Unit 2

Reading Critically

Most fiction writing courses are organized as workshops. Each student presents his or her work to the class, and the others respond with detailed critiques. The benefits of this method are the following:

1. The class provides an available and varied audience for the writer.
2. The critiques can tell the writer what in their novel or story is working and what isn’t.
3. In reading carefully and analyzing the effectiveness of another’s work, a student can learn to critique the problems in their own work.

Because we cannot meet in a classroom, the discussion board will be our virtual space where we can discuss common problems, post questions, comment on the readings, and offer critiques. Students usually find the comments offered by fellow students to be most helpful.

You are required to post at least one assignment and asked to critique two assignments by other students in English 482. (See the “Assignments for Credit” section of the Student Manual for instructions.)