MURPHY – ENGLISH 1102 - ONLINE

1.     How is this course different from in class?

Surprisingly, Murphy in-class is very similar to Murphy on-line because her classes use web-ct vista for turning in papers and communicating with her.

The difference will be that you are spared her long, boring opinion about the works you are reading. She will expect you to read the works and discuss them

without lectures. She will guide you online as you read each work through

Online assignments

2.     How will I know my deadlines?  What is due when?

Murphy in the web-ct vista course content publishes a whole segment on due-dates. Dates assignments are due appear in the syllabus as well. You have two access points to check due dates at all times.

3.     What if I don’t understand an assignment? How do I get help?

Murphy is very accessible – more so than machinery is accessible. In her world John Henry, the steel driving man, beats the pile driver. Furthermore, she trusts web-ct vista about as much as she trusts a used car salesman handing out ‘free’ Florida land to anyone willing to pay 200% interest on a car loan. All her students online are encouraged to phone her cell 24/7 as well as her home phone and office phone. Furthermore, she accepts work three ways: through regular web-ct channels; her email account at Darton; and if (when) all else fails – FAX.  The phone numbers and addresses for all these places are provided in the course guide.

4.     What is special about the way Murphy teaches?

Special is one of those code-words for weird.  Murphy is only interested in making you a better writer than you were when you first came into her class. She likes to write ‘with you’ during your preparation of papers and has devised a system whereby you can send unfinished papers for her to ‘correct’ or improve.  You are not expected to ‘invent’ the world of writing for yourself without a guide.  It would be like having to find your way through a swamp without a guide. Murphy is your guide and she takes the role seriously.

5.     What problems arise specific to ‘writing with’ your professor’s help?

Bottom line, time is the problem. Murphy will not assist you in working on a paper if you wait until the week it is due to begin your work.  There is not enough time to work through problems in a rough draft the week that paper is due. You are ‘on your own’ if you are unwilling to do your part by communicating with Murphy early enough in the process to get real help. This style of teaching requires you to begin essays early, get the help you need, and still meet your deadline.

6.     Will I be able to see the work of other students?

Yes. The quickest way to learn essay writing – especially writing about literature, which is the purpose of this class – is to see  what other students are producing. Therefore, Murphy will already have posted essays written by former students. (You can choose which to read, by interest in the subject or literature the student is critiquing.)  You will also be able to see your classmates’ work both in process and as finished essays.

7.     This course requires a term paper.  Can I choose my own topic?

No. Your topic will arise out of your first paper. For example, if your first paper

concerns Hemingway, your research will allow you to find what professional

writers are saying about the particular Hemingway story you have analyzed for yourself. (Research should always ‘fit’ a course.)

8. I still have questions.

Send an email to dale.murphy@darton.edu and she will help you privately.