UMUC-Europe Syllabus

(Fulfills the general education requirements in communications.) Prerequisite: ENGL 101. An introductory study of creative writing designed to develop critical awareness, creativity, and skill in writing and analyzing poems and short stories.

Course Goals/Objectives:

* demonstrate the control of language and style required when writing formal poetry and free verse, creative nonfiction, short stories, and drama * identify key elements of formal poetry and free verse, creative nonfiction, short stories, and drama * demonstrate an understanding of formal poetry and free verse, creative nonfiction, short stories, and drama * show an ability to critically read and analyze poetry, creative nonfiction, short stories, and scripts, including live performances or films * assess your own and peer writing to better understand effective creative writing.

Course Introduction:

The first questions you may have about this course may relate to how it differs from other undergraduate writing or literature courses. On the one hand, all writing is communication! When you put your ideas into words, you are "encoding" your thoughts into a symbolic code called language; when your readers read, they are "decoding" your symbols into thoughts. When you communicate in writing you have an intention. You want readers to feel a certain way or understand something specific when they've finished your text. Therefore, when we study writing, we think about how to achieve our intent as writers. On the other hand, there is a difference between what we call primarily expository writing or primarily creative writing. When you do expository writing--the kind of writing you use in academic papers--you are employing language to accomplish tasks such as explaining ideas or providing information. In research papers, you are concerned with such factors as clear organizational structures, a systematic progression of ideas, clarification of abstract terms, or logical conclusions. When you do creative writing, you are developing fictitious, poetic or dramatic texts. In these texts you will more likely focus on such aspects of language as rhythm, sensory impression, symbol, dialogue or action. You are not so concerned with the logical structure of your text, but the flow of your ideas and the way you draw your reader into your world--a world of immediate sensory experience, emotions, and subjective meaning. Because the goals and the means of the creative piece are different than those of the expository piece, the elements of craft differ in some respects; nevertheless, as in expository writing, there is a process of drafting and revision. As in expository writing, there are techniques that can be learned, in this case, those of dialogue, description, poetry, or plot construction. Like literature courses, our course will include some analysis of poems or stories. However, although our discussions of fiction will include the examination of critical criteria, we will focus on the perspective of criticism in order to get at the process of creating. Published or peer work will be read with the purpose of discovering the author's purpose in using a specific element of structure, style or content, rather than in judging the general aesthetic value from the standpoint of critical approaches. Students will be asked to consider purpose of their work, in terms of their readers. Discussions may focus on such problems as alienation and identification of a reader with a character, and how these may be achieved, or how layering may serve to make a text denser and richer. Other discussions may focus on such topics as the advantages and disadvantages of formula plots or the use of standard conventions or stock characters. The exploration of themes will depend in part on the projects developed by the members of the class.

Grading Information and Criteria:

Assignments will be weighted as follows: Class Activities—20 points Poem—15 points Short story—35 points Proctored Final Exam (Memoir)—30 points Total—100 A = 90-100 (excellent) B = 80-89 (good) C = 70-79 (average) D = 60-69 (unacceptable)

Other Information:

Class Activities: All in-class activities are obligatory. The minimum requirement for average participation is the completion of all class activities and consistent presence in the classroom discussions (to include two posting days per week). The minimum requirement for above average participation is, over and above all requirements for average participation, consistent adherence to deadlines and assignment guidelines, as well as thoughtful interaction with peers. The minimum requirement for excellence in participation is, over and above all requirements for above average participation, evidence of discussion leadership, particularly focused, useful and constructive response to peer work. The grade of "I" (Incomplete) is reserved for extreme circumstances and is not guaranteed. To request an "I," students must have completed at least 60 percent of the coursework.

Project Descriptions:

Class Activities: In the weekly activities you'll be asked to practice specific aspects of craft—creating bits of dialogue; describing settings; narrating daydreams; developing ideas for plots; relating memories; or describing characters you imagine. These activities will be your oyster bed, full of potentially developing pearls (or things that don't turn into pearls but merely remain an irritation in your 'shell'). Some activities will be connected to a formal assignment (workshops in which you will develop ideas to be used in a formal assignment) while others will be merely "for practice." I will often ask you to respond to the work of your peers on the basis of clearly identified reader-response guidelines. The criteria for grading this work (see participation guidelines under grading section) will be the consistent timeliness of your submissions, adherence to activity guidelines, the quality of thought that has gone into your entry, as well as the precision and constructiveness with which you respond to the work of your peers. Poem You will be required to complete 12 lines of poetry. You will have a choice of writing 4 haiku (3 lines each) or one 12-line poem in free verse style. Prior to submission, you will have a chance to work on your poem in class. The grade for the poetry assignment will reflect your success in adhering to assignment guidelines, your effective use of the writing workshop to develop your work, and the effectiveness of your revision, based on my comments to the workshop draft. Short Story After we've completed our work with poetry, we will begin working on prose. In class you will engage in workshop activities designed to give you practice in the craft of writing fiction and help you produce ideas for a short story of 1500-3000 words. Ideally, your project will evolve out of our class activities. My goal will be to conceive a writing project that will be realistic in terms of the time required to complete it and the demands it places on your mastery of craft. The grade for the short story will reflect the effective use of the elements of craft introduced in class (plot, setting, characterization, dialog, imagery, scene, summary) as they are appropriate to your story, as well as the effective revision, based on my comments in the short story workshop, where plot ideas and/or drafts have been submitted.

Academic Policies:

Cases of plagiarism are handled consistent with current UMUC guidelines. See the UMUC policies at the following URL: http://www.umuc.edu/policy/

Course Schedule:

Week 1 Read: Module 1 Commentary Read: Burroway--Ch. 9 Poetry (309-336) Activity: What is poetry? Tip: To find this week's reading assignment in the course modules, go into the modules—they are under Course Content—and click the Module 1 link. The overview will appear. Go ahead and read this. Then look at the sub-menu at the top of the tabbed page. Click the item entitled "Commentary" to display your reading assignment. Week 2 Read: Burroway--Ch. 1 Image (3-14) Read: An Introduction to Haiku (web reading) Activities: Imagery & Figurative Language; Haiku Workshop: Planning and preparing your poem Week 3 Activities: Imagery & Figurative Language; Haiku (cont.) Workshop: Planning and preparing your poem (cont.) Poetry assignment due Week 4 Reading: Burroway-- Ch. 8 Fiction (273-283) Reading: Commentary for Module 3: Fiction Activity: Plot; Character Week 5 Reading: Burroway--Ch.5 Story (163-172); Ch. 3 Character (79-92) Activity: Character (cont.); Setting Workshop: Short story proposals Week 6 Reading: Burroway—Ch. 2 Voice (37-49); Ch. 4 Setting (131-142) Activity: Dialogue Workshop: Planning and preparing your short story; Peer response Week 7 Workshop: Planning and preparing your short story Activity: Finding a topic for your memoir topic; Peer response Week 8 Read: Commentary for Module 2: Creative Nonfiction Read: Burroway--Ch. 7 Creative Nonfiction (237-248) Activities: Planning your memoir; Reader engagement & personal experience Week 9 Workshop: Drafting the memoir; Peer response Week 10 Proctored Exam