Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | ENG-2101-VO02 - Creative Writing I

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Erik Shonstrom
View Faculty Credentials

Hiring Coordinator for this course: Cindy Swanson

General Education Requirements

VSCS Arts & Aesthetics

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This course is an exploration of creative writing as a means of self-expression. Students learn the process of creative writing: topic selection and form, planning, developing imagination, and revising drafts. This course focuses on characteristics of good writing and the discipline, practice, and self-awareness required. Prerequisite: English Composition.

Essential Objectives

1. Demonstrate a command of English grammar and usage suitable for intended audience and purpose.
2. Through reading work of established writers, identify and practice such craft elements as sound, imagery, diction, tone, and syntax; discuss choices a writer makes in regard to these elements.
3. Develop a process for drafting and revising toward a final product.
4. Practice creative work in a variety of forms.
5. Apply critical thinking and reading skills to discuss the work of other class members as well as the work of established writers from diverse cultures.
6. Explore how works of creative writing contribute to social change individually or collectively.
7. Submit a final portfolio of selected work which demonstrates a commitment to practice and revision.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

*** This is a no cost textbook or resource class. ***

ENG-2101-VO02 Link to Textbooks/Resources Information for this course in eCampus.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Methods

This course is designed to help us become better writers. To that end, we can expect that almost every week we will be engaging in one or more of the following activities:

1. Close reading of texts

2. Writing, editing, and revising our own work

3. Studying/discussing sentence construction, structure, tone, voice, and rhetorically analyzing text

4. Sharing and discussing each others work

But that's not all. While this course shares quite a few elements with a composition course, we are engaged in 'creative' writing, so there will be a different approach that ramps up our engagement with ourselves and each other. So you can expect, in addition to the four activities below:

1. An exploration of different types of creative writing such as memoir, fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and criticism.

2. And exploration of what we'll loosely call 'the writing life.' What it means to be a writer, to explore both the world around us as well as within us.

3. How to make sentences crack and pop and sizzle. That's the point, after all.

Evaluation Criteria

Grading for this class is very straightforward.

Marginalia 25%

Essays, poems, stories, and other writerly bits 25%

Discussion Board Engagement 25%

Final Longform essay, story, poem, or memoir 25%

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

This Spring 2024 section of Creative Writing is asynchronous. What that means is that it is of the utmost importance that you contribute to the discussion boards, interact and provide helpful feedback with your classmates, and follow along with all assignments in a timely manner.

Of course you know all of this, and likely have taken other async courses with similar expectations. But I'd like to add further context for why this is important in a creative writing class. If we're going to do this - like really do it - then we must all be engaged and caring. That means contributing. That means reading each other's work closely. That means taking the time to think about how we can help each other become better writers. We're going to work on the nuts and bolts stuff for sure, but writing generally strays into the personal as well, so it won't be enough to just follow along an tick off boxes. You need to be involved and empathetic and present - oxymoronic since it's a async course, but I think you know what I mean.

It goes without saying, I think, that we have folks in this class from all kinds of backgrounds in terms of age, political affiliation, gender and sexual orientation, cultural background, race, ethnicity, religion - you get the picture. This is a class where we will, undoubtedly, write about personal stuff and ideas. We'll put ourselves out there, both from a textual and personal standpoint. We can disagree, but do so as decent human beings. Critique the idea, the writing, not the person, and we'll be fine.

If you use any hate speech, ethnic or racial slurs, or make inappropriate comments of any ilk, you will be removed from the class. This class is a safe place; we actually need to talk about who we are, how we see the world, so the manner in which we do so is of the utmost importance. If I even suspect that someone is using language or behavior that is meant to condemn instead of elevate; cutting down instead of propping up; or trying to hurt instead of heal, I will punt them from this class faster than a knife fight in a phone booth!

Basically, let's be kind to one another while trying to be open to other ideas and worldviews. Yes? Yes.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Generally speaking, I will accept late work for one week after the due date for partial credit. After a week, you will need to reach out to me via email to explain, and we'll take it on a case by case basis.

As an example: if an assignment is worth 10 points and you hand it in a few days late, but you've done all the required elements, you can expect an 8.

However, if something impedes you from completing an assignment on time - kids are sick and home from school, boss makes you take on extra work, or you yourself are under the weather - just shoot me a quick email. You'll be able to hand in late work for full credit.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity