English 101:Expository Writing
Spring 2007
Dr. Susanne George Bloomfield
Expository Writing 101: Memoir is an introductory course in which students will polish their prewriting, writing, and rewriting skills on narrative, descriptive, and researched personal essays. Students will respond to readings in Riding the White Horse Home, creative nonfiction by Teresa Jordan while The Concise Wadsworth Handbook by Kirszner and Mandell will be an important resource for those pesky grammar and punctuation rules as well as tips on style improvement. Revising will be emphasized in the course, and students will collaborate in writing workshops and one-on-one conferencing with the professor to become more mature writers.
Class Requirements and Expectations
Class Requirements and Expectations for Spring 2007.
Class Syllabus
Daily Reading and Writing Assignments for the Spring 2007 Semester.
Sense of Place
Some notes on writing about Place.
Developing Character
Notes on how to describe and develop character in your writing.
Rite of Passage
A brief summary of Initiation or Rite of Passage archetype.
Model Rite of Passage Essay
A sample student essay on a Rite of Passage.
Dude Ranch Essay
A personal narrative using research for support.
Creating Order Out of Chaos
Some ideas to help you organize your memoir.
The "Dreaded Comma"
Six indispensible comma rules for ALL writers.
"Hit List"
To improve your writing and (and grade) follow these very basic suggestions.
"Sentence Variety"
Some suggestions to add style, variety, and maturity to your sentences.
"Setting Up Quotations"
Some example to help you add variety in setting up quotations, along with the correct punctuation.
"Walking the Hogbacks"
A sample response concerning Sense of Place to Teresa Jordan's "Prologue."
Writing and Editing Links
Click here for the U of Wisconson-Madison's WRITER'S HANDBOOK for grammar and editing.
Click here for Internet Public Library.
Click here for theCreative Writing journal's home page.
Click here for Creative Nonfiction defined.
Click here for Duke University's Writing's Studio.
Click here for an audio of Lee Gutkind about Creative Nonfiction.
Click here for University of Pittsburg Creative Nonfiction site.
Click here for Important Elements in writing Creative Nonfiction.
Click here for Writers Digest.
Click here for Creative Nonfiction Roundtable discussion with Gutkind, Cahill, Scloot, and Ford.
Teresa Jordan
Click here for an audio interview with Jordan about her latest book, Fieldnotes from the Grand Canyon.
Click here for a bio of Jordan and commments on Riding the White Horse Home.
bloomfields@unk.edu
Dr. Susanne K. Bloomfield
Professor of English
109D Thomas Hall
University of Nebraska at Kearney
Kearney, NE 68849-1320
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