Reading and Writing Young Adult Literature: Identity, Relationships, and Coming of Age

Course summary: Explore the craft and cultural importance of young adult literature through 40 lessons on identity, friendships, family, mental health, social issues, fantasy, dystopia, and coming of age. Analyze YA texts, practice specific story techniques, and complete a researched literary analysis or original YA creative project with a revision reflection.

Course overview: Designed for beginning and developing writers and close readers. Work through ten modules and four standalone lessons per module. Allow 2–4 hours per lesson, including reading and practice. No prior fiction workshop is required. By the end, you will be able to identify a YA reader promise, explain the craft behind a published scene, develop teen-centered conflicts, revise responsibly, and present an evidence-based or creative capstone.

Completion standard: Complete the learning labs and checks, assemble a small portfolio of scene drafts, comparison notes, and revisions, and submit one final project with a reflection. Analyses of published texts must use brief quoted evidence or accurate paraphrase and credit sources. Sensitive representations require research and care; do not substitute diagnosis or cultural assumptions for individual characterization.

AI writing partner policy: A student may ask an AI tool to locate unclear transitions, test whether an invented teen voice is consistent, or suggest questions for a peer review. Treat AI suggestions as unverified; the writer chooses every revision, protects private student material, and does not submit generated text or made-up citations as personal work. Every exercise can be completed without AI.