ALL course assignments and activities are listed on the calendar below, NOT on the calendar in the sidebar!
WRT 114: Writing Culture:
Introduction to Creative Nonfiction Spring 2016
Syracuse University
Instructor: Nick Ripatrazone
Office: C126
Office hours: by appointment
Contact information: nripatrazone@lvhs.org
973-347-7600
Classroom #/meeting sessions: Ripatrazone — C126/Session 6
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Writing 114 provides an introduction to creative nonfiction (CNF), a genre that encompasses many types of prose: memoirs, biography, travel writing, science writing, and literary journalism, to name a few. CNF writers almost always—in some way or other—focus on the tensions that emerge between individuals and the world around them. Thus, the title of this course, “Writing Culture,” refers to writing about oneself and others in the context of a broader culture. How do we negotiate cultural norms, expectations, rituals, and practices? How does culture shape us as individuals? To what degree do we absorb or resist our cultural influences? And how do we, as individual actors and witnesses to our world, shape the culture in which we live? These are just a few of the many questions we’ll ask ourselves as we move through this course.
In this class, we’ll read and reflect upon a variety of creative nonfiction texts, as well as compose our own essays. You’ll have the freedom to explore a wide range of topics and experiment broadly with voice, style, form, and the use of research to enrich your writing.
Rather than present reality as a series of raw facts, CNF writers borrow techniques of fiction writing—description, anecdote, scene construction, characterization, and dialogue—to tell dynamic and compelling true stories. The crucial distinction between creative nonfiction and fiction is that nonfiction purports to tell the truth with very little embellishment, while fiction claims to be “made up.” Creative nonfiction also draws from poetic approaches to language, including imagery, metaphor, tone, and shifts in point of view and perspective. We’ll study these building blocks of creative nonfiction and use them in the composition process.
Since this is an intensive writing class, we’ll often engage in writing workshops in class, including brainstorming and freewriting activities, and structured peer critiques. You will need to come to class prepared to write. All students will need a dedicated notebook for this purpose.
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
Students will read and critically engage with creative nonfiction texts representing a diverse range of topics, subgenres, and perspectives.
Students will learn about, and put into practice, conventions and characteristics of creative nonfiction.
Students will compose a series of creative nonfiction texts, and take them through the processes of composing.
Students will explore relationships between research and creative nonfiction, and learn conventions for incorporating research into their texts.
Students will develop an awareness of audience, and work to construct an ethos and voice that responds to audience needs and expectations.
Students will experiment with voices, styles and forms.
Students will reflect on their writing processes.
Students will participate in full-class writing workshops.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
o Tell It Slant: Creating, Refining, & Publishing Creative Nonfiction, 2E – Brenda Miller & Suzanne Paola (McGraw-Hill, 2012)
o In Short: A Collection of Brief Creative Nonfiction – eds. Judith Kitchen & Mary Paumier Jones (WW Norton, 1996)
o In Fact: The Best of Creative Nonfiction – ed. Lee Gutkind (WW Norton, 2004)
What You Need
o • Reliable Internet access to the university library, and the web.
o • Pens or pencils, letter or legal sized notepads, highlighters, stickies, and whatever else you use when you write and read.
o • A neat and secure folder or portfolio to keep handouts.
o • Lots of printer paper and ink.
o • An open and critical mind, good listening and speaking skills, a decent sense of humor, and patience with technology, your colleagues, and us.
MAJOR COURSE ASSIGNMENTS & GRADE REQUIREMENTS:
WORKSHOPS
Writing is about community and communication. Feedback is vital for writers to improve their craft. You also need to know how your work is being perceived by an audience. A writing workshop is a supportive space where writers work together to enhance each other’s work. At times, you may be asked to make your drafts available for peer critique before class so there will be time for your peers to read and comment on your work. See Ch. 15 of Tell It Slant on sharing your work for more information on the workshop process.
GENERAL COURSE POLICIES
Attendance and Participation
Writing studios are courses in language learning, and language is learned in communities; therefore, it is essential that you attend class and participate. Absences and lack of preparation for class will affect your classmates’ work as well as your own. The work you do in class, the work you do to prepare for each class, is as important as any polished assignment you turn in for a grade. In addition, our syllabus is only a projection and may be subject to occasional changes and revisions as it seems appropriate or necessary. That is another reason why your attendance is vital.
If you must miss a class, you are responsible for work assigned. Please realize, however, that class time cannot be reconstructed or made up, and that your performance, your work, and your final course grade will be affected by absences.
Participation includes active engagement in each course activity, both in and out of the classroom. This is a very demanding course, but it is also a very rewarding course for students who challenge themselves and work with intellectual curiosity, interest, and energy. Students who do not accept the challenges of this course will be frustrated often and likely disappointed in their work and the grades they receive on their work. Participation and preparation constitute 10% of the final course grade.
Because of the detailed daily course calendar and our class directory, there is no excuse for being unprepared for class, even if you have been absent. In the event of an absence, it is your responsibility to contact a classmate as soon as possible to discover what was missed. For example, missing Monday’s class does not excuse you from completing the homework due on Tuesday. It is best to contact the instructor prior to an absence so assignments can either be given early or rescheduled at a later date. All calendar updates are posted as soon as possible.
All assignments must be submitted on or before the specified due date (unless previous arrangements have been made through consultation with and permission by the instructor). Final papers are due by 3:00. All other assignments are due at the beginning of class. Late work will lose one letter grade per weekday. If you are unable to give the late work to the instructor directly, you must arrange for another student to turn it to the instructor directly or leave it in his or her box in the front office clearly labeled and bound in an envelope or folder. Absence does not exclude you from this policy except in the most dire circumstances.
Do not lose your work. Always keep hard copies and electronic backups of all work for this class. Use a dedicated USB flash drive to backup your WRT 114 work. Additionally, get into the habit of saving snapshot drafts of your papers as you go. This requires the use of “Save As” instead of “Save” when completing a draft or revision. The result is a collection of drafts, each showing snapshots of your writing process. You’ll find these very useful when building your portfolios.
Punctuality is important. It shows respect for others and confidence in oneself; moreover, it is essential for establishing one’s credibility. Lateness is simply unacceptable.
Special Needs and Accommodations
Syracuse University welcomes people with disabilities and, in compliance with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, does not discriminate on the basis of disability. Students who require special consideration due to a learning or physical disability or other situation should make an appointment to see me right immediately.
Use of Student Academic Work
It is understood that registration for and continued enrollment in this course constitutes permission by the student for the instructor to use for educational purposes any student work produced in the course, in compliance with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). After the completion of the course, any further use of student work will meet one of the following conditions: (1) the work will be rendered anonymous through the removal of all personal identification of the student(s); or (2) written permission from the student(s).
Academic Integrity
Syracuse University sets high standards for academic integrity. Syracuse University students are expected to exhibit honesty in all academic endeavors. Cheating in any form is not tolerated, nor is assisting another person to cheat. The submission of any work by a student is taken as a guarantee that the thoughts and expressions in it are the student’s own, except when properly credited to another.
Those standards are supported and enforced by your instructor, SU faculty and Project Advance administrators. The presumptive sanction for a first offense is course failure (SU grade of F), accompanied by the transcript notation “Violation of the Academic Integrity Policy.” Students should review the Office of Academic Integrity online resource “Twenty Questions and Answers About the Syracuse University Academic Integrity Policy” and confer with your instructor(s) about course-specific citation methods, permitted collaboration (if any), and rules for examinations. The policy also governs the veracity of signatures on attendance sheets and other verification of participation in class activities. Additional guidance for students can be found in the Office of Academic Integrity resource: ”What does academic integrity mean?”
For a more detailed description of the guidelines for adhering to academic integrity in the College of Arts and Sciences, go to:
http://academicintegrity.syr.edu
UNIT I: Introduction: What Is Creative Nonfiction? / Flash Nonfiction Writing
(4 Weeks)
Week 1: Introduction to creative nonfiction / genre and craft
Monday 1/25
Introduction to the course.
Flash Nonfiction unit readings and assignment
“What’s in a name?” Writing exercise
Share results of exercise.
Homework: (all due 1.27) Read chapter 1 in Tell it Slant
Read over the “try it” prompts on pages 12-16. Choose one prompt and try it.
Bring typed draft to class.
Read the essay “Being Brians” by Brian Doyle
Wednesday 1/27
Discuss “Being Brians” essay and draw comparisons to “What’s in a Name” essays.
Discuss chapter 1 of Tell it Slant
Small group sharing of your homework writing exercises (search for metaphor)
Read “A Voice for the Lonely” by Stephen Corey (p 178 In Short)
Post-reading: Discuss significance of music and memory
Generate starting points for sensory essays
Homework: (all due 1.28) Read chapters 2 and 3 in Tell it Slant
Review the “try it” exercises at the end of chapters 1-3 and jot down a list of 20 topics/experiences you might consider writing about. (This is an evolving list)
Thursday 1/28
Discuss chapters 2 and 3 in Tell it Slant
Read “My Mother in Two Photographs” by Aleida Rodríguez (p 138 In Short) and
“LZ Gator, Vietnam” by Tim O’Brien (p 60 In Short)
Detail writing exercise on place or family
Homework: (due 1.29) Read chapter 13 in Tell it Slant
Friday, 1/29
Discuss chapter 13 in Tell it Slant. Consider how you will use the tools of the craft.
Choose one writing prompt in relation to chapter 13.
4 students volunteer for full-class workshop
Homework: (all due 2.2) Bring your list of 20 possible topics.
Read “Hands” by Ted Kooser and “On the Street” by Vivian Gornick.
Read “The Creative Nonfiction Police?” by Lee Gutkind from In Fact
Weeks 2-3: Finding your material / the writing workshop
Tuesday 2/2
Discuss Kooser and Gornick articles and your responses, and in a well-developed paragraph, try to explain what these two essays are “really” about and why these subjects are important.
Review possible topic lists. Share with groups, modify topics, prepare a “pitch” for three of your topics. What would you do with this topic? What metaphors are present in the facts? How would you show this (characters, place, dialogue, etc).
Homework: (due 2.3) Read chapter 15 in TiS. Write a brief paragraph in which you
describe how you believe a writing workshop would best function. What
rules/principles would govern the workshop for our writing community?
Wednesday 2/3
Due: Essays from workshop students 1 & 2 (email to me before Session 1)
Discuss what it means to not be “The Creative Nonfiction Police” (Gutkind)
Discuss the Writing Workshop (chapter 15)
Based on your reading of chapter 15, what areas might you focus on when workshopping an essay? Generate a working list
Practice workshop with student sample
Revisit/revise initial list. Draft rules/procedures for workshop. Compare with instructor
guidelines.
Homework: Edits/comments/notes on manuscripts from workshop students 1 & 2.
Thursday 2/4
Due: Essays from workshop students 3 & 4. (email to me before Session 1)
Full class workshop for students 1 & 2.
Homework: Edits/comments/notes on manuscripts from workshop students 3 & 4.
Monday 2/8
Full class workshop for students 3 & 4.
Homework: (due 2.9) Write a reflection on your experience with the workshop. What
was successful? What areas do you feel could be improved? What questions
or concerns do you have about the workshop process?
Tuesday 2/9
Character-based freewrite (guided prompt)
Read “Interlude” by William Kittredge (p 123 In Short)
Discuss in terms of character. What is the universal appeal? What are some of the metaphors beneath the facts? How can we work these elements into writing about our own family members? (Uncle Hank)
Homework: (due 2.10) Read and take observation notes on “Crazy Horse” by Ian Frazier and “A Note About Allen Tate” by Kelly Cherry (pages 237 and 171 In Short)
Wednesday 2/10
Discuss Frazier and Cherry essays.
Develop possible character sketch topics & possible drafting period
Homework: (due 2.12) Complete a draft for one of the character sketch topics. Bring one copy of the draft to class.
Friday 2/12
Share segments of character sketch essay drafts.
Read “Lights” by Stuart Dybek (p31 In Short). Discuss the implications behind scene (time and place).
Read “Afternoon Tea” by Emily Hiestand (p65 In Short). Explore how scene can influence language and structure.
Next 4 students volunteer for full-class workshop.
Homework: (due 2.16) Begin to draft an essay on one of the possible prompts.
Read “Running Xian” by John Calderazzo (p168 In Short)
Tuesday 2/16
Due: Essays from workshop students 5 & 6. (email to me before Session 1)
Discuss the Calderazzo readings in light of scene. Revisit “LZ Gator, Vietnam”
“Where am I” discussion for this unit’s portfolio.
Homework: (due 2.17) Edits/comments/notes on manuscripts from workshop students 5 & 6.
Continue to work on your writing in process. Feel free to also explore topics
from your list or other ideas for your portfolio.
Week 4: Cultivating a voice and writing for an audience / revision work
Wednesday 2/17
Due: Essays from workshop students 7 & 8. (email to me before Session 1)
Full-class workshop for students 5 & 6.
Homework: (due 2.19) Edits/comments/notes on manuscripts from workshop students 7 & 8.
Continue to polish drafts and compile your writing portfolio of Flash Nonfiction (approximately 10-15 pages due on Tuesday 2/23). Bring two copies of draft on 2/22 for small group workshop.
Friday 2/19
Full-class workshop for students 7 & 8.
Homework: Bring questions or concerns about portfolio/reflective essay to the next class. Bring all possible pieces in draft form for small group work/revision.
Monday 2/22
“Who is my audience for this piece?” freewrite
Small group workshop. Address questions and concerns. Work on essay revision
Work on reflective essay. Organize portfolio
Homework: Portfolio due next class. Unit 1 Assignments: writing portfolio of flash non-
fiction, approximately 10-15 pp.; separate reflective essay (2-3 pp.) Due 2/23
UNIT II: Personal Essay / Lyric Essay (4 Weeks)
Week 5-6: The Personal Essay / Researching the self / Collective Family Memory
Tuesday 2/23
Introduce Unit 2. Distribute Unit 2 readings and assignment.
Read “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan and discuss the tradition of the personal essay.
Revisit old lists of 20 topics
Develop new list of possible topics for personal essay
Homework: (due 2.25) Read chapter 9 in TiS. Select one of the “Try It” exercises at the end of the chapter. Bring your writing for this exercise to the next class (typed and printed).
Thursday 2/25
Class pointed reading of chapter 9
Discuss/share your writing from the “Try It” exercises
Read “Cat-Like” by John Holman (p157 In Short). Discuss essay (SOAPSTone)
Begin to draft “_________-Like” essay.
Homework: (due 2.26) Read “Three Spheres” by Lauren Slater (p3 In Fact). Complete a QTI for the essay and bring to class.
Friday 2/26
Group discussion of “Three Spheres” using the QTI to frame discussion
Class discussion/freewrite on the ethics of truth-telling. How do we differentiate between truth and fact? Why does the truth matter so much? When can truth go too far? Discuss John D’Agata experience with The Believer.
Choose another “Try It” exercise from chapter 9. Begin to draft in class.
Homework: (due 2.29) Complete the drafting of the “Try It” exercise started in class.
Read and annotate “Digging” by Andre Dubus (photocopy)
Monday 2/29
Discuss/share writings from “Try It” exercises
Family stories/collective family memory
Read “Dinner at Uncle Boris’s” by Charles Simic (p85 In Fact)
Discuss “Digging” by Andre Dubus. Discuss the role of family in the personal essay. Revisit “Interlude” from unit 1. How might this essay look if it were told from another point of view?
Freewrite: Write about one of your famous family stories
4 students volunteer for full-class workshop
Homework: (due 3.2) Complete a draft of a “famous” family story.
Wednesday 3/2
Freewrite one section of your story from another family member’s point of view. Discuss how the versions of the stories may differ.
Read “Three Fragments” by Charles Simic (p191 In Short). Discuss in relation to collective family memory.
Read and discuss “Stonehenge and the Louvre Were Cool” by Carol Lucci Wisner (p253 In Short).
Introduce “Self-Portrait in a Mirror” prompt
Homework: (due 3.3) Bring all drafts from prompts to the next class for a writing workday.
Thursday 3/3
Due: Essays from workshop students 9 & 10. (email to me before Session 1)
Writing workday on personal essays.
Homework: (due 3.4) Edits/comments/notes on manuscripts from workshop students 9 & 10.
Friday 3/4
Due: Essays from workshop students 11 & 12. (email to me before Session 1)
Large group workshop for students 9 & 10.
Homework: (due 3.8) Edits/comments/notes on manuscripts from workshop students 11 & 12.
Tuesday 3/8
Large group workshop for students 11 & 12.
Homework: (due 3.9) Read chapter 10 in Tell it Slant. Write a “101 Word Essay”. Bring typed/printed copy of this to next class (with word count indicated!)
Weeks 7-8: The Lyric Essay
Wednesday 3/9
Pointed reading discussion with chapter 10 of Tell it Slant.
Share 101 word essays. Discuss how word constraint forces a focus on word choice. Connect 101 word format to the goals of the lyric essay.
Select and draft one of the “Try It” exercises from chapter 10.
Homework: (due 3.10) Continue to work on the “Try It” exercise draft. Read “An Unspoken Hunger” by Terry Tempest Williams (p44 In Short). Also read “My Children Explain the Big Issues” by Will Baker (p133 In Short). Complete a QTI for each essay and be prepared to discuss next class.
Thursday 3/10
Discussion of “An Unspoken Hunger” and “My Children Explain the Big Issues”
Read “Three Yards” by Michael Dorris (p203 In Short). Focus discussion on the braided essay.
Homework: (due 3.15) Draft “three ______.” (Birthdays, places, ideas, topics for braided essay) Read and annotate student essay “My Legs are a Cluster of Birds”. This essay will be “work shopped” on Monday 3/14.
Monday 3/14
Class workshop of sample student essay. Discuss how the braided essay can be expanded.
Discuss the “hermit crab” essay form.
Homework: (due 3.15) Read and annotate “The Pain Scale” by Eula Biss (photocopy). Write a brief paragraph in which you describe how this essay could be considered a “hermit crab” essay. What are the effects of structuring the essay in this way?
Tuesday 3/15
Discuss your “three__________” braided drafts.
Discuss “The Pain Scale”.
Could you convert any of your current essays/topics into hermit crab form?
Review Unit 2 assignment and expectations/requirements.
Schedule 4 students for full-class workshop.
Homework: (due 3.16) Bring all personal/lyric essay drafts to next class for writing workday.
Wednesday 3/16
Due: Essays from workshop students 13 & 14. (email to me before Session 1)
Writing workday on personal/ essays.
Homework: (due 3.18) Edits/comments/notes on manuscripts from workshop students 13 & 14.
Friday 3/18
Due: Essays from workshop students 15 & 16. (email to me before Session 1)
Full-class workshop for students 13 & 14.
Homework: (due 3.21) Edits/comments/notes on manuscripts from workshop students 15 & 16.
Monday 3/21
Full-class workshop for students 15 & 16.
Homework: Revision work.
Tuesday 3/22
Revision work.
Homework: Unit 2 assignment and reflective essay due Thursday 3/24
Unit II Assignments: Select one piece of flash non-fiction from your Unit 1 portfolio and develop the piece into a personal or lyric essay, OR choose a topic from your list of potential CNF topics, and compose an essay from scratch (6-8 pp.); separate reflective essay (2 pp.) (Due 3/24)
UNIT III: Writing About Culture (5 Weeks)
Week 9: Writing About Place and Culture, Travel, Nature, and the Environment
Thursday 3/24
Introduce unit 3 and assignment
Group readings/presentations of “A Wind from the North” by Bill Capossere, “Snow” by John Haines, and “Natural Edges” by John Lane (pages 104, 107 and 261 In Short)
Identify the “so what?” in each essay. Discuss the various purposes behind nature essays.
Homework: (due 4.11) Read and annotate “France in Twenty-Five Exposures” by Christiane Buuck (photocopy).
Monday 4/4
Introduce Unit 3 work
Tuesday 4/5
Introduce/freewrite possible starting point for nature/environment essay
Read “Harbor” by Michael Ondatje (photocopy). How does this travel essay deviate from the expected, “traditional” travel piece?
Week 10: Writing About Culture and Identity: Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Class, and Subcultures
Thursday 4/7
Read “Fernando and Marisela” by Bruce Berger (p175 In Short)
Discuss the cultural significance and author’s voice/interference in this piece.
Continue to work on “Lenape in Five Exposures”
Homework: (due 4.8) Read “Mixed-Blood Stew” by Jewell Parker Rhodes (p382 In Fact)
Friday 4/8
Freewrite and discuss “Mixed-Blood Stew”
Read and discuss “Into the Storm” by Jerry Ellis (p233 In Fact)
Recall “Running Xian” by John Calderazzo. Draw connections/contrasts between the two pieces. Physical movement as a technique, inclusion/exclusion in culture.
Introduce possible starting point for culture and identity essay.
Homework: Review your writing notebooks and bring possible drafts to next class for writing day.
Monday 4/11
Discuss “France in Twenty-Five Exposures”
Work on “Lenape in Five Exposures”
Homework: Bring two copies of a draft in progress for partner share
Tuesday 4/13
Partner share (cutting apart your essay) of draft-in-progress
Read discuss “Volar” Judith Ortiz Cofer (p34 In Short)
Review Unit Assignment.
Homework: (due 4.15) Read chapters 5 and 6 in Tell it Slant. Lenape in Five Exposures revision
Weeks 11-12: Writing About the Arts and Food
Thursday 4/14
Pointed Reading/Discuss chapters 5 and 6 in Tell it Slant
Group reading/presentation of “Suspended” by Joy Harjo, “The Blues Merchant” by Jerome Washington, and “The Usual Story” by Fred Setterberg (pages 83, 85, and 87 In Short)
Homework: (Due 4.15) Begin to draft music-based essay. Use “try it” questions 8 and 9 on p54 of Tell it Slant to help you begin your draft.
Friday 4/15
Due: Lenape in Five Exposures revision
Share “golden moment” from your music-based essay draft.
Freewrite on food and memory
Read and discuss “Enough Jam for a Lifetime” by Maxine Kumin (p39 In Short)
Homework: (Due 4.19) Read “Sunday” by Henry Lewis Gates Jr., “Mint Snowball” by Naomi Shihab Nye, “Growing Up Game” by Brenda Peterson, and “How to Make Collard Greens” by Megan Mayhew Bergman (pages 92, 94, 115 In Short and photocopy)
Tuesday 4/19
Due: Essays from workshop students 17 & 18. (email to me before Session 1)
Discussion on homework essays
Introduce Vermeer with selected images
Read and discuss “Museum Piece” by David Huddle
Introduce possible starting point for art-based essay
Homework: (due 4.20) Edits/comments/notes on manuscripts from workshop students 17 & 18.
Wednesday 4/20
Due: Essay from workshop students 19 &20. (email to me before Session 1)
Full-class workshop for students 17 & 18
Homework (due 4.21) Edits/comments/notes on manuscripts from workshop students 19 & 20.
Thursday 4/21
Full-class workshop for student 19
Writing workday
Monday 4/25
Writing workday
Homework: Finish your unit 3 assignments. Due 4/26.
Unit III Assignments: sustained essay (6-8 pp.) that engages with an aspect of culture that you are either part of or witness to; writing portfolio that showcases two drafts of Unit 3 essay; separate reflective essay (2 pp.) (Due Tuesday 4/26)
UNIT IV: Literary Journalism (4 Weeks)
Week 13: Research and Inquiry: What is Literary Journalism?
Tuesday 4/26
Final thoughts on Unit 3 essay and collect essay portfolios
Freewrite/T-List: What is journalism? What is literary journalism?
Reread pages 97-99 in Tell it Slant. Discuss previous readings in literary journalism
Listen to clip NPR’s This American Life “20 Acts in 60 Minutes” (#20 “The Greatest Moment I Ever Saw on Stage” July 11, 2003. How might this be considered literary journalism? How does this piece differ from the types of creative nonfiction we have been exploring so far?
Homework: (Due 4.27) Read chapter 8 in Tell it Slant. Bring in one current newspaper/newsmagazine.
Read and annotate “Consider the Lobster” by David Foster Wallace for 4/29 (photocopy)
Wednesday 4/27
Discuss chapter 8 in Tell it Slant.
Listen to second radio clip (hotdog).
Using your newspapers/newsmagazines, begin to “mine for material” with partners/small groups.
Use this material to work on “try it” question 2 from Tell it Slant.
Discuss findings as a class.
Homework: Use findings from your research to write a one page “exploratory” piece on the topic. You may or may not use this as a starting point for your literary journalism essay.
Friday 4/29
Voluntary sharing of “golden moments”, entire pieces, or struggles experienced while writing this piece.
How might you be able to expand this subject to a more complete essay?
Discuss “Consider the Lobster” by David Foster Wallace
Class brainstorm of possible topics for literary journalism essay based on our work so far (including Wallace’s method in his essay).
Punctuation exercise (“In Praise of the Humble Comma”)
Homework: Read “try it” question 1 from chapter 8 of Tell it Slant. Choose one of your previous essays (one you have not submitted as a final product) that you feel may be further informed through research. Begin to work on “try it question number 3 from chapter 8 in Tell it Slant. You must bring a two page exploratory draft about your immersion experience to class on Friday, 5/6.
Monday 5/2
Share which essay you chose for this assignment and why.
Work on “try it” exercise.
Homework: (due 5.3) Read and annotate “Killing Wolves” by Sherry Simpson (p133 In Fact)
Week 14: Readings in Literary Journalism
Tuesday 5/3
Discuss/Group work with “Killing Wolves” and immersion writing.
Continue topic search/initial research of topic with laptops
Homework: Continue work on immersion drafts.
Thursday 5/5
Begin to discuss bias and the concept of “truth” in literary journalism. Relate this discussion to “Killing Wolves”
Read student essay, “Bodega”. In small groups, identify strengths and weaknesses of the essay. Your group should decide on a “grade” for this essay.
Homework: Bring two copies of your immersion draft to next class.
Friday 5/6
“Speed Dating” Revision on immersion drafts. Feedback should focus on possible ways to use research to inform the piece.
Begin researching the possible areas to help inform the writing.
Homework: Continue working on ideas for literary journalism essay.
Weeks 15-16: Developing the Researched Essay / In-class workshops
Monday 5/9
Writing workday on researching/drafting literary journalism essay.
Homework: Continue to work on your literary journalism essay.
Wednesday 5/11
Writing workday on researching/drafting literary journalism essay.
Homework: Bring a copy of the draft you want to share in small group workshop.
Thursday 5/12
Small group workshop on literary journalism drafts.
Homework: Continue to work on drafts.
Friday 5/13
Writing workday on researching/drafting literary journalism essay. Focus on revision guided by small group comments.
Homework: Bring a revised copy of your essay for small group workshop.
Tuesday 5/17
Small group workshop for revised literary journalism essay.
Wednesday 5/18 and Thursday 5/19
Revision work for literary journalism essay. Review portfolio/reflective essay criteria. Work on reflective essay.
Homework: Finish Unit 4 portfolio
Unit IV Assignments: literary journalism essay, 6-7 pp.; separate reflective essay (2 pp.) Due 5/23
UNIT V: Revision and Reflection (2 Weeks)
Weeks 18-19: Final Portfolio: Comprehensive revision of a creative nonfiction piece, introduction to submitting/publishing work, and student readings
Monday 5/23
Collect and discuss unit 4 assignments. Review criteria for final portfolio.
Begin to select pieces for portfolio components
Homework: Read Chapter 16 in Tell it Slant (“Publishing”)
Tuesday 5/24
Introduction to submitting/publishing work
What is the difference between writing for course/writing for publication?
Preparing and polishing submissions, etiquette, handling rejection
Wednesday 5/25
Writing lab: research potential literary magazines for your creative non-fiction; turn-in explanation (draft version) of initial observations, questions, and anxieties.
Friday 5/27
Literary magazine research presentations
Tuesday 5/31
Writing workday/workshops for revision drafts and portfolio components
Wednesday 6/1, Friday 6/3, Monday 6/6, Tuesday 6/7
Share concerns and progress on portfolio components. Discuss how you are approaching your comprehensive revision. Continue work on final portfolio.
Thursday 6/9
Unit 5 final portfolio due. Discuss/reflect on the writing community
Unit V Assignments: comprehensive revision of a selected piece of writing from the semester; final showcase portfolio; separate reflective essay (due Thursday, 6/9)