Writing Short Nonfiction
Instructor: Stacia Ann (Stacia Ann)Includes a free two month upgraded membership! Details
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Duration: Four Weeks
Class Size: 7 Students
Seats Left: 4
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 or short biographical/autobiographical piece
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 develop 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.