English 5376
Writing Workshops
As stated on the syllabus, much of the course will be conducted in workshop format. That means that nearly every class period you must bring your work and be prepared to:
Consistent problems in any of these areas may result in reductions of your workshop grade. Failure to bring work (especially assigned drafts) to class will mean significant reductions of your workshop grade.
Steady Writing Sessions
Note that the first item is to write for a minimum of 20-30 minutes
most class periods. The two most important aspects of a writing workshop are
1) the opportunity for collaboration and feedback; and 2) the opportunity to
write. One of the goals of the semester is to help you develop better, more
consistent writing habits. Despite many student protestations to the contrary,
very few writers actually write better in last-minute binges or in huge chunks
of time. Thus, this term we are going to practice nihil nimus in our
writing--nothing in excess, all things in moderation. Including writing. But
moderation requires steadiness, doing it regularly and habitually.
Therefore, to help you develop the habit of steady writing, you will be required to spend 20-30 minutes (usually the last 20-30 minutes of class) each class period writing on something related to your course project. No whining, no excuses, no internet surfing (whether relevant or not), no researching, no going elsewhere to do it, no working on other projects. You will just, plain and simple, write, whether you feel like you have anything to say or not. Then, at least twice more during the week, you will be required to write for 20-30 minutes each, for a total of three steady writing sessions. This is in addition to other work you are doing for the course; the steady writing must focus directly on your writing project. At the beginning of certain class periods, I will ask for a progress report on your steady writing, either as a brief note or in a class discussion. Bring the writings with you as well. Although you do not have to turn them in to the instructor, we may look at them as part of the workshop.
Although I'm only requiring three sessions per week, it would probably be most helpful to have a session everyday. You might use the other 2-4 sessions to help you stay steady on other class projects. With each session, if you really get going, you may, of course, write for much longer than 30 minutes. But the key is to get started, do a little bit everyday, and see the progress.