Welcome to VCCS Litonline, a writing-intensive World Wide Web-based English 112-Introduction to Literature (English Composition II), developed for the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). Students in English 112 read, write about, and discuss a variety of literary works in a variety of situations to enhance their professional and personal reading and communication skills and to prepare them for other academic courses.

VCCS Litonline offers a full version of English 112 for students who are unable to attend classes on site or who are better able to succeed in electronic classes. VCCS Litonline also provides online resources for students taking other introductory literature courses.

Like other versions of English 112 in the VCCS, VCCS Litonline includes an introduction to the traditional genre classifications of imaginative literature--fiction, poetry, and drama--because these categories provide a convenient and comprehensible structure for an introductory course.

For their individual classes, professors design a class structure and select works and activities that demonstrate similarities and differences within each form and that allow students to interact within a class as well as to interact with students in other classes. Always check with your professor about the individual requirements for your class.

To emphasize the universality and diversity of imaginative literature as an expression of ideas and emotions, readings include works from various cultures and from differing segments of society as well as from a variety of time periods. These works have been selected both as examples of literary art and as reflections of individual, cultural, or critical perspectives.

ENG 112 has the following objectives :

• To introduce students to short stories, poems, and plays.
• To enhance students' appreciation and understanding of imaginative literature.
• To present strategies and activities to strengthen close and critical reading.
• To offer opportunities to think and write creatively and expressively.
• To encourage collaboration and communication.
• To strengthen skills in computer communication.

There is no required textbook for this course.

• All of the reading material is available online.

The primary objective of this class is for you to learn to analyze literature and to write a strong persuasive essay conveying that analysis.   To prepare for each paper, you will have a number of assignments to do leading up to it and then several steps in the actual writing of the essay.  All of these assignments are required, but only the polished essays and exams will be graded.  I will not grade a polished essay unless and until the assignments that precede it have been completed.

I will do my best to help you learn how to write clean, clear and focused essays.  Because my focus on writing may be different from that of other professors you've had, you may have lower grades on the first essays than you are accustomed to getting, and that's okay.  Learning anything is a process and this is not a difficult one, but it may take a few times.  My expectations will not change during the course, so once you understand how to write this kind of paper, you will be able to do so repeatedly.

As a result, I will try to assign you a grade in this class that represents the level of mastery you have acquired by the middle to the end of the course.  If you begin with two "C" papers, but end with "A's," I will not average your grades to give you a "B," but will give you an "A."

You may always revise a paper once to improve your grade.  I will give you the higher of the two grades. Please remember that  we have the same goal:  for you to learn how to analyze literature and to convey your ideas persuasively in a well written essay.  NEVER hesitate to ask me for help or for a meeting to work on things together!

There are 2 exams in this course. You are expected to take your examinations at one of the NVCC campus Testing Centers. Be sure to allow enough time to complete your exam before the Testing Center closes; Testing Centers have specific policies relating to the administration of ELI exams. You will need to take a photo ID, your NovaConnect empl ID number, and the appropriate Exam Pass when you go to the Testing Center.  

For Testing Center locations, hours of operation and policies, click here.

For information on taking exams outside of the metropolitan area, click here.

I am here to help you succeed in this course. Occasionally questions or problems may arise. Here is how to contact me when they do:

E-mail : nmctaggart@nvcc.edu
Telephone : (703) 878-5799

1. Use your web browser to connect to http://www.nvcc.edu/bbstart. Follow the directions to determine your email, Blackboard and VIVA account user names and passwords.
2. Access your email account and make sure you know how to use it; you will be required to use this account for all course-related email.
3. Log on to Blackboard at http://learn.vccs.edu.
4. Click on this course under "My Courses." Review the entire course to make sure you understand what will be required of you. Then start completing the assignments.

Please note that account generation takes approximately one week from the time of your paid registration. If you cannot log on after one week, contact the IT Help Desk. If you can log on to Blackboard, but your course isn't listed, please contact ELI or your instructor.