EXTRA CREDIT

VOTER REGISTRATION

Students who are registered to vote on or prior to October 9, 2012, are eligible for five points of extra credit. To get the credit, bring a photocopy of your voter registration card to class and give it to Dr. Halbert. Feel free to block your party affiliation: the goal is to know you are registered, not your party affiliation. Information about registering to vote in Montgomery County can be found here:

• Overview on how to register to vote in Montgomery County (http://voterservices.montcopa.org/voterservices/cwp/view,a,1459,q,31235.asp)
• Montgomery County Voter Registration Forms (http://voterservices.montcopa.org/voterservices/cwp/view,A,1459,Q,57457,voterservicesNav,|.asp)

Students eligible to vote in other areas can also get this extra credit. If you are unregistered, you will need to search your city or county's registrar of voters to get more information. My apologies to students who are not eligible to vote.

Possible Points: 5 points
Due Date: October 10, 2012 (if you register on the 9th but don't have card in hand, email Dr. Halbert for instructions)

ACTUALLY VOTE

While being registered to vote is great, it's pretty useless unless you actually vote. To encourage voting, I will give five points of extra credit to any student of mine who votes (regardless of who you vote for, which is none of my business). To get credit, take a picture of yourself in front of your voting place, preferably in front of the giant sample ballot that should be on display. Email the photograph to me and claim your extra credit. If you vote by absentee ballot, bring the stamped ballot to me before you vote. Remember: Election Day is Tuesday, November 6, 2012.

Possible points: 5 points
Due Date: November 7, 2012

Make Your Own Poe Video (Make up an absence)

I was surprised to find that a number of enterprising Poe enthusiasts had made their own video interpretations of Poe's poems and posted them on Youtube. I like this idea a lot, so I will give extra credit to any student who makes their own video of a Poe poem. Here are the rules:

• The poem must appear in its entirety so that the audience can see/hear the poem and actually digest it (i.e. don't flash it on the screen for a second): the audience has to experience his actual words some way.
• The video must be burned to CD or given to me on a jump drive to download onto my hard drive.
• You must post it on Youtube and post a link in the "Extra Credit" forum of the discussion board.
• You must leave it up all semester.

You may want to check out these examples: "Annabel Lee," "The Raven," or "Alone."

Also, here's a video without words that would not meet my rules, but it was disturbing enough that I thought I'd pass it along: "Annabel Lee."

Deadline: last day of class

Possible points: 8-20 points depending on quality OR removal of one absence.

Visit the National Constitution Center

Much of the literature we are reading in this course is based on historical events that actually took place in Philadelphia. For this extra credit option, visit the National Constitution Center and see the "Freedom Rising" performance. Bring your ticket stub (with date) as proof that you saw it and post a page-long, edited reaction to the presentation, focusing on the attitudes and issues the presentation tried to instill in viewers. Post your response in the "Extra Credit" discussion board forum.

Possible Points: 5-10, depending on Quality of response.

Deadline: Last Day of Class

Do a Grammar Revision of Your First Paper

See the instructions for the grammar revision here. Complete the assignment using the graded copy of Paper #1 as a guide. Post a copy in the Extra Credit forum of the discussion board. Attach the graded paper with my marks on it to the post along with a copy and paste + an attachment of the grammar revision.

Possible Points: 1 to 20 depending on quality and completeness of coverage.
Deadline: 8AM Thursday, December 13, 2012 (Start of Final Exam)