Introduction to Literary Journalism / Course Syllabus / Fall 2015 / 1 Introduction to Literary Journalism / LJ 20 Joseph Modugno Department of English [email protected] Course: LJ 20 Section 29822 Class Meetings: M W 2:00-3:20pm Location: Humanities Hall (HH) 230 Office hours: M/W 3:30pm MKH or Starbucks (by appointment please) UCI Lit-J website: http://www.humanities.uci.edu/litjourn/ Course OverviewThis course serves as an introduction to the literary journalism major. Literary journalism is nonfiction prose that transcends the limits of daily news. While reporting is always challenging, by “literary journalism” we mean a kind of writing that goes beyond “who, what, where and when” to give the reader a richer and more detailed picture of life events. It combines an immersive approach to reporting with the techniques of fiction. Although this type of writing has older roots, it became an identifiable genre in the 1960s when Tom Wolfe dubbed it “New Journalism.” New Journalists such as Wolfe, Joan Didion, John McPhee, and Gay Talese were trailblazers in the field. Today, literary journalism appears in periodicals such as The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire and Harper’s Magazine, as well as in the magazines or literary supplements of many major newspapers.The Literary Journalism major is designed for students interested in studying and contributing to this distinct branch of nonfiction writing. The class has two objectives: First, it will introduce you to and help you understand great examples of literary journalism. This will be the reading component of the class. Second, the class will serve as an introduction to the basic techniques for reporting and crafting such journalism. In other words, writing literary journalism. Through working to understand the mechanics of a good story—something we will do through constant, careful reading of literary journalism texts—we will come to appreciate how these worlds have been constructed and how they have been linguistically built.At the end of our ten weeks together, our hope is that you will be a more engaged, passionate, and skilled reader. This is the way we will grow into serious writers. Lucky for us, there is a simple formula for the beginning writer, which we will follow: read (a lot), practice (a lot), and don’t give up. And because I trust you, I'm going to give you the secret formula that our most accomplished writers follow: they read (a lot), they practice (a lot), and they haven’t given up. In short, reading and writing is the heart of a writer’s world and will be the heart of our class. I also hope that we’re going to have fun along the way. As your teacher, I’m here to help you grow as a reader and develop as a writer. At times you’ll be frustrated. By design you’ll have to work hard each week. Consider this, though—American writer Steven Pressfield once wrote, “The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every.

1. Introduction to Literary Journalism / Course Syllabus / Fall
2015 / 1
Introduction to Literary Journalism / LJ 20
Joseph Modugno
Department of English
[email protected]
Course: LJ 20 Section 29822
Class Meetings: M W 2:00-3:20pm
Location: Humanities Hall (HH) 230
Office hours: M/W 3:30pm MKH or Starbucks (by
appointment please)
UCI Lit-J website: http://www.humanities.uci.edu/litjourn/
Course OverviewThis course serves as an introduction to the
literary journalism major. Literary journalism is nonfiction
prose that transcends the limits of daily news. While reporting
is always challenging, by “literary journalism” we mean a kind
of writing that goes beyond “who, what, where and when” to
give the reader a richer and more detailed picture of life events.
It combines an immersive approach to reporting with the
techniques of fiction. Although this type of writing has older
roots, it became an identifiable genre in the 1960s when Tom
Wolfe dubbed it “New Journalism.” New Journalists such as
Wolfe, Joan Didion, John McPhee, and Gay Talese were
trailblazers in the field. Today, literary journalism appears in
periodicals such as The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly,
Esquire and Harper’s Magazine, as well as in the magazines or
literary supplements of many major newspapers.The Literary
Journalism major is designed for students interested in studying
and contributing to this distinct branch of nonfiction writing.
The class has two objectives: First, it will introduce you to and

2. help you understand great examples of literary journalism. This
will be the reading component of the class. Second, the class
will serve as an introduction to the basic techniques for
reporting and crafting such journalism. In other words, writing
literary journalism. Through working to understand the
mechanics of a good story—something we will do through
constant, careful reading of literary journalism texts—we will
come to appreciate how these worlds have been constructed and
how they have been linguistically built.At the end of our ten
weeks together, our hope is that you will be a more engaged,
passionate, and skilled reader. This is the way we will grow into
serious writers. Lucky for us, there is a simple formula for the
beginning writer, which we will follow: read (a lot), practice (a
lot), and don’t give up. And because I trust you, I'm going to
give you the secret formula that our most accomplished writers
follow: they read (a lot), they practice (a lot), and they haven’t
given up. In short, reading and writing is the heart of a writer’s
world and will be the heart of our class. I also hope that we’re
going to have fun along the way. As your teacher, I’m here to
help you grow as a reader and develop as a writer. At times
you’ll be frustrated. By design you’ll have to work hard each
week. Consider this, though—American writer Steven Pressfield
once wrote, “The most important thing about art is to work.
Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying.”
That is what we are here to do, and that is what we are going to
do this quarter. So let’s begin.
Required Texts
· Literary Journalism, edited by Norman Sims and Mark Kramer
· Intimate Journalism, edited by Walt Harrington
Other Materials
· Canvas Online Learning System: You will turn in all of your
written work on Canvas. Written work will include drafts of
articles, reading response papers, and peer reviews. Please keep

3. an electronic file of your written work on your computer as a
backup, as well.
· A small writer’s notebook. You use this for your reporting
notes and perhaps for some in-class writing assignments.
· Voice Recorder: While a voice recorder isn’t required, it may
be helpful for your interviews. Most smart phones have a
recorder app.
ASSIGNMENTS & GRADING
Assignments should be typed in Times New Roman 12pt. font,
double-spaced, stapled, & paginated
Article Analysis (The Essay): 3-5 pages.25%
Percentage breakdown:10% Rough Draft; 15% Final DraftYour
first major assignment will be to find a work of literary
journalism published within the past five years. This article
cannot be one of the articles assigned in this class or from the
LJ program’s journal Kiosk. You will then write a short essay,
closely analyzing a scene of roughly one page. Questions you
might consider include:
· How does the author introduce the scene?
· Does the scene contribute to the building of suspense?
· Does it introduce crucial information in an artful manner?
How?
· How does this scene contribute to the development of
character in the story as a whole?
· What stylistic techniques does the author use?
· Does the author vary his or her sentence structure? Why?
· What kind of details does the author foreground? Why?

4. · What elements of craft are at work in this scene and to what
purpose or effect do they work?
You must form a thesis about why you think the author has
chosen to execute the scene this way. How do the author’s
choices for the scene further his or her goals for the piece?
Your goal is to produce a readable and persuasive analytic
essay. You should do as much sentence-level close reading and
critical analysis as possible, focused on the author's craft in
writing this scene. Remember that you must be able to support
your claims with textual evidence from the article. You may be
asked to attach a photocopy of the article to your essay.
Final Article (The Profile): 8-10 pages.45%
Assignments and Percentage Breakdown:
· Preliminary Scene (10%)
· Major Article Draft I (15%)
· Revised Major Article (Final Draft II) (20%)
Choose a subject (either a person, place, or thing) as the topic
for a short profile. Part of the assignment will be to justify why
this subject is story material. We will discuss how to shape a
profile in class.
The first part of the assignment is to write a scene (2-3 pages),
drawn from the research for your major article. Focus on one of
your major characters and base your scene on information
derived from interviewing and observing your subject. This
scene should be something that you plan on using in your final
project and should exhibit the kind of stylistic techniques you
will be using. This cannot be a friend, UCI faculty member,
roommate, family member, or fellow student.
In researching this scene, I want you to take a camera with you.
You will take pictures that you will later use as a memory aid
for reconstructing the details of your scene, in addition to your
handwritten notes. Both photos and notes need to be turned in
with the scene. The quality of the photographs won’t affect your

5. grade—the photos are a tool used to help you write better. You
don’t have to buy expensive camera equipment; a disposable
camera or phone camera is fine.
The second part is based on a first, polished draft of this profile
of 8-10 pages. This first draft should not be seen as a “rough”
draft. Instead, it should be your best work. You’ll get both oral
and written feedback from your peers and from the instructor.
The second part of your grade depends on your revision based
on that feedback. You should expect to hand in two fully re-
worked drafts of this piece. Writing is revision.
Critical Reading Responses and Research Logs 15%
Percentage Breakdown: 5% Critical Reading Responses; 10%
Research Logs
You will be required to write a short critical reading response
paper for each story we read in our literary journalism
anthologies this quarter. This is will work out to be about two
reading responses per week, or one per class. You will turn
them in on Canvas each week.
For these reading response papers (1 page), you may pick out an
element of craft (character, setting, scene, dialogue, tension,
tone, narrative stance, point of view, etc.) and discuss how and
why or to what effect and purpose the author uses the craft
element in the story. You can compare the story to another story
we’ve read. You can ask yourself what works well in the story
and why? In short, this is your chance to show what you’ve
learned from the reading and it should help prepare you to
contribute to our class discussion. In order to facilitate these
class discussions, as well as to help you read the texts more
closely, you may also be asked to answer study questions or to
bring in passages from the session’s assigned reading.
In the second half of the quarter, you will submit weekly
research logs to the class forum on Canvas. If you are having

6. specific reporting concerns, you may also post these here, as
well. While these are not formal papers, your entries should not
be colloquial.
AttendanceandParticipation: 15%
As we will discuss, attendance is mandatory and an essential
part of this class. By UCI English Department policy, no
incompletes will be given. If students miss more than two
classes, their grade will be lowered by one full letter grade per
absence. The nature of seminar demands attendance and
participation, and only students who are sincerely committed to
this class are encouraged to take it.
Please come to class prepared to participate each week. Come to
class armed with questions, comments, or thoughtful
observations for each of the readings. An active engagement
with the material—reading the stories carefully and coming
prepared to talk about them in class—is essential to the course’s
success and to your success as a student.
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING OVERVIEW
Two primary writing assignments, the weekly critical reading
response papers, and class discussions and participation will
make up our main work for the quarter
· Article Analysis (The Essay): 3-5 pages. 25%
· Final Article (The Profile): 8-10 pages. 45%
· Reading Responses and Research Logs: 1 page each, two per
week. 15%
· Attendance & Participation in Class Discussions and Seminar:
15%
COURSE POLICIES
Add/Drop Policy:
Adds and drops will be allowed only during the first two weeks
of the quarter (check registrar for official final drop date).

7. Students can change the grade option to P/NP only during the
first two weeks but if you are taking this class for the LitJ
major you must take it for a letter grade. After these dates
students will need approval from the undergraduate associate
dean's office to add, drop or change the grade option.
Second-day Rule:
The School of Humanities also has a “second-day” rule. If you
are not in class on the second day of the quarter (and do not
have an emergency to account for your absence) you may lose
your place to a student on the waiting list. You are still
responsible for dropping the course through the usual
procedures. If you know ahead of time that you will be unable
to attend on the second day, you should notify me right away.
Academic Honesty & Plagiarism:
All university students are responsible for reading the UCI
Academic Honesty Policy (see http://senate.uci.edu/uci-
academic-senate-manual/part-iii-appendices-of-the-irvine-
division/appendix-viii-uci-academic-senate-policy-on-academic-
honesty/ if you have any questions).
If you have specific questions about what constitutes
plagiarism, please ask. Plagiarism will result in a failing paper,
and depending on the severity of the offense, it may result in
your failing the course. In the past, students have tried to turn
in the same work for different Literary Journalism courses or
have attempted to revise articles from previous courses for later
ones. This is not acceptable. It will result in a failing grade and
possibly other disciplinary measures. The work you turn in
should be written during this quarter, exclusively for this
course.
Disability:
Students with disabilities who believe they may need

8. accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the
Disability Services Center at (949) 824-7494 as soon as possible
to better ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a
timely fashion.
SCHEDULE OF READINGS AND WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
All reading assignments should be completed before the
beginning of each class period on the date for which they are
assigned. Please note: some of the reading assignments may be
subject to change. As teacher of the course, I reserve the right
to make changes to all assignments as necessary. If any changes
are made, I will let you know ahead of time. For now, this will
be our schedule for the quarter.
Week One:
Introduction to the Art and Craft of Literary Journalism
September 28
—
Review Syllabus & Course Overview; Administration Material
September 30
—
Norman Sims – “The Art of Literary Journalism” (Sims &
Kramer)
Walt Harrington – “Prologue: The Job of Remembering” and
“A Writer’s Essay: Seeking the Extraordinary”
Week Two:
Nuts & Bolts
October 5

9. —
Mark Kramer – “10 Breakable Rules for Literary Journalists”
(S&K)
October 7
—
Madelaine Blais – “Zepp’s Last Stand” (Harrington)
Week Three:
The Profile
October 12
—
Walt Harrington – “True Detective” (Harrington)
October 14
—
Ted Conover – “The Road Is Very Unfair: Trucking Across
Africa (S&K)
Article for Analytic Paper Selected
Week Four:
The Unreliable Narrator
October 19
—
Mike Sager – “Death in Venice” (Harrington)
October 21
—
Calvin Trillin – “First Family of Astoria” (Sims & Kramer)
Analytic Paper First Draft Due. In-Class Peer Review.
Week Five:

10. Society
October 26
—
Susan Orlean – “The American Man at Age 10” (Harrington)
October 28
—
Jon Franklin – “Mrs. Kelly’s Monster”
*FINAL DRAFT OF ANALYTIC PAPER DUE
Weekly research logs begin this week. These will be due each
Friday at 5PM on Canvas
Week Six:
Tone
November 2
—
Adrian Nicole LeBlanc – “Trina and Trina” (Sims & Kramer)
November 4
—
David Quammen – “Strawberries Under Ice” (Sims & Kramer)
Week Seven:
Research & Discussion
November 9
—
Tracy Kidder – “Memory” (Sims & Kramer)
Brent Staples – “Mr. Bellow’s Planet” (Sims & Kramer)
Preliminary Scene Assignment Due
November 11
—

11. NO CLASS:Veterans Day
Week Eight:
Sports & Life
November 16
—
Gary Smith – “Shadow of a Nation” (Sims & Kramer)
November 18
—
Madeline Blais – “In These Girls, Hope Is a Muscle”
(Harrington)
__
Hunter S. Thompson – “The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and
Depraved”
(PDF
on Canvas)
Week Nine:
Presentations & Peer Review
November 23
—
*Final Reading – Teacher’s Choice (TBA) (PDF on Canvas or
handout)
Major Profile Draft I Due. In class peer review.
November 25
—
In-Class Group Presentations
Each group will bring in an example of literary journalism of
your choosing from a recent issue of a magazine (within the

12. past six months).
Be prepared to give a short presentation to the class on:
· What techniques the author used
· The larger issues raised by the article
· Why you personally found the piece compelling
· One idea, technique, or approach that you have learned from
this article that you might apply to your profile
Groups will be assigned and each individual in the group will be
responsible for covering one of the above aspects of the chosen
article
Week Ten:
Writing & Workshop
November 30
—
Class Workshop
December 2
—
Class Reading, Final Assignment Collected, Class Concluded
*FINAL DRAFT OF PROFILE DUE
(Last Day of Class)