I was born and raised in Los Angeles and got my BA at UC Santa Barbara (in English, with a Black Studies minor). Later, I went to Sacramento State University for an MA in English, and then the University of South Carolina’s creative writing program for an MFA in Fiction. I have been a writing fellow at the University of South Carolina, and the University of Houston.

I have taught writing courses at two and four-year schools in California, Nevada, South Carolina, and Texas. I live in Sacramento, and teach full-time at Yuba College..

Lastly, I believe I have created one of the world’s most chilaxing jazz ambiance playlists, which can be found here.

Zack O’Neill 😎

Where I’ve Taught

California

Academic Talent Search

English Composition: Real-World Writing. Summer, 2013. A course for 6th-9th graders sponsored by Academic Talent Search, a summer program that holds courses on the campus of Sacramento State University. Students write four short essays, perform presentations related to course material, and turn in a portfolio of revised work at the end of a five-week session. Students also complete smaller assignments and group projects in this writing class designed to introduce them to the standards of college composition.

https://www.cce.csus.edu/academic-talent-search

Creative and Imaginative Writing. Summer, 2012, Summer, 2013. A course for 6th-9th graders sponsored by Academic Talent Search, a summer program that holds courses on the campus of Sacramento State University. Students write on topics of their choosing in this university-style workshop, and study the composition of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. The course culminates with a small portfolio of revised work.

https://www.cce.csus.edu/academic-talent-search

Cosumnes River College

English Writing 101, College Writing. Summer, 2012. This writing course, designed to prepare the student for English 300, focuses on reading and writing as integrally related skills. Students study and practice such things as the writing process, summarizing, critical thinking, creating clear and varied sentences, and incorporating sources as they develop the skills necessary to write a variety of focused, developed, organized essays. Students are responsible for writing six full-process essays (500 word minimum for each).

https://crc.losrios.edu/academics/programs-and-majors/english

Sacramento City College

English 101, College Writing. Spring, 2012, Fall, 2013, Spring, 2014, Spring, 2015, Spring, 2016, Spring 2017. This writing course focuses on reading and writing as integrally related skills. Students study and practice the writing process, summarizing, critical thinking, creating clear sentences and incorporating sources as they develop the skills necessary to write focused, developed, organized essays. Students are responsible for writing six full-process essays (500 word minimum for each).

http://wserver.scc.losrios.edu/~langlit/writing_guide/

English 300, College Composition. Fall, 2011, Spring, 2012, Fall, 2014, Spring, 2015, Fall, 2015, Spring, 2016. A writing course that emphasizes reading, writing, and critical thinking skills essential for successful completion of a four-year college program. Students write a minimum of 6,500 words divided among 6-8 essays, including at least one research paper and one in-class essay. This course satisfies the writing competency requirement for graduation.

http://wserver.scc.losrios.edu/~langlit/writing_guide/

English 302, Advanced Composition and Critical Thinking. Fall, 2011, Fall, 2015, Summer, 2016. This writing course develops composition skills at the advanced level as well as analytical skills through writing, reading, and discussion. It examines methods by which people are persuaded to think, believe, and/or act. It also includes analyzing arguments or expressions of opinions for their validity and soundness and evaluating outside sources. It also focuses on critically assessing, developing, supporting, and effectively expressing opinions on issues.

http://wserver.scc.losrios.edu/~langlit/writing_guide/

Sierra College

English A, Mechanics and Basic Composition. Spring, 2014, Summer, 2016. This course reviews essay organization and development, sentence structure, usage, punctuation, and mechanics. It includes writing a variety of paragraphs, essays and other assignments to a minimum of 4,000 words. A departmental proficiency essay exam is required for successful completion. The course is for students who need review to become eligible for English 1A.

http://catalog.sierracollege.edu/courses/engl/

English 1A, Introduction to Composition. Fall, 2011, Spring, 2014, Summer, 2014, Fall, 2014, Spring, 2015, Fall, 2015, Fall, 2016, Spring, 2017. This course provides the writing, reading and critical thinking skills necessary for successful completion of a four-year college program. It includes reading, discussion, and analysis of selected non-fiction texts. Writing assignments (6,500 words of formal writing) teach students to summarize, explain, analyze, synthesize, and organize information logically and to propose and defend original ideas. Instruction in research, MLA documentation and completion of a fully-documented paper using multiple sources are also a part of the course.

http://catalog.sierracollege.edu/courses/engl/

English 1B, Critical Thinking and Writing About Literature. Spring, 2015, Fall, 2015, Spring, 2016, Fall, 2016. This course develops critical thinking, reading, and writing skills applicable to the analysis of prose, poetry, drama, and criticism from diverse cultural sources and perspectives. Emphasis is placed on the techniques and principles of effective written argument. 6,500 words of formal writing and research are required.

http://catalog.sierracollege.edu/courses/engl/

English 1C, Critical Thinking and Writing Across the Curriculum. Summer, 2015, Fall, 2015. This course develops critical thinking, reading, and writing skills as the apply to textual analysis of primary and secondary sources, essays, articles, and book-length works from a range of academic and cultural contexts. Emphasis is placed on the techniques and principles of effective written argument. 6,500 words of formal writing and research are required.

http://catalog.sierracollege.edu/courses/engl/

UC Davis

Workload 57, Entry Level Writing. Fall, 2011, Fall, 2013, Spring, 2014, Fall, 2014, Fall, 2016, Spring, 2017. At UC Davis, new students who have not satisfied the Entry Level Writing Requirement prior to enrollment must take Sacramento City College’s Workload 57, a basic writing course taught on the Davis campus. A grade of C or higher in Workload 57 will satisfy the Entry Level Writing Requirement. Students who do not pass Workload 57 with a grade of C or higher must retake the course the following quarter. The course is also available to Sacramento City College students, under the title English 157. The Fall, 2011 course was designated for the school’s Educational Opportunities Program, which assists students who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The Spring, 2014 course was designated an ESL course.

http://elw.ucdavis.edu/

Yuba College

English 1A, College Composition and Reading. Fall, 2013, Fall, 2018, Spring, 2019, Summer, 2019 (online), Fall, 2019 (in-person and online), Spring, 2020 (in-person and online), Summer 2020 (online), Fall, 2020 (online), Spring 2021 (online), Fall 2021 (in-person and online), Spring 2022 (online), Fall 2022 (in-person and online), Spring 2023 (online). One of Yuba College’s four “golden courses” which all students must take; dedicated to the development of analytical reading and the writing of college level essays, including critical analysis, rhetorical forms, and collegiate research.

One of my 1A courses each fall and my 1B course each spring are designated as Puente courses, described by our campus as follows: “Students enrolling in this course will be automatically enrolled in a Puente cohort which includes English 1A, English 10 and Counseling 10. Students enrolled in the Puente Project Cohort will also participate in extra-curricular community building activities and campus tours throughout the semester. The Puente Project is a national award-winning program that for more than 30 years has improved the college-going rate of tens of thousands of California’s educationally underrepresented students. Its mission is to increase the number of educationally disadvantaged students who enroll in four-year colleges and universities, earn college degrees and return to the community as mentors and leaders to future generations. The program is interdisciplinary in approach, with writing, counseling and mentoring components.”

https://yc.yccd.edu/academics/language-arts/english/

For more information on the Puente Project, click here:

https://www.thepuenteproject.org/

English 1B, Critical Thinking & Writing About Literature. Spring, 2020, Fall 2022 (in-person and online), Spring 2023 (online). Critical thinking and writing about literature; develops critical thinking, reading, and writing skills applicable to the analysis of prose, poetry, drama, and criticism from diverse cultural sources and perspectives; emphasis on the techniques and principles of effective written argument; some research required.

https://yc.yccd.edu/academics/language-arts/english/

English 1C, Critical Thinking/Advanced Composition. Fall, 2018, Spring, 2019, Spring 2021 (online), Spring 2022, Spring 2023. Principles of critical thinking, reading, and writing beyond freshman composition; focuses on the principles of, and the development of, logical and analytical reasoning, argumentative writing, and on the principles of rhetoric (invention, arrangement, style, memory, delivery, modes of discourse, audience).

https://yc.yccd.edu/academics/language-arts/english/

English 10, Extended Instruction for College Composition and Reading. Fall, 2019. This course incorporates and contextualizes reading, writing, and research strategies aligned with English 1A coursework. Coursework and class activities will be aligned to student need. A one-hour, one-unit course that occurs after one of the two weekly Puente English 1A meetings.

https://yc.yccd.edu/academics/language-arts/english/

English 51, Preparatory Composition and Reading. Spring, 2014, Fall, 2018. Improving reading skills and writing pre-college level essays; includes basic writing elements, rhetorical modes, and a review of sentence structure and mechanics. Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of ENGL 105 or ESL 105, or satisfactory score on Placement Examination.

https://yc.yccd.edu/academics/language-arts/english/

English 56, Accelerated Preparation for College Composition and Reading. Spring, 2019, Fall 2019. Intensive instruction in the academic mindsets, reading, reasoning, and writing expected in transfer and associate-degree courses. Students engage in extensive academic reading of college-level texts and write a minimum of 10,000 words. Successful completion allows students to enroll in English 1A.

https://yc.yccd.edu/academics/language-arts/english/

English 105, Pre-Collegiate Composition. Fall, 2018. This pre-collegiate course, two levels below College Composition (English 1A), requires students to develop strategies for reading, analyzing and responding to texts in order to write coherent essays. Students will practice academic reading strategies, using rhetorical strategies, and writing as a process. Students will also learn to edit their writing according to standards of written English.

https://yc.yccd.edu/academics/language-arts/english/

Nevada

College of Southern Nevada

English 100, Composition Enhanced. Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Summer 2018 (online). A 5-unit writing intensive course designed to strengthen college-level composition skills, with particular attention to audience, purpose, and context for writing, focusing on the writing process and introducing research. This course is an hour longer than the transfer-level and advanced courses English 101 and 102.

https://www.csn.edu/sites/default/files/u2241/coursedescriptions.pdf (page 374)

English 101, Composition I. Fall 2017, Spring 2018. English 101 is designed to further strengthen college-level writing skills, with particular attention to audience, purpose, and rhetorical situation, focusing on the writing process and introducing research.

https://www.csn.edu/sites/default/files/u2241/coursedescriptions.pdf (page 375)

English 102, Composition II. Fall 2017, Spring 2018. English 102 is a continuation and extension of English 101 with attention to analytical reading and writing, critical thinking, and research methodologies, while emphasizing interpretation, analysis, synthesis, and argument.

https://www.csn.edu/sites/default/files/u2241/coursedescriptions.pdf (page 375)

South Carolina

University of South Carolina

English 101, Critical Reading and Composition. Fall, 2008, Fall, 2009, Fall, 2010. A gateway course for all undergraduates, intended to focus on the study of reading and writing mechanics. Devoted to a theme of “Seeing and Being Seen,” this course examines the work of educators, poets, and theorists. Designated as writing and research intensive, the course introduces students to the basic tools and methods of essay composition.

https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/artsandsciences/english_language_and_literature/study/first_year_english/index.php

English 102, Rhetoric and Composition. Spring, 2009, Spring, 2010. A companion course to English 101 that moves from essay mechanics to rhetorical tools. The theme of this course varies from year to year and draws primarily from The Carolina Reader, an anthology produced by the University of South Carolina’s English department which contains everything from book excerpts to magazine articles to blogs to newspaper editorials. Like English 101, this course is designated as writing and research intensive, and introduces students to elements of persuasion, including the basics of classical rhetoric and rhetoric’s function in the present day.

https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/artsandsciences/english_language_and_literature/study/first_year_english/index.php

English 360, Creative Writing. Spring, 2011. A course for undergraduates with writing-intensive majors. The course focuses on fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and is devoted to workshops and discussions of the differences between creative and academic writing, as well as differences among these genres.

http://artsandsciences.sc.edu/engl/course-descriptions

Texas

University of Houston

English 1303, Freshman Composition I. Fall, 2012. A required Core Curriculum course for incoming freshmen, described by the English department as a “Detailed study of the principles of rhetoric as applied in reading and writing expository essays.” Students write four essays, several shorter pieces, post responses to the readings every week on Blackboard, keep running notebooks, and give presentations. Each course had a different theme, which I chose and incorporated into the course’s overall design: one was “Food Consumption in America,” and the other was “Education in America.”

http://www.uh.edu/class/english/programs/lower/courses/index.php

English 1304, Freshman Composition II. Spring, 2013. A required Core Curriculum course for incoming freshmen at the University of Houston, described by the English department as “A detailed study of the principles of rhetoric as applied to analyzing and writing argumentative and persuasive essays.” Students write three essays, several shorter pieces, post responses to the readings every week on Blackboard, and keep running notebooks. This course centered on the theme of New Orleans, which was analyzed through various types of texts, including fiction, nonfiction, documentaries, film, and poetry.

http://www.uh.edu/class/english/programs/lower/courses/index.php

English 2305, Introduction to Fiction. Fall 2012, Spring 2013. An upper level course offered by the English department. I chose the theme of “21st Century American Fiction.” Students read several novels and short stories, write research papers, and participate in a group project: an online literary journal (see “Journal” link at top), which is made up of author interviews, artwork, essays, and creative pieces.

http://www.uh.edu/class/english/programs/lower/courses/index.php