Writing Short Nonfiction

In this, class students will learn the elements of a nonfiction story through exercises and reading and work toward completing their own nonfiction work.
We will also read chapters of William Zinsser's classic work on writing nonfiction, "On Writing Well," available free and online.

Week 1

What is nonfiction prose? How will I decide what to write? General principles of writing nonfiction.
Developing an idea
Reading: example news article; Part 1 "On Writing Well"
Writing: short informational news article on a local event
Read and comment on peers' work

Week 2
Organization of nonfiction prose:
Explicit main ideas, organization, details, perspective
Reading: Example opinion piece/essay
Writing: Opinion piece on an important issue (health care, capital punishment, etc.)
read and comment on peers' work

Week 3
How to choose and develp ideas and pieces
Genres of nonfiction Interviews, research, markets
Reading: parts of Part 3 "On Writing Well"
Writing: One nonfiction piece of chosen genre
Read and comment on peers' work

Week 4
Polishing Our Work
Topics: Conciseness, clarity, format, organization, word choice, sentence construction
Reading: Chapter 4 "On Writing Well"
Writing: polish one of your past pieces, or write a new piece
Read and comment on peers' work



Instructor: Stacia Ann

About The Instructor: Stacia Ann is an Linguistics Lecturer and Writing Instructor at the University of California. She has a doctorate of Education, Master's of Art in English/TESOL. This instructor has taught writing classes for over ten years. She also teaches academic writing and English as a Second Language at the University of the Pacific. A published author including works of short fiction and academic nonfiction including contest winning stories.