MLD-719M: Advanced Intensive Writing for Policy and Politics
module 4, spring semester (March 19-May 7, 2012)
MW 11:40-1:00, RG-20
Greg Harris
Office Hours: after class and by appointment
Office Phone: 617-495-0478
Office: Littauer 103
Email: greg_harris@harvard.edu
This six-week course, which can be taken alone or in sequence with MLD-718M, gives you the tools to write and
publish pieces in policy and academic journals, newspapers, magazines, and popular blogs, in such genres as the
feature story, personal essay, academic essay, op-ed, and book proposal. It achieves this degree of breadth by
focusing intensively on awareness of design in writing: how to shape a piece to a specific publishing venue, matching
purpose, audience, and material. Through workshops and intensive one-on-one editing, students will focus on
advanced techniques in style, rhetoric, structure, argument, explanation, and storytelling. The goal is a confident,
efficient, and vital writing and revision process.
This class is intended for committed writers capable of self-direction, whose goals include journalism, professional
writing, grant and proposal writing, creative writing, or advanced academic writing. MLD-719M is suitable for
students whose first language is not English, but is not designed to help with basic issues of grammar or usage.
The class is grounded in:
1.
Support for your writing priorities. The class helps you define your immediate and long-term goals as a
writer—what genres are meaningful to you, and what projects most deserve your attention. Then the
class supports those goals, by helping you craft assignments honed to achieve them.
2.
Focused reading. MLD-719M challenges you with some of the best writing from a focused set of contexts
and genres. You will discuss, analyze, evaluate, and occasionally edit what you read.
3.
Expert feedback. You will receive individual editorial attention on your drafts as you develop and polish
them.
4.
Peer feedback. As part of a writing group, you will read, discuss, and edit the work of your colleagues,
and they yours. Together, you will build the habits necessary to sustain a writing career.
5.
Publishing strategy. MLD-719M will give you the tools you need to connect with editors of both online
and print publications, and coach you through the necessary steps of submitting your work.
Assignments and Grading: Basic expectations are that you will write in a focused way on a subject of your choice:
1) A publication-ready piece of approximately 2000 words. A full draft is due at midterm; a polished revision at
final. (40% of grade).
2) A weekly short essay, blog post, op-ed, or article of approximately 500 words. (4 pieces; each 10% of grade).
3) Full participation in class, including commitment to once-weekly editing meetings with a writing group of
fellow students. (20% of grade). Accommodations will be made for those doing Spring Exercises.
At an initial conference, we will discuss your goals in the class, and the best use of the sequence of assignments
to achieve them. Students in the past have focused on producing sequences of op-eds and short essays to
establish themselves as public intellectuals in a field; feature-length journalism; nonfiction book proposals;
personal narrative essays; book reviews; and articles for policy and scholarly journals. Hybrid, multimedia and
digital projects with visual components are permissible so long as writing is at the core.
Texts:
(required)
Susan Rabiner and Alfred Fortunato, Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious
Nonfiction—and Get It Published
Arthur Plotnik, Spunk & Bite
Course packet, available from the Course Materials Office.
(recommended) Joseph M. Williams, Style: Basic Lessons in Clarity and Grace (any ed.)
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
Monday, March 19
The Query, the Proposal, the Prospectus: anticipating an audience, an editor, an impact
Storytelling: Suspense, Specificity, Sizzle, and Satisfaction
Wednesday, March 21
Thinking Like Your Editor, excerpt
“Query Letter Clinic,” from Writer’s Market
PROSPECTUS due Friday, March 23
<Initial Meetings March 27-30>
Monday, March 26: THE ESSAY in its guises: Academic, Professional, Personal
Madigan, et al., “APA Style as Epistemology”
Marianna Torgovnik, “Experimental Critical Writing”
1st weekly short essay due.
Wednesday, March 28: The Overture: Connecting with Audience, Setting the Contract. Horizontal and Vertical
Development
Atul Gawande, “The Case of the Red Leg” from Complications
Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, “Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers” from Freakonomics
Monday, April 2: Creating Presence, with and without the Personal
Amy Tan, “Mother Tongue”
Diane Ackerman, “The Truth About Truffles”
Jeremy Miller, “Tyranny of the Test”
2nd weekly short essay due
Wednesday, April 4: Handling Complicated Subjects
Matt Taibbi, “The Great American Bubble Machine”
Michael Lewis, “The End of Wall Street”
MIDTERM (COMPLETE DRAFT) DUE, Sunday, April 8
<Group Conferences April 9-13>
Monday, April 9: Disarming Critics with Unconventional Approaches
Atul Gawande, “The Cost Conundrum”
Stephen J. Gould, “Creation Myths of Cooperstown”
3rd weekly short essay due
Wednesday, April 11: Persuasion: Changing Minds, down to the Cellular Level
W.S. Merwin, “Unchopping a Tree”
Joseph Stiglitz, “The Economic Consequences of Mr. Bush”
Lakoff, Metaphors We Live By, chs 1-6, 25
Monday, April 16: REVISION, EDITING, FEEDBACK
Thinking Like Your Editor, excerpts
Rhetorical Grammar, excerpts
4th weekly short essay due
Wednesday, April 18: Group Workshops
Monday, April 23:
Group Workshops
Wednesday, April 25: Group Workshops
FINAL (REVISED COMPLETE DRAFT) DUE May 2
<Conferences May 3-10>