ENGL 489: Advanced Non-Fiction Writing, section 001
Fall 2003  George Mason University
Scott W. Berg, Instructor

Office: Robinson Hall, A114 (the Writing Center)
Office Hours: Mondays 4:30-5:30.  I am also in my office Mondays and Wednesdays after about 11:30 and Tuesdays and most Thursdays after about 9:30.  I make myself available for questions and discussion as much as possible--though using e-mail to arrange a time to meet is always the safest bet.
E-mail: sberg1@gmu.edu

Required Materials/Expenditures:

Three books are required for this course: 2004 Writer's Market (just released);  Best American Magazine Writing 2002; and Best American Magazine Writing 2003 (forthcoming in November).  Depending on your interests, I may require or strongly recommend other non-fiction collections.  You will also be required to buy individual copies of certain periodicals and/or to print out content on web sites.  Finally, you will be responsible for making copies of your own work, sometimes enough for your workshop group and sometimes, perhaps, enough for the entire class.

Whenever possible, we will be reading work by our visiting writers.  Some of these pieces may be provided free of charge in class; others may require that you purchase them at the bookstore in the "course packet" section.  If the article is available on Lexis-Nexis, I'll require you to print it out for your own copy.

Be sure you have a good dictionary and a good English handbook as well.  I recommend The American Heritage Dictionary (hardcover) and A Writer's Reference, 5th edition.

PREREQUISITES FOR ENGLISH 489

You must have completed 45 total credit hours and any 200-level English courses required of your major.  You may not take ENGL489 concurrently with ENGL309, and once you have taken ENGL489 you are not eligible to take ENGL309.  (The point is that ENGL489 caps your time in the major, and we treat the course as such.)  I am not the person who dispenses information and advice about course eligibility; if you have questions, contact Laura Scott, English department advisor, at 703/993-1179 or lscott@gmu.edu, and tell her I sent you.

THE COURSE

ENGL489 is designed to provide you your final college exposure to upper division non-fiction writing in forms such as the personal essay, feature article, profile, and cultural commentary (or review), to name a few, all in the context of preparation for publication.  There will be plenty of flexibility in choosing forms and topics.  This isn't, however, an "independent writing" class, nor is it a business writing course, nor is it designed to help you with academic work in any particular major.  The intended audience here is intelligent, curious, educated but not strictly academic--the kind of audience that enjoys the challenge of good books, magazines, and newspapers.  You won't produce fill-in-the-blank formula writing, ,proseltization/propaganda/p.r. or fluff for this class--while there is a large and thriving market for such pieces, there are better laboratories than this class for your experiments in those forms.  As your de facto editor during the semester, I decide whether your writing is appropriate for the course.

As mentioned, we'll host a series of visiting writers in the class.  Your level of preparation for and engagement with their visits will need to be high.  They are coming to my class to talk about their writing--business questions will be appropriate in some cases, but not all.  They will represent a broad swath of the writing world (and work in many different genres), but certainly they're drawn out of my own circle of colleagues and do not represent all experiences of the writing life.

As far as your writing goes, it will be more important than ever before that your grammar and syntax be correct, but it will be even more important that your writing be creative, clear, committed, cogent, complex, and complete.  I'll give each of you as much help as you'd like, tell you what works and what doesn't.  If you're willing to take advantage of such help, you'll see the results in your writing.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Each of you, as a student at George Mason, is entitled to a free e-mail account, and should have basic e-mail competency.  Let me know immediately if this is not the case.  You are required to subscribe to the course listserve; though I will try not to assign anything exclusively via e-mail, I will send reminders, updates, and other course information electronically.   You are still required to take good notes in class, though, and be sure you get upcoming assignments written down before you leave each week.

This is a cooperative discussion and workshop class, which relies on the attendance and active contribution of its members to succeed.  I will require that you let me know in advance of any absences.  An excused absence will be any legitimate absence which I know of ahead of time. These excused absences (as long as they are not frequent) will be treated differently than unexcused absences: there will be more opportunity to make up graded assignments, in-class writing, etc.

IMPORTANT NOTE ON ATTENDANCE:  Missing class with regularity will damage your ability to do well in the course.  There are limits to the kind of absenteeism I'll allow:  Anyone missing more than two weeks (two classes) consecutively or three weeks (three classes) overall will not be able to pass the course.  Approaching these limits will affect your final grade as well, though to what degree will depend on your contributions when you are in class.

Punctuality is important.  Please be on time for class.

You'll produce at least 4000 words worth of original non-fiction writing in this class.  This will comprise at least two separate pieces.  At the end of the class, you'll submit at least one of these pieces for publication to a market chosen by you with my consent.  To that end, you'll also have to write at least two cover and query letters as well.

IMPORTANT NOTE ON FORMAT and MECHANICS: All out-of-class writing must be typed, double-spaced, normal margins, Times New Roman font or something equally readable.  No colored fonts, no fancy fonts, no cover pages, no plastic binders for your writing.  Pages should be numbered and stapled; the first page should include, in the upper left corner, your name, the name of this class (ENGL489-001), the assignment name ("Exercise #1." "Draft of Profile," etc.), and the date.   At the end of each piece, please provide a word count.  All writing should be clean, with few or no mechanical errors--the focus in this class is on style, form, and content, not grammar and punctuation.  The ability to competently manipulate the fundamental units of English composition--the word, the sentence and the paragraph--is a prerequisite and not a goal for this course.

You'll write at least two one-to-two page "market analyses" that will ask you to demonstrate a close familiarity with potential homes for (your) writing.  One of these analyses may involve reading of pieces similar to those you're writing.  These writings will be given oral or written comment and a check mark rather than a strict letter grade; exceptional examples may receive a plus or minus as well.

You'll write several one-to-two page reading responses analyzing non-fiction writing from the visiting writers, the assigned books, and/or selected periodicals.  These writings will be given oral or written comment and a check mark rather than a strict letter grade; exceptional examples may receive a plus or minus as well.

We will have at least two writing workshops during the semester, when you will meet in groups of three or four classmates to discuss your work.  You will also be responsible for a set of one-page writing responses in reaction to the writing of your workshop members.  These days are very important to this class, and as such, workshop participation is a required assignment, which cannot be made up.

Each of you will meet with me for at least two fifteen to twenty minute conferences.  Class may be canceled to make up for time spent by me in conferences.  A scheduled conference is a required assignment, and must be made up if missed.

REVISIONS

Revision is an important part of this class.  Each piece comprising your 4000 words will go through several steps, including proposals and drafts.  These drafts are required assignments, and count towards your overall grade.

GRADING

You must do everything assigned--reading, rough and final drafts of assignments, workshops, conferences, and shorter writings--to receive a passing grade in the class.

Your grade will be determined according the following mix:

Your 4000+ words:  60% (weighted proportionately)
Reading and Writing Responses, Market Analyses, Cover/Query Letters:  25% (weighted proportionately)
Class Participation: 15%

PLAGIARISM AND LATE ASSIGNMENTS

Here is the definition of plagiarism, according to the English Department:

Plagiarism means using the exact words, opinions, or factual information from another person without giving that person credit.  Writers give credit through accepted documentation styles, such as parenthetical citation, footnotes, or end notes; a simple listing of books and articles is not sufficient.  Plagiarism is the equivalent of intellectual robbery and cannot be tolerated in the academic setting.

Egregious plagiarism will result in an F for the assignment and an Honor Code violation on your record.

Late papers and assignments will be penalized.  This penalty will depend on the nature of the offense;  for example, an assignment three hours late will suffer less than an assignment three days late.  I will consider, though not automatically grant, extension requests made in advance--but only if they are infrequent and legitimate.

THE UNIVERSITY WRITING CENTER

The University Writing Center is a free one-on-one tutorial service, available to all GMU students who want to work on writing skills.  Stop by Robinson Hall, room A114, or call 993-1200 for information and appointments.