Course Policy forEnglish 415: Fiction Workshop

Dr. Rikki Clark Office: 502 Curtin Hall

Phone: 229-3302 Office Hours: M/W2:00-3:00

e-mail:

COURSE OBJECTIVES: During this course you will explore various narrative techniques, devices, and structures, and employ them in your own fiction. In addition, you will intensively critique one another’s short stories in terms of structure, technique, craftsmanship, and meaning.

COURSE WORK: This course requires you to write 24 pages of new short fiction. Stories workshopped in other classes will not be permitted. Short shorts, long stories, and novel chapters are unacceptable. In addition, you must provide a written critique of all stories workshopped in this class.Critiques will be graded on how in-depth you read your classmate’s story, how you criticized it, and what kind of advice you gave. These critiques must be typewritten, printed out, and handed to me in class. Critiques that are sent to me electronically will be graded down. Critiques handed in late will also be graded down. If you are absent, your critiques for the story you missed must be handed in at the next class meeting. You can fail the course if your critiques are lacking depth or if all of them are not turned in.

COURSE TEXT: Stern, Jerome. Making Shapely Fiction. Norton, 1991; $14.95. ISBN: 0-393-02929-8.This textbook can be purchased at the UWM Bookstoreor online.

COURSE MATERIALS: You will be required to provide an electronic copy of your stories to me on the day you signed up by 6:00 p.m. I will upload them to our D2L site for your classmates to read. You will also be required to turn in typewritten critiques for your classmates.

REWRITES: The semester will be broken into two halves – you will be required to submit a story during each half. After your story has been workshopped, I will provide a written critique of your story. You will also receive a number grade (out of 100). If you chose to rewrite your story, the first draft’s grade and the second draft’s grade will be averaged together. All rewrites will be due one week after our last class meeting.

CLASS PARTICIPATION: Your class participation grade will be determined by your workshop critiques, as well as your attendance and participation in workshops, discussions, mini lessons, writing assignments, and conferences.

GRADE PERCENTAGES:Class Participation, 50%; Fiction, 50%

ATTENDANCE: Your attendance is essential, and you should plan to be here for every session. More than four (4) absences will result in a failing grade. If you are exceptionally late (more than fifteen minutes) you will be given a half an absence.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: This course requires all new fiction to be scene-based in the realist tradition.Therefore, none of the following will be allowed: fairies, vampires, horror, children’s fiction, flying saucers, zombies, hobbits, laser guns, vigilante cops, anything related or derived from Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc. Also be careful of derivative fiction: The Sopranos, Chuck Palahniuk-esque fiction, Quentin Tarrentino-esque fiction, Stephen King-esque fiction, etc. It is hard to write anything new about drunks, drug addicts,hit men, mobsters, and/or superheroes. The story you present in class cannot be a chapter from a longer piece. It must have a beginning, middle, and an end. If your story goes over seventeen pages, I will advise the students to stop reading and you will only be critiqued on those first pages. Therefore, your story critique and grade will suffer because it is not “complete.” If you do not turn in your story on the day it is due, you will receive a failing grade on that story. No exceptions. However, you must still turn in a story to fulfill your page requirements. This is rude to your fellow students and me and will not be tolerated.

PARTICIPATION BY STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:

If you need special accommodations in order to meet any of the requirements of this course, please contact me as soon as possible.

ACCOMMODATIONS FOR RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES:

Students will be allowed to complete examinations or other requirements that are missed because of a religious observance.

STUDENTS CALLED TO ACTIVE MILITARY DUTY: Accommodations for absences due to call-up of reserves will be made.

ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT:

The university has a responsibility to promote academic honesty and integrity and to develop procedures to deal effectively with instances of academic dishonesty. Students are responsible for the honest completion and representation of their work, for the appropriate citation of sources, and for the respect of others’ academic endeavors.

COMPLAINT PROCEDURES:

Students may direct complaints to the head of the academic unit or department in which the complaint occurs. If the complaint allegedly violates a specific university policy, it may be directed to the head of the department or academic unit in which the complaint occurred or to the appropriate university office responsible for enforcing the policy.

GRADE APPEAL PROCEDURES:

A student may appeal a grade on the grounds that it is based on a capricious or arbitrary decision of the course instructor. Such an appeal shall follow the established procedures adopted by the department, college, or school in which the course resides. These procedures are available in writing from the respective department chairperson or the academic dean of the college/school. A more detailed description of the grade appeal policy may be found at the link below.

SEXUAL HARRASSMENT:

Sexual harassment is reprehensible and will not be tolerated by the university. It subverts the mission of the university and threatens the careers, educational experience, and well being of students, faculty, and staff. The university will not tolerate behavior between and among members of the university community that creates an unacceptable working environment.

INCOMPLETES:

A notation of “incomplete” may be given in lieu of a final grade to a student who has carried a subject successfully until the end of a semester but who, because of illness or other unusual and substantiated cause beyond the student’s control, has been unable to take or complete the final examination or to complete some limited amount of term work. An incomplete is not given unless you prove to the instructor that you were prevented from completing course requirements for just cause as indicated above. A more detailed description of the incomplete policy may be found at the link below. Also, a description of this policy may be found in UWM Schedule of Classes.

FINANCIAL OBLIGATION: The submission on your registration form and your subsequent assignment to classes obligates you to pay the fee-tuition for those classes or to withdraw your registration in writing no later than the date specified in the schedule of classes. It is important to both you and your university that you make payment on time. A complete description of UWM fee policies may be found in the schedule of classes.

OTHER: Look on the Secretary of the University Web site for additional information.