Eng: 125-WB41: Creative Writing 1

(3 -0-3)
Instructor: Scott Temple
Semester: Spring 2010

Date Syllabus Revised: 12-01-2010

Phone: 704-484-4048
E-mail: templesc@clevelandcommunitycollege.edu
Day/Time Class Meets: Thursdays from 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Office Location: Room 2155
Office Hours: Mondays from 7:00 -- 11:30 am and Thursdays from 7:00 – 11:30 am and 5:00 –
6:00 pm. Also, I am available by appointment.

I. COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to practice the art of
creative writing. Emphasis is placed of writing fiction and sketches. Upon completion,
students should be able to craft and critique their own writing and critique the writing of
others. This course has been approved to satisfy the Comprehensive Articulation
Agreement for transferability as a premajor and/or elective course requirement;
therefore, this course can be rigorous.

TEXTBOOK

Burroway, Janet and Elizabeth Stuckey-French. Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative

Craft. 7th ed. New York: Longman. Print. 2007.

Goldberg, Natalie. Writing Down the Bones. Boston: Shambhala. Print. 1986.

A College Dictionary (I recommend the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary)

Other Materials

A flash drive for storing documents

Headset for listing to online video and commentaries if you are using Library computers.

CLASS LOCATION

Class will be held in a designated classroom at Cleveland Community College, unless otherwise
stated. This class will require enrichment field trips to see lectures at other locations off campus.
Transportation will be a requirement of each student.

II. COURSE GOALS

Upon completion, students should be able to craft and critique their own writing and
critique the writing of others. The following is a list of specific outcomes for ENG 125

A. To identify elements of successfully realized fiction exemplified by readings in

course test.
 B. To recognize, discuss, and explain said elements.

C. To apply these elements of successful fiction to their own creative writing

endeavors as they produce a series of short stories.

D. To outline fictional works-in-progress.

E. To compose a minimum of three polished works of short fiction

F. To appraise and judge the viability of other class member’s work as required.

III. METHODS OF INSTRUCTION

A. Lectures
B. Blackboard
C. Discussion
D. Conferences
E. Small group activities
F. Peer Editing
G. Video/DVD

IV. EVALUATION

To students in my creative writing course,

Imagine that this weren't an official course for credit at Cleveland Community College, but
instead that you had all seen my advertisement in the paper and were freely coming to my home
studio for a class in painting or cooking (or for that matter, writing!). We would have classes or
workshops or lessons, but there would be no official grading. Of course I'd give you evaluative
feedback now and then, pointing out where you’ve done well and where I could suggest an
improvement. But I wouldn't put grades on your individual paintings or stories or give you an
official grade for the course.

I believe that home-studio situation is more conducive to learning than the one we have
become accustomed to (conventional grading)--where many of you are not here by choice and I
am obliged to give an official college grade. That is, I will try to create a culture of support: a
culture where you and I function as allies rather than adversaries and where you cooperate with
classmates rather than compete with them.

Grading often leads students to think more about grades than about writing; to worry
more about pleasing me or psyching me out than about figuring out what you really want to say
or how you want to say it; to be reluctant to take risks with your writing; sometimes even to feel
you are working against me or having to hide part of yourselves from me. As a graduate student
from Sarah Lawrence College (Bronxville, NY) where no grades were given – just written
evaluations – I found the system worked fine and was a benefit for both teaching and learning.
Cleveland Community College, however, requires grades. For these reasons, I am using a
kind of contract for grading. I will give you plenty of feedback on much of your writing.
But I will not put grades on your papers and my comments will have no effect on your
final grade for the course--up to the grade of B.
Be prepared to engage in the craft of the fine art of writing. Everyday you will write and I will
challenge you to be thoughtful, creative, analytical, and demanding of yourself and your
boundaries.

You are guaranteed a final grade of B if you meet the following conditions.

(1) Attendance. Don't miss more than three days worth of classes. (If you miss more than three days, you
will be dropped from this course.)

(2) Lateness. Don't be habitually late. (If you are late or miss a class, you still responsible to find out what
assignments were made.)

(3) Every two missed assignments will drop you one letter grade starting from a “B”.

(4) Online Blogging. You will be required to enter one blog for each week of class.

(5) Sharing and responding. Work cooperatively in groups. Be willing to share some of your writing, to
listen supportively to the writing of others, and give full and thoughtful responses.

(6) Workshops: All workshops are mandatory. If you miss a workshop you will be drop one letter grade
for each miss starting at a “B”.

(7) Late homework. I take all homework at the beginning of class or online through the assignment feature
by the due date. If you are late with an assignment, you have one week to get the assignment to me.
However, the best grade you can earn is a “C”. After an assignment is more than a week late, I will not
accept the assignment. You will receive a “0” grade.

(8) Assignments. You will be given a Green Check Mark by your grade on Blackboard to show you turned
in your assignment. As long as you have check marks, you will be maintaining your contract agreement
for a “B”.

(9) Assignments need to meet the following conditions:

--Revisions. When the assignment is to revise, don't just correct or touch up. Your revision needs to
reshape or extend or complicate or substantially clarify your ideas--or relate your ideas to new
things. Revisions don't have to be better, but they must be different.

--Copy editing. When the assignment is for the final publication draft, your paper must be well copy
edited--that is, free from virtually all mistakes in spelling and grammar. It's fine to get help in copy
editing. (Copy editing doesn’t count on early and mid-process drafts.)

--Perplexity. How well do you develop your story using recommendations from the textbooks and
from class discussions. How well do you develop paragraphs and sentences to reflect intent.

--Thinking. Having found a perplexity, then use your paper to do some figuring-out. Make some
intellectual gears turn. Thus your story needs rough drafts and journal writing exer

--Don't let these last two conditions bother you. I don’t ask that your essays always be tidy, well
organized, and perfectly unified. I care more about working through the question than about finding
a neat answer. It's okay if your essays have some loose ends, some signs of struggle--especially in
early drafts. But lack of unity or neatness needs to reflect effort, not lack of effort.
Getting an A

As you see, the grade of B depends on behaviors. Grades of A, however, depend on quality. Thus
you earn a B if you put in good time and effort; I will push you all to get a B. But to get an A, you have to
make your time and effort pay off into writing of genuine excellence (and also meet the conditions for a B).
Notice that for grades up to B, you don't have to worry about my judgment or my standards of excellence;
however, for higher grades you do. We will have class discussions about excellence in writing and usually
we can reach fairly good agreement. Your mid-semester and final portfolios will play a big role in our
decisions about excellence.

Knowing where you stand

This system is better than regular grading for giving you a clear idea of what your final grade looks
like at any moment. As long as you fulfill the requirements of the project, turn in all work on time, show
up for class, and participate, you will be receiving a “B”. If you strive to do more and show quality and
care of your work (especially through the revision process), you will be striving for an “A”.

Grades lower than B

I hope no one will aim for lower grades. The quickest way to slide to a C, D, or F is to miss classes,
show up without assignments, or have placed little effort in your assignments. This is not nonnegotiable:
you are not eligible for a passing grade of D unless you have attended at least 11 of the 14 weeks worth of
classes, and completed 90% of the assignments. If you are missing classes and behind in work, please stay
in touch with me about your chances of passing the course.

ATTENDANCE POLICY:

Instructor Policy: Students are allowed to miss up to three days without penalty (After
three days you will receive an F). Assignment completed in class cannot be made
up; therefore, it is important that you attend every scheduled class.

TARDINESS POLICY:

Tardiness is rude and unprofessional. While tardiness might happen once due to
unforeseen events (I might even be tardy once!), a pattern of tardiness will be considered
a missed class. If a test, quiz or assignment has been distributed, no extra time is given to
those students tardy.

Also Note: It is the student’s sole responsibility to make sure the instructor knows you
entered the classroom after the instructor called attendance. Failure to do so will result in
an “absence” for that day. Please inform the instructor of your tardiness at the end of
class.

MAKEUP POLICY:

Instructor Policy: Late homework. I take all homework at the beginning of class or online through the
assignment feature by the due date. If you are late with an assignment, you have one week to get the
assignment to me. However, the best grade you can earn is a “C”. After an assignment is more than a
week late, I will not accept the assignment. You will receive a “0” grade.
STUDENT BEHAVIOR POLICIES:

Instructor Policy: Students are expected to conduct themselves as professionals in the

classroom and on campus. Students are expected to respect the opinions and suggestions
of fellow classmates and respond to disputes and concerns in a constructive manner.
Failure to act in a professional manner may result in a lower grade for class participation.

Plagiarism Policy: Students are expected to submit original work crafted by the student.
Deliberately copied text or undocumented quotes, paraphrases, or summarizes from
another author will result in an F on the assignment.

ELECTRONIC DEVICES STATEMENT:

To minimize classroom disruptions and protect the integrity of test-taking situations,
electronic communication devices such as telephones and pagers are generally not
permitted in instructional areas at Gaston College. See the Cleveland Community
College Student Handbook for emergency personnel exceptions.