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Creative Writing Syllabus
Course Instructor: Megan Hastings
Location: Room 204, Auburn High School
Email/Phone: [email protected]
Planning/Conference Time: 4th block 1:34-3:10
Course Overview:
Welcome to Creative Writing! Get ready to throw caution to the wind and dive into your own imagination. This course is not an English class. This course isdesigned to allow you the opportunity to explore your talents as a creative being! Yes, we will be writing, but the stressors found in your traditional Englishclasses will be eliminated, so...sit back, relax, and let your mind be your guide on this fantastic journey of self-discovery and creation.
Course Materials:
1. One composition notebook
2. One medium sized binder
3. Pens (blue or black ink only) and pencils; students will also need a few red pens
4. Loose leaf paper (college rule only)
5. One folder with tabs
Course Goals: Students will…
1. …experience creative writing in all genres: poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and other forms.
2. …create their own thoughts and ideas in their own forms of expression.
3. …learn how to craft a polished piece of writing that appeals to other readers.
4. …read “real” author’s works for inspiration as well as their peers’ works.
5. …hopefully, HAVE FUN CREATING
Class Rules:
Class Expectations:
1. No eating or drinking allowed in the classroom.
2. You should be in your seat when the tardy bell rings; if you are not in YOUR SEAT, you will be tardy. When you are tardy three times, you will receive a referral.
3. DO NOT work on other class assignments during our class time. I will take up your work.
4. Keep your head up, off your desk and off your arms. If you are too sick or too tired to come to class, then don’t come. Repeated attempts to sleep will result in being cast out of the class and not allowed back until you have settled accounts with me.
5. Do not pass notes or groom yourself in class.
6. DO YOUR WORK. If you don’t feel like writing haikus, too bad-you will do it (at least once).
7. When it is time to write, I expect QUIET. If you cannot refrain from talking during writing time, then you will be given detention (where you will be writing for me). I will, on occasion, use music as a vehicle for the creative process; however, this is the only permissible noise allowed when we are involved in the writing process.
Grading:
I use a percentage system for grading. Take note of how easy it will be to fail simply because you did not do your journal every day or because you never completed your writing portfolio.
30% Daily Journal
35% Major Writing (Assignments worth 50 points or more)
35% Minor Writing (Assignments worth 40 points or less—includes class writing time)
Make-up Policy:
Basically, you don’t have to make-up minor writing assignments. If you are absent the day we write haikus, then you just missed out. Any assignment that is worth 40 points or less does not have to be “made-up.” However, any major assignment (50 points or more) does need to be made up and turned in at the end of the fifth school day of your return. For example, if you are absent on a Tuesday and you return to school on the next day, Wednesday, any major assignments you missed from Tuesday are due by the end of the following Wednesday. Basically, you have a week to make up work.
Making Up Journal Pages:
We will begin class each day by writing one full page in your journal. You are required to fill up a page every day. I will take up journals at the halfway point and at the end of the quarter and give you a grade based on the number of pages you filled divided by the number of pages you are supposed to have written. For example, you will write ~30 pages each quarter. Missing class is not an excuse for lack of pages. If you miss class, you know that you must write a page for each day you have missed.
Late Work, Mediocre Work, and How I Grade:
Major assignments, as long as effort is evident, will be accepted within one week of the assignment’s due date. You must take care to put effort into your work. Effort, effort, and more effort counts for A LOT -- DO NOT throw something together at the last minute and expect a nice grade--it simply will not happen! If you did not put your time and effort into your writing, then I am not going to put my time and effort into reading and grading it. If youput effort into your work and you meet the requirements of the assignment, then you will receive full credit for your artistic creations! I do not grade according to my taste, per se, but only according to rules and requirements. (Note: I am a pretty nice person and will negotiate with you if you are generally kind and respectful but NOT IN CLASS. In front of the class, the answer is ALWAYS NO. Outside of class, you may have different results.) Basically, late work is acceptable (within reason), but mediocre work is not acceptable, ever.
Plagiarism:
I can’t imagine you’ll be so hard up that you’ll be tempted, but you shouldn’t ever use another’s words or ideas and pass them off as your own. If an assignment has been plagiarized, the assignment gets a zero. You will be surprised by how much I have read and how quickly I can figure out that you didn’t write this poem or short story.
What the Course will be Like:
Basically, you will try all different kinds of creative writing. We will be writing in class and in the computer lab almost every day. Some assignments will appeal to you, while others may not.
· Fiction: Short Stories, Children’s Books, and Short Short Stories
· Drama: One-Act plays and skits.
· Non-Fiction: Personal Essays and your daily journal.
· Poetry: Formal Poems, Informal (free verse) poems, Picture poems, Slam.
· Writing Portfolio: A collection of all your work (super big grade)
· Class Anthology: A collection of everyone’s best work.
· Peer Review/Critique: We will be reading each other's work and honestly critiquing it for what is effective and what is ineffective. Each student willbe required to have at least one piece of writing read by the entire class and critiqued. Awkward, painful, embarrassed, prideand joy--yes, all of these feelings will be experienced, but hopefully, we will learn to be kind, use constructive criticism, and learn how to improve our texts to make them more reader-friendly.
If you are willing to work hard and get creative, we will have a great class! I am looking forward to it!
