Required Resources

Frequent access to email, the Web, Blackboard, and a word processor. Materials for the final chapbook, which at minimum will be a folder with at least 23 pages of paper.

Aims of this Course

• to complete a chapbook of fiction and/or poetry;
• to learn beginning skills necessary for writing short fiction and poetry;
• to help you locate and explore your own centers of interest in a setting both supportive and challenging;
• to learn how to access local and national resources for creative writers;
• to improve critical awareness, which includes understanding the standards and expectations of various literary communities, especially within the established (noncommericial, non-mass market) fine arts;
• to understand "literature" as both corpus of knowledge to be studied and as ongoing, evolving, living enterprise;
• to enjoy stories and poems, and to explore a variety of course readings for models.

In some ways this class is like the proverbial arts enclave:  a comfortable meeting place for writers who are seeking the support, feedback, and stimulation of other writers. We sit down together, share and discuss our writing. That's the gist of it.

This is also an academic experience, of course, and I do need to ultimately assign a grade for each student. Though much of the class is student-directed and open, you'll complete some assigned projects as well as a self-published chapbook.

Grades

Grading is based on a simple point system, in which your aim is to earn as close to 100 as possible. You’ll start the semester with 0, then earn credit for the coursework described below. To arrive at a specific number of points for a given assignment, I generally first assign a grade where Outstanding=A; Very Good=B; Fair=C; Poor=D; Unacceptable=F. I then fine-tune that letter grade judgment with points.

At the end of the term, I tally the points you've earned for all course work and determine a semester grade where

88-100 pts. = A
75-87 pts. = B
62-74 pts. = C
49-61 pts. = D
below 49 = F

Workshop (10 pts., or 10% of semester grade)

Workshopping is the heart of this course: good-spirited, large-group discussion of work written by class members. Everyone must submit material for workshop at least twice, though you are free (time permitting) to submit more. Each session earns you 5 pts., for a max of 10. Click here for full instructions. Note too that some of our workshop sessions will likely be conducted online as written critiques. Of your two scored workshop sessions, only one can be "cyber workshop" in our Bb Pub.

You may turn in any material for workshop: drafts of the mandatory projects, independent work, etc.

Projects (50 pts., or 50% of semester grade)

The projects are assignments designed to give you practice with a variety of skills and approaches. Everyone will turn in a draft for written instructor feedback. Any project draft may be used as a workshop submission, and any completed project may be included in your chapbook and count as chapbook credit.

You will complete the following:

Cyber Class and Hoodoo-Flapdoodle (15 pts. )

Cyber work completed independently (as part of our hybrid arrangement), and miscellaneous minor coursework will receive usually 1-5 pts. each, or sometimes a check-plus, check, check-minus, or minus. This work will take a variety of forms—short exercises, in-class writing, quizzes, Blackboard postings, brief small-group projects, writing prompts, excursions outside the classroom, and any number of mysterious and challenging something-somethings. Expect the unexpected. Please note, however: I reserve the right to adjust your end-of-semester numerical score by a few points to account for an especially weak or strong showing here. (I'll always alert you well in advance if your grade is in serious danger.)

Each week's cyber class work is due by 11:59 pm on Wed.

Chapbook with Reflective Letter (25pts. or 25% of semester grade)

"A tree crying out to be covered with leaves."

Your chapbook will be a self-published collection of your completed stories and/or poems. Click here for full chapbook instructions.

What To Do If You Miss a Class

Late Coursework

Workshop

You must be present for workshop sessions in which we discuss your work.

Cyber Work and Hoodoo-Flapdoodle

Late work should be posted to the Late Work Forum in our Bb Multi-Use Board. No late work will be accepted after the 12th week. You do not need to inform me that you are posting late work. Please note, however: a record of consistently late hand-ins may have an impact on your end-of-semester numerical score. I.e., I reserve the right to adjust your numerical total by a few points to account for an especially weak or strong showing here. (I'll always alert you well in advance if your grade is in serious danger.)

Chapbook and Reflective Letter

These are handed in at the end of the term and will not be accepted after midnight on May ____. Exceptions are only made with documented evidence of serious harship or illness.

Feel free to visit, call, or email me if you ever have questions or concerns.

Disclaimer! I believe in the creative as well as practical value of spontaneity. I also believe that disorder is always there, lurking in any plan or scheme no matter how carefully devised— especially my own. I therefore reserve the right, if the occasion warrants it, and with ample advance notice to you, to alter some of the details on this page as the semester progresses. Fundamental aspects of the course, such as basic requirements and aims, will not change.

A Note to English Majors

During their senior year, English majors generally enroll in the English Capstone course (Engl 467), during which they assemble a portfolio containing representative written work from NDSU English courses. The English Department evaluates these portfolios to assess its undergraduate programs, analyzing how student work meets departmental outcomes. In order to facilitate the preparation of senior portfolios, English majors are encouraged to save copies of their written work (in electronic and hard copy) each semester.

Departmental Outcomes

This course meets at least three English Dept. outcomes:

• Outcome 1: English majors will be able to write and speak effectively for a variety of purposes and audiences in a variety of genres and media.
• Outcome 2: English majors will be able to read (analyze, interpret, critique, evaluate) written and visual texts.
• Outcome 7: English majors will develop professionalism exhibited in such qualities as self-direction, cooperation, civility, reliability, and care in editing and presenting the final product.

General Education Outcomes

This course has been approved for the Humanities and Fine arts category in General Education because it 1) “promotes the appreciation of aesthetics and the expression of creativity”; and 2) “systematically explores cultural and intellectual forces shaping events, individual expression, and social values.”

The course meets the following General Education Outcomes:

#1: “Communicate effectively in a variety of contexts and formats.”

#6: “Integrate knowledge and ideas in a coherent and meaningful manner.”

Americans with Disabilities Statement/Students with Special Needs

Any students with disabilities or other special needs, who need special accommodations in this course are invited to share these concerns or requests with the instructor as soon as possible.

Student Conduct

All interactions in this course including interactions by email, weblogs, discussion boards, or other online methods will be civil and students will demonstrate respect for one another. Student conduct at NDSU is governed by the Code of Student Behavior. See http://www.ndsu.edu/ndsu/vpsa/code/ for more information.

University Statement on Academic Honesty

All work in this course must be completed in a manner consistent with NDSU University Senate Policy, Section 335: Code of Academic Responsibility and Conduct. http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/policy/335.htm

Any instances of deliberate plagiarism in English 323 will result in an F for the course.