ENG 310: Intermediate Creative Writing, Poetry

Assignments

Required Work : This course requires you to not only practice your writing, but also to practice your reading and revising as well.

 

Reading - Worth 30% of your grade. For 12 weeks you will be assigned about a chapter of reading. You will then post a 300 word response to the reading and a 150 word response to another student. These word counts are guidelines for you. I don't actually count words, but I will expect to see substance, and you will not receive credit for anemic or thoughtless responses. Please view this forum as an ongoing class conversation.

Reading Responses are graded as a percentage on a pass/fail basis, out of 24 total posts.

24 100% A
23 96% A
22 92% A-
21 88% B
20 83% B-
19 79% C+
18 75% C
17 71% C-
16 67% D+
15 63% D
14 58% E

Workshop - Workshop Responses are worth 30% of your grade. This course is a workshop where students turn in poems and receive constructive criticism from other students and the professor. Students then use that feedback to revise their poetry portfolio. Therefore, it is imperative that peers give thoughtful, careful, and helpful comments.

Unlike face to face workshop classes, where students bring in poems each week but only get feedback a few times a semester, this online section allows us to get online feedback for every poem every time. To accomplish this we use a Group Workshop method. You will be assigned to a group of 4 students. Poems are due at noon on Sunday. Responses to your 3 group members are due at midnight on Sunday.

  • I grade all of the poems and all of the comments every week.
  • I respond to poems every other week.
  • Consider your workshop responses a weekly "quiz" where you show that you understand basic concepts of poetry. You will do this by making careful and intelligent suggestions for revision. If your responses fail to use poetic terms or make suggestions for poetic techniques, you will not receive credit.
  • Students should follow the guidelines in our "Workshopping" video and handout. Responses that fail to adhere to those guidelines will not receive credit.
  • Workshop Responses are graded as a percentage on a pass/fail basis, out of 48 total posts. Note that one of the points you receive each week is for the poem you post, and the other three points are for responses.
48
100%
A
47
98%
A
46
96%
A
45
94%
A
44
92%
A-
43
90%
A-
42
88%
B+
41
85%
B
40
83%
B
39
81%
B-
38
79%
C+
37
77%
C+
36
75%
C
35
73%
C
34
71%
C-

Portfolio - The Final Portfolio is worth 40% of your grade. For the Portfolio you will revise several of the poems you have turned in throughout the semester. You will also examine your performance in the class. Grades for the Portfolio are based on the quality of your revisions and your ability to reflect on your performance throughout the semester (see the full Portfolio assignment in the "Course Assignments" area).

Patricia Colleen Murphy, MFA* Arizona State University * Bell Hall Room M3 * 7001 E. Williams Field Road * Mesa AZ 85212-6032