Spring 2027

Advanced Screenwriting

Advanced Screenwriting is an intensive, capstone-like course focusing on long-form film and television screenwriting. It emphasizes visual storytelling, character and plot development, AI tools, and industry-standard critique practices.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Craig Erpelding3.7/5

Summary

What you’ll be able to do

  • Recognize the role of a screenwriter in the business and developmental process for the industry.

  • Practice advanced character and plot development techniques.

  • Compose an original, long-form screenplay.

  • Critique and analyze the use of formatting and prose in successful screenplays.

  • Demonstrate effective cinematic storytelling to a Hollywood executive.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

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average GPA
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Prerequisites

Course map

COM ARTS 466

COMARTS 656

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Professors

Spring 2027
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RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 5.00/5 from 1 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

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Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

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SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 150

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

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Student experience

the class

An intensive, capstone-like experience in the art of screenwriting as it pertains to long form film and television. With an emphasis on visual storytelling, elements of this art to be discussed are character and plot development, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a writing tool, composing efficient action and realistic dialog, as well as creating a cinematic experience by expressing imagery in writing. Beyond completing a long form TV or film script, learn to critique screenplays via industry-standard coverage practices, engage in group discussions and critique our own work.

difficulty & workload

No workload feedback recorded.

Topics

  • Long-form film and television screenwriting
  • Visual storytelling and cinematic imagery
  • Artificial Intelligence as a writing tool
  • Industry-standard screenplay coverage and critique

Skills

  • Character and plot development, AI-assisted writing, efficient action and realistic dialogue composition, and cinematic visual storytelling.
  • Critiquing screenplays using industry-standard coverage practices and engaging in peer critique through group discussions.
  • Understanding the screenwriter's role in the industry business and developmental process.

Grades

Instructor

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Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

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Catalog observation history

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Selected offering source records
COMARTS 656 · Spring 2027

Advanced Screenwriting

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:250:027290",
    "course_id": "COMARTS 656",
    "course_uid": "course_633ba0c0c38eb367fcfb94b5",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "027290",
    "source_subject_id": "250",
    "title": "Advanced Screenwriting",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Not Applicable"
  }
]
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Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Model & dataset provenance
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  "requirements_status": "valid",
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  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
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