Syllabus: CRW 2100

Course title: Introduction to Creative Writing

Term:

Meeting location/times:

Instructor name: Mrs. Elisabeth Parker (she/her)

Contact: parker410@usf.edu

Instructor office: CPR 328

Office hours: TBD

Welcome to CRW 2100. In this class we will break down some of your favorite stories to see what makes them work. We will explore and sample a range of writing craft techniques, which will sharpen your writing and make you a better communicator, whether you plan to produce pithy emails or write a best-selling novel.

Prerequisites: None

Required Text: tbd. Please see canvas.

USF Course Description

Course catalog description: “A study of narrative and descriptive techniques in prose. By making the student sensitive to language usage, the course is designed to bridge the gap between expository writing and imaginative writing.”

Course Purpose

The purpose of the course is to help you learn the foundational forms and techniques of prose and poetry and how writers use the techniques to create compelling works of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. You’ll also learn and practice how to give effective feedback to your peers which will help you collaborate successfully with writers on works-in-progress in future workshops and in the workplace.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the course, students will be equipped to:

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to demonstrate and/or do:

Course Format

For each module, students will

• read assigned portions of our textbook along with corresponding works of prose and poetry (see Course Schedule),
• engage in class discussions,
• identify techniques at work in the assigned readings,
• practice course concepts by writing pieces of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry,
• provide and receive feedback from peers

Course Withdrawals

You may withdraw from this course without academic penalty up until the last day of the withdrawal date stated on the USF Academic Calendar. Before you withdraw, I encourage you to consult several sources:

• Consult with me regarding any course-related concerns.
• Contact a financial aid advisor to ask how withdrawing might impact you financially. 
• Ask your academic advisor if withdrawing will impact your progress toward your degree.

Technology

Students may not use cell phones or laptops in this class without permission. It is the expectation that students will be fully present and participating in class rather than engaged on unrelated sites or activities on their devices.

Emails: Emails to your instructor must be sent from a usf.edu account and composed professionally. Please note that all communication between students and instructors is public record.

Mandated Reporting

Per USF’s Title IX Policy (0-0004), all faculty (including adjunct instructors and graduate teaching assistants) are considered “responsible employees” and are required to promptly report allegations or instances of sexual harassment (including sexual violence) by or against any USF System employee(s), student(s), or group(s) to the University’s Title IX Coordinator.

Grading Scale

A: 94-100	B+: 87-89	C+: 77-79	D+: 67-69	F: 0-59
A-: 90-93	B: 84-86	C: 74-76	D: 64-66
	B-: 80-83	C-: 70-73	D-: 60-63

Grading categories and weights:

40%     Technique Practice Assignments

Students will demonstrate specific techniques – 5 points for each practice

40%     Reading Quizzes and Discussions

Students will demonstrate an understanding of core terms and techniques and identify Most Valuable Passages that show those techniques in exemplar readings – 5 points each

10%     Revised genre sample for with Process Reflection

Students will produce a revised writing sample with an accompanying reflection in which they identify techniques they deployed in their writing and to what effect – 10 points

10%     Peer review

Students will write two reader letters to group-mates – 5 points each letter

Students will write a reflection on the peer review process – 10 points

Course Policies

• First-day attendance (FDA) is mandatory for all students per USF policy. Instructors are required to submit student names for non-attendance to the registrar, who will drop students from the course for non-attendance at the first class meeting. This policy ensures students who have registered for classes they don’t intend to take are not charged tuition or do not incur financial aid inadvertently. It also allows us to free up space for students who do want the course.

Sometimes students experience extenuating circumstances and are unable to attend the first class – for example, they might have just added the course but are not on campus. They must notify the instructor by email prior to the first meeting to request a waiver of attendance and the instructor can count that student as present for first-day attendance purposes. Any student not in attendance and who has not been excused from attending the first class by their instructor will be dropped from the course.  

• Students are expected to attend every class. Class attendance is particularly important because of the in-class engagement, collaboration, peer feedback, and specific instructional activities designed for the classroom. This class is built around active participation. Therefore, students in this course must attend regularly in order that learning outcomes are met.

• You MUST NOT accumulate more than four (4) absences* 
 
*All absences, including those for legitimate reasons (e.g., illness, religious observation), count toward the four (4) allowed absences. However, if you miss a class for a legitimate reason, you may be excused from that day’s assignments at your instructor’s discretion. 

• Please let me know if you are going to miss a class for any reason, so that I can better plan activities.

• Students are required to keep up with classwork and submit assignments by the due dates regardless of other activities, including other coursework, family obligations, work schedules, or other pursuits. Assignment submissions are expected before the due time, unless otherwise stated. Late assignments will be penalized (1-24 hours, lose 20% of grade, then 20 % for each additional day.

• The current university policy concerning incomplete grades will be followed in this course.

• All work should be formatted according to industry standards:
  • Times New Roman, 12-point font
  • Double-spaced
  • 1” margins
  • Proofread your work carefully before submitting

• All reading assignments and grades for this course will be posted to Canvas on a weekly basis. Students are highly encouraged to check Canvas regularly.
• All uploads to Canvas must correspond to the correct assignment. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure an assignment is uploaded to the right place. If a partial, unfinished, or incorrect document is uploaded, the submission may be counted as no submission and a score of zero will be assigned. If attempts to submit work to any platform are unsuccessful, students should seek assistance on their own as needed.
• Title IX Policy: Title IX provides federal protections for discrimination based on sex, which includes discrimination based on pregnancy, sexual harassment, and interpersonal violence. In an effort to provide support and equal access, USF has designated all faculty (TA, Adjunct, etc.) as Responsible Employees, who are required to report any disclosures of sexual harassment, sexual violence, relationship violence or stalking. The Title IX Office makes every effort, when safe to do so, to reach out and provide resources and accommodations, and to discuss possible options for resolution.  Anyone wishing to make a Title IX report or seeking accommodations may do so online, in person, via phone, or email to the Title IX Office. For information about Title IX or for a full list of resources please visit: https://www.usf.edu/title-ix/gethelp/resources.aspx. If you are unsure what to do, please contact Victim Advocacy – a confidential resource that can review all your options – at 813-974-5756 or va@admin.usf.edu.
• Course Hero / Chegg Policy: The USF Policy on Academic Integrity specifies that students may not use websites that enable cheating, such as by uploading or downloading material for this purpose. This does apply specifically to Chegg.com and CourseHero.com – almost any use of these websites (including uploading proprietary materials) constitutes a violation of the academic integrity policy.
• Professionalism Policy: Per university policy and classroom etiquette, electronic devices, especially mobile phones, must be silenced during all classroom and lab lectures. Please arrive on time for all class meetings. Students who habitually disturb the class by arriving late or create other disruptions that degrade the learning environment may be asked to leave the classroom. Repeated issues may result in a reduction in the student’s final class grade.
• Mid semester and End of Semester Student Evaluations: A midsemester anonymous evaluation will be required, to assess what is going well and where things are not. All classes at USF make use of an online system for students to provide feedback to the University regarding the course. These surveys will be made available at the end of the semester, and the University will notify you by email when the response window opens. Your participation is highly encouraged and valued.

General Guidelines

• Be respectful and sensitive when sharing your ideas and opinions. There will be people in your class with different linguistic backgrounds, political and religious beliefs, or other general differences. 
• A Note on Topic–In order to maintain an inclusive community within our class and to keep us all in a healthy head space, do not submit writing for peer feedback that deals with potentially divisive or hurtful topics. These topics include but are not limited to gratuitous violence (including animal abuse), suicide, sexual assault, and the glorification and/or exaltation of tropes of exclusion/superiority such as sexism, racism, classism, ageism, and ableism. If you are concerned about a topic you are considering writing about, please speak with me.

Learning Support and Campus Offices

 

            Please see the Provost Core Policies:

https://www.usf.edu/provost/faculty-success/resources-policies-forms/core-syllabus-policy-statements.aspx

 

Academic Accommodations:

Students with disabilities are responsible for registering with Student Accessibility Services (SAS) in order to receive academic accommodations. For additional information about academic accommodations and resources, you can visit the SAS website.

SAS website for the Tampa and Sarasota-Manatee campuses.

Academic Support Services:

The USF Office of Student Success coordinates and promotes university-wide efforts to enhance undergraduate and graduate student success. For a comprehensive list of academic support services available to all USF students, please visit the Office of Student Success website.

Office of Student Success website for the Tampa campus.

Canvas Technical Support:

If you have technical difficulties in Canvas, you can find access to the Canvas guides and video resources in the “Canvas Help” page on the homepage of your Canvas course. You can also contact the help desk by calling 813-974-1222 in Tampa or emailing help@usf.edu.

IT website for the Tampa campus.

Center for Victim Advocacy

The Center for Victim Advocacy empowers survivors of crime, violence, or abuse

by promoting the restoration of decision making, by advocating for their rights, and by

offering support and resources. Contact information is available online.

Counseling Center

The Counseling Center promotes the wellbeing of the campus community by

providing culturally sensitive counseling, consultation, prevention, and training that

enhances student academic and personal success. Contact information is available online.

Counseling Center website for the Tampa campus.

Tutoring

The Tutoring Hub offers free tutoring in several subjects to USF undergraduates.

Appointments are recommended, but not required. For more information, email

asctampa@usf.edu.

Tutoring website for the Tampa campus.

Writing Studio

The Writing Studio is a free resource for USF undergraduate and graduate students.

Important Dates to Remember

All the dates and assignments for this course are tentative and can be changed with changes announced at the discretion of the professor. For important USF dates, see the Academic Calendar at http://www.usf.edu/registrar/calendars/

Classes Begin:                   

Drop/Add Deadline:           

Holidays:                           

Spring Break:                    

Withdrawal Deadline:        

Test-Free Week:                

Final Examination Week:   

Spring/fall Term Ends:       

Course Format

This course is designed to culminate in a final project of original writing (about 1000 words) that employs the concepts we are discussing in class (images, energy, and tension) in a genre of your choice.

All assignments and dates are subject to revision as we progress into the course.

Date Week of	Topics for Class	Activities/Assignments
Module 1 Introductions
Week 1	IntroductionsGoals and Objectives for Course       Intro to the Big Six: images, energy, tension, pattern, insight, and shape	Syllabus   Subject List p 17 and TPS8 Rules for Writing p 27 and personal rule“Digging” by Seamus Heaney“Being the Murdered Girlfriend” by Cathy UlrichCollaborative annotations for Big Six   → For next week’s class, read Chapter Two and pp 87-101 in Ch Three and complete the quiz
Module 2 – Prose Nonfiction/Memoir
Week 2	Diction, metaphor, and polarityYearning, sentences, conflict, scenesShowing and telling	Close reading of “I Go Back to Berryman’s” and “Chop Suey”Subject Lists P 17Draft a flash memoir   →  complete your draft and annotate it → For next week’s class, read Chapter Four and complete the quiz and read “Counting Bats,” and “In My Father’s Study upon His Death” and complete MVP posts
Week 3	ImagesShowing and Telling	Close reading of “Counting Bats,” and “In My Father’s Study upon His Death”Re-vision draft with images →  submit your image MVP → For next week, read Chapter Five and complete the quiz and read “The Things I’ve Lost” and Heating and Cooling” and complete MVP posts
Week 4	Energy	Close reading of “The Things I’ve Lost” and Heating and Cooling”Energy small groups (p 212)Re-vision draft with energy → submit your energy MVP → For next week, Read Chapter Six and complete the quiz and read “A Black Mama’s Breathwork” by DW McKinney
Week 5	Tension	Close reading of “A Black Mama’s Breathwork”Tension small groupsRe-vision draft with tension → submit your essay → For next week read Chapter Eight, complete quiz and read “White Angel” complete the MVP post
Module 3 – Prose Fiction
Week 6	Character and Insight	Close reading of “White Angel”Writing for insight Character small groups → submit your character MVP → For next week, review pp 94-101 of Ch Three and read “Swim” by Ambata Kazi Nance and complete the MVP post
Week 7	SceneConflict-Crisis-Resolution   Midterm feedback from students	Close reading of “Swim”Put your character to workSqueeze your character to a crisisScene small groups → submit your midterm feedback and scene MVP → For next class, Read Ch 7 and complete quiz And read “Wake Up” by Kathy Fish and complete the MVP post
Week 8	Pattern	Close reading of “Wake Up”Pattern HuntersPattern small groups → For next class read Ch Nine and complete the quiz And prepare for revision small groups
Week 9	Revision	Revision small group → complete and submit Writing Project #2 on page 416 with your fiction piece → submit revision → For next week read Ch Seven and complete quiz And read “The River” by Gregory Orr and “Pantoum” by Randall Mann.
SPRING BREAK March 13-17
Module 4 – Poetry
Week 10	Patterns	Close reading of “The River,” and “Pantoum”Practice 5 on page 317Making friends with rhyme and meter →  submit your Anaphora → For next week, read How to Erase an Arab and complete the MVP
Week 11	Patterns	Poetry close readings of How to Erase an ArabVillanelle small groups →  submit your villanelle For next week, read “Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu
Week 12	Guest poetry speakers Q and A on poetry	Close reading of “Paper Menagerie” → bring in magazines, newspapers, copies of pages from books, and other printed texts
Week 13	Forms: free verse, found, and blackout	Poetry is Everywhere small group → submit your found or blackout poem → For next week, Choose one piece of prose or poetry to workshop and Read “Ways to Give Feedback” document
Module 5 – Synthesis and Reflection
Week 14	Writing Small Groups	Final Small Groups → submit your revision of your chosen work from the course.
Week 15	Last Class–Celebration and Readings **Reflections: tell me how you used each of the 5 strategies in a poem, a fiction, and a memoir Due by **