Courses:

Creative Writing Course Syllabus

Writing instructor: Mark Burns | Room 814 | 972-5975 | burnsm@wvsd208.org

Coursework is writing intensive. We will write every day. The course will include writing homework.

You must be willing to share your work by reading it aloud to classmates.

Course Goals:

• Recognize good writing and the tools that make writing effective.
• Become more confident readers of our own writings and more constructive responders to the writing of others.
• Become more skilled writers in a variety of genres.

Coursework will be divided into five grading categories:

• Assignments: 25% Usually 1-2 assignments per week
• Weekly pieces: 25% We usually write 10 weekly pieces. They are due on Thursdays
• Participation: 25% Attendance, discussion participation, journal, poem of the day, warm-up activity
• Portfolio of self-selected favorite poems; short-fiction; or short creative non-fiction: 10% (poems/prose pieces and response writes must be typed)
• Chapbook or Showcase Portfolio: 15%

Final compilation and arrangement of your best pieces and the final reading on portfolio presentation day.

Late work will be accepted one day late at half credit. No later, no exceptions.

Expectations: Be here. Be here on time. Bring your tools to class. Remain quiet while we write. Read your writing with sincere feeling. Accept suggestions for revision amiably. Work to improve.

All rules and regulations contained in the student handbook apply in this class as well as the rules stated in this document.

Class Rules:

• Respect all members of the class.
• Do your best and it will be recognized.
• Write your own material. Plagiarized material will result in a zero on the assignment and an office referral.

We will write: poetry, a short story, flash fiction, a fairy tale, creative non-fiction and perhaps a short one-act play. We will not write novels.

We will read many good examples of published adult and student work.

 Grading scale: A = 100-93 A- = 92-90 B+ = 89-87 B = 86-83 B- = 82-80

C+ = 79-77 C = 76-73 D+ = 69-67 D = 66-63 D- = 62-60

F = 59-0

 Required Materials:

• Three ring binder containing at least 100 sheets of white, college ruled paper
• A plastic or nylon pencil pouch
• Three highlighters: yellow, blue, pink
• Two pens: blue or black ink
• Two #2 pencils with good erasers
• A spiral or clean edged notebook containing about 70 pages
• Covers for your portfolios portfolio (I'll show you examples), and materials for your poetry chapbook. These will not be needed until the last few weeks of the trimester.
  

Other:

Poetry Open Mike Nights

Location: Allied Arts of Yakima Valley | 5000 West Lincoln Ave. | (509) 966-0930
Time: Second Wednesdays at 7 pm

Listen to local poets - expert to novice - and read your own work. All are welcome. First come, first read. Or sign up early at Allied Arts.