursday so you can start working on your annotated bibliography.
Please always post at the TOP of a wiki page, under the triple lines, and always sign your post by putting your name in the author box and entering four tildes after your post. (this is a tilde ~) Lydia Fish October 07, 2008, at 10:40 AM
I’ve commented on all the proposed topics posted so far and put up the page for your comments on the foreword to Shippey’s J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century. Just a few paragraphs will be fine — just state what you found interesting about it and what you learned that you didn’t know before.
Note: I TRIED to put up a link to a page about Author of the Century and the wiki won’t let me. I shall try to get hold of my wiki guru — until then, just hold onto your comments on the Foreword. If you run into trouble posting, please send me ANGEL mail and let me know.
I shall spend the afternoon on your papers on the Shippey article and shall hope to have them completed by bedtime!
This gives you a last chance to do any necessary editing on your lists of websites! Also, please remember that if you consulted any books, articles or websites when writing your papers on the Campbell film you should put a “List of Works Consulted” (in correct MLA format) at the end of your essay. Thank you, Keilah, for posting the Campbell and monomyth links from Wikipedia.
Please remember to place your posts at the TOP of the page and sign them by
- entering your name in the AUTHOR box and
- entering four tildes (this is a tilde ~) Lydia Fish October 05, 2008, at 12:11 PM
Thanks, these articles really helped me! Sarah Chudyk?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Campbell is a article that is useful. It is about Campbell. The monomyth article on wikipedia helped me out too. Keilah Bradley October 01, 2008, at 03:14 PM]]
What are the articles that we were suppopsed to read to help us write our essay? I thought one of them was on Jospeh Campbell, but there are no articles on wikipedia on him. Sarah Chudyk?Sarah Chudyk? October 01, 2008, at 09:08 AM
I finally revised my essay and I wanted you to glance throught it to see if I finally answered the part of the question about how Jackson ends the third movie. I know it is a long essay. Just glance through the most of it and read the ending to let me know if I answered the question or not. Hope you had a great weekend and you are feeling better. Trudy Antwi September 28, 2008, at 10:21 PM
Your assignment for next Thursday is to write an essay (approximately 800 words — longer is fine if you feel inspired) based on the film we watched in class tonight. How can Campbell’s ideas about myth be applied to Lord of the Rings? If you are a Star Wars or Harry Potter fan, include them as well. If you haven’t read the two articles from Wikipedia that I assigned for this week make sure you do so before you write your essay. I have put a link on the home page — just create a link and a page and post your essay. Lydia Fish September 25, 2008, at 08:52 PM
If you want to add something to your essays on the Shippey article in light of the comments I posted on your rough drafts please post them by Sunday night. Make sure that you have included a word count!
You also might want to have another look at your websites — some of your lists were a bit lightweight — and make sure that you have a total of five. Four of them should be scholarly; one can be “just for fun.” Please identify your “just for fun” website. Lydia Fish September 25, 2008, at 08:52 PM
Professor Fish: I just want to bring to your attention that I discussed what Shippey says about Tolkien’s narrative and view on evil starting in my first rough draft. Emily Marvin? September 24, 2008, at 08:11 PM
It is “scouring” of the shire, not “scourging” or “scoring.” Please use a dictionary!!!!! Lydia Fish September 23, 2008, at 02:17 PM
I have finally finished my comments on all the rough drafts. Again, I apologize for my tardiness, but you have had a very sick professor this week.
Shippey states:
None of you has addressed this issue. I gave you Tolkien’s famous essay on fairy tales to give you some material on his views on the endings of stories and not one of you has even mentioned it. This is one of the toughest things that Jackson had to deal with — did he, in your opinion, manage to incorporate any of Tolkien’s worldview into his films of the trilogy?
If you want to make some revisions to the final draft of your paper in response to my comments here or on the page where your rough draft is posted you may take a few more days. I won’t get around to looking at your papers until the weekend. Lydia Fish September 23, 2008, at 02:18 PM
I am sorry to be so late in commenting on your papers — I managed to come down with some sort of bug over the weekend.
The most common problem was staying on topic. The question I asked you was:
Anything that does not contribute to answering this question should be omitted from your paper.
Also, very few, if any, of you are dealing with Tolkien’s worldview — that’s why I gave you his paper on fairy tales to read!
Please run your paper through the spelling and grammar checks in WORD before posting it. Also, ask a friend to read it for typos — no one can proofread her/his own writing!
Put the word count at the beginning of your paper. Do not include your “List of Works Consulted” in the word count. Lydia Fish September 22, 2008, at 09:35 AM
Remember to use EasyBib when formatting your list of works consulted for the Shippey paper. It does all the work for you! Remember, too, that this is not a research paper — you do not have to include internal citations. Use MLA rather than APA style. Lydia Fish September 20, 2008, at 06:12 PM
I have sent you the papers I forgot to send last week, plus two short ones for this week, via ANGEL mail. I have also posted the syllabus, so you can get another copy if you misplace yours. I will post my comments on your rough drafts on Sunday morning. Lydia Fish September 20, 2008, at 06:07 PM
Professor Fish, would you please read my revised rough and tell me what you think? When I was writing it I was intending it to be my final draft.Emily Marvin? September 20, 2008, at 12:07 PM
I’ll post my comments tomorrow morning, I promise! Lydia Fish September 20, 2008, at 06:07 PM
Some people commented on my first rough draft and not my second rough draft. Sarah Chudyk?
Trudy, Lauren, Jenelle, Keilah and Carly: You comment on my first rough draft. Can you please comment on my revised version? It was already posted last week, but you probably missed the link.Emily Marvin? September 17, 2008, at 03:23 PM
I have requested that several of you revise your rough drafts. Please create a link “Revised Rough Draft of Shippey Paper” at the top of the page you created for your rough draft and post your revised version there by Sunday night. Do not just revise or replace the version of your paper now on the wiki — I need to see what improvements you made. Students should post their comments on the new page.
Some of you need to clean up the formatting of your rough drafts immediately — they are almost impossible to read! Remember that you must start all lines at the left margin of the screen (unless you use special wiki characters to indent or create a list) and that you must hit RETURN twice to create a line break. Otherwise you rlines will run together and go off the screen.
It is essential that all comments on the papers be posted by Wednesday night.
Please remember that ALL posts should be signed by putting your name in the author box and entering four tildes after your post. Lydia Fish September 14, 2008, at 10:50 AM
Here, at long, long last, are the links to the instruction video “Wiki 101″!
You can also get another copy of the TolkiWiki Cheat Sheet. Lydia Fish September 13, 2008, at 04:31 PM
One paragraph does NOT constitute a rough draft! You need to post at least a detailed outline of your paper and some notes on the points you intend to make so your fellow students and I can make comments.
I’m a little confused on the essay. Is it just about the Return of the King from book to film or all three books from book to screen? Sarah Chudyk
Sarah, I believe we are only concerning ourselves with the third book and the difficulties Jackson had in making it into a film. -Elizabeth Delano
Elizabeth is correct. Sarah, please read the document Directions for Essay on “From Page to Screen” on the home page of the wiki — it clearly states that this paper is about Return of the King.
All posts to the wiki should be made at the TOP of the page, under the triple lines. If you respond to a post, as Elizabeth did to Sara’s, your response should be posted directly under the post to which you are responding.
Please sign your posts by putting your name in the author box and entering four tildes (this is a tilde ~) after your post. Lydia Fish September 09, 2008, at 10:37 AM
Please remember that it is essential that you post a rough draft of your paper on the Shippey article before midnight on Wednesday night. Credit will not be given for late assignments without a medical excuse — since you are going to read and comment on each other’s posts they have to be available on the due date — not a few days later! Lydia Fish September 07, 2008, at 08:03 AM
This is a link to my incomplete notes on the Special Extended Edition of LOTR, which I thought you might find helpful when using the DVDs. If anyone would like to add information such as times on the videos or comments on their contents I would be eternally grateful! Please remember to sign your contribution by putting your name in the author box and entering four tildes so I can give you extra credit! Lydia Fish September 02, 2008, at 08:57 AM
I have been reading your posts from the first class — what a fascinating group you are! I am sending you a few short articles which you should have read before class on Thursday. I am also attaching another copy of the Shippey article “From Page to Screen” because I am not quite sure who missed it the first time. I will post directions for writing the paper on the Shippey article in a day or so. The general topic is the relationship between the book and the film of Return of the King. I strongly suggest that you watch the “Director and Writers” comments on the film — there are extensive discussions of the problems encountered in bringing the book to the screen. Lydia Fish September 01, 2008, at 01:49 PM
Just as a general announcement for everyone, when you change the title of a link, you will erase everything that you typed in that link. I learned this through personal experience. However, if this happens to you, you can click on the page history link at the right top corner and you can recover your work and paste it into your new link. Hopefully this saves you from the stress that I went through until I found this Donald Turner September 15, 2008, at 12:19 PM
