NORTH SEATTLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
English 151.05, 152.05, 153.05
Winter 2016
MWF 12:00-1:20 pm
Classroom ED1840A
Instructor:
Office:
Office hours:
Phone:
e-mail:
www:
Molly Tenenbaum
IB2423C, Suite 9
M & W 11-11:50am, or by appointment.
(206) 934-4553
molly.tenenbaum@seattlecolleges.edu
www.canvas.northseattle.edu
Disability Services: I want to support all students in this class. If you have a condition that will
affect your performance in this class please let me know. Students with disabilities are
encouraged to use Disability Services for support in implementing reasonable accommodations.
You may make an appointment with Disability Services by calling 934-3697 or stopping by the DS
office on the 2nd floor of the College Center, at CC2346A.
Diversity: One of NSCC’s key values, all of which you will find listed on North’s website under
“Mission and Accreditation,” is embracing diversity: “We create a richer environment by
embracing diverse cultures, ideas, perspectives, and people." I want to emphasize that in this
class we welcome, appreciate, encourage, and learn from everyone.
REQUIRED TEXTS AND SUPPLIES
Books:
Best American Poetry 2015; David Lehman, series editor; Sherman Alexie, guest editor.
Writing Fiction, 9th Edition, by Janet Burroway, Elizabeth Stuckey-French, and Ned
Stuckey-French.
Internet &
Computer
You’ll need constant access, so that you can write, revise, discuss, and Google
at any and all hours. You will also need reliable access to a working printer.
Make sure your software programs are compatible with that printer. You will
need to be able to print things out and bring them to writing groups in class.
Materials:
A notebook with pockets, in which to keep all assignments, handouts, essays, etc.
Paper
Pens with blue or black ink.
Folders with pockets for turning in revision portfolios.
You’ll also need: Time, enthusiasm, energy, focus, and willingness to experiment.
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COURSE GOALS
1. To generate lots of new poetry and fiction.
2. To practice bounty and flexibility in our writing.
3. To generate more ideas together then each of us could alone.
4. To discover new ways to write and new things to say.
5. To practice essential elements of craft.
6. To enter into mystery by engaging in writing projects we can’t imagine the outcome of.
7. To use revision to expand our writing capability and deepen our insight.
8. To discuss our own work for the purpose of admiring all that is wonderful about it.
9. To enhance that wonder as the work is revised.
10. In short, to read read read, write write write, and revise revise revise.
11. To celebrate language, both alone and in the company of like-minded others.
12. And, of course, to understand artistic expression as essential to appreciate the fullness of the
human condition.
This class provides VLPA credit (Visual, Literary, and Performing Arts) toward NSCC’s A.A.
degree, and COM (Communications) credit.
Prerequisite: This class assumes basic skills such as the ability to write complete
sentences, use standard grammar and punctuation, and to proofread. Although the
poems and stories you write may choose to wrench grammar and ignore convention, this
wrenching should be purposeful and masterful. If I notice that your writing needs more
mastery, I will advise you to work on this on your own by studying and by visiting the Page
One, NSCC’s writing center in the HSSR building (next to The Grove).
ASSIGNMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Class Activities: (1-5 points): These include warm-up exercises, and in-class writing experiments.
Some might be turned in and some might not. Some might be written, some might be verbal. Some
might be done on your own and some might be done in groups.
Weekly Writing Assignments (20 points each): These are always due on Mondays (unless Monday is
a holiday). The first four weekly writing assignments, will focus on poetry. The last four weekly writing
assignments will focus on fiction. The assignments will be based on what I think we need to learn, on
ideas derived from class discussion, and on ideas derived from the poetry and fiction readings.
Each portfolio will contain three elements
1. A Reflection about your process of working on the assignment. See more about this in the
“About Weekly Writing” sheet.
2. The finished piece.
3. Any notes and drafts that went into the finished piece.
Midterm and Final Revisions (40 points each): For the midterm revision, you’ll revise one of the
poetry assignments you’ve written, and for the final revision, you’ll revise one of the fiction pieces.
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Each of these revisions will ask you to experiment deeply with one of the pieces that you have written
for one of the weekly assignments. These will be graded according to the depth of your
experimentation and the polish of the finished version.
Workshop Discussions (10 points each): On Mondays (or Wednesdays, if Monday is a holiday)
throughout the quarter, we will discuss our own work in small groups, practicing giving observant
feedback that provides ideas for revision. Bring 3 copies of your work on workshop days.
Weekly Journals (10 points each): Every Friday, we’ll be discussing selections from Best American
Poetry 2015 or from Writing Fiction. The journal assignment asks you to prepare for this discussion by
answering specific questions about the reading. The journal also includes some portions to enhance
your creativity and craft.
Report on a Literary Journal (25 points): Due at the end of the quarter, this assignment asks you to
explore the variety of literary journals available and choose one to tell us about in detail.
Gift Celebration (10 points): On the last day of class, you’ll, give some sort of creative writing gift to
the rest of the class: This could be a reading of some of your work, a write-up of some assignments
you thought of that we can all pursue after the class is over, a visual or artistic response to something
that happened in the class…or…? We’ll discuss more ideas in class. Gift in this case means a creative
gift, not something you buy.
ABOUT THE DIFFERENT LEVELS: ENGLISH 151, 152, 153
The designations refer to how many times the student has taken this class at NSCC, not necessarily to
how much experience the student has. Sometimes those registered for 151 have had a great deal of
experience, while those signed up for 152 or 153 may have had only 10 or 20 weeks of creative
writing focus. In this class, everyone will begin with the same assignments and everyone will work
toward—and beyond!—their own highest level. As the quarter proceeds and I find out more about
everyone’s writing, I may include alternative suggestions for different levels. Throughout the quarter,
I try to organize the discussion groups so that everyone gets the most out of it. Please let me know if
there’s something you’d particularly like to work on.
CLASSROOM COMMUNITY: YOU ARE EXPECTED TO...
1. Be here on time, and be prepared for class, ready to share your insights.
2. Turn off your cell phones and put them out of sight.
3. Occasionally a “phone moment” will be allowed if we are in a discussion and need to
look something up.
4. Attend every class meeting. If you must miss class, you are expected to find out what
you have missed, what handouts you may need, etc.
5. Turn in all assignments on time.
6. Be present in the classroom the entire class period. Do not go in and out once class has
begun. Take care of any excretion needs before or after class.
7. Avoid crinkly wrappers, pop-tops, slurping, crunching, or other distracting eating
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noises. Food is ok, but unwrap it or open it ahead of time. You are always welcome to
bring treats for everyone, especially homemade ones!
8. Save all your assignments, notes, drafts, and handouts throughout the quarter, since
you will need to refer to them often, and since you will need them for your portfolios.
9. Avoid distracting behavior such as talking privately, going in and out of the classroom,
making clicking or zipping noises, and packing up your materials before class is officially
over.
10. Share your confusions generously! Ask a million questions, frequently.
GRADING, ATTENDANCE, AND OTHER COURSE POLICIES
Each assignment is worth a certain number of points, and your total grade will be calculated
from the number you earned of the total possible points. The chart below shows
approximately how the numbers will add up.
Assignment
Weekly Writing
Weekly Journal
Midterm Revision
Final Revision
Workshop Discussions
Writing experiments,
Warm-ups, & class
discussions
Literary Journal Report
The Gift
Total points per
quarter
Points each
20
10
40
40
10
1-5
Points per quarter
160
80
40
40
80
50-150
25
10
25
10
485-585
Your grade is the percentage of points you earn out of the total points possible. Below is a chart to
show how percentages convert to grades on the 4-point system. These conversions are standard
across all Seattle Community College campuses.
Student
Performance
Excellent
High
Average
Percentage of
Points Earned
97%-100% %
94%-96%
90%-93%
87%-89%
84%-86%
80%-83%
77%-79%
74%-76%
Letter Grade
Equivalent
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
Numerical Grade
4.0
3.9
3.8-3.5
3.4-3.2
3.1-2.9
2.8-2.5
2.4-2.2
2.1-1.9
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Minimum
70%-73%
67%-69%
65%-66%
64% and below
CD+
D
F
1.8-1.5
1.4-1.2
1.1-1.0
0.0
How Is Creative Writing Graded?
You might wonder how artistic expression can be graded. The instructions for each assignment give
specific grading criteria, but in general, all assignments and discussions must:
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
Fulfill the assignment, showing effort and engagement with the material.
Be on time.
Be proofread and grammatical, with any unconventionalities intended and contributing to
voice, tone, character, etc.
In discussions, you contribute early, respond promptly, and make substantial contributions.
The revisions show improvement, and show that you are working with the concepts of the
class, that you can tell good from bad writing, are striving for originality, and are practicing to
improve your writing.
However, Creative Writing is not merely subjective!
Here’s how writer (and NSC instructor) Gregory November talks about it:
[A creative writing class] will force you to throw out myths many of us are taught about
creative writing—starting with the myth that it’s entirely subjective. It is not. If it’s your
personal diary or journal, sure, that’s all about you so write whatever you want. But if you’re
going to ask someone else to read it, it’s got to be about more than your own feelings. There
is always personal taste and preference, but there is also good and bad. If you’re not game to
learn the difference, you may be in the wrong class.
Attendance:
 You must attend class. If you miss class, you miss the activities for that day, and these cannot
usually be made up.
 If you miss class, it is your responsibility to meet with me or contact your classmates find out
what you missed.
 If you are absent when papers are returned, please make sure you pick them up from me, or
you’ll miss out on what I hope is valuable feedback.
 If you need to leave class early for any reason, please clear it with me first.
Tardiness: Excessive tardies will also affect your grade by causing you to miss some or all of various
graded and ungraded class activities.
For Running Start Students: You are responsible for resolving any schedule conflicts between
your work here and your work at your high school. No matter how important your high school
activity, I never excuse you from any of your work or attendance here. Please make sure all
your instructors know this.
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LATE AND MISSING WORK
Weekly Writing
 You may turn in two Weekly Writing assignments up to a week late with no grade penalty.
However, this means that you will not be able to fully participate in the writing workshop for
that assignment, and you will not receive timely feedback from me, so late weekly writing
may detract points from other parts of your grade.
 Weekly writing over a week late is not accepted.
 Weekly writing less than a week late and not one of your two allowed lates receives half
credit.
Journals
 Late journals receive half credit.
 Journals over a week late are not accepted.
Class activities and workshop discussions
 These cannot be made up.
Emergencies:
 Emergencies do not include computer problems, printer lines, jobs, traffic, confusion about
the assignment, writer’s block, etc. Please plan ahead to allow for these. I will determine
what constitutes an emergency.
 If you have been attending regularly and keeping up with assignments, I will be more likely to
be sympathetic and will work with you to resolve the situation.
Do not e-mail me assignments unless we have specifically arranged this. All assignments must be
turned in to me in person.
THEREFORE, PLAN AHEAD:
 Study assignments as soon as you receive them, and ask lots of questions to make sure
you understand all the instructions and won’t be delayed by last-minute confusions.
 Arrive early to avoid printer and copier lines.
 Assemble all pages before class.
 Locate a stapler if you need one.
 Back up your work.
 Have a plan in case something comes up.
NSCC ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
PLAGIARISM POLICY
To take the words or ideas of someone else and present them as your own is plagiarism and is
unacceptable in academic life. The nature and causes of plagiarism may cover a range from the
accidental to the dishonest. Examples of plagiarism encountered in academic writing may include the
following:
 incorporating into your own writing, without proper acknowledgment, words and
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sentences from a print, electronic, or oral source;
paraphrasing so closely or so extensively from a source that sentences and ideas really
belong to the original writer;
submitting as your own whole essays or seminar papers written by another person or
taken partially or in whole from a printed source, including from the internet;
receiving so much help from another person that the work cannot honestly be called
your own.
submitting assignments produced for one class in another (or previous) class without
permission of both instructors (auto-plagiarism).
By your attendance here, you’ve agreed to adhere to the Student Code of Conduct which states, in
part, that “academic dishonesty, to include cheating, plagiarism, and providing false information to
the college” may bring disciplinary action. The policy of the NSCC English faculty is to exercise its
professional judgment as to the nature and cause of each case of suspected or proven plagiarism and
to respond in a manner suited to the case. Our responses may include the following:
 requiring that a piece of writing be revised to eliminate the plagiarism;
 denying credit for a piece of writing in which plagiarism has been found;
 recording a “0” grade in the student’s class record for this project or paper, thereby
lowering the student’s final grade;
 forwarding the student’s name to the Vice President for Student Services for possible
further action.
COURSE SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENT DETAILS
The course schedule provided gives due dates for weekly writing, revisions, and other
assignments. In-class writing experiments are not included, as they arise unpredictably in the
course of discussions.
WELCOME
I can't wait to see what amazing things we come up with, what insights we find, and what new work
we create that none of us could have created alone, without a community to encourage us. We are
entering the Unknown! We don’t know what will happen! Hooray!
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