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Assignments

Portfolio submission

Submit your portfolio here 📥 (no registration required)

Deadline: August 4th, 2026.

The portfolio is a continuous record of your engagement with the assigned readings, built up entry-by-entry over the semester and submitted at the end of the term. The goal is to develop the habit of reading closely and thinking on paper. Clarity of thought matters more than correctness of expression.

Structure

One dated entry per class meeting. Each entry should include, but not necessarily in this order:

  1. Personal response — what you noticed, liked, disliked, or didn't understand. There are no wrong reactions.
  2. Questions - e.g. what was unclear, what you think is a good discussion question for a class, or for engaging with this text later.
  3. Glossary — a few words you looked up, with their meaning and a short note on why they stood out.
  4. Further research — anything you looked at beyond the text itself (Wikipedia, a YouTube video, an article), even briefly noted.
  5. Connecting to theory — try to link the text, even loosely, to an idea from Wolosky or Eagleton. This doesn't need to be a sophisticated argument — a sentence or two noting a connection or a tension is enough.

Do not separate your entry by topics (1-5), just make sure it has all elements. Your reflections should have a natural and logical progression and organization.

Length

As a rough guide: poems ~0.75–1 page, short stories ~1.5 pages, Godot ~2–3 pages. This is a guideline, not a strict requirement — what matters most is that every text on the syllabus has a genuine entry.

Evaluation criteria

Portfolios will be graded primarily on:

  • Completeness (an entry for every assigned text)
  • Evidence of genuine effort and engagement
  • Consistency across the semester (built gradually, not written the week before submission)
  • Presence of the five required elements in each entry

Language errors, awkward phrasing, or simple vocabulary will not be penalized.

Capstone Essay

At the end of the portfolio, choose ONE text from the syllabus to revisit for a longer analysis using Wolosky and/or Eagleton — ideally one where your original diary entry left a question unresolved, or where something in the text has stayed with you.

  • Stage 1 — Revisit. Reread your original diary entry for the chosen text, then reread the text itself (or the passage most relevant to your question).
  • Stage 2 — Essay. Write a 2–3 page essay building on your diary entry and your Stage 1 note. Use a concept from Wolosky and/or Eagleton to test, complicate, or develop your original hypothesis about the text. You must explicitly refer to your own earlier writing at least once.

Outline for the essay

Follow this structure: The Five Paragraph Essay