Revised 05/2008

ENG 219 - Creative Writing: Drama (3 CR.)

Course Description

Introduces the fundamentals and techniques of writing plays. Lecture 3 hours per week.

General Course Purpose

The purpose of this course is to improve and focus student creativity and writing in drama.

Course Prerequisites/Co-requisites Students must have successfully completed ENG 112, College Composition II or ENG 125, Introduction to Literature, or the equivalent, or received division approval.

Course Prerequisites/Corequisites

Course Prerequisites/Co-requisites Students must have successfully completed ENG 112, College Composition II or ENG 125, Introduction to Literature, or the equivalent, or received division approval.

Course Objectives

GOAL ONE: LEARNING BASIC TERMS AND TECHNIQUES

Students will learn the language and techniques they need to approach dramatic writing meaningfully. By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • use the standard terms that describe plot development, character development, dialogue, and stage directions; and
  • apply their understanding of these terms to their writing and the writing of others.

GOAL TWO: READING CRITICALLY

Students will learn to read analytically and interpretively. By the end of the course, students will have:

  • read a number of works and discussed these works in terms of their effectiveness;
  • engaged in classroom reading, discussions and exercises that illustrate approaches to plot, character, and dialogue; and
  • recognized the validity of different perspectives in the interpretation of drama.

GOAL THREE: WRITING SKILLS

Students will continue to improve their writing skills. By the end of the course, students will have:

  • written at least one properly formatted ten-minute play;
  • written at least one properly formatted opening teaser of a screenplay;
  • written other playwriting exercises as appropriate;
  • attended a play production and written a critical analysis of the script and production; and
  • engaged in all phases of the writing process, including planning, drafting, revising and polishing.

Major Topics to Be Included

  • The meaning of creativity
  • Elements of drama
  • Playwriting techniques
  • Formatting
  • Role of criticism
  • Play production
  • Screenwriting