Course syllabus
English Culture and Literature
604-103-MQ
Fall 2024
Field of Study: General Education
Discipline: English Culture and Literature, Level IV
Weighting: 2-1-3
Credits: 2
Semester: Fall 2024
Instructor: Monique Mainella
Online course: on Moodle and Omnivox
Availability: by appointment
Course description
1. General
604-103MQ is a general language course geared to advanced-level students of English as a
second language
2. Competency targeted:
o To deal in English with literary works and with social or cultural themes:
Course code 4SA3
3. Elements of the competency
o To present orally the analysis of a literary work or of a production with a social or
cultural theme in the original English version.
o To produce a written analysis of a literary work, originally written in English, or of a
production with a social or cultural theme.
o To revise and correct the text.
4. Course objectives
By the end of this course, students are expected to be able to:
o present a clear, coherent and structured message
o use relevant and supported arguments
o use an appropriate level of language amd register
o use proper nuances in vocabulary related to a topic
o show openness and respect
o produce a 550-word - oral or written - clear, coherent and well-articulated analysis
of a literary work or of a production with a social or cultural theme in the original
English version
o use an appropriate variety of sentence structures
o use new ideas and expressions
o a high level of accuracy in the application of the grammatical, syntactical and
orthographic codes
o use of nuanced vocabulary related to topic and of the appropriate level of language
and register
o use of efficient revision strategies and appropriate formatting
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4. Course contribution to program
As part of the general education component, this course enables students to develop their
critical and ethical thinking and to structure their ideas in a rational manner. It provides
situations that enable the students to exercise their creativity within a framework that goes
beyond mere reproduction or repetition, and allows students to explore new ideas and to
include new vocabulary in their productions.
Pedagogical methods
1. Lecture
This course will incorporate many of the ideas of the active learning classroom where the
student is required to take control and interact directly with the content of the course. There
will be a strong emphasis on creativity.
The students will explore notions, critically assess the quality of studied texts, and establish
links between various documents. The teacher will give introductory lectures and guide the
students in their in-depth class /home group /individual research projects/assignments.
Class work will include reading and discussions, listening and commenting as well as exploratory
and argumentative essay writing.
2. Participation
Students’ presence in class is mandatory. Students are also required to actively participate in all
class activities.
3. Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
To facilitate students’ active participation in class discussions, the Active Learning approach as
well as ICTs will be used. Students are expected to bring their laptops to each course. The
instructor reserves the right to decide when the use of the laptop is appropriate. All course
materials will be available online. Responsibility for checking the materials posted online
belongs to the students.
4. International dimension
The international perspective will be integrated in this course to sensitize students to
different customs, ideas, interests and values. While analyzing texts, students will be introduced
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to various geo-historical contexts. Through the study of various works of literature, non-fiction
texts and visual documents, students will be invited to think about how ideologies and artistic
creation have evolved over time.
Evaluation
1. Formative
Formative evaluations will be conducted on a regular basis to provide students with an
opportunity to practice the newly acquired skills, and in preparation for upcoming tests/exams.
Such evaluations may consist of all or some of the following tasks:
o formative listening and reading comprehension assignments
o various in-class and home practice writing tasks
o impromptu individual and group speaking activities
o practice oral presentations
o peer editing/correction
o practice individual/group text analysis exercises
o collaborative learning group achievement assessment
o self-evaluation
Individual corrective qualitative feedback will be provided by either the instructor or the
students to facilitate every student’s progress.
2. Summative
Assignment %/100
Week 3 The short story literary texts test 1 10%
Week 5 The short story literary texts test 2 10%
Week 6 Short story literary essay 10%
Week 12 Literary essay for novel number 1 20%
Week 16 Genius Hour Plan 5%
Week 15 Reading test: paragraph answers to course novel number 2 15%
Exam week Final exam: essay/reading (for both novels read in class) 30%
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Writing assignments: Your writing assignments will address the literary essay that is
argumentative. Some of these assignments will be done in class and will include a peer editing
component. Your writing assignments will also include responses to literature.
Group/forum discussions: On a regular basis you will be working in small discussion groups in
class.
Final exam: Your final exam will consist of a writing and reading component based on the texts
examined in class.
Quizzes: You will have two vocabulary related to the content taught in class and one poetry
test.
3. Pedagogical support
In order to provide individual student with additional explanations/clarifications personal or
group sessions will be given during regular office hours, or online.
Other Information
a. All the institutional policies concerning this course can be found on the school portal:
http://cisa.csadl.ca/portail.
b. Submission policy. Submissions are due at 11:59 pm on the deadline day. Each 24 hours
of delay will result in a 5% deduction from the grade for the assignment in question.
c. I will answer your emails within a maximum of 48 hours. I would expect the same from
you.
Documents and Materials
o Any edition of Educated by Tara Westover
o Any edition of The Handsmaid’s Tale by Mararet Atwood
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Schedule
This schedule is only a rough overview and may change depending on the students’ progress. A
detailed and updated schedule will be provided by the instructor. Each student is required to
check the schedule frequently.
Week 1 Diagnostic writing sample + questions
Expectations & requirements
Course description explained (pedagogical discussion)
Icebreaker
Week 2 How to analyze literature (note taking) Literary elements
Difference between short story and novel
Assign literary movement with groups
Discussion group leaders (discussion questions)
Expert group/base team (literary movement)
Short story discussion
Week 3 Expert group/base team (literary movement)
Short story discussion
lecture/videos (2 movements)
Literary essay methodology
Short story literature test 1
Week 4 Expert group/base team (literary movement)
Short story discussion
lecture/videos (2 movements)
Coming of Age
Week 5 Short story literature test 2
Introduction to Educated
Week 6 Interdisciplinary week
Week 7 Coming of Age and Short Story
Text analysis Educated
Group Discussion
Week 8 Text analysis Educated
Group Discussion
October 14-18 Reading Week
Week 10 Text analysis Educated
Group Discussion
Week 11 Text analysis Educated
Group Discussion
Essay methodology
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Week 12 Essay 2 due
Text analysis The Handmaid’s Tale Discussion groups
Podcast analysis
Week 13 Text analysis The Handmaid’s Tale
Discussion groups
Week 14 Text analysis The Handmaid’s Tale Discussion groups
Text analysis The Handmaid’s Tale Discussion groups
Week 15 Handmaid’s Tale reading test
Week 16 Genius hour analysis
Exam preparation
Week 17 Final exam preparation
Exam week Essay/Reading
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