Your responsibilities in the class will include:
— writing a weekly blog post
— preparing comments and questions and then leading two class discussions of the assigned reading (you should choose reading assignments that are within the genre in which you’re working for your portfolio)
— submitting three sections of your portfolio to be workshopped during the term. These sections can be individual essays, stories, or poems or a group of them (Lengthy sections must be submitted at least five days in advance)
— preparing critiques of your classmates’ work
— submitting a final portfolio consisting of (1) a bibliography of writers whose work has influenced your own; (2) a brief statement (3 pages at most) discussing your writing (its ambition, its focus, your approach to creative expression, or whatever other ideas you might like to discuss); and (3) a collection of your best creative work, carefully revised, edited, and proofread.
As soon as possible, look over the class schedule and send to me the following:
1. two class meetings at which you’d like to lead our discussion (you might propose a third, alternate meeting as well in case either of your proposed dates overlap with a classmate’s). Don’t forget that you should select assignments that correspond to the genre (or genres) in which you’ll be working for your portfolio.
2. three class meetings in which you’d like to have sections of your portfolio discussed in class. (This work must be turned in at least one class prior to the scheduled discussion date. For lengthy submissions, as I state above, you should give the class five days to read your work.)
Of course, I may have to alter the schedule a bit from what you propose, but I’ll do my best to accommodate your requests.