Welcome to this class. I’m excited to write with you!
SYLLABUS
ENG 271: Introduction to Creative Writing
Classroom: MLK 210
Email: Tina.Casagrand@gmail.com
Office Hours (at Three Story Coffee on Dunklin St. or online via Google Hangouts)
Tuesday 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Wednesday 1 p.m.
General Course Description
English 271-01 is an introduction to creative writing. Under my guidance you will work together to improve as writers—partly by composing and workshopping work of your own, but also by reflecting inwardly on what it means to be a writer. Yusef Komunyakaa says, “The internal terrain must be explored before one becomes human.” This semester, through the reading of the texts and interaction with living and working writers, you will come away with a richer ability to draw from your internal well of intellect and wield it better on the page.
The Texts
Some reading will be required for this course. The main texts assigned are:
- Imaginative Writing by Janet Burroway
- PDF Creative Writing Collection (available via https://cw271.wordpress.com/, watch for updates) compiled by Tina Casagrand
I will also assign readings from handouts that mesh with our text and lecture conversations. I firmly believe you must read a lot to become a better writer. Be prepared to write AND read intensively in this course.
About Workshop
In workshop, I strive to create a welcoming environment and encourage my student writers to make the same covenant with their classmates. I expect my students to furnish considerable and considerate feedback to their peers. I am convinced a teacher of writing must attend to his or her students’ work with seriousness and diligence. I demand my students provide the quality and quantity of written reaction for their fellow students that they would expect for themselves. Every writer’s voice is different, and there is room in my workshop for every aesthetic. As an instructor and writer, I am most interested in addressing the larger implications in a workshop piece. I will always assist a student in making the composition fresh and interesting, not to belabor the small stuff such as punctuation errors or sentence mechanics. I show attention to these minor considerations in my personal comments to the student writer, and take care not to misuse valuable workshop time on them.
It is up to you to print your own writing and bring it to class on the days it is up for discussion. In preparation for workshop, you must read your peers’ work sensitively and carefully. When you are critiquing a piece of writing, first read it at least once at a leisurely pace without marking anything. Then read it again, making line-edits along the way. Finally, write summary comments longhand in the margins of the piece at hand and type your comments on a separate sheet, minimum one page, offering your insights as to the major issues the poet needs to address in order to improve the piece.
In class, the writer whose work is up for discussion will get us started by reading the poem or first paragraph aloud. Afterwards we will discuss the work, and as we do so, the writer must remain silent. When we have concluded our discussion, she or he may comment or ask questions; then I will collect the copies of the piece, complete with line-edits and summary comments. I will peruse your comments to be sure you are taking the necessary time and care with your classmates’ work. The writer will receive the completed worksheets, including my comments, at the beginning of the following class period.
Attendance and Participation
A workshop is a discussion class, and twenty percent of your final grade will be based on participation. I expect spirited workshop sessions—please speak up regularly, adding meaningful input. Talking only when called on is not enough. Even students who produce brilliant work but who never speak in class will be held accountable for their lack of participation.
Be respectful. With this group of students, I expect absolutely no behavior problems. But, just in case, I should outline the consequences of misbehavior. If you indulge in disruptive side conversations, you will be counted absent and perhaps even told to leave for the day. I do not allow students to operate laptop computers, cell phones, or other such gadgets in the classroom. Nor do I allow students to wear earphones or headsets in the classroom. If I even see your cell phone or other electronic device (for example, if you have it out in your hand or on your desk), you are automatically in violation. Upon breaking any of these rules, you will immediately be counted absent for the day, but I might not interrupt class to tell you this. If you are in a special situation that requires you to use any of the aforementioned technologies in class, talk to me in advance and I will consider your case.
We meet only once per week, so you are allowed only three absences in accordance with the official Lincoln University policy published in the bulletin:
Attendance: The institutional attendance policy is described in the Lincoln University Undergraduate Bulletin. Students are advised that regular attendance, participation, and prompt attention to assignments are essential for success in ENG 271. Note: Lincoln University requires faculty to submit absence reports to the Financial Aid Office. Frequent absences jeopardize not just successful course completion but continuation of financial aid. The Lincoln University policy on absences in a sixteen-week course gives consent to the instructor to administratively drop a student from the course for documented absences that exceed twice the number of times a class meets per week. In a one-day course, any absence past a third will invoke this penalty.
If you have to be absent, please make every effort to find out (from me or from a reliable classmate) what assignments you have missed, and make every effort to complete them by the date of your return. I strongly urge you to save your absences for occasions when you genuinely cannot make it to class. If you use up allowed absences frivolously and then have to miss for legitimate reasons, all the documentation in the world won’t save your grade.
Be on time for each class. Because we must have copies of our work set out when class begins, I encourage you to even come early. Tardiness will always be greatly frowned upon, but I will take singular negative notice if you arrive late on days we turn in work. If you have to be late and wish to be marked “late” rather than “absent,” please speak with me after class that day. “Absent” will be changed to “late” no more than three times.
Notice of ADA Compliance
Lincoln University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, age, or disability in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its programs and activities. Students seeking assistance regarding disabled accessibility, including persons with impaired vision or hearing, should contact the Office of Access & Ability Services Coordinator. Any person having inquiries concerning compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), is directed to contact the Office of Access & Ability Services Coordinator.
The coordinator has been designated by the university to facilitate the university’s efforts to comply with the regulations implementing Section 504 and ADA. Students may also contact the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, regarding the university’s compliance with the regulations implementing Section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
SERVICES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Lincoln University is committed to providing equal opportunities to persons with disabilities in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. Students are hereby notified that this institution does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in admission or access to, or treatment, or employment in its programs and activities.
Questions that may arise in regard to the university’s compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act should be directed to:
Gretchen Woods
Coordinator of Office of Access & Ability Services,
304 Founders Hall, Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri 65102-0029
Phone: (573) 681-5167
E-Mail: access&abilityservices@lincolnu.edu
Students who self-identify will receive information on how to receive assistance and services coordinated through the Office of Access & Ability Services. The type of service made available is dependent upon appropriated documentation of the specific disability. Examples of such services may include the following: the provision of text on audio tape for persons with visual impairments, learning disabilities or physical impairments, enlarged print and or readers for visually impaired students, interpreters for the hearing impaired, access to recording device for taking class notes, and coordination with agencies providing services for persons with disabilities. The university also provides on-campus-housing accommodations for students with disabilities.
For more information on Disability Services please visit the LU Disability Services Website: http://www.lincolnu.edu/web/disability-services/
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the presentation of another writer’s work as if it were one’s own. If I discover that you have tried to pass off someone else’s work as yours, you will fail this course. If you have a question about citation, please ask.
Grading Information
The best ways to ensure success in this class are to attend every session, turn in your work on time, and participate enthusiastically and thoughtfully. Barring an emergency such as a verifiable health issue or a death in the family, I will not accept late work. If you turn a piece in late, it will not be workshopped or discussed during class time.
You will be graded on the quality of your work, on the quality of your participation, and on your improvement over the course of the semester. A student whose initial work is very poor but whose final work, due to energetic participation and hard work, is moderately good can receive an A or a B. A writing workshop is no place for sloppiness. No bad attitudes, no typos, no misspellings, etc.
On the specified due date, each of you will submit a portfolio comprising carefully revised writing, a new piece, and a three-page reflective essay detailing how you feel you have grown as a writer throughout the semester.
(Note: There is no final exam in this class.)
All parts of this syllabus are subject to change.
LU English 271: Creative Writing 