Thinking about audience

          Your assignments for this course require you to think about audience as you develop your essays. Because Michael Steinberg, one of the editors of your textbook is also an editor of Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction, you can begin to get an idea of reader expectations for that publication. What do the personal essays Steinberg and Root selected for your text have in common? How would you characterize the writing? The choice of material? The tone?

Some of you might want to consider submitting your work to Fourth Genre. Check out the submission guidelines .

Other publication you might want to consider (some of these are mentioned in your text) inlcude:


The Writer's Chronicle
Kean is a member organization of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs. For samples of Nonfiction published in The Writer's Chronicle, scroll down to the sample articles, or pick up a recent copy of the journal in the English Department office.

Creative Nonfiction
Creative Nonfiction publishes creative nonfiction, as well as essays on writing about creative nonfiction. The current issue provides writers who are beginning to work in the genre with the ABC's of the craft.


Wired Magazine
Although Wired is predominantly journalism, it published "Stripped for Parts" by Jennifer Kahn, one of the essays you will read as an example of literary journalism, a form of creative nonfiction.

The North American Review
You can check out the North American Review in Kean's Library.

Welcome the the world of cyberjournaling. You will use your blogs to post your writing and to give and receive feedback for your classmates. You can think of it as a writing journal that talks back to you. Participation - open, thoughtful, caring, constructive comments - are what will make this space useful (or not). Your classmates are your first readers and they can give you a heads up whether and how a piece is working.

It is not easy to provide useful comments for other writers' work. At the same time - the support of a writing community is a crucial element for a successful writing life.

When commenting, it is generally important to validate and support each other, so it is a good idea to begin with positive comments - what you like about the essay. But it is also important to give the author an idea of what s/he can work on (and there is ALWAYS something to work on - no essay is every perfect for all readers). If you are having trouble thinking how to provide suggestions to help an author go deeper and more beautifully into his/her subject, try some of the following general approaches:

1. Say back what you perceived as the main focus. Be specific - indicate which sections directed you to that impression.

2. State how you see each section of the essay as developing and contributing to the main focus. If you are confused about the main focus - the writer needs to know that. If you don't understand how the sections work together - ask! Maybe the author has a great idea - but it is not quite working - and the two of you can figure out what is needed.

3. Point out the sections which were MOST interesting to you. If the sections which were "exciting" are NOT related to what you perceive as the focus - the author will have something to think about. Then point out sections which were hard for you to follow.

4. Ask questions that indicate what you would like to know more about.

Do NOT correct grammar + spelling. These are drafts. That kind of work is for the very end of the writing process.

I will read all your blog entries and the comments I provide will be similar to the kind you are providing for one another. My evaluation (grade) for you blog will be posted to you privately. The criteria for creating blogs and comments are listed in more detail on your syllabus.