Course Syllabus
Syllabus Word Doc; Syllabus PDF
Introductory Poetry Workshop
ENG 2003, Section 002, Fall 2025
Welcome to Introductory Poetry Workshop! This course is designed to expose you to a wide variety of poetic expressions and to expand your notions of what a poem can be—how a poem can look or sound—and perhaps more importantly what a poem can do. You’ll learn new forms, styles, ideas, and techniques, and you’ll be asked to experiment and incorporate them in your own poems.
We’ll be spending the semester together with these core questions (among many others) in mind: What makes a poem a poem? How does poetry stand apart from other written or spoken media? What is the role of a poet? What choices do other poets make in their writing, and why? When do we need poetry? Do we need it? How do you start a poem, and then how, when, or why do you revise it? How do you build a fulfilling writing practice that will endure over time?
You’ll encounter many answers to these questions in our class discussions, and your own answers may change multiple times over the course of the semester. The most important thing in this class will be to come in with an open mind to the possibilities that live in poetry.
Meeting Time and Location
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:30 p.m. – 4:50 p.m., Mazur Hall #25
Instructor Information
Sam Ross (pronouns: he/they), Instructor of Record
My Contact Information
Please reach out to me at any time for assistance with the course or navigating university life. The best way to reach me is to email me at sam.ross@temple.edu. You can also send me a message through the Canvas inbox. I will generally respond within 24 hours during the week. If you send an email over the weekend, I’ll try my best to respond on Monday.
My Office
Mazur Hall #917
Student Drop-In Hours
Seeking out individual assistance from the instructor is a normal part of the learning process. I set aside 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Wednesdays for you to come to my office or meet with me on Zoom. We can discuss the course content, your progress on the assessments, your future in the field, or anything else you need to talk about. If my regular Drop-In Hours don’t fit your schedule, please email me with times that work better for you. I want to help you succeed!
Please note that I require appointments at least 24 hours in advance for student drop-in meetings. Use the following link to schedule, and please reach out if you run into any troubles: https://appt.link/meet-with-sam-ross-ywuYyOGP.
Overview of the Course
Each week will include both seminar and workshop elements. After the first two weeks of classes and barring any unforeseen circumstances, Tuesday class sessions will be dedicated to brief lectures and class discussions on the dedicated syllabus topic(s) for the week. Thursday class sessions will be focused on workshopping poems you’ve written and submitted for peer feedback. When your own work is not scheduled to be discussed, you’ll be offering active engagement with your peers’ work and generating feedback they will consider in their revision process.
Learning Goals
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to…
…write poetry and develop your own preferences as a poet.
…read and interpret poetry in various styles or forms.
…provide meaningful, constructive feedback to your peers.
…revise your own work and incorporate others’ feedback.
…sustain a poetry writing practice for the future.
All materials, activities, and assessments of this course are designed to help you achieve these goals. If at any time you feel that you are not making progress towards one of these goals, please reach out to me. It is my job to help you get there!
Discussion Guidelines
In this course, we’ll most likely have conversations that involve racism, sexism, imperialism/colonialism, gender identities, sexual orientation, religion, political polarization, and other issues that some may find challenging and uncomfortable to discuss, so we will prepare as a group and develop a written set of community discussion guidelines on the first day of class. These guidelines will address how we can have these discussions in a productive and respectful way and help us consider viewpoints that may be different from our own. In this class, we want to make space for each student and create an inclusive environment where we respect each other’s different identities, lived experiences, and perspectives. Please do not ever hesitate to reach out to me if I can do something better or differently to support your learning or our collective learning experience.
Materials
There are no required reading materials to purchase for this course. All readings will be posted on Canvas as URL links or PDF documents. You will need access to an electronic device during class time and may even find it useful to have a notebook with pens/pencils to write your notes and creative work.
Software or Other Supplies
If you need access to basic software for creating documents, slideshows, or spreadsheets, you have free access to Microsoft 365.
Whether you use a paper or digital tool, you should have a calendar for managing your schedule. I use Outlook calendar, a software available to you as part of the Microsoft 365 suite of tools.
Accessibility
It is important to me that you all have the opportunity to succeed in this course. Please reach out to me if there are any barriers you encounter or obstacles in the way of your success!
Any student who has a need for accommodations based on the impact of a documented disability or medical condition should contact Disability Resources and Services (DRS) located in the Howard Gittis Student Center South, 4th Floor at drs@temple.edu or 215-204-1280 to request accommodations and learn more about the resources available to you. If you have a DRS accommodation letter to share with me, or you would like to discuss your accommodations, please contact me as soon as practical. I will work with you and with DRS to coordinate reasonable accommodations for all students with documented disabilities. All discussions related to your accommodations will be confidential. Students can learn more about the accommodation process and pre-register on the DRS website. Students may register at any time during the semester, but accommodations are not active until you register, so I recommend doing so as early in the semester as possible.
Resources and Support
Sometimes the biggest factors impacting student success are things happening beyond the scope of the individual classroom. Temple provides a wide array of resources both to help you overcome academic challenges and those not directly related to the educational challenges of the course. Please reach out to me if you need help deciding which resources might be right for you.
Undergraduate Research Support
Disability Resources and Services
If you are experiencing food insecurity or financial struggles, Temple provides resources and support. Notably, the Temple University Cherry Pantry is in operation as well as a variety of resources from the Division of Student Affairs.
Course Schedule
**For a week-to-week schedule, please see the Word Doc or PDF hyperlinked at the top of this page**
Grading & Assessment Guidelines
Grading Scale
Table 2 - Grade Percentage Breakdown
|
Percentage |
Letter Grade |
|
94-100 |
A |
|
90-93 |
A- |
|
87-89 |
B+ |
|
84-86 |
B |
|
80-83 |
B- |
|
77-79 |
C+ |
|
74-76 |
C |
|
70-73 |
C- |
|
67-69 |
D+ |
|
64-66 |
D |
|
61-63 |
D- |
|
0-60 |
F |
Assessment Summary
The assessments in this course have been created for two reasons: (1) For you to demonstrate your progress towards the learning goals for the course and receive useful feedback and, (2) For you to practice skills and develop ways of thinking that will be of use to you in the future.
Table 3 - Final Grade Calculation
|
Grading Item |
Percentage of Final Grade |
|
Workshop Packets |
15% |
|
Peer Feedback |
15% |
|
Creative Responses |
10% |
|
Critical Reflections |
10% |
|
Participation |
20% |
|
Final Portfolio |
30% |
Workshop Packets
You’ll submit 2 packets of poetry over the course of the semester to be workshopped. These packets should be 3-5 pages in length and include an additional cover page at the beginning of your packet that asks questions you’d like answered about your poems and/or outlines specific passages of your packet on which you’d like your peers to focus. Please avoid explaining your poems but rather highlight what you want to learn from peer feedback. Your packet will be due the Sunday night before your work is scheduled to be workshopped so that your peers have time to prepare their feedback. You may submit anything you’ve written inside or outside of class.
Peer Feedback
After the first two weeks of class, you’ll be expected to submit thoughtful written feedback on your peers’ work before each workshop. You should add line notes (i.e., annotations) throughout their packet and include a substantive paragraph of at least 250 words that contains overall feedback after the last page of the packet. Your feedback on your peers’ packets will be due each Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. You aren’t expected to submit feedback during the weeks your work is scheduled to be workshopped.
Creative Responses
Most weeks you’ll submit a creative response of 1-2 poems that responds to and/or interacts with our weekly course topic or a specific poem we read for class. You may submit these responses in the form of poetry, but you may also experiment with other media (e.g., visual art, performance, sound/music, and video) as long as you’re engaging with language. Please include a few sentences at the end of your submission or as a comment on Canvas that describe your work’s relationship to our course materials. You may skip 3 of these responses throughout the semester without penalty.
Critical Reflections
For 3 weeks of your choice during this course, you’ll elect to submit a critical reflection in lieu of a creative response that focuses on 1 or more course readings. These reflections should be at least 200 words and submitted before the relevant course material is discussed in class. Your critical reflections should discuss your interpretations of the reading, lines or techniques that interested you, what you enjoyed (or didn’t!), and/or any connections you can identify with other media you’ve encountered outside of class. You’re also encouraged to synthesize readings within our course. Note: You’re welcome to submit creative responses in the weeks you choose to write critical reflections—just not required!
Participation
The more you participate, the more fun we’ll have as a group this semester. I’m excited to meet with you all and to get to know your poems and creative practices. Please come to class prepared having read the required materials beforehand and ready to offer your insights and feedback during our scheduled class times. If you never come prepared or participate in class discussions, it will impact your participation grade.
Final Portfolio
At the end of the semester, you’ll submit an 8-10 page portfolio of your work. At least 6 of these pages must include revised versions of your poems. Your work can be all written poems, but you are also welcome to submit audio files, videos, or mixed media works. You must also submit a 1-2 page (double-spaced) statement of poetics discussing your growth as a writer, your inspirations, how you envision your own writing practice in the future, and/or work we read in this course that influenced your portfolio.
Late Submissions
Life gets in the way for all of us from time to time. I’m open to accepting late work, but please notify me that you may miss a deadline at least 24 hours in advance of an assessment’s due date to receive an extension.
I’m willing to offer a 4-day extension for any type of assessment except for Workshop Packets. Since your peers will need ample time to review your Workshop Packets, I’m only willing to offer a 24-hour extension for those assessments. If you’re undergoing a personal emergency, please let me know. I’ll work with you as best I can to accommodate what you need.
Class Attendance & Participation
Your attendance and participation are expected at as many of our class meetings as possible. The classroom is an inherently social environment where we are all mutually responsible for each other’s learning, and if you miss class, we lose your perspective in classroom discussions and learning activities. I’ll allow a maximum of 4 absences throughout the semester without penalty to your grade. Once you’ve accrued more than 4 absences, then each additional absence will drop your overall grade in the course by a letter grade. For example, if you have an A and miss 5 classes, then your overall grade would drop to an A-.
If unforeseen circumstances cause you to miss multiple class sessions, please contact me as soon as possible to discuss the situation.
School-Life Conflict
Many unpredictable things can happen over the course of a semester. If you find yourself struggling to balance your education and your other commitments, please reach out to me immediately so that we can work together to build a plan for your success. Some of the resources in the next section may also be of use to you.
Attendance and Your Health
To achieve course learning goals, students must attend and participate in classes, according to the course requirements. However, if you have tested positive for or are experiencing symptoms of a contagious illness, you should not come to campus or attend in-person classes or activities. It is your responsibility to contact me to create a plan for participation and engagement in the course as soon as you can do so, and to make a plan to complete all assignments in a timely fashion.
Religious Holidays
It is your right to observe religious holidays without impacting your opportunity to learn and succeed in this course. Please reach out to me at the start of the semester so that deadlines can be reviewed in advance of your religious observations. You will still be held responsible for course content and any assignments, but you will not lose points for attendance and participation on days important to your faith.
Caregiver Responsibilities
I have great respect for students who are pursuing their education while responsible for the care of children or other family members. Please contact me if you encounter challenges that require you to miss a class session, or if your caregiving responsibilities are interfering with your success in the course. Together we may be able to find some flexibility to support your learning.
Withdrawal
If you are considering withdrawing from the course after the add/drop date, please don’t make that decision alone! Withdrawing from the course without talking to me first eliminates the possibility of finding a path to success for you. Furthermore, it is extremely important that you consult your academic advisor before withdrawing. They will be able to walk you through how the withdrawal would impact your progress towards your degree and your graduation date.
Please check the academic calendar for the last day to withdraw from a course.
Technology Guidelines
Technology Requirements
To participate in this course, you will need the equipment, software, and internet access necessary to reliably use Canvas as well as “productivity tools” like word processors.
Limited resources are available for students who do not have the technology they need for class. Students with educational technology needs, including no computer or camera or insufficient Wifi access, should submit a Student Technology Assistance Application located in TUPortal and linked from the Dean of Students Support and Resources webpage. The university will endeavor to meet needs, such as with a long-term loan of a laptop or Mifi device, a refurbished computer, or subsidized internet access.
Note that there are technology resources available for students, including on-campus computers available for student use, the Tech Center computer labs and free laptop and battery borrowingat Charles Library, software that is available for free download and other specialty software that may be available for remote access through ITS.
Technology Usage
Excellence in any endeavor requires attention. To that end, we need to be mindful of the unnecessary use of technology in the class. To avoid distracting yourself or others, please only use your laptop, phone, or other device for activities relevant to the course. If you find yourself needing to take a call or participate in a text, please excuse yourself from the classroom and return as soon as you are able.
AI Policies
The use of generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft CoPilot, etc.) are not permitted in this class; therefore, any use of AI tools for work in this class may be considered a violation of Temple University’s Academic Honesty policy and Student Conduct Code, since the work is not your own. The first use of unauthorized AI tools will result in a written warning via email and the opportunity to redo the assessment for credit. Any subsequent use of unauthorized AI tools will result in a failing grade for this course.
Academic Guidelines
Academic Freedom
Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic freedom. I have the freedom and responsibility to design and facilitate our learning environment to best achieve the promise of the course as outlined in its official description. You have the responsibility to engage with the course in good faith and freedom from mistreatment when your opinion differs from mine. Note that it is not abuse of this freedom for me to require that you support relevant opinions with clear argumentation and solid evidence. For more on academic freedom, consult the official Temple policy on the matter.
Academic Integrity
Temple University believes strongly in academic honesty and integrity. Plagiarism and academic cheating are, therefore, prohibited. All work you submit for assessment should be your own efforts. For more on this topic, consult the relevant portions of Temple Bulletin and the Student Conduct Code.