Camden County College
Blackwood, NJ 08012
Course
Number: ENG-221
Date
of Last Revision: 5/14/02
Department:
English
Contact
Hours: 3
Prerequisite: English Composition I
placement
Course Goals:
Students will write interesting, vivid, and varied
poems and short stories.
Students will develop original approaches of their
own as well as read and
follow models provided by
professional writers and other students.
Students will use writing as a way of learning,
thinking, and feeling.
The class will work together in writing workshops to
improve each other’s
writing.
Students will evaluate and revise their own work
based on criteria provided
by the instructor through
lectures and course materials as well as standards
developed by the students
themselves.
Objectives:
1.
write
original poetry and short fiction
2.
identify
and use basic elements of poetry and fiction
3.
read,
analyze, and evaluate poetry and short fiction written by other students and
professional writers
4.
articulate
goals for their writing and discuss and solve problems of craft and aesthetics
in their own work and that of other class members
5.
identify
their strengths as creative writers
Methods of Meeting Course
Objectives:
1.
Students
will submit original poetry and fiction for class analysis and evaluation.
2.
Some
class time will be devoted to writing exercises that generate new work and
demonstrate strategies for beginning, developing, and improving original
writing.
3.
Students
are also expected to write and revise regularly on their own.
4.
Class
and group activities will improve students’ writing skills and analytical
abilities.
5.
There
will be a minimum of two tests per semester.
These tests (one for each genre) may include the analysis and evaluation
of a given poem or part of a short story and will include material presented in
class and assigned as homework. Quizzes
based on textbook assignments may also be given periodically.
Course Plan: Half of the course will be devoted to writing poetry and the other
half to writing fiction. Students will
learn to draft and revise their writing through group and individualized
instruction. The instructor will
evaluate drafts as well as finished work, and a test will conclude each half of
the class.
Instructional Methods:
Reading
assignments, lectures, discussions, workshops, written assignments, in-class
writing exercises, conferences, group work, and other instructional methods may
be used.
Instructional Materials:
Copies
of students’ original works are the primary instructional materials for the
course. Texts that include work by
professional and student writers and guidelines for the students’ own writing
may also be used, along with handouts provided by the instructor.
Methods of Evaluation:
1.
Students’ original poetry and fiction will be thoroughly commented on
and graded;
these grades will count heavily in the final grade.
2.
Tests on poetry and fiction writing will be graded for content, writing
style, and correctness. These tests may
include short answer items, essay questions, and creative options.
3.
Folders of students’ coursework and completed poems and stories may be
required.
4.
Students’ participation in workshops and class discussion of textbook
materials will be evaluated. How well
and how often students speak up in class will affect their grades for oral
participation.
Grading:
Final grades to be assigned are A, B, C, D, F, I, W, XA, and NA. Grades will be based primarily on students’ original writing but also on class participation in workshops and class discussions, homework assignments, and tests.
Texts:
Some
suggested texts are Three Genres (Minot), Writing Poems
(Wallace), Writing Fiction (Burroway).
What If? (Bernays and Painter), and In the Palm of Your Hand
(Kowit).