<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi all--<DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>I completely agree with Mary on this. Great writers read deeply, and come to have a deep knowledge of their material. Many have been great scholars in their own right.<DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Forgive me for butting in on this discussion, but as I'll be co-teaching the Writers Life class next fall, I might as well get a jump on it with my usual mantra about these things:</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Do not approach term papers as academic exercises. Approach them as research articles that you might actually try to get published. If you adjust your sights in this way, it may make the material more compelling to begin with, and the result more satisfying, since you're writing not just for a grade, but for something that may help advance your careers as professional writers. </DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Do not be intimidated by the scholastic lingo you may encounter. I can tell you that editors I know actually breathe a sigh of relief when they read something that not only is intelligent, but is written in plain English, without a dozen "isms" and "izations" per page. So feel free to write "use" instead of "utilize," and so forth. </DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Mainly, take seminars about material for which you care, and write about it with care. The rest will take care of itself.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Best,</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Robin</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR><DIV><DIV>On May 10, 2007, at 12:13 PM, Mary Copeland wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"> <DIV class="Section1"><P class="MsoNormal"><FONT size="2" face="Arial"><SPAN style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial">I thought I would share my thoughts regarding courses we are required to take outside the Creative Writing Dept., i.e. English Seminars – I know some of you are working on an intro for new MFA’s for next year.</SPAN></FONT></P><DIV><FONT size="2" face="Arial"><SPAN style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial"> </SPAN></FONT><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><P class="MsoNormal"><FONT size="2" face="Arial"><SPAN style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial">While it is true some English professors will allow you to write a “creative” piece instead of an academic paper for English seminars, I would like to suggest that some of you might consider taking up the challenge of writing an academic piece for whatever English seminar you choose. I believe we are required to take these classes for a reason—to stretch our range, and hopefully be more prepared should we enter the teaching field. After all, many of us are going to need some sort of income while we continue to write. </SPAN></FONT></P><DIV><FONT size="2" face="Arial"><SPAN style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial"> </SPAN></FONT><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><P class="MsoNormal"><FONT size="2" face="Arial"><SPAN style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial">That said, I’m sure there are some professors that are more helpful in this area than others. Speaking from experience, I took Dr. Steven Axelrod’s English Seminar on “The Poetry of Grief and Sadness in the Cold War Era.” It was informative, and opened my eyes to new works and new ways of thinking about poetry. He was also very helpful and supportive and gave a lot of input into my academic paper and put me at ease, even though I was in a class with several Ph.D. candidates (who often seemed to speak in a different language </SPAN></FONT><FONT size="2" face="Wingdings"><SPAN style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings">J</SPAN></FONT><FONT size="2" face="Arial"><SPAN style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> ). If you feel you simply can’t do it, then of course, approach your professor about writing a creative work – but we certainly get a lot of that in our workshops and other classes, don’t we? I encourage everyone to challenge themselves and make the most of your time here at UCR. It goes by all too fast.</SPAN></FONT></P><DIV><FONT size="2" face="Arial"><SPAN style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial"> </SPAN></FONT><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><P class="MsoNormal"><FONT size="2" face="Arial"><SPAN style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Arial">Mary Copeland</SPAN></FONT></P> </DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">_______________________________________________</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Cwgrad-announcements mailing list</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><A href="mailto:Cwgrad-announcements@lists.ucr.edu">Cwgrad-announcements@lists.ucr.edu</A></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><A href="http://lists.ucr.edu/mailman/listinfo/cwgrad-announcements">http://lists.ucr.edu/mailman/listinfo/cwgrad-announcements</A></DIV> </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><DIV> <SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV style="font-size: 11px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; ">Robin Russin</SPAN></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 11px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; ">Assistant Professor</SPAN></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 11px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; ">Department of Theatre</SPAN></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 11px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; ">University of California, Riverside</SPAN></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 11px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; ">Riverside, CA 92521</SPAN></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 11px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; ">(951) 827-2707</SPAN></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 11px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; ">(213) 949-1061 cel</SPAN></DIV><DIV style="font-size: 11px; "><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; "><A href="mailto:robin.russin@ucr.edu">robin.russin@ucr.edu</A></SPAN></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN></SPAN> </DIV><BR></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>