Course Outline for English 11B
Intermediate Creative Writing

Effective: Fall 2020
SLO Rev: 09/30/2019
Catalog Description:

ENGL 11B - Intermediate Creative Writing

3.00 Units

English 11B offers practice in creative writing at an intermediate level. The course builds on the skills developed in English 11A. Assignments include fiction, poetry, and play writing, using materials drawn from individual's own work and selected texts. Students will write, read, and respond to texts in a workshop setting.
Prerequisite: ENGL 11A.
1507.00 - Creative Writing
Optional
Type Units Inside of Class Hours Outside of Class Hours Total Student Learning Hours
Lecture 3.00 54.00 108.00 162.00
Total 3.00 54.00 108.00 162.00
Measurable Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
  1. demonstrate intermediate skills of writing fiction: story development, scene building, characterization, point of view, theme;
  2. demonstrate intermediate skills of writing poetry including the function of image, metaphor, symbol, voice, persona, and the use of traditional and modern forms;
  3. demonstrate intermediate skills of writing drama: dialogue, characterization, scene building, the dramatic question;
  4. compile a portfolio of original work based on sustained revision;
  5. demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the characteristics and interrelatedness of each genre and select the appropriate vehicle for creative interests;
  6. demonstrate an understanding of how to respond and critique both student and published creative work across the genres.
Course Content:
  1. Modes of Creative Writing
    1. Analysis of selected works of professional writers. 
      1. Assignments on how writers craft and develop their work
      2. Practice reading texts as writers
    2. Expanded development of the vocabulary of criticism a writer must have to self evaluate work and respond to course material
  2. The Craft of Creative Writing
    1. Specific training through controlled assignments (for instance, characterization, figurative language, modeling, guided writing) to enable the student to explore specific elements and techniques
      1. Assignments in Fiction
      2. Assignments in Poetry
      3. Assignments in Play Writing
  3. The Creative Experience
    1. Consideration of creative writing as a means of discovery.
    2. Expanded exploration of the creative process and the possibilities offered by exploring imaginative techniques
Methods of Instruction:
  1. Analysis and discussion of the student's work by the class and the teacher
  2. Lecture/Discussion
  3. Group Activities
  4. Written assignments
  5. Distance Education
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
  1. Compose and revise a short story in First Person based on instructor and peer critiques.
  2. Compose, revise, and compile a series of poems around a theme or a motif, based on instructor and peer critiques.
  3. Compose and revise a one act play based on instructor and peer critiques.
  4. Write an in-depth essay that focuses on a specific element of craft in a chosen text of a writer whose work has informed the student's poetry, fiction, or play writing.
  5. Present extended critiques of workshop participants' work.
  1. Creative writing exercises and original work
  2. Participation in the evaluation of the work of other members of the class
  3. Compilation of a portfolio of original work
  4. Revision of work based on instructor and peer critiques
  5. Final examination or final project
Upon the completion of this course, the student should be able to:
  1. Student should be able to revise original poetry
  2. Student will identify and manipulate source materials for creative writing journal
  3. The student shows familiarity with the structure and elements of fiction
Textbooks (Typical):
  1. Burroway, Janet (2019). Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft (10th). Longman.
  2. Knorr and Schell (2006). Mooring Against the Tide (2nd). Pearson.
  3. Goldberg, Natalie (2016). Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within Shambala Library.
  4. Starkey, David (2016). Creative Writing: Four Genres in Brief Bedford/St. Martin's.
Abbreviated Class Schedule Description:
This course offers practice in creative writing at an intermediate level. Builds on the skills developed in English 11A including fiction, poetry, and play writing, using materials drawn from individual's own work and selected texts.
Prerequisite: ENGL 11A.
Discipline:
English*