Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "CW 352"
COURSE NAME: "Creative Writing Workshop: Creative Nonfiction"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2024

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Elizabeth Farren
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MW 11:30 AM 12:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: EN 103 or 105 with grade of C or above
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This creative writing workshop is designed to help students develop their writing and editorial skills, as well as the reading habits necessary for the production of works of creative nonfiction. The class will focus upon the creative process and the generation of several different forms within the nonfiction genre including the personal essay, the memoir, travel writing, and the journalistic or magazine profile. Through the examination of superior examples of creative nonfiction, discussions, and critiques, students will become acquainted with the techniques and tools used to build an excellent portfolio of literary and journalistic pieces within the creative nonfiction genre.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

This is a creative writing workshop: our aims are to develop skills in reading, writing, and engaging critically with nonfiction. The workshop format means that you will be asked to share your own work and comment on the work of your peers. The workshop is an active seminar space designed to build critical confidence and guide students in various areas of craft. Our class will also have seminar sessions with discussions of a range of methods, authors and forms. Students will also regularly participate in in class writing exercises which are used as a way to help create a sustainable writing practice and an on-going relationship to artistic work.

Our classroom will be a supportive and respectful creative and critical space in which students can grow as writers and individuals. It is expected that by the end of the course students will have a heightened awareness of what poetry is and why it matters. They will also have developed their own talents as creative practitioners and made a chapbook of their work.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students completing this workshop course will be familiar with the skills needed to produce nonfiction , to self-edit work in progress, and to discern characteristics of quality nonfiction.

It is expected that by the end of the course students will have a heightened awareness of what nonfiction is and how to construct it with honesty. Students will finish this course with a completed chapbook, a short self-edited collection of non fiction essays: one piece of micro nonfiction, one personal essay, one piece of travel writing, and one piece of feature writing or memoir.

TEXTBOOK:

NONE

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
	see below
Writing and Final Portfolio	Around 30 pages of nonfiction. Students must complete a polished final portfolio which shows growth and development over the course of the class. Guidelines for the specific assignments will be posted in Moodle.	50
Reading journal and in class work	Students are required to read the provided texts, and they must respond to homework questions in their reading journals. They must also complete in-class writing prompts that will be ungraded but compulsory. All Moodle assignments must be uploaded by the assigned due date and time.	15
Participation and preparation	Students must not miss more than two classes. They are expected to actively contribute to discussion, peer editing, and workshop activities. Students who are later than 10 minutes may be counted as absent. Students who use their phone/messaging services in class will be counted as absent.	20
Conscientiousness of self-editing	Students must demonstrate a concerted attempt to self-edit and improve their work through revision and rewriting. Too, students must assist their peers by carefully reading their work and providing them thoughtful feedback (both in class and through written comments on the work itself).	15

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until ____________

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

Session	Session Focus	Reading Assignment*	Other Assignment	Meeting Place/Exam Dates
Week one	Flash nonfiction; introduction to literary nonfiction	TBA	workshop
Week Two	Storytelling techniques; introduction to the personal essay	TBA	workshop
Week Three	The "I"; language and development of identity in the personal essay	TBA	workshop
Week Four	Structure and memory in the personal essay; introduction to memoir	TBA	workshop
Week Five	Memoir development; fact vs fiction; truth telling at a slant	TBA	workshop
Week Six	The poetics of prose and voice in memoir; point of view and bias	TBA	workshop
Week Seven	Midterm Conferences	TBA
Week Eight	Introduction to the travel essay; onsite writing; observation and fact gathering; the power of details	TBA
Week Nine	Discussions of travel writing; the assimilation and appropriation of culture	TBA	workshop
Week Ten	Travel writing and humor; humor in nonfiction; authorial self awareness	TBA	workshop
Week Eleven	Introduction to the journalistic profile; the successful magazine profile; why subject matters	TBA	workshop
Week Twelve	Interviews; fact checking; making honest sentences	TBA	workshop
Week Thirteen	The language of journalism vs the language of creative nonfiction;	TBA	workshop
Week Fourteen	Discussion of portfolio construction; discussion of publication and submission processes	TBA	workshop
Week Fifteen	Class Reading; final workshops	TBA	workshop

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