500

The purpose of this wide-ranging course is to develop techniques of nonfiction writing to increase clarity, interest, cogency, and coherence. Writing assignments and exemplary reading assignments lead students to grace and style, with emphasis on producing publishable articles. Writer flexibility is encouraged by creating a diversity of tasks and imaginary audiences. This course helps writers find their distinctive voices and is a required course in the Master of Science in Written Communication program. Pre-requisite(s): Graduate status or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 3 semester hours

Whether students are writing nonfiction articles and books or business reports, they need to translate research into accessible written communication. By analyzing articles and books that succeed in doing this effectively, students learn to develop their own clear and lively papers, book reviews, and publishable articles. They examine how writers incorporate research, making graceful attributions without employing the lengthy, scholarly citations and commentary of an academic paper. Students explore various types of magazines to help them find their niche as professional writers. They write a research-based article with that publication in mind. Pre-requisite(s): None. Co-requisite(s): None. 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

How do writers transform their life experience into fiction, plays, poetry, memoir, and other works of literature – what is left out, what is added, how are elements altered, considering the special skills of a given writer? Students keep a journal and transform their own personal life experience into their chosen form of literature. Students consider their own historical context and specific cultural influences, while investigating these forces on American writers of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including Kate Chopin, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Sylvia Plath, Lillian Hellman, Lorraine Hansberry, and others. Pre-requisite(s): None. Co-requisite(s): None 3 semester hours

What makes for good writing? Students ask this question of great writers, philosophers, and their literary critics from the classical Greek era to the contemporary period. Students write original scenes and reviews that meet classical standards of excellence but also expand their awareness of diverse writers and critics and changing standards that reflect new perspectives. Considering established classics and authors and literary critics that might have been neglected in the past, students select their candidates for classics and the approach to literary criticism that best suits their outlook and writing skills. Pre-requisite(s): Graduate status; or permission of the Program Chair or designate. 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 course is designed for students pursuing careers in business communications or entrepreneurship. Students assume the role of communications director for a sample company they create. As communications directors for this prototype company, students learn to write and respond to business material—including promotional launches of their company through various online and print media, press releases on its products or services, sales proposals, internal announcements and reports, and other business communications. Pre-requisite(s): None. Co-requisite(s): None. 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

Editing skills are essential for professional writing, since excellent writing requires rewriting or self-editing. Students polish the practical skills that a self-editor or professional editor needs to edit clearly, confidently, and correctly. Students will sharpen grammar and style, and 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 editors for their own work and to become qualified to be "last read" on a professional paper/publication. Pre-requisite(s): None. 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

Students work closely with an experienced editor to actually edit, interact with contributors, and prepare manuscripts for Mosaic, NLU’s annual literary publication, or participate in an internship at a print or online publication or other media outside of NLU. Students must complete a minimum of 45 hours of internship and related activities per semester credit hour earned. This course may be taken multiple times for up to a total of six semester credit hours. Pre-requisite(s): Permission of the Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 1-6 semester hours

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

This extensive writing project is the final capstone piece in the graduating student’s portfolio. Student and thesis advisor craft the thesis project to fit the student’s professional writing goals. Examples of thesis projects are: a collection of short stories, a short novel, a play or screenplay, a series of poem, a series of articles, a young adult novel or two children's books, public relations campaign, a lengthy report for publication or for use in an organization, or a collection of articles on the most effective ways to teach writing at the college level. Pre-requisite(s): Completion of at least 24 semester hours in the Master of Science in Written Communication program, and/or permission of Program Chair or designate. Co-requisite(s): None. 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