This course is intended to help you develop writing skills that will help you succeed while you are at UVA and also after you graduate.

Every section of ENWR 1510 has a theme. For this section the theme will be “points of view” in fiction.  We will look at and write about short stories, with a special focus on different ways of narrating a story. The readings will be taken from a classic but rather unusual anthology, Points of View, in which the stories are classified according to the mode of narration used in the story. The first section of the anthology contains “interior monologues,” in which we seem to be inside the main character’s head, hearing his or her thoughts in live time; the second section contains “dramatic monologues,” in which we seem to overhear the main character speaking aloud to another character; the third, letters written by the characters; the fourth, diaries; and so on.  We will look at eleven modes of narration and study at least two examples of each mode. 

You will complete five written assignments, three narratives and two argumentative essays. For the narratives, you will be asked to write a 2-3 page narrative using one of the modes of narration we have studied. For the argumentative essays, you will be asked to write a 4-5 page paper with a thesis and supporting textual evidence. The narratives will be written once. The argumentative essays will be drafted, workshopped, and revised. 

There are additional UVa-only syllabus items for this course. Click here to view all the public and UVa-only syllabus items. This link is restricted to UVa-members with Netbadge authentication.