Gwybodaeth Modiwlau
Course Delivery
Assessment
Due to Covid-19 students should refer to the module Blackboard pages for assessment details
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Creative Practice Portfolio Weekly entries to a creative practice portfolio c 1500-2000 in total (online writing tasks responding to prompts) | 30% |
| Semester Assessment | Attendance and Participation Engagement with all teaching activities throughout the course of the module | 10% |
| Semester Assessment | Written Portfolio 2 x 2500 word portfolio comprising a 1500 word short story and a 1000 word critical commentary | 60% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Writing Portolio Resubmit failed or missing essay (2 x 2500 word portfolio comprising a 1500 word short story and a 1000 word critical commentary) | 60% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Attendance and Participation Students WILL NOT be permitted to make good the marks available for "attendance and participation" | 10% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Creative Practice Portfolio Resubmit failed or missing creative practice portfolio | 30% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate knowledge of the approaches and elements involved in fiction and poetry
2. Employ these elements in the planning and writing of their own stories and poems
3. Identify and correct common writing faults
4. Communicate knowledge and understanding of the elements of a critical commentary, including bibliography
5. Engage effectively with the full range of learning activities (lectures/seminars/workshops/tutorials/VLE) utilized in undergraduate-level creative practice teaching
Brief description
It will be delivered through a range of learning environments, with lectures used for the introduction of key material, seminars used for small-group discussion of lecture content, and writing labs used to hone skills, conduct exercises, and to gain feedback from tutors and peers on writing intended for the assignments. The module will provide students with the basic knowledge needed for the successful writing of fiction and poetry. In all cases there will be an emphasis on technical skills and on providing a foundation of knowledge and technique that students can build on in the rest of their degree course.
Aims
This course is designed as a bridge from previous study/experience to university-level learning. It will provide an engaging and exciting introduction to core Creative Writing skills/knowledge and will teach important techniques of creativity which novice writers will benefit from understanding. Moreover, it will address issues which the teaching team repeatedly encounter at later points in students’ study) as well as deliver transferable skills pertinent to students’ broader academic and professional development. In terms of structure, format, and assessment, it has been designed to reflect the new Critical Practice module being designed on the Literary Studies side of the department and so offer an element of uniformity across departmental provisions
Content
Week 1
Lecture: Introduction to the Module
Seminar: Welcome to your Imagination!
Week 2
Lecture: What is Academic Creative Practice? Craft and creativity
Writing Lab: What do we Want to Achieve From our Writing?
Week 3
Lecture: The Power of Description
Seminar: When to Show, When to Tell, and the Advantages of Each
Week 4
Lecture: Through whose eyes? Introducing point of view.
Writing Lab: First-person and third-person narratives
Week 5
Lecture: The Potential of Language: grammar, vocabulary, structure and imagery.
Seminar: Problem-based learning Task (elegant variation/imagery)
Week 6
Lecture: Something beginning with P: the power and possibilities of poetry.
Writing Lab: Poetry task
Week 7
Lecture: What is character and how do we write it?
Seminar: Problem-based Learning Task (Creating a Character)
Week 8
Lecture: ‘Speak, Friend, and Enter…’
Writing Lab: Writing Dialogue and Reported Speech
Week 9
Lecture: From beginning to end: approaches to plot
Seminar: Problem-Based Learning Task (Outlining a Plot)
Week 10
Lecture: Semester 1 Round-up: Putting it all Together
Writing Lab: Assignment Surgery 1
SEMESTER 2
Week 1
Lecture: What is Academic Creative Practice? The role of research.
Seminar: Methods of integrating research into creative work
Week 2
Lecture: What makes a piece of writing distinctive? From voice to genre.
Writing Lab: Experimenting with genre(s)
Week 3
Lecture: I Write, You Write, He Writes, She Writes…Further adventures with Point of View
Seminar: Experimenting with Narration and Point of View
Week 4:
Lecture: Manipulating Narrative Time
Writing Lab: Flashbacks, Flashforwards, and ‘Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey Stuff’
Week 5:
Lecture: Plots, subplots and twists: developing more complex plots
Seminar: The Plot Thickens…
Week 6:
Lecture: Fuller figures: further developments in character
Writing Lab: Characters in Action
Week 7:
Lecture: Into the unknown: believable world-building
Seminar: Exploring place and setting.
Week 8
Lecture: Thought Bubbles and Idiot Boxes: Approaches to Films, TV Shows, & Comics
Writing Lab:Problem-Based Learning Task (A Taste of Transpositions)
Week 9
Lecture: Short, sharp and to the point: effective editing.
Seminar: Editing techniques
Week 10
Lecture: Semester 2 Round-up: Putting it all Together
Writing Lab:Assignment Surgery 2
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | N/A |
| Communication | Written communication in assessed work, oral communication in seminars and workshops. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Improving writing in response to workshop criticism, and responding to feedback on assignments. Improving reading and research skills. |
| Information Technology | Use of word-processing skills to prepare and submit portfolios, accessing material on Blackboard, use of digital resources for research. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Through critical self-reflection; transferable communications and research skills |
| Problem solving | Dealing with the technical problems of writing fiction and poetry, including the correct use of conventions and English usage. |
| Research skills | Undertaking research for portfolios, and background reading for lecture / seminar topics. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Fictional and poetic techniques |
| Team work | Participation and collaboration in workshops and seminars. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 4