Syllabus |
English 161, 162, 163
3 Units
Spring Semester
W 6:00-8:55 D-210
(and required evening reading) |
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CONTACT INFO:
Tim MaxwellÊÊÊÊÊ
e-mail: maxwellt@smccd.edu
Office:
CSM 15-175
Riace's Cafe
Phone:
(650) 547-6442
Office hrs.
Generally, I will be here one hour before class to meet with you. Meet me in Riace's Cafe, downstairs.
Prerequisite:
Eligibility forEnglish 100 |
BOOKS:
Required:
Method and Madness
by Alice LaPlante
The Poet's Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry (Paperback)
by Kim Addonizio
Required Materials:
A notebook
Sharp pencils or good pens
Access to a computer
Plenty of change for copies
A water bottle
A support network
Your enthusiasm
Your dedication
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THE COURSE:Ê
You will become part of community of writers, turn your experience into art, learn how to ÒseeÓ as a poet, cultivate your creativity, get your poetic license, find and develop your voice, inspire your inner storyteller, and discover truths about yourself, others, and the world by writing fictions.Ê Can one course do all that?Ê I hope so!Ê LetÕs get creative!
Ê Creativity involves imagination and inspiration, of course, but writing, the act of putting it down in words in an engaging, coherent, even elegant way, requires a knowledge craft and craft, at least, can be learned.Ê We will study the techniques, structures, forms, and terminology of creative writing.
Ê We are going to have a fun semester, searching ourselves and our experiences and helping each other developing the sounds, rhythms, and stories of our lives. |
College Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
At the end of this course, you will be able to:
1.Ê ÊIdentify, integrate, and use specific elements of poetry to create poems of varying form and subject matter.
2.Ê Identify, understand, and use specific elements of fiction to create short stories.
3.Ê Critique your own work and the works of your peers with regard to elements of poetry and fiction.
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| English 161, Assignments and Grading:Ê |
During the semester, you will:
a) perform all in-class writing assignments
b) develop two new short stories following the guidelines (these may be extensions of class exercises) and demonstrating at least basic understanding of the elements of fiction
c) write 6 poems following guidelines and demonstrating an understanding of the elements of poetry we have covered.
participate actively in The Workshop, both critiquing othersÕ work and having yours critiqued. Your vocal participation is expected.
e) read all published work assigned.
f) write a two 1-2 page written critiques of ANOTHER studentÕs work (one of a story and the other of a poem), to be submitted both to him or her and the instructor.
g) write 1-2 page self-critiques of both a poem and a story you have written during this course.
h) attend all three evening readings, participating in the final one, by reading your own work.
i) revise at least one story and three poems for final portfolio.
j) recite one poem by a published author.
j) submit final portfolio no more than one week following the last day of class.
Your grade will be based on your satisfactory accomplishment of ALL of the above activities. Time will be allotted in class to much of this work but you will have homework, especially reading, writing, and journaling, to to do as well.
If you suspect you will not have the time or inclination to complete all of this work, please consider taking the course P/NP. |
The Writing
During the course of the semester, you will write an essay, at least eight poems, and two short stories, all in multiple drafts.Ê Some of these you will be free to develop as you like, while others will be in response to my assignments, exercises to get you to try new elements of poetry and fiction.Ê |
The Workshop
You will, at least twice during the semester, submit your work (one poem, one story or essay) to our group (the workshop) for constructive critique, a process that will involve all our active participation.Ê |
Reading
You will find much sage advice about writing in the textbooks and from me, but the best way to learn how to write is to read, and we will be doing a fair amount of reading of published works in this class.Ê We will discuss these examples as models of the forms and elements you will be learning.
You will need to go to a bookstore and purchase a book of poems by a poet you want to spend some time with. During the poetry section, I will ask you to report what book you have chosen and hear what appeals to you about her or him. |
Submission of Creative Work
The primary work of this course will happen in the Workshop, where we join together and with my guidance provide each other insight into how we (and I might just bring something!) can improve our works. If you are assigned to present work on given evening, you will need to submit that work electronically to the WHOLE class by the Monday before the class during which you will be workshopped. More about the logistics of the workshop once we determine the size of the class. |
Portfolio
At the end of the term, you will compile the best of your work in a portfolio.Ê Keep all drafts and revisions of your work for inclusion in the portfolio.
I will provide a handout with precise guidelines for your portfolios.
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Critiques
You are expected to provide constructive critiques in workshop as well as in written form on your classmates' work. You will need to develop a one-page critique of one story and one poem t.
In addition, you will be doing brief reflections (self-critiques) of each of your works submitted as part of your portfolio. These will not be graded but they are required as well as being incredibly useful for you as you develop your craft. In these critiques you will need to demonstrate that you are able to use the language of the craft to describe your work. |
Poem Recital
You will, once we start working on poetry, choose a poem from a published poet whose work achieves the craft objectives in this course and memorize it. You will then recite the poem to the workshop later in the semester. The poem is your choice, although I stongly request that you choose your poem based on another criteria than its brevity. (A single Haiku will do nothing to help you internalize the voice and cadence of poetry.)
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Participation
In order for our class to thrive, you will need to thrive within it as a participant. How we run the workshop will depend on how large the class is, but however we operate YOU will need to participate as a writer submitting your work for the critique of the class AND as a constructive critic, using your knowledge of craft and the terminology we are studying to provide advice to your classmates.
Students in 162 and 163 may be asked to lead smaller workshops. |
Reaching an Audience
Our goal as a class will be to develop work for our semester's end eventÊat the La-Di-Da Cafe. Here you will have the opportunity to read a piece to the Half Moon Bay community in a gala event. |
Final Reading
Participation in this event at La-Di-DA IS your final (and a lot of fun even for those who have fear of audiences of any size). If you feel you are entirely unable to read in public, you will be allowed to read to our class in advance of the reading. |
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| Policies and Grading |
Attendance
If you miss three sessions--which since we meet only one day per week equals three weeks of the semester--may result in my dropping you.Ê I would just hate to do this.
(Documented medical or other emergencies constitute an exception.) |
Grading
ÊI wonÕt be grading your pieces of art--how could I?--but I will be looking to see that you made an earnest attempt to meet the expecatations of each assignment and I will be assigning you a grade at the end of the course.Ê One third of your grade will be based on your participation in class, and another will depend on your doing your best to do the assignments on time and with your sincere effort. This includes submitting the final portfolio.
The final third will depend on your ability to write the critiques in a satisfactory manner, using the terminology you will learn in class and from the texts. |
Plagiarism
We will discuss the fine line between borrowing and stealing in class.Ê It gets very interesting when it comes to creative arts.Ê However, any work that is written by someone else and turned in as your own will be penalized according to college policy, with you name, social, and case referred to the Vice President of Instruction. |
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| English 162 & 163 |
During the semester, you will:
a) perform all in-class writing assignments
b) if you choose not to do as the 161 students, develop a longer, more involved work of fiction, perhaps expanding upon and deepening an earlier project.
c) if you choose not to do as the 161 students, continue to explore directions in poetry that have captured your creative energy previously but focusing or developing the project significantly.
d) All other other 161 requirements also apply to 162 & 163.
e) Your grade will be based on your satisfactory accomplishment of the above activities.
If you suspect you will not have the time or inclination to complete all of this work, please consider taking the course P/NP. |
I will work out individual plans with you to help you meet these goals after a conference in the second or third week. From the first evening, think about what you would like to do and write up a proposal so I can sign off on it.
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Your project may be a substantial portion (several chapters of a novel), a serious of short stories, a sonnet cycle, or short collection of poems. I will want to know what your goals are for the the project and why you may have those goals.
Again, submit your proposal to me in writing.
Your proposal may include just following the 161 schedule again. |
College Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
At the end of this course, you will be able to:
1.Ê Create a sustained body of work in poetry or fiction or a combination of the two.
2.Ê Further develop critical skills with regard to your own work and that of your peers.
3.Ê Edit and revise your work in response to feedback, demonstrating the ability to discriminate among a range of criticism. |
