Module QXP-4040:
Creative Writing Adv Portf. S2

Module Facts

Run by School of Languages, Literatures, Linguistics and Media

30.000 Credits or 15.000 ECTS Credits

Semester 2

Organiser: Prof Zoë Skoulding

Overall aims and purpose

  1. To offer students a critically supportive context in which to produce a sustained creative work in a chosen form.
  2. To enable students to recognise and solve problems in the writing process with reference to wider critical reading.
  3. To explore in detail the relationship between a literary work and its social and cultural contexts.
  4. To enable development of a reflective approach to writing and redrafting that will support future independent and self-critical practice.

Course content

This module is an opportunity for students to develop a piece of creative work along with a reflective commentary under the guidance of a supervisor. Drawing on ideas and techniques learned in modules on specific literary forms, which may be studied before or alongside this one, participants will be guided through the process of planning, drafting and redrafting a portfolio of work in fiction, drama or poetry. Discussions with a supervisor will encourage a reflective and critical approach to the creative process, informing a commentary on the decisions made during writing. It provides an opportunity to develop an independent writing practice in preparation for the Creative Writing MA Dissertation.

Assessment Criteria

threshold

(D-)Limited engagement with ideas. Link between themes and form not always clear. Little sense of generic conventions. Inconsistent with regard to linguistic technicalities. Limited awareness of redrafting and editing process. Work in need of revision.

good

Good: (C) Some attempt at serious exploration of ideas. Some link between themes and form. Good attempt to engage with genre, but form/narrative may not be entirely sustained. Use of language generally technically proficient, but not always focused. Some awareness of the creative process and of decisions made in writing. Good work, but its strengths need to be more fully sustained to reach publishable standard.

Very Good: (B)
Demonstration of a degree of vitality and originality. Very good understanding of generic conventions; sound use of structures and forms. Resourceful use of language. Sound understanding of the creative process and thoughtful control of decisions made in the writing process. Lively, thoughtful work which at times comes close to publishable standard.

excellent

(A) : Excellent levels of originality, vision and depth; striking and thorough engagement with ideas. Excellent understanding and control of generic convention. Impressive linguistic control and/or innovation. Sophisticated understanding of the creative process and assured control of decisions made in the writing process. Dynamic work approaching publishable standard.

Learning outcomes

  1. Ability to plan, develop and complete a sustained work of high literary quality in a chosen form.

  2. Confidence in recognising and solving problems in the writing process with reference to wider critical reading.

  3. Sophisticated understanding of the relationship between a literary work and its social and cultural contexts, combined with the ability to apply this to own work.

  4. Development of a reflective approach to writing and redrafting that will support future independent and self-critical practice.

  5. High-level skills in creative and critical writing.

Assessment Methods

Type Name Description Weight
Advanced Writing Portfolio 100.00

Teaching and Learning Strategy

Hours
Private study 292
Tutorial

8 x1 hour individual supervision meetings.

 8

Transferable skills

  • Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media
  • Computer Literacy - Proficiency in using a varied range of computer software
  • Self-Management - Able to work unsupervised in an efficient, punctual and structured manner. To examine the outcomes of tasks and events, and judge levels of quality and importance
  • Exploring - Able to investigate, research and consider alternatives
  • Information retrieval - Able to access different and multiple sources of information
  • Inter-personal - Able to question, actively listen, examine given answers and interact sensitevely with others
  • Critical analysis & Problem Solving - Able to deconstruct and analyse problems or complex situations. To find solutions to problems through analyses and exploration of all possibilities using appropriate methods, rescources and creativity.
  • Presentation - Able to clearly present information and explanations to an audience. Through the written or oral mode of communication accurately and concisely.
  • Management - Able to utilise, coordinate and control resources (human, physical and/or financial)
  • Argument - Able to put forward, debate and justify an opinion or a course of action, with an individual or in a wider group setting
  • Self-awareness & Reflectivity - Having an awareness of your own strengths, weaknesses, aims and objectives. Able to regularly review, evaluate and reflect upon the performance of yourself and others

Resources

Courses including this module

Compulsory in courses:

Optional in courses: