Project 1 Guidelines: Arthurian Fanfiction

Description: Project 1 has two components: a piece Arthurian of fanfiction original to you and a
reflection of your fanfiction writing process.

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to help you critically engage with some of the many
works of the Arthurian literature by placing you in the position of author. In the process of
creating your piece of fanfiction, you will,

• Select which texts you will use as your personal canon, thus acting as your sources of
inspiration.
• Negotiate how you want to interpret the characters you use, thinking about how they have
been interpreted in the past.
• Consider what kind of plot and setting are appropriate to achieve your creative writing
purpose.
• Reflect on how your writing process is affected by what other writers in the past have done
with the same material.
• Practice using other’s ideas to articulate your own.
• Practice peer review in a positive manner that critiques but does not diminish another’s
work.

Audience: Throughout your writing process, you will be writing primarily for your peers in the
class who are familiar with the works listed on the syllabus.

Assessment and Grading

Fanfiction Grading: Grading is distributed into two parts. Part 1 is the Arthurian Fanfiction
piece. It is worth 30 % of your project’s total grade. You are not being graded on the creative
quality of your work, rather you are being graded on your engagement, which is measured by
your completion of a piece of fanfiction. Thus, the fanfiction piece is graded on a complete, half-
complete, and incomplete scale.

Fanfiction Grading Scale:

Complete = 30/30 – You will earn a complete grade if your fanfiction piece meets the minimum
word count of 1000 words. The piece should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. There
should be at least two characters from any of the works covered in class present in your own
work.

Half Complete = 15/30 – You will earn a half complete grade if your piece meets a minimum
word count of 500 words. There should be at least two clear scenes with explanations as to what
happens in between the scenes you have written.

Incomplete = 0/30 – You will earn an incomplete grade if your piece is less than 500 words or is
not submitted.
Reflection Grading: The second portion of your grade is made up of your reflection of your
fanfiction writing process. This portion makes up 70% of this project’s total grade.

A (100%) – An A reflection will critically reflect on your fanfiction writing choices. The paper
will make specific references to at least three or more texts discussed in class and will discuss
how those texts influenced your fanfiction piece. This process of reflection will demonstrate how
you situate yourself in the Arthurian canon. An A reflection will also discuss your choices in
terms of character, setting, plot, and theme. Reflections will have a clear sense of organization,
specific examples from the author’s work to support claims about the process and explains the
significance of your choices.

B (85%) – B papers contain many of the same elements as an A paper. These papers will make
references to at least two or more texts discussed in class and how those texts influence your
fanfiction piece. B papers will also discuss your choices in terms of character, setting, plot, and
theme. B papers maintain a sense of organization. B papers explain the process behind their work
most of the time, but skims over others. B papers attempt to explain the significance of their
choices but may not always be clear to a reader.

C (70%)– Papers lack the specifics of an A or B paper. They use generalizations to discuss their
writing process while giving only one or two examples from their own work. C papers only
references one work from the works read in class. C papers only explain their process some of
the time and do not attempt to explain the significance of your choices. C papers may also lack
structural integrity and come off as rambling.

D to F – Papers that do not address the author’s creative process or fail to mention any of the
works discussed in class will receive a D or lower grade.

Format: Both the fanfiction and reflection component will be submitted together as one
document on ELC.

Either piece may come first, but keep in mind how you need to edit the reflection piece
depending on whether it comes first or second. For example, if your reflection is your second
component, you don’t need to summarize your piece because your audience will have already
read it. If your reflection is acting as a critical introduction, a summary of your work may be
necessary to make your points clear to readers.

Remember to clearly title your reflection and your fanfiction to make it clear to readers which
one is which.

Timeline

Week 2: Project Introduction

Week 4: Drafting on Wednesday

Week 6: Peer Review Forum

Week 7: Project 1 Due

 Project 2 Guidelines: Negotiated Identity
Description: Project 2 is a comparison essay. It is divided into three broad parts. In part 1, you
will analyze an example of your own writing where you have constructed your identity. This
might be a resume, a social media profile, or a biography. If you don’t have any of these
materials already, you might use this as an opportunity to write one. You should include your
writing as an appendix at the end of the project.
In part 2 you will examine how Queen Elizabeth I works to construct her identity through her
writing or portraiture, or you will examine how Edmund Spenser attempts to construct an
identity for her through characters in Book 3 of The Faerie Queene.
In part 3, you will reflect on the strategies used parts 1 and 2 to create identity. What strategies
were used? How were they influenced by the specific context and power dynamics of those
involved? What were the purposes of each strategy? How effective were they in each context?
Was there any overlap in the strategies used or were the contexts too different for any rhetorical
comparisons?
Purpose: The purpose of this project is to get you thinking about how identity is at least partially
constructed through writing and how context affects that writing and identity creation.

Audience: Throughout your writing process, you will be writing primarily for your peers in the
class who are familiar with the works listed on the syllabus.

Assessment and Grading

A (100%) A papers will examine each part using specific examples from your writing and
Elizabeth’s or writing or portraits or Spenser’s writing. The context of all examples are made
explicit. Particular attention is paid to the rhetorical situation of the pieces: their purpose,
audience, medium, and context. Discussion of the effectiveness of each piece is also included.
Comparisons will examine both the context and the strategies used by you and Elizabeth or
Spenser although they may come to the conclusion that the two have little in common. A papers
discuss what the comparison illuminates about either writing situation and the limitations of the
comparison.
B (85%) B papers will use some specifics from your writing and that of Elizabeth / Spenser’s but
may rely heavily on summary. The contexts and the rhetorical situations are covered with an
emphasis on the example’s rhetorical situations: their purpose, audience, medium, and context.
Comparisons will examine both the context and the strategies used by you and Elizabeth /
Spenser although they may come to the conclusion that the two have little in common.
C (70%) C papers will rely heavily on summary of your writing and that of Elizabeth / Spenser’s.
There are little to no specific quotations. The contexts are briefly covered but have little
description of the rhetorical situation. Comparisons in part 3 make claims without supporting
evidence. In cases where the writer says there is no fair comparison there is not explanation as to
why.
D-F Papers are missing major components, lack critical discussions of the work, and make little
or no attempts to explain any of the writings’ rhetorical situations.

Timeline
Week 6: Project Introduction
Week 9: Project Drafting Workshop
Week 10: Project 2 Due
 Project 3 Guidelines: Staging Witchcraft
Description: After looking at the theatrical traditions of the early modern period and thinking
about the plays in the context of their original audiences, it’s time to start looking at these plays
through a 21st century lens. In this project, you’ll be tasked with bringing one of these plays to a
modern audience. Using Waklet, you’ll gather and present ideas for performance spaces, set and
costume designs, potential actors and more. Think of Waklet as an idea board. For each item,
you’ll describe how they enhance or diminish themes in the play and why you think those
choices will make your production relevant to a modern audience.
Purpose: By putting together a Waklet that updates a performance for modern readers you will,
• Consider themes in the texts that still resonate today
• Examine how performance reception is influenced by more than just the text
• Practice communicating through text, images, and links
Audience: Throughout your writing process, you will be writing primarily for your peers in the
class who are familiar with the works listed on the syllabus.
Assessment and Grading
A (100%) A Waklet exhibits will consider at least 4 areas of performance design choices.
(Examples include but are not limited to set space, set design, actors, costumes, music, lighting,
use, modernization or cutting of the text.) Exhibits make use of Waklet’s ability to combine
images and text. They describe how the images relate to your goals for their production, and how
your choices either enhance or downplay themes in the text. Additionally, A exhibits will discuss
the significance of choices and how you anticipate an audience would react to your performance.
B (85%) B Waklet exhibits consider at least 3 areas of performance design choices. Exhibits
make use of Waklet’s ability to combine image and text. They describe how the images relate to
your goals for the production and how those choices enhance or downplay themes.
C (70%) C Waklet exhibits consider only 2 areas of performance design choices. Exhibits may
not make use of Walklet’s ability to combine text and images, or there is little discussion of how
the images relate to your design choices. There is little or no discussion of how the choices
enhance or downplay themes in the text.
D-F Waklet exhibits are superficial at best. Little or no effort is made to discuss the text or how
the images relate.
Timeline:
Week 10: Introduction to Project 3
Week 12: Project workshop day, Wednesday
Week 14: Project workshop day, Wednesday
Week 15: Optional Project workshop day, Monday
Project Due during or before the Final Exam period
 Weekly Cohort Forum Directions
Description: Each week, a forum will be created for members of your cohort. There will be a
specific prompt each week, most often related to the current unit project. Sometimes this will be
in the form of drafts other times it may be an opportunity to express ideas about the week’s
reading.
Cohort members as well as the professor will respond to your post every week.
Forums will open every Monday. Initial posts should be made by Friday or sooner to
accommodate your cohort members. Replies to your cohort members’ posts are due by the
following Monday at noon.
Purpose: The goal of the forum is to give you an opportunity to keep writing and exploring ideas
relevant to the course’s readings or projects. This is intended as a space for you to try out ideas
and get feedback from your peers before the end of each unit and the submission of each unit’s
project.
Grading Scale: Each week’s forum is worth 10 points. You will earn 5 points for your initial
post. You will earn 2 points for each of your replies and until you have replied to all of your
teammates.
Dropped Forum: To accommodate student’s busy schedules, you can skip two week of postings
and two weeks of response.