Primary Coursework

Weekly Cyber Assignments

Because this is a hybrid course which meets face-to-face only once per week, you will complete a considerable amount of work online/outside of the classroom. Assignments for this work can be found by clicking "Assignments" in our Bb menu. These items will include an assortment of short exercises, quizzes, brief small-group projects, group discussions, writing prompts, excursions outside the classroom, personal reflections, and any number of mysterious and challenging something-somethings. Expect the unexpected. Entries will generally be worth about 2-6 pts.

Workshop (20 pts. or 20% 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 (probably one face-to-face critique and one online critique). You receive 10 pts. just by being present for each critique or by responding to online comments. Click here for full instructions.

Chapbook

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

Your chapbook will be a self-published collection of your primary semester work (completed stories and poems). It may include independent (unassigned work), but must also contain a few required projects designed to give you practice with a variety of skills and approaches:

You may submit drafts of this work for workshop credit.

For full chapbook instructions, click here.

Course Aims

• 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 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.

Grade Info

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 abo e. 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

90-100 pts. = A
79-89 pts. = B
68-78 pts. = C
57-67 pts. = D

Performance and Participation Policies

Missing Deadlines

Weekly Cyber Assignments

Instructions for these assignments are generally posted on our class days. Your completed work is then due no later than two days prior to the next week's class. For instance, if your section meets on Tuesdays, then your cyber work will always be due by Sunday. If your section meets on Thursdays, then your cyber work will always be due by Tuesday.

Missed cyber assignments cannot be made up.

Workshop Sessions

If you miss a workshop session you are scheduled for, you cause a lot of problems and inconvenience for everyone. If you know in advance that you are sick or will have to miss, you must email the class to let us know, then request a rescheduling. In some cases late in the semester, there may be no additional time for reschedulings. (Remember that you are required to have two workshop critiques for the term.)

Chapbook

These are handed in at the end of the term and will not be accepted after 11:59 pm of May _____. Exceptions are only made with documented evidence of serious harship or illness.

 

Missing Class

English Department Attendance Policy: "In compliance with NDSU University Senate Policy, Section 333: Class Attendance and Policy and Procedure, located at <http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/policy/333.htm>, the English Department has established the following attendance policy. All English Department courses require active learning. Students are expected to speak, listen, and contribute. Therefore, prompt, regular attendance is required. Students who miss more than four weeks of class during the standard academic semester (e.g. twelve 50 minute classes, eight 75 minute classes, or their equivalent) will not pass the course. Moreover, each student is accountable for all work missed because of absence, and instructors have no obligation to make special arrangements for missed work."

What do do if you miss class:

1. Please DO NOT come to me asking, “What did we do?” (Or, even worse, “Did we do anything?”). As soon as possible, contact 2 or more classmates for full class notes, instructions, handout titles, etc. If the classmates you contact did not take helpful notes or are otherwise uninformed, you should contact someone else. (You are responsible for knowing what transpires in each class session, whether you are present or not.) If you know in advance that you will miss a class meeting and/or class work, contact classmates well ahead of time for assistance.
2. After securing some notes, next check our Power Point presentations in Bb for additional info.
3. Finally, after you have done all of the above, you may contact me with specific questions or to receive any needed materials.

Failure to heed the above information may result in my sending you to the "YOU ARE A DORK" web page.

Coming Late to Class

...is A BAD IDEA. It's disruptive and rude, and you will miss important announcements and instructions which are covered in the first few minutes of every session. You are responsible for knowing announcements and instructions whether you are present or not.

Digging Class

A key word in this class is curiosity. One of the WORST things you can do is tell me that SOMETHING BORED YOU. All coursework will require active thinking and engagement. If you are energetically reflecting, imagining, questioning, and struggling when you read course materials or complete course work, YOU WILL NEVER BE BORED. Admissions of boredom are embarassing, because they reveal that you yourself are a boring person who is too unimaginative or passive to make things interesting.

If you do not UNDERSTAND something, do not become frustrated, angry, or defeated. REJOICE! :D You are in exactly the right place to begin learning. When confused or otherwise stumped, ask questions. Be willing to be dumb. Dig. Explore. LOOK THINGS UP. Engage others. Contact your instructor. And, yes, even RE-READ assignments!

Class participation does not simply mean perfect attendance. Becoming better writer requires critical thinking, dialogue, and practice. This is a workshop course, which requires your active input and involvement.

Web-Surfing, Facebooking, Texting, Etc.

None of these activities is permitted in class unless they are linked directly to coursework.

 

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.

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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.

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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 Category 4, Humanities and Fine Arts, 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.”

Upper Division Writing Outcomes

This course has also been approved for the Upper Division Writing Program, and Category 1, Communications, General Education credits.

The course meets the following Upper Division Writing Outcomes:

• G.E. Outcome 1: Students will learn to communicate effectively in various genres for different audiences, purposes, and situations. 
• G.E. Outcome 6: Students will learn to integrate knowledge and ideas in a coherent and meaningful manner. 

This course will also emphasize the following English department goal:

• Students will learn to manage sophisticated writing and research projects, planning, documenting, completing, and assessing work on time and within the constraints of the project.

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/fileadmin/studentlife/StudentCode.pdf 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.