HELP USC Catalogue 2015-2016 [ARCHIVED CATALOGUE] Professional Writing Program Contract All Courses | Print this Page Facebook this Page (opens a new window) Tweet this Page (opens a new window)

Return to: Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences 

Office of Advanced and Professional Programs
Mark Taper Hall 355
(213) 740-1384
FAX: (213) 740-5002
Email: mpw@dornsife.usc.edu
dornsife.usc.edu/mpw
Director: Brighde Mullins, MFA

Professor of the Practice: Brighde Mullins, MFA

Assistant Professors (Teaching): Prince Gomolvilas, MFA; Dinah Lenney, MFA

Senior Lecturers: M.G. Lord; Timothy Kirkman

Lecturer: Gina B. Nahai, MPW

Programs

Master’s Degree

• •  Professional Writing (MPW)

Courses

Professional Writing Program

• MPW 500 Survey of Professional Writing

  Units: 3
  Analysis of genres, characteristics of narration, stylistic editing, and the role of the writer in contemporary society. Required of all MPW majors.
  Duplicates Credit in former MPW 900.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 510 Writers and their Influences

  Units: 3
  Exploration of the notion of influence and its effect on generating new writing.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 511 Oral History: Witness and Writing

  Units: 1
  Max Units: 3.0
  Transforming oral history into works of fiction and nonfiction, with emphasis on honoring the source material in the construction of an original narrative.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 512 Writer’s Marketplace

  Units: 3
  A cross-genre investigation of publishing and the marketplace, with the goal of familiarizing students with the practical aspects of writing and selling creative work.
  Duplicates Credit in former MPW 910.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 515 Functional Writing for the Marketplace

  Units: 3
  Practical writing and editing skills, language mechanics, and document development techniques that can be applied to reports, grants/proposals, brochures, résumés, and other workplace materials.
  Duplicates Credit in former MPW 950.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 520 Writing Humor: Literary and Dramatic

  Units: 3
  Analysis of the specifics of humor — wit, irony, satire, parody and farce — through examples taken from various genres; discussion/workshop on incorporating humor in students’ work.
  Duplicates Credit in former MPW 915.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 525 Nonfiction Strategies in Poetry and Prose

  Units: 3
  A workshop devoted to shared concerns and possibilities in poems and essays, and to the development of skills as enhanced by nonfiction techniques.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 526 Writing the Review

  Units: 1
  Max Units: 3.0
  An investigation of the evolving role of the critic, focused on reviews as essays, and criticism as essential to a rich popular culture and conversation.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 527 Mash-Ups: New Ways to Tell Stories

  Units: 1
  Max Units: 3.0
  An examination of innovative storytelling, in which old and new media in tandem can extend our narrative capabilities, and connect us across the world.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 530 Techniques of Fiction Writing

  Units: 3
  A nuts and bolts approach to craft, aiming to identify the requisite tools, and to develop skills necessary for writing vivid and convincing fiction.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 535 Literature and Approaches to Writing the Novel

  Units: 3
  Discussion and analysis of literary classics and their influences as applicable to the writing of today’s novel; development of book-length fiction.
  Duplicates Credit in former MPW 940.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 537 Fiction Writing Workshop

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 9.0
  Development and analysis of book-length fiction; concentration on narration, characterization, point of view, and clarity of style.
  Duplicates Credit in former MPW 960.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 538 Approaches to Writing the Novel

  Units: 1
  Max Units: 3.0
  A survey of literary classics, focusing on recurring techniques, with the goal of identifying strategies to inform the student’s approach to narrative and craft.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 540 Nonfiction Writing

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 6.0
  The investigation of various forms in the genre, with attention to the literary value of thinking and making connections on the page.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 541 The Nonfiction Experience

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 6.0
  Introduction to nonfiction from reviewing to reporting to the personal essay, with a view towards creating the community essential in the solitary writer’s life.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 542 Writing About Place

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 6.0
  An exploration of environment as it informs literature, fiction and nonfiction, with the understanding that a vivid evocation of place will enrich prose across genres.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 543 Writing Science

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 6.0
  Introduction to science writing with a view towards broadening approaches to story-telling in all genres.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 544 New Media: Writing Online

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 6.0
  An examination of literary forms online. Students will emulate great print stylists, shaping narrative and cultivating voice with the possibilities of new media in mind.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 545 Memoir Writing

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 6.0
  A workshop designed to hone voice, and determine the best way to approach personal narrative in cultural and historical contexts.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 546 The Personal Essay

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 6.0
  A look at first-person narrative, from memoir to criticism, with a view towards cultivating favorite writerly strategies, and then trying less comfortable forms.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 547 Selling the Nonfiction Book

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 6.0
  From the proposal to the outline, a comprehensive look at selling a book-length work of nonfiction, including the completion of a first chapter and promotional précis.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 552 Principles of Poetic Techniques

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 6.0
  Beginning analysis and practice of poetic technique, including language and imagery; forms, devices, and conventions; developing voice; use of both traditional and open forms.
  Duplicates Credit in former MPW 970.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 554 Poetry Hybrids

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 6.0
  Writing and reading poetry in combination with other genres. Forms may include prose poem, verse drama, verse novel, and epic.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 557 Advanced Poetry Writing

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 6.0
  Advanced topics in poetry, including wide reading in contemporary poets. Emphasis on the development of the individual voice and subject matter.
  Duplicates Credit in former MPW 980.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 560 Principles of Dramatic Structure

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 6.0
  Analysis of techniques in preparing scripts for various media; practice in adapting materials from non-dramatic forms.
  Duplicates Credit in former MPW 920.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 561 Writing for Stage and Screen

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 6.0
  A workshop that examines the art and craft of writing for stage and screen.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 562 Story Conference

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 6.0
  Writing the play, teleplay or screenplay, focusing on character development and scene structure, in collaboration with the workshop.
  Duplicates Credit in former MPW 930.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 567 Screenplay Workshop

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 6.0
  Reading and viewing films with an eye toward the development and completion of the first 45–60 pages of an original screenplay.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 568 Screenwriting across Genres

  Units: 3
  Max Units: 6.0
  An investigation of varieties of storytelling through creative responses to both screenplay and non-screenplay forms.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 575 In the Room: The Craft of Television Writing

  Units: 1, 3
  Max Units: 6.0
  Introduction to television writing, from pitching to polishing, with all the responsibilities of a staff writer.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 585 Seminar in Professional Writing

  Units: 1 or 3
  Max Units: 6.0
  Seminar and workshop with adjustable focus on aspects of professional and creative writing in relation to the literary marketplace.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  
• MPW 589 Internship: Writers in the Field

  Units: 1, 2, 3
  Max Units: 3.0
  Practical experience in the writing world. Enables students to acquire skills and knowledge that cannot be gained in the classroom.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Credit/No Credit
  
  
• MPW 590 Directed Research

  Units: 1, 2, 3
  Max Units: 9.0
  Research leading to the master’s degree. Maximum units which may be applied to the degree to be determined by the program director.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Credit/No Credit
  
  
• MPW 592a Professional Writing Project

  Units: 3
  Supervised preparation of a full-length manuscript in student’s major concentration: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or writing for stage and screen.
  Credit upon completion of project.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: In-progress to Credit/No Credit
  
  
• MPW 592b Professional Writing Project

  Units: 3
  Supervised preparation of a full-length manuscript in student’s major concentration: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or writing for stage and screen.
  Credit upon completion of project.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: In-progress to Credit/No Credit
  
  
• MPW 592z Professional Writing Project

  Units: 0
  Supervised preparation of a full-length manuscript in student’s major concentration: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or writing for stage and screen.
  Credit upon completion of project.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: In-progress to Credit/No Credit
  
  
• MPW 594a Master’s Thesis

  Units: 2
  Credit on acceptance of thesis.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: In-progress to Credit/No Credit
  
  
• MPW 594b Master’s Thesis

  Units: 2
  Credit on acceptance of thesis.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: In-progress to Credit/No Credit
  
  
• MPW 594z Master’s Thesis

  Units: 0
  Credit on acceptance of thesis.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: In-progress to Credit/No Credit
  
  
• MPW 599 Special Topics

  Units: 2, 3, 4
  Max Units: 8.0
  Studies in specific genres, techniques or aspects of the writing craft.
  Instruction Mode: Lecture
  Grading Option: Letter
  
  

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