David A. Sylvester

Journalism – Academic Studies – Catholic Life – Teaching

Student Magazines

All students in English Composition 101 and English Literature 102 did extensive writing through guided freewriting, group discussions, revising and editing. They were encouraged to forget the rules – at first – and let the voice of the heart come through. They designed and produced these magazines as class projects. As their faculty advisor, I was always amazed at what emerged – and they were surprised to find they could write so well – in English!

Oikos University Class Magazines

  • What Happened on Groundhog Day? An Awakening!

    ENG 102 Spring 2020 | May 14, 2020

    This class magazine developed out of students’ thoughts and responses to our discussion of the characters and themes in the movie, Groundhog Day. What happens when you are forced to relive the same day over and over? These English Literature students had creative answers.

  • Memories to Remember

    ENG 101 Fall 2019 | October 5, 2019

    Students developed these essays and fictional stories by freewriting their responses to various questions, rewriting and editing. The students chose the title of the magazine based on the theme that emerged in their writing: Memories.

  • Living Life

    ENG 102 Spring 2019 | May 5, 2019

    The student editors of this magazine organized these class writings into thematic groups about “living life”, such as life, logic & emotion, literature. The class wrote reflections on everything from the experience of motherhood to negative side of social media.

  • Spring Reflections

    ENG 102 Spring 2018 | May 5, 2018

    The students in this English Literature class in the Spring 2018 saw their class writings, as reflections in water, hence the title, Spring Reflections on personal experiences, on life, on the movie “Little Miss Sunshine.”

  • Self Discoveries

    ENG 101 Fall 2017 | October 5, 2018

    The students in this English Composition class wrote about their experiences of “self discovery” in the United States: a father-son relationship over video games, first experiences of snow, the “American Dream,” painful memories of the Sewol tragedy.

  • Living Dialogues

    ENG 102 Spring 2017 | October 5, 2017

    Our class discussions about stories became an active dialogue between the story and the student readers. Then, their written responses to this dialogue formed this class magazine, written and designed by the students for this English Literature class, Spring 2017.