Distance Learning Course Interaction Plan

Course Number and Title: ENG 217: Creative Writing

Instructor: Caryl Casson                    

Telephone Number (if any):               

Email Address: ccasson@hcc.mass.edu        

Office Hours (if any): by appointment          

Online Hours: Daily                           

Communication Policy: Email or WebCT discussion board  

__x__ Asynchronous Course              ____Synchronous Course

Asynchronous:            This kind of distance education is characterized by an emphasis on "learning on demand" or "as needed communication" between students and faculty from multiple locations at times convenient to participants.

 

Synchronous:              This form of distance education entails the use of live, two-way communication among and/or between students and faculty in a scheduled or "fixed" point(s) of time(s), much like classroom-based instruction.

Course Description: From the course catalog…“Centers on weekly student writing of poems, short stories, plays, or personal essays. Specific projects will be determined by individual and group interests. Group discussion of works-in-process will help the individual to achieve a significant creative writing project for the semester. Examples of creative excellence will be read and discussed, with some attention to critical and aesthetic theory. Prerequisite: ENG 102”

 

In other words…this class gives students the opportunity to experiment with four genres of creative writing. Using exercises to build confidence and generate ideas, students will spend the semester working, with the help of their workshop colleagues, through drafts and revisions towards a final portfolio that showcases their most successful pieces.    

Coursework includes writing exercises, crafting pieces of creative writing, peer editing the writing of fellow students, and reading works by established authors.

Required Textbook & Materials:       

Burroway, Janet.  Imaginative Writing; The Elements of Craft. 2^nd ed. (With MyCompLab) Pearson Longman: New York 2007  ISBN 0-205-69407-1

Bell, Susan  The Artful Edit WW Norton:  New York,  2007

NB: IMAGINATIVE WRITING COMES WITH AN ON-LINE WRITING LAB THAT IS ESSENTIAL FOR COMPLETION OF THIS COURSE.  IN ORDER TO GET A SUPPLEMENT THAT IS COMPATIBLE WITH HCC TECHNOLOGY, BE SURE TO PURCHASE THE) BOOK AT THE HCC BOOKSTORE; FAILURE TO DO SO WILL WASTE YOUR VALUABLE TIME AND MONEY DURING THIS SHORT SEMESTER.

Course Objectives:

To understand some of the techniques that make for successful creative writing

To develop confidence in creative writing skills and to give students an opportunity to experiment with different genres

To develop critical thinking and reading skills

To develop editing skills

Methods of Instruction: Online – Distance Learning

Students are required to engage in the following interaction(s) for successful completion of this course:

Students must complete all of the scheduled readings, do all the writing exercises assigned, submit drafts and revisions of assigned work, participate in the discussion board, peer edit the works of fellow students, and submit a final portfolio.  This course is NOT self-paced. All assignments must be completed by the deadlines specified in the weekly learning modules and in the syllabus—late assignments will not be accepted.

This course may include, but not be restricted to, the following interactions:

1. in person meetings                                                            YES                                        NO      x         

2. telephone interactions                                                        YES                                        NO      x         

3. electronic interactions (email, internet...)                             YES    x                                  NO                 

If yes, dates, times, places are to be specified…

Evaluation of Student’s Progress:

Participation and Preparatory Exercises 40%

Drafts and Peer Reviews 40%

Final Portfolio 20%