On Point: Crafting a Short-Form Point of View Piece with David Jacobson

“Many people are driven to write by the simple human need to express ourselves,” says instructor David Jacobson. “There may be no better way to meet that need than through the short, pointed burst of intellectual and emotional energy that goes into a newspaper column, op-ed or blog post.”

In this online series, through a mixture of short lectures, readings, discussions, writing exercises, and independent work between class sessions, you will learn how to write a 500-1500 word piece that shares your perspective and stays on point. In class, you will brainstorm subjects for your writing, select a topic for a piece to draft over the weeks that the class meets, choose a point of view that is personal and powerful, and strategically structure your beginning, middle, and end. The class will gently workshop the writing of students who are ready to share their pieces.

By the end of three weeks, you will take away:

• tools to help you identify, select and reject topics for your future opinion pieces
• tips on applying the right voice to a given topic
• tricks for persisting through starts and stops.

Our goal is that you leave the series of classes with a draft of a piece that is “On Point.” Whether your piece is meant for personal satisfaction, use in your professional life, or for eventual publication, David will draw from his four decades of writing with a point of view to help you get to the point and stay on point.

1. Live Zoom Meeting: Saturday, October 24, 2:00pm-4:30pm
2. Live Zoom Meeting: Saturday, October 31, 2:00pm-4:30pm
3. Live Zoom Meeting: Saturday, November 07, 2:00pm-4:30pm