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  • Berkeley Global

The Craft of Reading

ENGLISH X429

41113
Delivery Options Online

To write well, you must read well. By learning to read with the eyes of a writer, you can develop an understanding of what makes great literature work. Class readings include novel excerpts, short stories and memoirs, from classics to contemporary treasures. Weekly writing assignments emphasize analytical responses to the works, while providing the chance to practice writing strategies revealed through close reading. Appropriate for all levels of writers, this course teaches you to read widely, respond deeply and turn any piece of writing into your own best teacher.

Course Outline

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Course Objectives

  • Gain the tools to read any text with an eye towards how it was constructed
  • Explore a variety of writing techniques
  • Acquire analytic skills to read and write with fuller comprehension
  • Be better prepared to carry on with your own creative projects

What You Learn

  • What it means to read as a writer
  • Voice, including the difference between voice and narration
  • How a narrator moves through time using language
  • Varieties of tension
  • Themes
  • The art of the memoir
  • The difference between a memoir and an autobiography
  • Audience’s effect on your writing
  • Choosing a point of view
  • Magical realism
  • The line between fiction and memoir
  • Components of style and structure
  • Finding the climax
  • Anchoring your story in a time and place
  • Writing with authority about the larger world
  • What is nonfiction
  • Setting as a character
  • Comedic writing: rhythm, juxtaposition, repetition and other elements
  • The difference between comedy and satire
  • Writer as a social critic
  • Special demands of creating unknown worlds

How You Learn

  • Lecture notes
  • Reading assignments
  • Writing assignments (including two short papers for online sections)
  • Discussion participation and assignments
  • Student feedback
  • Final paper
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Sections

Section 048

Jun 07 to Aug 30

Type: Online, Fixed Date

Instructor:

  • Katie M. Flynn

Cost: $710.00

See section 048 Details

Type Online, Fixed Date

Dates

Jun 07, 2022 to Aug 30, 2022

Delivery Options

Online

Available for Credit

2 semester units

Section Notes

TEXTBOOK NOTE:  Any complete edition may be used.

Section Materials

  • Textbook

    (Mandatory)

    The Lover by Marguerite Duras

    © 1998 Pantheon/Random House ISBN 0375700528 Textbook ISBN: 9780375700521
  • Textbook

    (Mandatory)

    Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel García Márquez

    © 2008 Vintage/Random House ISBN 1400034922 Textbook ISBN: 9781400034925
  • Textbook

    (Mandatory)

    Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin

    © 2012 Beacon Press ISBN 0807006238 Textbook ISBN: 9780807006238
  • Textbook

    (Mandatory)

    Dear Life by Alice Munro

    © 2013 Vintage/Random House ISBN 0307743721 Textbook ISBN: 9780307743725

Summer enrollment opens on March 21!

This course applies to the following programs:

Interdisciplinary Writing Program

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Individualized Study Plan

  • Effective Writing in the Workplace
  • Writing for Social Media: Prose That Works for Web 2.0
  • Grammar, Mechanics and Usage for Editors
  • Journalism Workshop
  • Science Writing
  • Writing the Feature Story
  • Introduction to Public Relations Writing
  • Writing and Editing Internship Program
  • Editorial Workshop I: Introduction to Copyediting
  • Writing Skills Workshop
  • Writing Creative Nonfiction
  • Creative Nonfiction Workshop
  • Developing the Memoir
  • Developing the Memoir II
  • The Craft of Reading
  • The Craft of Writing
  • Exploring Creative Writing
  • Introduction to Writing Fiction
  • Intermediate Fiction Writing
  • Advanced Fiction Writing
  • Developing the Novel
  • Screenwriting: The Art of Visual Storytelling
  • Poetry Workshop
  • Poets Studied and in Conversation
  • American Fiction
  • The English Novel
  • Great Novels You Always Meant to Read
  • Mystery Fiction
  • Shakespeare
  • Editorial Workshop II: Intermediate Copyediting
  • Advanced Editorial Workshop
  • Indexing: Theory and Application
  • Technical Communication I
  • Technical Communication II
  • Technical Communication III: Information Design

Learn More About this Program

Certificate Program in Writing

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Required Courses

  • The Craft of Reading
  • The Craft of Writing
  • Writing Skills Workshop

Electives (Literature)

  • American Fiction
  • Contemporary Voices: Speaking From the Margins
  • The English Novel
  • Fact or Fiction: Reading and Writing the Personal Essay
  • Great Novels You Always Meant to Read
  • Great Writers Steal: How the Work of Other Writers Can Inform and Inspire You
  • Mystery Fiction
  • Re-envisioning the Past Through Historical Fiction
  • Shakespeare
  • Short-Story Masterpieces
  • Meet the Writer: Guided Study and Discussion With Fiction Writers
  • Ursa Minor Production Class

Electives (Writing Workshop)

  • Exploring Creative Writing
  • Introduction to Writing Fiction
  • Intermediate Fiction Writing
  • Advanced Fiction Writing
  • Writing Genre Fiction: Science Fiction, Mystery, Romance and More
  • Mystery Writing
  • Developing the Novel
  • Screenwriting: The Art of Visual Storytelling
  • Screenwriting Workshop
  • How to Write a Story
  • Writing and Appreciating Poetry
  • Poetry Workshop
  • Poets Studied and in Conversation
  • Writing Creative Nonfiction
  • Creative Nonfiction Workshop
  • Developing the Memoir
  • Developing the Memoir II
  • Journalism Workshop
  • Science Writing
  • Writing the Feature Story
  • Writing and Editing Internship Program

Courses of Related Interest

  • Children's Picture Book Writing Workshop
  • Story Lab
  • Writing the First-Person Essay

Learn More About this Program

Notes

The course number has been changed. Previously, it was listed under ENGLISH X7.

Departmental contact: extension-letters@berkeley.edu | (510) 643-1110


Instructional Types

Live Online
Live Online courses provide an interactive learning experience with scheduled synchronous online sessions held via Zoom video conferencing (Pacific Time). Learn more about the Live Online format.
Online, Start Anytime
Continuous enrollment course begins when you enroll. You have a minimum of 90 days and a maximum of 180 days to complete the course.
Online, Fixed Date
Enroll in this course by its start date and complete it by its specified end date. There are no live sessions, but plenty of opportunities to collaborate with your classmates and instructor.
Classroom
Take classes in-person at one of our buildings or partner locations.

English Language Proficiency Requirements

All of our courses are taught in English. If English is not your first language, please use the following test scores as guides in order to be successful:

  • TOEFL: 90
  • IELTS Academic Format: 7
  • DAAD: C1
  • TEM-4 or TEM-8: Level 70

Note: You do not need to submit test scores.

Extension

1995 University Ave., Suite 200

Berkeley, CA 94704-7000

extension@berkeley.edu

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The University of California, Berkeley, is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). UC Berkeley Extension—like all other UC Berkeley schools, colleges and departments—is accredited by WASC through the University.

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Katie M. Flynn

Katie M. Flynn’s short fiction has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Tin House, and many other publications. She has been awarded Colorado Review’s Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction and the Steinbeck Fellowship in Creative Writing. Her first novel, The Companions, came out March 2020, and her interlinked collection of short stories, Island Rule, is forthcoming from Scout Press/Gallery Books.

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