ENC 4311 - Fall 2026 - Howard

In this course, I will encourage you to follow your interests and ideas to write essays with insight, clarity, and narrative style. Once we create a vantage point and narrative stance, we can identify the form and structure that best support your writing and your writing-related aspirations. Through

writing portfolio assignments and readings, we will write toward a better understanding of the personal essay form. Our course texts will include The Art of Time in Memoir and a sampling of published essays written by journalists, scholars, poets, fiction writers, and editors. After we read these selections, we will discuss elements of craft, content, and style. We will consider how the personal essay supports journalism, scholarly writing, and creative forms. During our workshop sessions, we will ask questions of one another about the presented work. You will also ask questions in your written responses to one another. Your semester creative portfolio will include two personal essays, and a final project of new or revised work.