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.

Week 1

What is nonfiction prose? How will I decide what to write?
Developing an idea
Reading: example news article
Writing: short informational news article on a local event

Week 2

What is good 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.)

Week 3

How do I pursue my ideas? How do I market my ideas?
Interviews, research, markets

Reading: example article on an historic event

Writing: news article on a historic event or interview/biography of a notable person
Find at least one market for your work

Week 4
Polishing Our Work
Conciseness, clarity, format, organization, word choice, sentence construction

Reading: Sample query letter

Writing: polish one of your past articles, or write a new article reviewing a book or a movie
Write a query letter for the work

Note: topics of the class/nonfiction are flexible based on student interest


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.