English 455 / Spring 2002
Portfolio Development for Writing
Majors
| Writing Portfolio and Contract | Short Research and Reading Projects | Creativity Workshop |
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writing the contract workshops |
writers' lives |
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Writing Portfolio and Contract
The most important assignment in this course will be the one you assign yourself: your portfolio. You will have to define, in negotiation with me, the nature of your portfolio. I will do my best to help you determine appropriate, meaningful, and realistic writing goals.
Your portfolio should consist of at least three significant texts, each representing challenges to your current level of writing ability. In addition, your final portfolio must contain either a writer's bio or a resume. As a part of the course, you will create a website to showcase these works. At the end of the term, you will hand in both a paper version of your portfolio and the URL for your homepage.
Within the first few weeks of the semester, you will write a contract that describes in detail your plans for developing your portfolio. When we are both in agreement on the contract, we will both sign it. When I grade your portfolio at the end of the semester, I will grade it according to how well you carried out your contract. (This means I will not grade your portfolio in comparison with anyone else's.)
Please note that you will have to structure your own work on your portfolio. There will be three series of workshop days, and you will sign up for at least one workshop day in each series. Other than these workshops, nothing and nobody will direct you in how to carry out your work. Of course, we will all always be available for support and consultation, and there will be plenty of time in class for questions, brainstorming, and problem-solving.
You'll sign up for at least three workshops during the semester. We will be conducting workshops according to the guidelines in LeGuin's Steering the Craft (see Appendix I: The Peer Group Workshop).
To prepare for your workshop days, you'll need to circulate your text to me and all other members of the class at least two days in advance. You can pass out your work in class or email it to everyone as a RTF or Word file attachment. Workshop texts should be in draft form--double spaced, with generous margins. If you wish, include a list of questions you would like us to respond to in the workshop.
Participating in Workshops
When you receive another student's text for a workshop, you are responsible for doing a careful and thoughtful reading on your own, outside of class. Bring your notes to class and be ready to speak from your notes. You are welcome to give your notes to the writer at the end of the workshop, but you will be required to present your critique orally in class.
Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing
A second major component of the course will be your work with Ursula LeGuin's book, Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing. The book is a writing workshop--a series of guided writing exercises designed to "clarify and intensify your awareness of certain elements of prose writing and certain techniques and modes of storytelling." Your grade for your "Craft" work will be based on your completion of weekly readings and exercises from the text. We will share these exercises during class, using LeGuin's workshop guidelines. I will occasionally collect (but not grade) these exercises. If you are absent or have not completed the evening's writing exercise, you will receive no credit for that workshop.
Writer's Resources Project and Presentation
Your "Resources Project" will be a research task of your own choosing, related to how writers earn their living. For example, you might research a particular kind of writing job or career. Or you might research how to go about publishing a particular kind of writing. Based on your research, you'll create resource handouts for the rest of the class and give a short presentation.
We'll be visiting the library and Career Services early in the term to help you get started on your resources project. Presentations will be during the week of April 16.
Reading Writers' Lives: Identities and Experiences
During the semester, you'll locate and read two works in which writers reveal something of significance about how they think about themselves in relation to their work, how they do their work, what it's like to be a particular kind of writer, etc. These works can be articles, books (or parts of books), or even films. The only requirement is that they focus on writers' identities and/or experiences as writers. (Any kind of writer.)
On each "Writers' Lives" due date, you'll bring copies of a one-page summary and review of the work to class. We'll all read the reviews and discuss them at the following class meeting.
Your final assignment will be to write a letter to the class. You'll distribute them via e-mail during the last week of class.