1 English 127, Section 8194 Creative Writing Spring 2016 Instructor: Dr. Stella Setka Email: [email protected] Course Description Welcome to English 127, an accelerated distance-­‐learning course conducted through Etudes (http://myetudes.org ). This course is an introduction to writing creative nonfiction and fiction. Students learn different ways to employ the elements of story in their own original literary works by discussing the works of respected writers. Assignments consist of practicing writing in various genres, peer reviews, writing logs, screen writing and journals. Prerequisite Skills Students must have successfully completed English 101 with a grade of C or better. Student Learning Outcomes At the end of the course, the successful student will be able to: 1. Write a work of fiction that dramatizes character conflict and advances plot. 2. Demonstrate a clear understanding of how respected writers articulate thoughts, feelings, emotions, and descriptions of people, things, situations, and events in imaginative and original ways. Required Texts All required texts are available in the Module folders (you can see the entire reading calendar on page 7 of this document). Readings will include excerpts from Method and Madness and various short stories. Suggested text: Method and Madness: The Making of a Story by Alice LaPlante. ISBN: 978-­‐0-­‐393-­‐
92817-­‐4. Note that some of our readings will come from this textbook. Technology All content, participation, and assignments will be facilitated online through Etudes (http://myetudes.org). To complete this course, you will need access to Ø A reliable internet connection and computer, Contents: Required Texts 1 Technology 1 Nuts and Bolts 2 Contact 3 & Communication Assignments 3 Participation 4 Grading 5 Policies 6 Calendar 7 2 Ø Etudes via Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, or Google Chrome (Etudes does not always work well with Internet Explorer), Ø WLAC Email Ø Microsoft Word Using Etudes: Once you log into Etudes and click on our course, you will see a menu on the left side of the screen. This menu is the easiest way to find the tools we’ll be using throughout the semester. Plan to check Announcements page frequently. Each week, I will post a learning module to the Modules page, which will include links to supplementary readings or presentations and instructions and links for completing the week’s participation activities. The other two tools we’ll be using frequently are the Discussion Board and the Assignments, Tests, and Surveys tabs. You are responsible for learning how to navigate the Etudes site on your own. User guides and how-­‐to videos are located here: http://www.wlac.edu/online/login.asp. Technical Assistance: If you need technical assistance, Distance Learning Support at [email protected] or by calling 310. 387.4305. Visit http://www.wlac.edu/online/index.asp for DL’s hours of operation, a description of their services, and helpful tutorials. If the support staff is unable to help you in a timely manner and the problem you’re having prevents you from participating or submitting an assignment on time, let me know immediately via email ([email protected]). A Note about Microsoft Word: LACCD students have free access to Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel through their student email account. To access the software, logon to your LACCD email and select “Word” from the menu on the upper left-­‐
hand corner. Next, you’ll have to sign on to Microsoft separately by entering your student email and password. The password combination is one of the following: • 8888 + Student Pin • 88 + Student Pin It's not the most intuitive process, but it is such a necessary tool for our students that it's well worth the effort (you’re getting a $125 software program for free!). Course Nuts and Bolts Schedule: At the end of this syllabus, you will find a schedule of readings and assignments. Assignments include Discussion Board Postings (5), Reading Responses (8), and Short Stories (3). Along the way, I will provide various kinds of supplementary materials, sometimes in the form of online presentations, PDF documents, and/or links to other websites. Be sure to read these supplementary materials and the assigned readings before completing the week’s participation activities. Also, be on the lookout for Weekly Wrap-­‐
Ups, which will typically be posted to the Announcements page on Sundays. Weekly Wrap-­‐Ups will address the assigned readings from the week before and will serve as my general response to the short stories we will be reading. Because this course relies heavily on student participation, it is paced, which means you have reading and writing assignments due every week. In order to provide you some flexibility in when you decide to complete assignments, I have made all assignments due Saturday at 11:59pm (Pacific Standard Time), unless otherwise stated in the calendar (note that Discussion Board assignments have two deadlines—see “Assignments” on page 3 for more information). Supplementary materials and instructions for completing the week’s participation activities can always be found on the Modules page in Etudes. 3 Attendance: Although this is a distance course, you will have many opportunities to engage with your classmates and me on a regular basis. I recommend that you log on to the course website at least 3-­‐4 times each week to check announcements, view course content, and complete participation activities. Readings: Keeping up with the assigned reading is crucial to succeeding in this class. Do realize that in addition to the substantial reading you’ll be completing each week, you’ll also be writing a lot based on what you’ve read. Complete assigned readings early in the week indicated on the Course Calendar prior to completing the week’s participation activities. Contact and Communication Asking questions is crucial to your success in class. There are at two ways to ask questions related to the week’s topics or assigned readings: Ø There is a Discussion Board forum entitled Questions about Course Nuts and Bolts, where you can ask for clarification on the syllabus, assignments, due dates, expectations, etc. I check this forum every few days, and I will answer every question within 72 hours (but often sooner). Everyone in the class will have access to your questions and my answers. If you have questions that are not relevant to the rest of class, do not hesitate to contact me privately: Ø Email ([email protected]) is the best way to communicate individual questions or concerns relevant only to you. For example, questions about a grade you received should be directed to me via email. I check email every day and will respond within 48 hours. Please do not use the Private Messages feature. Ø Skype Office Hours: I hold Skype Office Hours on Mondays from 11-­‐1. My Skype address is fellowships.at.lmu, but you can also find me by searching by my full name (Stella Setka). Assignments You will have three categories of assignments this term: Discussion Board Assignments, Reading Responses, and Short Stories. Ø The Discussion Board assignments require you to 1) create original work based on prompts taken from the excerpts assigned from Method and Madness, and 2) respond to the creative work of 2 of your classmates. You can find instructions for each required Discussion Board assignment in the weekly Module folders and in the Discussion Board forums themselves. You will have Discussion Board Assignments due the following weeks/dates: o Week 1 (1 initial post due 4/14; 2 response posts due 4/16) o Week 2 (1 initial post due 4/21; 2 response posts due 4/23) o Week 4 (1 initial post due 5/5; 2 response posts due 5/7) o Week 5 (1 initial post due 5/12; 2 response posts due 5/14) o Week 7 (1 initial post due 5/26; 2 response posts due 5/28) Ø Reading Responses (which you will find under the Assignments, Tests, and Surveys tab and described in the weekly Module folders) are an opportunity for you to write for my eyes only. These assignments require you to think about the narrative concepts you will learn by reading the excerpts from Method and Madness in relation to short stories by a wide variety of authors. You will have difficulty completing these assignments well if you short-­‐change the reading process. Strong creative 4 writers are avid readers. You will complete Reading Responses for each of the eight weeks of this course. Ø The three Short Stories assigned in this course will give you an opportunity to expand on a Discussion Board activity of your choice and enable you to incorporate (or at least consider) the feedback of your peers in the revision process. You can find the prompts for Short Story #1, Short Story #2, and Short Story #3 under the Assignments, Tests, and Surveys tab and in the weekly Module folders. Your stories are due the following weeks/dates: o Week 3 (4/30) o Week 6 (5/21) o Week 8 (6/4) Format: All three short stories must be submitted in Microsoft Word. Professor Feedback: I will not grade papers in advance or edit them for you, but I am always happy to answer specific questions, discuss topics, instructions, and the paper structure and format with you—either via email, via Skype, or in person. Submission: All short stories must be submitted as Word .doc or .docx attachments via the links located in the Assignments, Tests, and Surveys section of the course site. Late Policy: I will not accept late assignments. Due dates are posted above, in the Course Calendar and in the weekly Module folders. Grading: I will supply a rubric (a grading guide) with each assignment sheet, so you know how short stories are graded. I strongly recommend you compare each paper to the rubric before turning them in. It takes me 1-­‐2 weeks to return graded assignments. Participation Participation Protocols and Netiquette Ø On weeks when the discussion board activities are assigned, check them throughout the week and not just on the day work is due. Ø Avoid posting all your contributions on the same day and/or at the last minute. Adhere to the stated deadlines. Ø Class discussions are most successful when you read the responses that have been posted before yours and take them into the account when you’re composing your posts. Ø Address your comments to your peers, not to me. Ø Be professional and respectful in your postings. § The Discussion Board is a place to share your own creative work and offer feedback on the work of your classmates—that is, in the written equivalent of a face-­‐to-­‐face discussion. However, because this is an academic setting, you should always aim for carefully composed posts. This means making sure your writing is clearly composed and offers thoughtful, sensitive critique aimed at helping your classmates improve their craft. 5 Think carefully about being humorous or sarcastic; it’s very easy for tone to be misinterpreted in a non-­‐face-­‐to-­‐face setting, and something meant to be harmless might easily be read by someone else as offensive. § Note that using all-­‐caps is the written equivalent of SHOUTING, so avoid using them too frequently. § Avoid emoticons or text-­‐messaging shorthand. Ø Respect the expectation of privacy set up by this class and refrain from inviting non-­‐class members to read other students’ postings without their permission. Ø Please do not delete postings. Late Policy: As with a face-­‐to-­‐face course, Discussion Board activities cannot be submitted late or made up later because they depend on interaction with your peers. This means I will not read or grade any Discussion Board activities submitted after 11:59pm on the day they are due. Discussion Board Checklist: Ø Do your original posts follow the assignment instructions? Ø Do your posts meet the minimum length requirements? Ø Have you met the minimum number of required posts and responses? Ø If you are responsible for generating a discussion, did you post early enough to give your peers time to respond? Ø When you’re required to respond to your peers’ posts, do you take them into account (as opposed to ignoring the posts submitted before yours and responding only to my question or prompt)? §
Grading Your grades will be available to you on Blackboard, one to two weeks after assignments are due. Grades are assigned as follows: Discussion Board Assignments (5) 300 points (60 points each) Reading Responses (8) 400 points (50 points each) Short Story #1 100 points Short Story #2 100 points Short Story #3 100 points Total 1,000 points Course grades are determined by the following percentage scale: A 90-­‐100 D 60-­‐69 B 80-­‐89 F 0-­‐59 C 70-­‐79 All grades take into account these criteria: Ø A indicates work of exceptional quality. "A" work addresses assignments thoroughly, appropriately, and insightfully. 6 Ø B indicates work of above average quality. "B" work exceeds baseline expectations and addresses assignments thoroughly and appropriately. Ø C indicates satisfactory completion of assignments. "C" work meets baseline expectations but may need some revision to successfully meet the goals of assignments. Ø D indicates unsatisfactory but passing work. "D" work lacks the strength necessary to successfully complete assignments. That may include failure to address instructions; unclear focus or purpose; or confusing content, structure, or form. Ø F indicates failing work, or work that does not meet stated expectations. Policies Academic Dishonesty: I follow the LACCD student code of conduct as it relates to student dishonesty (Board Rule 9803.28): "Violations of academic integrity of any type by a student provides grounds for disciplinary action by the instructor or college. Violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to, the following actions: cheating on an exam, plagiarism, working together on an assignment, paper, or project when the instructor has specifically stated students should not do so, submitting the same term paper to more than one instructor, or allowing another individual to assume one’s identity for the purpose of enhancing one’s grade. For more on the college’s policies regarding Student Conduct, see http://www.wlac.edu/academics/pdf/WLAC_Catalog_Policies.pdf. Disability: If you have any learning or physical disabilities, please contact the Disabled Student Programs and Services Office in HLRC 121 at (310) 287-­‐4450. The DSPS will then contact your instructors to notify them of needed accommodations, such as additional testing time, note taker, etc. Do not be embarrassed to seek help. Disabilities are not a reflection of who you are, but of how your brain works. Understanding how you learn is to the first step to success. 7 Course Calendar ***Note that reading list and assignments are subject to change*** Below is a schedule of course topics, readings, and assignments. Each week’s readings should be read in the order that they appear here. Please complete the assigned readings before completing the writing assignments. Week & Topic Readings (all reading assignments listed in this column are located in their respective Module folders as PDF documents) Assignment due (all assignments are explained in greater detail in the Module folders): Week 1 4/11-­‐4/16 “What is This Thing Called Creative Writing?: The Basics” “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe “August 2016: There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury All assignments are due by 11:59pm 1. Discussion Board Assignment # 1 (Part 1 due 4/14; Part 2 due 4/16) 2. Reading Response #1 due 4/16 Week 2 4/17-­‐4/23-­‐ “The Gift of Not Knowing: Writing as Discovery” “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates “Woman Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros “Details, Details: The Basic Building Blocks” “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson “Why You Need to Show and Tell: Dramatizing and Narrating” “Brownies” by ZZ Packer “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor All assignments are due by 11:59pm 1. Discussion Board Assignment # 2 (Part 1 due 4/21; Part 2 due 4/23) 2. Reading Response #2 due 4/23 Week 3 4/24-­‐4/30 Week 4 5/1-­‐5/7 All assignments are due by 11:59pm 1. Short Story #1 due 4/30 2. Reading Response #3 due 4/30 All assignments are due by 11:59pm 1. Discussion Board Assignment #3 (Part 1 due 5/5; Part 2 due 5/7) 2. Reading Response #4 due 5/7 8 Week & Topic Week 5 5/8-­‐5/14 Week 6 5/15-­‐5/21 Week 7 5/22-­‐5/28 Week 8 5/29-­‐6/4 Readings (all reading assignments listed in this column are located in their respective Module folders as PDF documents) Assignment due (all assignments are explained in greater detail in the Module folders): “Who’s Telling This Story?: Point of View” “I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen “Race and the African American Writer” by James Baldwin (please read this essay before reading the following story) “Going to Meet the Man” by James Baldwin “How Reliable Is This Narrator?: How Point of View Affects Our Understanding” “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman “The Tell-­‐Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe “He Said, She Said: Crafting Effective Dialogue” “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan All assignments are due by 11:59pm 1. Discussion Board Assignment #4 (Part 1 due 5/12; Part 2 due 5/14) 2. Reading Response #5 due 5/14 “What Happens Next?: Figuring the Plot” “The Flower” by Louise Erdrich “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker All assignments are due by 11:59pm 1. Short Story #3 due 6/4 2. Reading Response #8 due 6/4 All assignments are due by 11:59pm 1. Short Story #2 due 5/21 2. Reading Response #6 due 5/21 All assignments are due by 11:59pm 1. Discussion Board Assignment #5 (Part 1 due 5/26; Part 2 due 5/28) 2. Reading Response #7 due 5/28