ENG 107 Carter F18 - Course Syllabus PDF

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ENG 107-010: Introduction to Imaginative Writing: We are our words. TR @ 12:30-1:45, KAS 213 Michael W Carter Office: POT 1265 / Office Hours: TR 11:00-12:00, and appt. Email is the preferred contact method, or talk with me after or before class. Phone: 257-7003 / Email: [email protected] This introductory course in creative writing will explore the various genre: we will play with poetry, fiddle with fiction and nonfiction, as well as grace our souls with other genre. The class will read and discuss literature in various delightful forms to help us understand technique and voice, and practice writing and critiquing our own writing. We will often work in small groups (depending on the number enrolled) as a workshopping method for finding our voices as writers, and for helping our classmates find theirs. By the semester’s end, we will have a mini portfolio of writing. This course fulfills the UK Core requirement for Intellectual Inquiry in Arts & Creativity. REQUIRED TEXT: Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft (4th ed., Janet Burroway) REQUIRED MATERIALS & MISCELLANEOUS NECESSITIES: -- a notebook of some sort for your journal and freewriting assignments (separate from your lecture notes). -- access to a printer + paper for making copies -- access to Canvas [available at beginning of semester] -- access to UK library databases STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES: 1. Students will demonstrate active engagement with the creative process. They will create and submit creative nonfiction, fiction, and poems (or other genres). 2. They will read and discuss various published creative works. 3. They will learn and apply basic tools, forms, “rules,” and literary elements of the three primary genres being studied. 4. They will be able to judge the effectiveness and limits of the aforementioned as they create works for an audience. 5. They will be able to apply the skills of close reading, editing and proofreading in preparing creative works for an audience. 6. They will be able to critique the work of peer writers.

7. They will become better readers of their own and others’ works. 8. They will be able to participate in discourse about creative writing in general and discuss creative writing using appropriate terms knowledgeably and confidently. 9. In peer critiques, as well as in their own creative work, students will demonstrate mastery of the terminology and analytical procedures appropriate to workshopping. 10. They will be able to evaluate the results of their own creative writing and use that evaluation to refine their own works.

REQUIREMENTS and GRADING: THREE CREATIVE PIECES, 15% each = 45% of final grade These creative pieces (creative non fiction, short story, poetry, each unit 5-10 pages) will come from freewriting exercises and other work from the text. These will be the drafts for our final portfolios; you will receive these drafts with comments for improving them. Though they are called “drafts” each piece should be in what you consider a finished work, not simply some rough, unrevised and thrown together submission just to meet a deadline. You will receive a separate rubric for each of these assignments with the due dates. PORTFOLIO = 30% of final grade The portfolio will contain ONE full-length creative nonfiction (cnf) piece; ONE full-length short story; and up to FIVE poems (each completed final portfolio submitted should be ~15-30 pages, excluding already submitted assigned drafts). Formats for the works will be discussed in class (and in our text). These works will be revisions of the previously submitted creative pieces. You may substitute a short play for one of the other genre, but it will also need to be a revision of a submitted work. The portfolio will be due the last class meeting (12/06). A collective letter grade will be given to the portfolio as a whole. Failure to submit a complete portfolio will result in an E for your final course grade. REGULAR UNSCHEDULED QUIZZES (on readings and terms) = 10% of final grade Quizzes will be short. Not all quizzes will be announced in advance. Final quiz grades will be tallied for the quiz portion of the grade. PARTICIPATION and ATTENDANCE: 10% It should be apparent at all times that you are reading and responding to all work by your peers, doing the exercises in our text and posted on Canvas, doing the assigned writing, and reading all assigned pages in our text --etc. (Quizzes -- scheduled and unscheduled -- will indicate how much you’re actually reading.)

MID-TERM EXAMINATION, October 12: 5% (primarily a review of terms discussed in the class).

FINAL CUMULATIVE TEST: We have no final examination in this class; hence, the portfolio on the last class meeting, December 6. As you see the grades for the course are determined primarily by your writing. Grade Scale 90-100 =A 80-89 = B 70-79 = C 60-69 = D < 60 = E

COURSE POLICIES: Assignments are due on the days listed or set in consultation with me. Quizzes cannot be made up without a valid excused absence. Late assignments earn ZERO (0) points. Failure to submit the copy of drafts of the creative nonfiction essay OR the short story OR the poem (s) when due for workshops will cost you a full letter grade EACH from your final grade for the course. (You might want to read that again.) ATTENDANCE: This is an English class in which discussion, listening, in-class writing, participation, and inclass guidance are absolutely essential. Full attendance is expected. Students will be allowed three unexcused absences without penalty. Absence 4 and 5 will cost you one letter grade from your final grade for the course. Six (6) unexcused absences (20% or more of the class sessions), and you cannot pass the course and will receive an E for the course (if you are having problems though, talk with me). During the second week of class you will take a seat that you will be sitting in for the entire semester, since attendance will be taken by the seat number and your name matched to that specific seat.

CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR: You should know by now that civility is expected in every classroom. In addition, I will expect you to refrain from using your cellphone, from texting, from fiddling with any electronic device of any sort -if I see that behavior, I may mark you absent and/or ask you to leave the classroom. You may bring well-contained drinks to class but please NO FOOD. Do not gab with others during class when I’m speaking or when others are addressing the class, it’s rude and disruptive. If you have some verifiable reason for needing to use a laptop during class, let me know; otherwise, you may NOT use a laptop during most class sessions unless we are using them for the classwork that day. Students who are texting or otherwise using cellular devices not related to class work will be asked to leave the class and receive an unexcused absence for the day.

EXCUSED ABSENCES: (Rule one, email me about any absence when it occurs, before if possible). Students need to notify the instructor of absences prior to class when possible. S.R. 5.2.4.2 defines the following as acceptable reasons for excused absences: (a) serious illness, (b) illness or death of family member, (c) University-related trips, (d) major religious holidays, and (e) other circumstances found to fit “reasonable cause for nonattendance” by the professor. Students anticipating an absence for a major religious holiday are responsible for notifying the instructor in writing of anticipated absences due to their observance of such holidays no later than the second day of the course. VERIFICATION OF ABSENCES: Students may be asked to verify their absences in order for them to be considered excused. Senate Rule 5.2.4.2 states that faculty have the right to request “appropriate verification” when students claim an excused absence because of illness or death in the family. Appropriate notification of absences due to university-related trips is required prior to the absence. You will allowed only ONE self-verified (Student Health) excused absences; subsequent absences require formal verification to be considered excused. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Per university policy (S.R. 6.3.1), students shall not plagiarize, cheat, or falsify or misuse academic records. Students are expected to adhere to University policy on cheating and plagiarism in all courses. The minimum penalty for a first offense is a zero on the assignment on which the offense occurred. If the offense is considered severe or the student has other academic offenses on their record, then more serious penalties, up to suspension from the university, may be imposed. Plagiarism and cheating are serious breaches of academic conduct. Each student is advised to become familiar with the various forms of academic dishonesty as explained in the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Complete information can be found at the following website: http://www.uky.edu/Ombud. A plea of ignorance is not acceptable as a defense against the charge of academic dishonesty. It is important that you review this information as all ideas borrowed from others need to be properly credited. Part II of Student Rights and Responsibilities states that all academic work, written or otherwise, submitted by students to their instructors or other academic supervisors, is expected to be the result of their own thought, research, or self-expression. In cases where students feel unsure about the question of plagiarism involving their own work, they are obliged to consult their instructors on the matter before submission. Please see the Student Rights and Responsibilities available online: http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Code/part2.html. When students submit work purporting to be their own, but which in any way borrows ideas, organization, wording or anything else from another source without appropriate acknowledgment of the fact, the students are guilty of plagiarism. Plagiarism includes reproducing someone else’s work, whether it be a published article, chapter of a book, a paper from a friend or some file, or something similar to this. Plagiarism also includes the practice of employing or allowing another person to alter or revise the work which a student submits as his/her own, whoever that other person may be. Students may discuss assignments among themselves or with an instructor or tutor, but when the actual work is done, it must be done by the student, and the student alone. When a student’s assignment involves research in outside sources of information, the student must carefully acknowledge exactly what, where, and how he/she employed them. If the words of someone else are used, the student must put quotation marks around the passage in question and add an appropriate indication of its origin. Making simple changes while leaving the organization,

content and phraseology intact is plagiarism. However, nothing in these Rules shall apply to those ideas which are so generally and freely circulated as to be a part of the public domain (Section 6.3.1). Please note: Any assignment you turn in may be submitted to an electronic database to check for plagiarism. (The database is GIGANTIC.) ACCOMODATIONS DUE TO DISABILITY: If you have a documented disability that requires academic accommodations, please see the instructor as soon as possible during scheduled office hours. In order to receive accommodations in this course, you must provide the instructor with a Letter of Accommodation from the Disability Resource Center (the Disability Resource Center, 257-2754, Suite 407, Multidisciplinary Science Building, 725 Rose Street : email address: [email protected]) for coordination of campus disability services available to students with disabilities). THE WRITING CENTER: The Writing Center, Room B108B in The Hub of the W. T. Young Library (lower level), is available to help you with your writing. Look into its website for hours. It is strongly advised to make an appointment in advance: go to uky.mywconline.com to sign on as a new client (select "First visit? Click here to register") or to log in and schedule an appointment. More information about the Writing Center is available at: http://wrd.as.uky.edu/writing-center . You can contact the Director of the Writing Center, Judy Prats at [email protected] .

Course Calendar: Each day begins with writing, each week ends with writing. Write write. Schedule of reading and graded work. (note that this schedule may change slightly as we discover the course’s needs). All readings are from the assigned course text, unless specified otherwise. Each week’s specific assignment for readings and activities will be given the Friday before on Canvas as an announcement (follow these announcements’ instructions for our duties). The “Try this” shaded writing exercises will be used to develop writing for discussions and workshops (or a journal). These exercises will be part of your daily grade and reviewed randomly. Some Thursdays may be a day for reading, in class, each student’s original work in the specified genre. We will workshop the pieces through constructive criticism (see Chapter 1, pages 12-13). The workshop process may vary after Unit 1 as we see how the class progresses and as we settle into a routine in our class. Each class period will begin with a short 5-10 minute writing exercise, so you must be ready at 12:30 to begin writing with the day's prompt. You should keep a separate note book for writing and for class notes. Week 1, Syllabus and introduction.

We will begin discussing the art and craft of the various genre, talk about our personal interests, and begin learning the terminology to begin creating a common vocabulary and understanding. Read Chapter 1 in Janet Burroway’s Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft, Pages 1-14. All readings should be completed before the class meeting. Unit 1, Weeks 2-5. Creative Nonfiction (We will submit one creative nonfiction piece.) Week 2: Read Chapter 8 (225-258), be prepared to discuss the examples at the end of the chapter, and for linking them to the chapter’s details. Also, choose 2 (2) of the “Try this” shaded writing exercises and free write for a page or two. Week 3: Read Chapter 2 (15-33), discuss examples and chapter. Also, again choose one of the exercises to free write. Week 4: Read Chapter 3 (47-61) same routine, discuss examples and chapter. Also, free write one of the exercises. Week 5: Read Chapter 5 (135-150) discussion. Also, bring a complete, more formal rewrite of one of the free writing exercises you completed earlier in the week. This work will be brought to class for a Thursday workshop, provided to all members of your group, on Canvas, or email, hard copy; we will determine the method of distribution through group consensus. Unit 2, Weeks 6-9. Fiction (We will have a midterm and one fiction piece during this unit.) Week 6: Read Chapter 9 (259-296); follow the routine from week 1, discussion, free write. Week 7: Read Chapter 4 (94-109 and 118-127). Discuss and free write (midterm Thursday Oct. 11). Week 8: Read Chapter 6 (166-175 and 181-186). Discuss and free write. Week 9: Review Chapters 2, 3, and 5, read Fiction examples at end of each. Bring a draft of an original fictional work for class discussion, and critical review by your peers, for our Thursday workshop and submission.

Unit 3, Weeks 10-13. Poetry. (We will submit at least 3 poems for this unit, at least 5-7 pages total.) Week 10: Read Chapter 10 (297-327). Follow our routine; discuss and free write (but for this week, select three (3) “try this”). Week 11: Read Appendix A (373-382). Imagine our routine, discuss and free write (2). Week 12: Review previous chapters and read poetry examples at the end of each. Big day of close reading of several poems. Week 13: Chapter 7 (195-218) Special attention to 208-211. Discuss the reading. Bring 3-4 poems for our Thursday workshop and submission. Unit 4, A bit of everything.

Week 14: Chapter 11 (328-341 and 363-372). Discuss and free write one of the exercises. And review the text’s readings for the semester (we will submit a short play during this unit). Thanksgiving break will be during this week, November 21-24. Week 15: Workshopping our portfolios. Bring your drafts of creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry for heavy workshopping days (you may, if you choose, substitute a dramatic work for one of these genre). Week 16: Clean up our portfolios. Discussion of final editing process. Workshops. Thursday, December 6, submission on Canvas of your individual portfolios in final form for grading. We also have voluntary readings from students who wish to share a piece with the class.

Let’s make each day a gift of words and imagination and beauty....