This online workshop guides instructors in designing the materials — syllabus, assignments, schedule — for writing-centered introductory composition courses at all UC campuses.

Experienced instructors will find the workshop helpful in revising their course materials for required introductory composition courses. Newer graduate student instructors might opt to take the workshop before enrolling in their departmental pedagogy seminars, or perhaps between the time they take such a seminar and begin teaching their introductory composition course.

Participants conclude the workshop with a polished set of teaching materials to use in their introductory composition courses.

The workshop is led jointly by Howard Fisher and Alexander Creighton. Fisher is Assistant Professor in Residence in the Department of English at the University of Connecticut. He holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley and is the former coordinator of the Art of Writing tutoring program. Creighton is a faculty member at Bennington College, where he teaches critical writing. He is a former ACLS Emerging Voices Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Berkeley and Art of Writing instructor. He holds a PhD in English from Harvard University.

Dates and Schedule

The workshop runs from Monday, June 2, through Friday, June 20, 2025. Participants should plan to commit a total of six to eight hours per week, of which approximately three hours are spent live online, and three to five hours are spent offline completing the assigned reading and writing. Live online meetings take place for an hour each Monday (10–11 am PT) and two hours each Thursday (10 am–12 pm or 2–4 pm PT); in addition, participants have several short individual meetings with an instructor.

In the fall, there are four online monthly meetings of an hour each, giving participants a chance to ask questions and discuss their experiences teaching the courses they have designed.