Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2025 - ENGL 272 D100

Creative Reading (3)

Class Number: 3020

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 3 – Dec 2, 2025: Tue, 12:30–2:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    ENGL 111W, 112W, 113W, 114W, or 115W; or WL 105W; or PUB 101.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An introduction to the art of reading for creative writers, focusing on the linguistic, literary, and conceptual tools writers use to manipulate language to create different experiences for those encountering it, and exposing new writers to innovative literature. Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

In this course students are introduced to the craft and practice of creative writing across poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The course invites students to explore writing as an act of attention, imagination, and self-discovery. Alongside producing original creative work, students will develop the tools to read as writers through learning how to recognize and apply techniques of image, voice, sound, structure, and reflection. Weekly readings by a diverse group of contemporary and historical writers, including queer, trans, Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and diasporic voices, will guide our discussions of form, identity, and creative risk. Through writing exercises, peer feedback, revision, and close reading, students will grow as both readers and writers, building a foundation for future creative and critical practice. 

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

  • Demonstrate foundational skills in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction through the production of original creative work.
  • Apply core elements of craft, such as image, voice, sound, structure, and reflection, in one's own writing and in the analysis of others' work.
  • Read as writers, identifying how literary techniques function in published texts and using those insights to inform their creative practice.
  • Engage in constructive peer feedback, offering and receiving critique with clarity, care, and openness.
  • Revise creative work effectively, demonstrating an understanding of the creative process as iterative and exploratory.
  • Reflect on positionality, identity, and imagination as central to creative expression and inquiry.

Grading

  • Writer’s Notebook 10%
  • Midterm Mini-Portfolio 25%
  • In-Class Writing Practice and Classroom Contribution 25%
  • Final Portfolio and Reflection 40%

NOTES:

Students will maintain a Writer’s Notebook (10%) for weekly low-stakes writing and reflection. A Midterm Mini-Portfolio (25%) will showcase early creative work across genres with a short reflection. In-Class Writing and Participation (25%) includes writing exercises, peer feedback, and active engagement. The course culminates in a Final Portfolio and Reflection (40%) featuring revised, polished work and a critical self-assessment of creative growth.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Pagh, Nancy. Write Moves: A Creative Writing Guide and Anthology. Broadview Press, 2016.
ISBN: 9781554812264

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Department Undergraduate Notes:

IMPORTANT NOTE Re 300 and 400 level courses: 75% of spaces in 300 level English courses, and 100% of spaces in 400 level English courses, are reserved for declared English Major, Minor, Extended Minor, Joint Major, and Honours students only, until open enrollment begins.

For all On-Campus Courses, please note the following:
- To receive credit for the course, students must complete all requirements.
- Tutorials/Seminars WILL be held the first week of classes.
- When choosing your schedule, remember to check "Show lab/tutorial sections" to see all Lecture/Seminar/Tutorial times required.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.

To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit: 


RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.