Course Description
Students develop skills in fiction writing with a focus on the elements of narrative including plot, point of view, character development, dialogue, and voice. Students complete their own stories, analyze works of literature and one another’s drafts, and complete short writing exercises.
Athena Title
Creative Writing Fiction
Non-Traditional Format
The W suffix is used for courses taught as writing intensive, which means that the course includes substantial and ongoing writing assignments that: a) facilitate learning; b) teach the communication values of a discipline—for example, its practices of argument, evidence, credibility, and format; c) support writing as a process; and d) prepare students for further writing in their academic work, in graduate school, and in professional life. Writing instruction and assignments are integral to the class’s learning objectives, and the instructor (and/or the teaching assistant assigned to the course) will be closely involved in supporting students as writers. More specifically, writing-intensive classes: • involve students in informal writing assignments that promote course learning; • stage and sequence assignments to encourage writing as a process of creating and communicating knowledge; • maximize opportunities for guidance, feedback, and revision; • teach the writing conventions that are inseparable from modes of inquiry in a discipline; • make writing a substantive component of the overall course grade to underscore the value of writing to the course, the discipline, and student learning.
Prerequisite
ENGL 3800W or ENGL 3800H
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students will develop the skills necessary to draft, edit, and revise their own prose fiction by: completing individual writing assignments focused on various elements of story-telling; drafting their own stories and workshopping them with the class; reading and analyzing their classmates’ stories; reading and analyzing classic and contemporary fiction; and completing a final writing project.
Topical Outline
The course schedule will vary depending upon the instructor, though all course formats will include a blend of in-class writing, lecture, workshop, seminar-style discussion, and attending literary events. The reading list will vary depending on the instructor. Interested students should look at the detailed course description on the English Department website for complete information.
Syllabus