LAE - English

Basic writing skills are taught in this course. Emphasis is placed on topic selection, organizing ideas, and grammar. Student awareness of strengths and weaknesses is increased to encourage the use of self-monitoring strategies, e.g., editing, drafting and proofreading. This course is designed for students preparing to enter the required English Department composition courses or for anyone wishing to build self-confidence in writing abilities or to successfully complete writing projects. This developmental course can only be used for elective credit. Prerequisite(s): Writing placement. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours

This is the first course in a two-term sequence of composition courses. It focuses on personal, academic, and workplace writing with emphasis on the short essay. It also includes critical reading, research, and documentation. College composition is presented as a process of reflection, inquiry, evaluation, argumentation and revision which will continue to have relevance in the development of students' continuing education and careers. Counts in the Written Communication Area of General Education Requirements. Prerequisite(s): Placement. 5 quarter hours

This is the second course in a two-term sequence of composition courses. It provides a narrower focus on critical thinking, argumentation, and academic research while reinforcing the basic rhetorical standards introduced in English Composition I. Both classic and modern argumentative strategies are presented along with the foundations of information literacy required for electronic research. This course is grounded in practices of critical text analysis and academic writing that are relevant to the students' future studies and career. Counts in the Written Communication Area of General Education Requirements. Pre-requisite(s): LAE 101 or equivalent. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours

This course provides instruction and practice in expository, illustrative, and persuasive writing with an emphasis on the process involved in writing clear, expressive text that aims to communicate effectively with a specific audience. The major focus is on how rhetorical considerations inform the writing process and how the decisions a writer makes with respect to purpose, audience, organization of information, and style affect the effectiveness of the written communication. Students will examine and practice editing and revising techniques and learn to improve their writing by completing multiple drafts of essays. Prerequisite(s): Placement Counts in the Communications Area of General Education Requirements. 5 quarter hours

This course focuses on communication theory, combined with the practice of effective oral communication skills of listening, reading, thinking, and speaking. Students delve into effective topic selection, and organization, preparation, and presentation of a variety of speeches and arguments for different audiences. They further study topics relevant to effective communication in society, such as interpersonal and non-verbal communication, awareness of multiple dialects and regional differences, communication for conflict resolution, and group dynamics. Counts in the Oral Communication of General Education Requirements. Pre-requisite(s): None. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours

Students learn to distinguish between various forms of fiction and nonfiction writing by analyzing exemplary writing in both areas and by developing papers on the same general subject approached in various ways. Journalism, feature writing, memoir, and writing with a marketing perspective are some forms sampled in the area of nonfiction. Short stories, plays, screenplays are discussed and tried in the fiction realm. Prerequisite(s): ENG 101 and ENG 102 or equivalent 5 quarter hours

Students will study important British authors from the beginnings with Beowulf to 1750, focusing on selected major figures in both poetry and prose. Writers from the Early and Later Middle Ages might include the Beowulf Poet, Chaucer and Malory, among others. Renaissance writers might include Sidney, More, Hoby, Donne and Milton, among others. Restoration and later writers might include Dryden, Pope, Swift and Johnson, among others. Counts in the Humanities or Literature area of General Education Requirements. Prerequisite(s): LAE 101 and LAE 102, or equivalent 5 quarter hours

Students will study important British authors from 1750-1900, focusing on selected major figures in either poetry or the novel. Possible writers might include the Romantic poets, such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley and Byron, among others. Novelists might include Austen, the Bronte sisters, Dickens, Hardy, Conrad, among others. Counts in the Humanities or Literature area of General Education Requirements. Prerequisite(s): LAE 101 and LAE 102 or equivalent 5 quarter hours

A general overview recommended for students entering the teaching profession. Survey of best of the old and new in prose and verse form the nursery level through elementary grades. Techniques of presentation are discussed. Major emphasis on content and quality of literature. Prerequisite: LAE 102 or equivalent. 5 quarter hours Counts in the Humanities or Literature Area of General Education Requirements.

Masterpieces of world literature from the earliest times to the present, in translation. Syllabus includes primarily western literature-Greek, Italian, Spanish, German, French, Russian- but some attention also given to non-western literature. Prerequisite: LAE 102 or equivalent. 5 quarter hours Counts in the Humanities or Literature area of General Education Requirements.

A study of important literacy works by representatives of minority groups. Specific focus is determined by the individual instructor and can be limited to a particular group, time period, and/or literary type. Students examine how literature functions as protest and in the search for identity. Prerequisite: LAE 102 or equivalent. 5 quarter hours Counts in the Humanities or Literature area of General Education Requirements.

An introduction to the study of language, with emphasis on historical study and on the English language. Covers characteristics, origins and development of language; origins and historical development of the English language in Great Britain and America; descriptive and prescriptive grammar; varieties of American English. Prerequisite(s): LAE 102 or equivalent Counts in the Humanities or Written Communication Area of General Education. 5 quarter hours

Students will study American authors from the beginning to 1900, focusing on selected major figures in either poetry or the novel. Writers such as Hawthorne, Melville, Cooper, Dickinson, Poe and Whitman are among those considered, although the list of writers studied may vary from term to term. Counts in the Humanities or Literature area of General Education Requirements. Prerequisite(s): LAE 101 and LAE 102 or equivalent 5 quarter hours/3 semester hours

Students will study American authors from 1900-1950, focusing on selected major figures in either poetry or the novel. Novelists such as Wharton, Lewis, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Steinbeck and Wright, and poets such as T.S. Eliot, are among those considered, although the list of writers studied may vary from term to term. Counts in the Humanities or Literature area of General Education Requirements. Prerequisite(s): LAE 101 and LAE 102 or equivalent 5 quarter hours/3 semester hours

A survey of the best and most influential writers following World War II and continuing through to the close of the turbulent sixties. Includes primarily fiction writers such as Mailer, O'Hara, Salinger, Cheever, Updike, O'Connor, Baldwin, Kesey, Heller, Roth, Bellow, Malamud and Nabokov. Takes a look at the stunning contrasts between the fifties and the sixties, politically, socially, ethically, aesthetically, and psychologically. Prerequisite(s): LAE 101 and LAE 102. 5 quarter hours or 3 semester hours Counts in the Humanities or Literature area of General Education Requirements.

A survey of classic 20th-century British novelists such as James, Lawrence, Joyce, Forster, Woolf, Greene, Orwell, Huxley, and Amis. Focuses on the growth and development of technique and on the ethical, psychological and political concerns of the period. Counts in the Humanities or Literature area of General Education Requirements. 5 quarter hours or 3 semester hours

How do you go from inspiration to actually writing a poem? Students focus on basic techniques in the craft of writing poetry, while learning to appreciate the art of reading poetry. This course introduces students to the main elements of poetry through textual descriptions and analysis of strong models. Students then practice the application of poetic elements in their own work and in evaluating the poems created by their classmates. Prerequisite(s): LAE 102 or permission of Program Director or designate for undergraduate credit. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours

Students read outstanding examples of short stories and discover potential models for their own writing. They write several short stories, concentrating on character, structure, active language, conflict, and other dynamic elements of the form. Students interact with their peers and professor to discover possibilities for revising one of their original stories and submit that revised short story as their final project. Pre-requisite(s): LAE 101 and LAE 102; or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours

Oral history constitutes the accounts of personal and public events as told orally, typically by ordinary people. Students learn how to interview ordinary people, how to assemble the history of major events as seen through the eyes of ordinary people and how to analyze literature based on oral histories. Students are guided in using oral history as a basis for their own nonfiction writing. Works by Studs Terkel, Alex Kotlowitz, James McBride, Anna Deavere Smith, and Svetlana Alexeivich are among those used. Pre-requisite(s): LAE 102 or permission of Program Director or designate for undergraduate credit. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours

Women's Lives into Literature examines the process of transforming life experience into fiction, plays and poetry- what is left out, what is added, how elements are altered, considering the special skills of each writer. The historical context and specific cultural influences on American writers of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries will be considered using the works of Kate Chopin, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Sylvia Plath, Lillian Hellman, Lorraine Hansberry and Wendy Wasserstein. Prerequisites: Admission to the Master of Science in Written Communication or Consent of the Instructor. 5 quarter hours OR 3 semester hours. Counts in the Humanities or Literature area of General Education Requirements.

Study of the Elizabethan stage and Elizabethan-Jacobean drama and the development of Shakespeare's dramatic art. Students read selected comedies, tragedies and histories by Shakespeare and some of his contemporaries. 5 quarter hours OR 3 semester hours Counts in the Humanities or Literature area of General Education Requirements.

This writing course focuses on the basic elements of journalism, including researching, interviewing, covering live events, and writing with accuracy and clarity. Writing appropriate for newspapers, magazines, and online publications is covered, with an emphasis on replicating deadline-driven journalism environment and completion of several publication-ready articles. Pre-requisite(s): LAE 102 or permission of Program Chair or designate for undergraduate credit. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter hours

In this contemporary literature course, students explore the fiction of major Latino writers in the U.S. Students read and examine a selection of representative texts of authors who portray the complex realities of the fastest- growing minority population in the United States. Teaching, class discussions, readings, written work and testing are in English. (Also active as SPAN 455) Prerequisite(s): Dept Lang Stud (for Spanish majors) - SPAN 320, SPAN 325, SPAN 330, SPAN 415, and SPAN 450, or consent of the department. English and Philosophy - LAE 101, LAE 102, or consent of the department. Counts in the Humanities Area of General Education Requirements. 5 quarter hours

This online course introduces successful web writing, designing and online publishing. Students will learn to write their own news stories that grab the viewers’ attention and then master the art of connecting shorter pieces to an articulate article that packs all the in-depth details with supporting images. Students will be guided to building their own attractive websites. They will practice writing straight-to-the-point copy that clicks through to neighboring pages where they will explain content in more detail. Finally, students will develop their own blogs and share their unique and relevant topics online. They will share their stories with the world and get people excited to share their ideas as well. Prerequisite(s): LAE 101, and LAE 102, or equivalent for in the BA Liberal Arts Studies and BA ELED for the English Major students. No prerequisites for graduate students. Co-requisite(s): None 5 quarter hours/3 semester hours

Students polish the practical skills that an editor needs to edit clearly, confidently, and correctly. Students will sharpen grammar and style, learn conventional editing symbols and methods to trim a story for content or space. Writing assignments focus on finding and fixing errors. The goal for students is to become their own editors for their own work and to become qualified to be "last read" on a professional paper/publication. Prerequisite(s): LAE 101 and LAE 102. 5 quarter hours or 3 semester hours

This course is taught by professionals in the fields of advertising, marketing and public relations. Students will learn how to provide a creative brief, creative strategy, creative concept, and execute a multimedia integrated marketing campaign. Students will also learn how advertising builds and communicates the corporate image and brand. Practical assignments include writing and designing a promotional brochure, print ad, radio ad, direct mail piece, packaging, 30 seconds TV spot, web copy, outdoor/transit and press release. Additional areas of exploration include target and geographic markets, production, search engine optimization, blogging and social media. Pre-requisite(s): Graduate status or permission of the instructor for undergraduate students. Co-requisite(s): None. 5 quarter or 3 semester hours

An initial discussion of the basic principles of humor, followed by an overview of specific types of humor-writing. This course analyzes various styles of humor, such as iconoclasm, absurdism, exaggeration, "gallows humor," "Jewish humor," etc. in order to imitate their techniques in weekly written assignments. Each student works on development of his or her own comic "voice." 3 semester hours

Writers’ Week Workshops constitute a course of sessions with outstanding writers in a variety of writing areas, including creative nonfiction, biography, playwriting, screenwriting and writing children and young adult books. Each writer discusses his/her methods of developing a significant work. Students submit brief samples of their work in the relevant writing area for discussion and revision. They select one of those revised samples for expansion into a final paper. Pre-requisite(s): LAE 101 and LAE 102; or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 2 quarter hours

Opportunity for students and faculty to create a course topic not on the regular schedule. (A recent example: The Sixties: Evolution and Revolution.) Students may register for more than one Special topic in the course of their degree program. 2-5 quarter hours

A course designed by faculty and students, from time to time, in which students assume a major responsibility for course materials and content, in conventional seminar fashion, with the instructor acting primarily as advisor and evaluator. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. 3-5 quarter hours/ 1-3 semester hours

A wide-ranging course to develop techniques which increase clarity, interest, cogency, and coherence. Exercises in and out of class lead students to grace and style, sometimes through techniques of style analysis and modeling. Writer flexibility is encouraged by creating a diversity of tasks and imaginary audiences. Basic plagiarism and copyright guidelines are reviewed. 3 semester hours

Reader interest, organization and clarity are the primary concerns, as students write nonfiction material relying upon previously published information. Feature material, in-depth articles and books, as well as reports, reviews, summaries, and research projects based on background reading are the major focus. Students learn correct methods of documentation and the laws that apply. Students become familiar with what many staff (and freelance) writers do for a living. This is a writing-intensive course. Prerequisite(s): Graduate status or permission of instructor 3 semester hours

Students read outstanding examples of short stories and novels and discover potential models for their own writing. They write several short stories or novel scenes/chapters, concentrating on character, structure, active language, conflict, and other dynamic elements of the form. Students interact with their peers and faculty to discover possibilities for revising one of their original stories or novel scenes/chapters and submit that revised piece as their final project. Pre-requisite(s): None. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

A course taught by published writers of children's literature. Course improves basic techniques in fiction and poetry (see descriptions for other creative writing courses) but focuses on specifications for various younger age groups. Students learn publisher guidelines for each age level as well as what kinds of pieces publishers prefer. Formats and conventions are examined. Problems in maintaining racial, ethnic, and religious fairness are examined. Available markets are surveyed. Students read and react to each other's work. 3 semester hours

How do you go from inspiration to actually writing a poem? Students focus on basic techniques in the craft of writing poetry, while learning to appreciate the art of reading poetry. This course introduces students to the main elements of poetry through textual descriptions and analysis of strong models. Students then practice the application of poetic elements in their own work and in evaluating the poems created by their classmates. Pre-requisite(s): Graduate standing for graduate credit. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

A course which examines the age-old question of "What works?" from an historical perspective. Students are introduced to classical and modern theories of rhetorical effectiveness and literary analysis. Course also offers an overview of accepted and experimental methods to improve writing skills. Weekly exercises apply various theories and methods. Students become familiar with the vocabulary of rhetoric, old and recent. Pre-requisite(s): None. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

A course dealing with the practical side of professional writing: career opportunities for the staff writer and publishing opportunities for the free-lancer. Students learn manuscript forms, survey available markets, discuss where professional writers get their "ideas" from, etc. Course also covers pay scales for writers, copyright laws, liability laws, and income tax tips. This course is usually offered in modules of one semester hour each in fall, winter, and spring. LAE 512A, LAE 512B, and LAE 512C. 1 semester hour

Professional Writer I-III courses focus on the practical side of professional writing: career opportunities for staff writers and publishing opportunities for the freelancer. In Professional Writer II, students learn how to charge for their work, utilize social media, launch their own author website, improve their presentation skills, get the most out of their blog, optimize their online presence, and submit their work for publishing. Pre-requisite(s): Graduate status; or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 1 semester hour

A course dealing with the practical side of professional writing: career opportunities for the staff writer and publishing opportunities for the free-lancer. Students learn manuscript forms, survey available markets, discuss where professional writers get their "ideas" from, etc. Course also covers pay scales for writers, copyright laws, liability laws, and income tax tips. This course is usually offered in modules of one semester hour each in fall, winter, and spring. LAE 512A, LAE 512B, and LAE 512C. 1 semester hour

Students read outstanding examples of short stories and discover potential models for their own writing. They write several short stories, concentrating on character, structure, active language, conflict, and other dynamic elements of the form. Students interact with their peers and professor to discover possibilities for revising one of their original stories and submit that revised short story as their final project. Pre-requisite(s): None. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

Oral history constitutes the accounts of personal and public events as told orally, typically by ordinary people. Students learn how to interview ordinary people, how to assemble the history of major events as seen through the eyes of ordinary people and how to analyze literature based on oral histories. Students are guided in using oral history as a basis for their own nonfiction writing. Works by Studs Terkel, Alex Kotlowitz, James McBride, Anna Deavere Smith, and Svetlana Alexeivich are among those used. Pre-requisite(s): Graduate standing for graduate credit. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

A course which examines the design of feature stories for newspapers and magazines and the style-range possibilities. Interviewing skills are a primary focus. Assignments include news-features, profiles, and personal experience essays, among others. Students learn the standard organizational format for magazine features ("the magazine formula") and alternatives. Students are introduced to the idea processes which generate concepts for stories. 3 semester hours

What makes a movie work? In this course students write an original short screenplay and study award-winning narrative films to find out. They practice the craft of dramatic writing, using the special techniques and format of writing the narrative film, with emphasis on dramatic structure, character development, creating visual metaphors, and orchestrating these elements around a coherent dramatic premise or question. During this process they screen films that have won Academy Awards and become aware of films by women and diverse groups including African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and others that are gradually becoming recognized or that deserve recognition. Pre-requisite(s): Graduate status. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

A flexible course designed to meet the career goals of students in the Written Communication program. The course teaches strategies for writing complex, specialized or industry-specific information in a clear and effective manner. Students learn how to analyze and adjust levels of prose complexity, how formatting can enhance communication and how to address readers of differing levels of expertise and interest. Some assignments allow students to use actual projects from their own workplaces. 3 semester hours

An examination of the ways in which writers tell stories, both fictional and otherwise. Attention will be paid to the various types of first- and third-person narrative techniques, the use of chronology and alternate time schemes, the cross-cut and the subplot. Primarily a reading course for students in the M.S. in Written Communications program. 3 semester hours

An examination of the ways in which writers tell stories, to the strategies needed to teach general studies freshman/lower division (non-developmental) writing courses. It concludes a survey of relevant literature concerning instructional issues and applications in the classroom (i.e., process approaches, peer/collaborative activities, writing across disciplines, teaching writing with computers, writing assessment). Emphasis is given also to utilizing the writer/graduate student's writing practices and experience. Students will develop appropriate instructional materials. 3 semester hours

This writing course focuses on the basic elements of journalism, including researching, interviewing, covering live events, and writing with accuracy and clarity. Writing appropriate for newspapers, magazines, and online publications is covered, with an emphasis on replicating deadline-driven journalism environment and completion of several publication-ready articles. Pre-requisite(s): Graduate standing for graduate credit. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

Writers’ Week Workshops constitute a course of sessions with outstanding writers in a variety of writing areas, including creative nonfiction, biography, playwriting, screenwriting and writing children and young adult books. Each writer discusses his/her methods of developing a significant work. Students submit brief samples of their work in the relevant writing area for discussion and revision. They select one of those revised samples for expansion into a final paper. Pre-requisite(s): None. Co-requisite(s): None. 1 semester hour

This course provides a closely supervised actual teaching experience with instruction and mentoring for the graduate student. Students will teach an English Department, first or second term freshman composition course or other lower division composition or literature course (as available) or give instruction in an appropriate tutorial setting. 3 semester hours

An opportunity for students in the Masters program to pursue an area of writing and/or research independently. Students are assigned to a faculty member for guidance and coaching. 1-3 semester hours

Opportunity for students and faculty to create a course topic not on the regular schedule. Students may register for more than one Special Topic in the course of their degree program. 1-3 semester hours

The final showcase piece in the student's portfolio. It is tailored to fit the student's individual program. Examples of thesis projects might be: a collection of short stories, a short novel, a series of poems, a lengthy report for publication or for use in an organization, a series of articles, one long or several short children's books, a series of periodical journals which the student has edited and managed for an organization, etc. The length and difficulty of the project will determine the credit hours to be awarded (3, 4, 5 or 6). Work may be based on previous course work but must show extensive rewriting and augmentation. Student is assigned to a faculty member for coaching and evaluation. 1-6 semester hours

Continuous registration required until thesis is complete. Prerequisite(s): Masters standing, consent of instructor, and prior registration for the required number of hours in LAE 599. 0 semester hours