ENG 138 CREATIVE WRITING I

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1 ENG 138 CREATIVE WRITING I PRESENTED AND APPROVED: APRIL 6, 2012 EFFECTIVE: FALL

2 Prefix & Number ENG 138 Course Title: Creative Writing I Purpose of this submission: New X Change/Updated Retire If this is a change, what is being changed? Update Prefix Course Description (Check all that apply) Title Course Number X Format Change Credits Prerequisite Competencies X Textbook/Reviewed Competencies-no changes needed (New edition of textbook.) Does this course require additional fees? X No Yes If so, please explain. Is there a similar course in the course bank? X No Yes (Please identify) Articulation: Is this course or an equivalent offered at other two and four-year universities in Arizona? No X Yes (Identify the college, subject, prefix, number and title: ASU: ENG DEPT ELECTIVE, NAU - ENG DEPT ELECTIVE, AND UA - ENGL 101; Arizona Western College: ENG 291, Introduction to Creative Writing; Central Arizona College: ENG 200, Creative Writing; Cochise College: ENG 119, Creative Writing; Coconino Community College: ENG 139, Introduction to Creative Writing; Eastern Arizona College: ENG 131, Introduction to Creative Writing; Northland Pioneer College: ENL 236, Creative Writing I; Scottsdale Community College: ENG 210, Creative Writing. Is this course identified as a Writing Across the Curriculum course? No X Yes Course Textbook, Materials and Equipment Textbook(s) Title Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft. 3 rd ed. Author(s) Publisher ISBN Barnes & Noble Price Burroway Pearson/Longman ISBN-13: ; ISBN-10: $42.55 (new) Software/ Equipment Modality Check all that apply Title Author(s) Publisher ISBN Barnes & Noble Price N/A X On-ground X On-line Hybrid ITV X Web-enhanced Course Assessments Description of Possible Course Assessments (Essays, multiple choice, etc.) At least two creative manuscripts of a minimum of 1000 words each (usually one each in fiction and creative nonfiction) and at least one poem (length varies) are required for workshop submission; an additional 1000 required words

3 Exams standardized for this course? Midterm Final Other (Please specify): Where can faculty members locate or access the required standardized exams for this course? (Contact Person and Location) Example: NCK Academic Chair Office may be satisfied by any combination of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction assignments, inclass, online, or take-home writing exercises (including critiques of peer manuscripts), reading/writing journals, revisions, or selfevaluations. At the instructor s discretion, the following areas may also be evaluated: quizzes/exams, expository papers, class presentations/readings, and individual conferences relative to student manuscripts. Are exams required by the department? X No Yes If Yes, please specify: N/A Student Outcomes: Identify the general education goals for student learning that is a component of this course. Check all that apply: 1. Communicate effectively. a. Read and comprehend at a college level. X b. Write effectively in a college setting. X 2. Demonstrate effective quantitative reasoning and problem solving skills. Method of Assessment In-class or online reading and writing exercises; manuscript submissions in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction; review of peer manuscripts; in-class or online workshop discussions; quizzes and/or exams. 3. Demonstrate effective qualitative reasoning skills. X In-class or online reading and writing exercises; manuscript submissions in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction; review of peer manuscripts; in-class or online workshop discussions; quizzes and/or exams. 4. Apply effective methods of inquiry. a. Generate research paper by gathering information from varied sources, analyzing data and organizing information into a coherent structure. b. Employ the scientific method. 5. Demonstrate sensitivity to diversity a. Experience the creative products of humanity. X b. Describe alternate historical, cultural, global perspectives. X In-class or online reading and writing exercises; manuscript submissions in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction; review of peer manuscripts; in-class or online workshop discussions; quizzes and/or exams. Office of Instruction Use only: CIP Code:

4 ONET Code: Minimum Qualifications: COURSE INFORMATION Initiator: Jim Lyddane Date of proposal to Curriculum Sub-Committee: 4/6/12 Effective Semester/Year Fall 2012 Spring Summer Prefix & Number: ENG 138 Full Title: (100 character limit) Creative Writing I Short Title: (30 character limit) CW I Catalog Course Description: Introductory study and practice of the craft of writing fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction with an emphasis on the reading and discussion of student manuscripts and of published works by contemporary writers. SUN Course Number: N/A Credit Hours: 3 Lecture Hours: 3 Lab Hours: N/A Prerequisite(s) Successful completion of ENG 101 or permission of academic chair. Co-requisite(s) N/A Intended Course Goals By the end of the semester, students will be able to: 1. Identify the elements of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction through the study, evaluation, and discussion of student manuscripts and published works by contemporary writers. 2. Construct fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction manuscripts by applying the elements of the appropriate genre. 3. Assess and critique the quality of one s own creative manuscripts as well as the creative manuscripts of fellow students. 4. Recognize creative writing techniques applicable to all forms of imaginative writing. 5. Compose works of prose and poetry in clear, direct, and effective language. 6. Articulate informed responses to works of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction (student manuscripts as well as published works by contemporary writers). 7. Interpret written and oral critical literary assessment. 8. Revise one s own creative manuscripts.

5 Course Competencies and Objectives By the end of the semester, students will be able to: Competency 1 Identify elements of craft central to all genres of imaginative writing. Objective 1.1 Recognize the importance of imagery (with emphasis on concrete details and figures of speech) in works of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Objective 1.2 Develop an understanding of the nuances of voice, identify distinguishing characteristics of fictional voices (author, narrator/speaker, and character), and recognize the defining characteristics of first-person, second-person, and third-person points of view in works of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Objective 1.3 Appraise the element of character in works of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction to distinguish between round/complex and flat/simple characters, to identify available methods writers employ to develop characters, and to recognize the key and necessary role character plays in all forms of imaginative writing. Objective 1.4 Analyze how writers of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction employ setting not only to establish time and place but also to develop character, theme, and story. Objective 1.5 Recognize various narrative structures (includes exposition, rising action, climax/crisis, etc.) available to writers of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction with emphasis on the significance of the relationship between conflict and narrator/speaker/character. Competency 2 Identify and define the elements of fiction. Objective 2.1 Assess the causal nature of plot, identify traditional plot structure, and determine variations on chronological sequencing and traditional structuring. Objective 2.2 Identify the various methods of characterization in fiction, define the characteristics of round and flat characters, determine protagonists and antagonists, explain the function character serves in shaping and driving plot, and recognize the primacy of character in literary fiction. Objective 2.3 Explain the dramatic function setting serves in fiction, describe the various methods writers employ to create vitality in setting, and recognize the connection between setting and character. Objective 2.4 Identify first-person, second-person, and third-person points of view; define reliable and unreliable narrators; define omniscient, limited, and objective perspectives; and recognize how a writer s choice of point of view influences a reader s understanding of any story. Objective 2.5 Assess the importance of theme in literary fiction and how all elements of a story work together to contribute to its meaning. Objective 2.6 Identify the significance of concrete images and sensory details. Objective 2.7 Distinguish the various ways writers employ matters of style, tone, irony, and symbolism to enhance meaning in works of literary fiction. Competency 3 Identify and define the elements of poetry. Objective 3.1 Identify and define concrete images and sensory details. Objective 3.2 Identify and define sound devices such as alliteration, assonance, and onomatopoeia.

6 Objective 3.3 Identify and define rhyme patterns such as perfect rhyme and slant rhyme. Objective 3.4 Distinguish free verse (or open form poetry) from such closed forms as sonnets, villanelles, and haiku. Objective 3.5 Identify and define rhythmic patterns of poetic meter, particularly that of iambic pentameter. Objective 3.6 Identify and define the function of figurative language, particularly the use of similes and metaphors. Objective 3.7 Distinguish between lyric and narrative poetry. Objective 3.8 Distinguish between the voice of the poet and the voice of the speaker/persona. Objective 3.9 Identify various methods of characterization employed by poets (including direct and indirect methods of characterization and character as metaphor). Objective 3.10 Determine the various ways poets employ matters of style, tone, irony, and symbolism to enhance meaning in works of literary poetry. Competency 4 Identify and define the elements of creative nonfiction. Objective 4.1 Identify the different forms of creative nonfiction (with particular emphasis on personal essay and memoir). Objective 4.2 Identify the elements of fiction commonly employed by writers of creative nonfiction (for example, dialogue and action, character development, concrete images and sensory details, narrative structure, etc.). Objective 4.3 Recognize the convention of a first-person point of view with a conversational tone of voice in works of creative nonfiction. Objective 4.4 Develop an understanding of the necessary balance between showing and telling in works of creative nonfiction. Objective 4.5 Recognize the distinction between essential truth and fact in works of creative nonfiction (particularly the memoir). Objective 4.6 Identify appropriate writing situations in works of creative nonfiction that call for the use of a third-person rather than the more conventional first-person point of view. Competency 5 Demonstrate further proficiency in understanding the elements of fiction through a series of focused written exercises. Objective 5.1 Develop believable characters through direct and indirect methods. Objective 5.2 Establish palpable settings by incorporating concrete images and sensory details. Objective 5.3 Recognize the advantages and limitations (including psychic and emotional distance) of the various points of view available to writers. Objective 5.4 Identify distinguishing characteristics among fictional voices (author, narrator, and character). Objective 5.5 Write natural and effective dialogue. Objective 5.6 Determine differences between traditional and contemporary plot structures. Objective 5.7 Recognize the outer (involving physical event) and inner (involving character interiority) story components in works of literary fiction. Objective 5.8 Recognize that in most works of literary fiction theme arises naturally from a story s characters and

7 events. Objective 5.9 Develop facility in the use of figurative language and gain an understanding of the larger implications of metaphor. Objective 5.10 Recognize clichéd constructions (in language, character, plot, theme, etc.). Competency 6 Generate and develop ideas for short fiction. Objective 6.1 Identify viable sources for story ideas (personal experience, experiences of others, news accounts, images, other works of fiction, pure invention, etc.). Objective 6.2 Distinguish between sophisticated and simple story ideas. Objective 6.3 Determine suitable fictional forms for story ideas (micro fiction, flash fiction, short story, novel, etc.). Competency 7 Recognize and apply components of the creative process in crafting works of fiction. Objective 7.1 Recognize the importance of abandoning fidelity to reality in real life sources for stories. Objective 7.2 Develop story ideas in the context of cohesive fictional art vs. real-life recreation. Objective 7.3 Employ elements of fiction. Objective 7.4 Understand the methods of showing and telling. Objective 7.5 Develop narrative arc. Objective 7.6 Identify and develop conflict. Objective 7.7 Delete unrelated details. Objective 7.8 Construct and develop both an outer story (involving physical event) and an inner story (involving character interiority). Competency 8 Write a fully rendered piece of short fiction. Objective 8.1 Apply as appropriate per manuscript pertinent elements of fiction (complex characters, palpable settings, functional points of view, etc.). Objective 8.2 Select an effective point of attack for beginning the story on the page. Objective 8.3 Determine an appropriate point of view. Objective 8.4 Identify and develop main and minor characters as necessary per manuscript. Objective 8.5 Establish a situation of conflict for the central character(s). Objective 8.6 Recognize the inner story (involving character interiority) at stake in relation to the story as a whole. Objective 8.7 Write dialogue that develops character, advances plot, and provides exposition in a natural and believable manner. Objective 8.8 Recognize opportunities in dialogue for subtext and incorporate as appropriate. Objective 8.9 Develop the outer story (involving physical event) as a framework for the plot of the story.

8 Objective 8.10 Ground the reader in a concrete setting through the use of specific images and details. Objective 8.11 Develop and exploit situations of escalating conflict for the central character(s). Objective 8.12 Recognize and exploit the element of change in the story. Objective 8.13 Identify the moment of crisis or the climax in the story. Objective 8.14 Identify an effective closing point for the story. Objective 8.15 Incorporate scenes and summary of scenes as appropriate per manuscript. Objective 8.16 Incorporate backstory and back scenes as appropriate per manuscript. Objective 8.17 Organize, edit, and revise the story for cohesion and coherence. Objective 8.18 Write in clear, direct, and vivid prose. Competency 9 Demonstrate further proficiency in understanding the elements of poetry through a series of focused written exercises. Objective 9.1 Create inventive metaphors and similes to avoid clichéd language. Objective 9.2 Establish palpable settings by incorporating concrete images and sensory details. Objective 9.3 Recognize the advantages and limitations (including psychic and emotional distance) of the various points of view available to poets. Objective 9.4 Identify distinguishing characteristics among poetic voices (author, speaker/persona, and character). Objective 9.5 Develop skill in the use of such sound devices as alliteration, assonance, and consonance. Objective 9.6 Recognize the distinction between the denotation and connotation of words. Objective 9.7 Recognize the varying impact of enjambment and end-stopped lines through exercises that focus on turning the line. Objective 9.8 Develop skill in compression through the use of selective editing. Objective 9.9 Identify different forms of poetic feet (iambic, trochaic, dactylic, etc.) and meter (trimeter, tetrameter, pentameter, etc.) and gain familiarity with such forms through exercises that focus on crafting various poetic lines (iambic pentameter, for example). Objective 9.10 Distinguish between formal verse and free verse poetry. Objective 9.11 Assess how published writers craft works of poetry through the practice of writing imitation poems. Competency 10 Generate and develop ideas for poems. Objective 10.1 Identify viable sources for ideas for poems (personal experience, experiences of others, news accounts, images, other works of poetry, pure invention, etc.). Objective 10.2 Distinguish between sophisticated and simple ideas for poems. Objective 10.3 Determine suitable poetic forms for ideas for poems (essentially, free verse or one of several formal verse forms).

9 Competency 11 Recognize and apply components of the creative process in crafting works of poetry. Objective 11.1 Recognize the importance of abandoning fidelity to reality in real life sources for poems. Objective 11.2 Develop ideas for poems in the context of cohesive works of art vs. a random pouring of emotions and images onto the page. Objective 11.3 Employ elements of poetry. Objective 11.4 Recognize the necessity of incorporating concrete images instead of abstractions in the conveyance of emotions. Objective 11.5 Identify appropriate uses of figurative language. Objective 11.6 Evaluate and develop conflict as appropriate. Objective 11.7 Delete unrelated or unnecessary words for compression. Objective 11.8 Identify rhythm in poetry through the use of sound devices, rhyme, and meter. Objective 11.9 Construct and develop as appropriate per poem both an outer scenario (involving physical event) and an inner scenario (involving character interiority). Competency 12 Write a fully rendered poem. Objective 12.1 Apply as appropriate per poem pertinent elements of poetry (concrete images and sensory details, sound devices, rhyme and meter, etc.). Objective 12.2 Identify an effective opening line or image for the poem. Objective 12.3 Identify an appropriate speaker/persona. Objective 12.4 Establish as appropriate a situation of conflict for either the speaker/persona or for other characters in the poem. Objective 12.5 Determine an appropriate form (free or formal verse) for the poem. Objective 12.6 Employ rhyme and meter as appropriate per form of the poem. Objective 12.7 Employ sound devices as appropriate per form of the poem. Objective 12.8 Incorporate figurative language. Objective 12.9 Avoid clichéd language. Objective Recognize the power of connotation in the choice of words. Objective Employ images as objective correlatives. Objective Ground the reader in a concrete setting through the use of specific images and details. Objective Develop exterior and interior stories in the poem. Objective Identify the theme of the poem by recognizing the true heart (or main concern) of the poem. Objective Identify an effective closing line or image for the poem.

10 Objective Organize, edit, and revise the poem for cohesion, compression, and coherence. Objective Write in clear, direct, and vivid language. Competency 13 Demonstrate further proficiency in understanding the elements of creative nonfiction through a series of focused written exercises. Objective 13.1 Write about personal experiences in literary prose (that is, by incorporating such tools of the fiction writer as imagery, dialogue, character development, etc.). Objective 13.2 Establish palpable settings by incorporating concrete images and sensory details. Objective 13.3 Develop facility in using the first-person point of view and recognize the advantages and limitations (including psychic and emotional distance) of all points of view available to writers. Objective 13.4 Identify distinguishing characteristics among voices in works of creative nonfiction (author, narrator, and character). Objective 13.5 Write natural and effective dialogue. Objective 13.6 Determine differences between traditional and contemporary narrative structures as they apply to works of creative nonfiction. Objective 13.7 Identify the connection between event and message in works of creative nonfiction. Objective 13.8 Recognize the importance of incorporating both showing and telling in works of creative nonfiction.. Objective 13.9 Develop facility in the use of figurative language and gain an understanding of the larger implications of metaphor. Objective Recognize clichéd constructions (in language, character, theme, etc.). Objective Write scenes of personal events from memory that necessarily leave out objective facts (exact conversations, for example) while remaining faithful to the essential truth of those events. Objective Develop believable characters through direct and indirect methods. Competency 14 Generate and develop ideas for creative nonfiction. Objective 14.1 Identify viable sources for ideas for works of creative nonfiction (primarily personal experience but also the experiences of others, news accounts, images, other works of creative nonfiction, works of imaginative literature, etc.). Objective 14.2 Distinguish between sophisticated and simple ideas for works of creative nonfiction. Objective 14.3 Determine suitable forms for works of creative nonfiction (personal essay, memoir, new journalism, etc.). Competency 15 Recognize and apply components of the creative process in crafting works of creative nonfiction. Objective 15.1 Recognize the importance of maintaining fidelity to the essential truth in real life sources for works of creative nonfiction. Objective 15.2 Develop ideas for personal essays and memoir pieces in the context of cohesive artistic creation vs. reallife recreation. Objective 15.3 Employ elements of fiction (for example, dialogue and character development) as appropriate. Objective 15.4 Assess the methods of showing and telling and recognize the necessity of clearly presenting an idea or

11 position to the reader. Objective 15.5 Develop narrative arc as appropriate. Objective 15.6 Identify and develop conflict. Objective 15.7 Delete unrelated details. Objective 15.8 Construct and develop both an outer story (involving physical event) and an inner story (involving character interiority) as appropriate. Competency 16 Write a fully rendered piece of creative nonfiction. Objective 16.1 Apply as appropriate per manuscript pertinent elements of fiction (complex characters, palpable settings, functional points of view, etc.). Objective 16.2 Identify an effective point of attack for beginning the piece of creative nonfiction on the page. Objective 16.3 Identify an appropriate point of view. Objective 16.4 Identify and develop main and minor characters as necessary per manuscript. Objective 16.5 Establish a situation of conflict for the first-person narrator or other character(s). Objective 16.6 Recognize the inner story (involving character interiority and the message or idea of the piece) at stake in relation to the creative nonfiction piece as a whole. Objective 16.7 Write dialogue that develops character, advances the story of the creative nonfiction piece as appropriate, and provides exposition in a natural and believable manner. Objective 16.8 Recognize opportunities in dialogue for subtext and incorporate as appropriate. Objective 16.9 Develop the outer story (involving physical event) as a framework for the narrative structure of the creative nonfiction piece and as a metaphor or point of conflict for the message or idea (or inner story ) of the piece. Objective Ground the reader in a concrete setting through the use of specific images and details. Objective Develop and exploit situations of escalating conflict for the first-person narrator or other character(s). Objective Recognize and exploit the element of change in the piece. Objective Determine the moment of crisis or the climax in the piece as appropriate. Objective Identify an effective closing point for the piece. Objective Incorporate scenes and summary of scenes as appropriate per manuscript. Objective Incorporate backstory and back scenes as appropriate per manuscript. Objective Organize, edit, and revise the story for cohesion, coherence, and clarity of meaning (regarding the idea, message, or intent of the piece). Objective Write in clear, direct, and vivid prose. Competency 17 Develop further proficiency in the craft of writing fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction by offering constructive critical assessment of peer manuscripts. Objective 17.1 Write informed critiques of peer manuscripts that reveal a firm knowledge of the elements of fiction,

12 poetry, and creative nonfiction as well as a developing understanding of the process of writing fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Objective 17.2 Demonstrate proficiency in the use of terminology appropriate to the discussion of works of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Objective 17.3 Recognize the efficacy of applying objective insights on peer manuscripts to one s own work. Competency 18 Enhance written and oral communication skills through the art of providing and receiving critical literary assessment. Objective 18.1 Practice appropriate etiquette for providing written comments on peer manuscripts. Objective 18.2 Practice appropriate etiquette for discussing peer manuscripts in class in a workshop format. Objective 18.3 Select appropriate terminology and vocabulary in assessing peer manuscript Objective 18.4 Recognize the value of informed objective assessment. Objective 18.5 Incorporate where appropriate suggestions for revision as offered by peers. Objective 18.6 Engage in critical discussion of peer manuscripts in a professional manner. Objective 18.7 Develop critical thinking skills by recognizing new and various ways to approach the reading and writing of works of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Competency 19 Develop and incorporate revision strategies. Objective 19.1 Identify and write toward the heart of a story, poem, personal essay, or memoir. Objective 19.2 Identify the inner and outer story in works of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Objective 19.3 Identify the optimum point of view in stories, poems, and works of creative nonfiction. Objective 19.4 Determine the motivating factors for the central character(s) and enhance characterization as necessary in works of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Objective 19.5 Recognize and exploit the conflict between need and get for the central character(s) in works of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Objective 19.6 Revise for specific concrete images and sensory details in works from all three genres (fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction). Objective 19.7 Revise as necessary the point of attack in stories, personal essays, and memoirs. Objective 19.8 Revise as necessary the plot or narrative structure in works of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Objective 19.9 Revise as necessary the closing point in stories, personal essays, and memoirs. Objective Revise poems as necessary for more effective compression, word choice, figurative language, rhythm, and theme. Objective Revise works of fiction and creative nonfiction as necessary for a more effective balance between showing and telling (as appropriate for each genre). Objective Revise works of creative nonfiction as appropriate to establish clarity in the presentation of ideas and positions.

13 Objective Revise as necessary for clear, direct, and vivid prose and poetic language. Competency 20 Identify and practice techniques of critical reading. Objective 20.1 Examine, interpret, and evaluate a text incisively by annotating during the course of a reading. Objective 20.2 Appraise and assess a text decisively by freewriting upon the conclusion of a reading. Objective 20.3 Develop responses to a text incisively by maintaining a reading journal. Competency 21 Demonstrate proficiency in the use of standard written English. Objective 21.1 Identify and repair common problems in grammar, particularly run-on sentences and sentence fragments. Objective 21.2 Identify and repair common problems in punctuation, particularly the misuse of commas and misapplication of quotation marks. Objective 21.3 Identify and repair common problems in mechanics, particularly the incorrect use of capitalization and the misapplication of italics.