Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Haber
Office: LY 138, Tarpons Springs Campus
Office Hours: Virtual
Phone: 712-5778 (voice mail)
AIM (Instant Messenger): DrHaber
Skype: jennifer_haber
Address: 600 Klosterman Road, Tarpon Springs, FL 34689
E-mail: (outside of ANGEL--only use for emergencies)
DO NOT SEND ANY WORK TO MY PERSONAL E-MAIL. ALL WORK MUST BE SENT THROUGH ANGEL (if you want to receive credit).
Text: Janet Burroway’sImaginative Writing 3rd ed. Boston, Longman: 2011. ISBN 978-0-205-75035-1
Course Description: Creative Writing delves into the genres of short story, poetry, novel, essay, drama, and other writings. You will be reading about writing, reading writing, doing writing and creative activities, and writing different genres. This course is designed to prepare you for writing in both the “real” and “academic” worlds while at the same time enabling you to develop critical thinking skills necessary for both the “real” and “academic” worlds.

Grading: The breakdown of the grading process is as follows:

Journal entries / 200
Activities / 200 (20 activities)
Portfolio / 400 (200 for each genre)
Discussion/Participation / 100
Reading Reactions / 100 (10 RRs)

90%+=A, 80+=B, 70+=C, 60+=D, below

Journals: Journals are submitted inMODULE 9(see course schedule below) and should be placed in the DROP BOX as ONE file or sent by mail (make sure to send it at least ONE WEEKearly).

By Mail:

I am off campus this summer, so all journals will have to be sent to my HOME address. Please e-mail me if you need this information. Remember that if you submit your journal personally, then you will need to 1) provide a self-addressed stamped envelope OR 2) pick up your journal during the next semester.

By Drop Box:

If you submit the journal online, please label it Journal and your name. I can only open .rtf, .txt., or .doc documents. If you attach your work in a different format, I may not be able to read and grade it.

Your journal will be graded only on completion. ***If you do not want your journal to be read, please mark DO NOT READ, and I will just skim through for completion.

Activities: Remember that activities are due each week. Oftentimes more than one activity is due weekly.Please label all activities in the following way: 1-1, 2-1, etc. and post to the Discussion Board.Your activities will be graded mainly on completion; however, you may lose points for sloppy work. ***I can only open .rtf, .txt., or .doc documents. If you attach your work in a different format, I may not be able to read and grade it. REMEMBER NO LATE ACTIVITIES! You will receive the grade of a zero for work that is submitted late.

Portfolio: Your portfolio is something that you work on throughout the semester. It is due in MODULE 9. Please be sure to send some of your work for feedback as the course progresses (through e-mail). I will only make general comments to the work you put on the Discussion Board.Please label Portfolio and place in the DROP BOX (as one file). Also, put into ONE file and send as an attachment (if you are sending it through e-mail).*** I can only open .rtf, .txt., or .doc documents. If you attach your work in a different format, I may not be able to read and grade it.

Discussion/Participation/Chats: You are required to be an active member of this course. Therefore, you should comment on other students' activities/thoughts/ideas posted to the discussion board on a weekly basis. Please remember that being constructive is important, but please think before you write. Also, remember that criticism means pointing out the positive and negative aspects of the work.

Your final participation grade will be based on the following:

You must react to at least three student postings a week (with specific and constructive criticism) (100 points).

Example of poor posting: This is great. You are awesome.

Example of worthwhile posting: I really like the setting in your story; it sets the mood for the story and made me want to read on. I even felt, somehow, that I had been there before. However, I would like to know more about your main character, Sammy. Why did you choose that name? Why did he make that decision at the end of your story? More development of his character might make for a better story.

Reading Reactions:Throughout the semester, you will be given assignments to read a story/poem/play and comment on it. The reactions should be a minimum of 200 words and once someone has read a story/poem, you should read and react to a different one (ALTHOUGH THERE WILL BE A FEW INSTANCES WHERE EVERYONE WILL READ AND REACT TO THE SAME PIECE IN YOUR TEXT).YOU HAVE TO COMPLETE ALL 10.The grading section will keep track of the number of reading reactions posted. Your final grade in this area will be posted by the end of the semester.

Grading Note: I will usually have all of your assignments graded within one week. If after a week, you don't have a grade or you haven't heard from me, please let me know.

Active Participation:

In this course, active participation will be defined as logging in weekly to the course and submitting assignments.

1. You must log on at least once a week. After seven days of not logging into the course, you may be defined as not actively participating.

2. You must complete your weekly assignments. If you fail to complete assignments for two weeks in a row, you may be defined as not actively participating.

Withdrawals:

You may withdraw yourself with a "W" on or before June 22nd. During the week following June 22nd, if you are identified as not actively participating in the course as defined above, you will be withdrawn with a "WF." (See Special Noted for additional information.)

If you wish to withdraw from the course, you must do so online in the MY SPC registration area found at .

If this is your third time taking the course, you cannot withdraw (State of Florida regulation), and not meeting the attendance requirement will result in a grade of F. If you abandon the course or do not withdraw by June 22nd, you are subject to receive a grade of WF or F.

HELP/LIBRARY: If you need any technical support, remember that you can contact the SPC Help Desk at (727) 341-4357or . If you want to browse the on-line library, you can do so at

FAILURETO LABEL ASSIGNMENTS CORRECTLY AND/OR TO PLACE THEM IN THE WRONG PLACE COULD RESULT IN THE LOSS OF POINTS! BE CAREFUL!

COURSE SCHEDULE(for specific dates, please see the calendar)

Week 1 / Module 1 due (by midnight)
Week 2 / Module 2 due (by midnight)
Week 3 / Module 3 due (by midnight)
Week 4 / Module 4 due (by midnight)
Week 5 / Module 5 due (by midnight)
Week 6 / Module 6 due (by midnight)
Week 7 / Module 7 due (by midnight)
Week 8 / Module 8 due (by midnight)
Week 9 / Module 9 due (by midnight)

Attention Students: The Special Notes are an important part of your syllabus and can be easily accessed by using the link below. Do take the time to read this very important information—