Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Seminars / Tutorials | 10 x 2 hour weekly seminars |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Two written assignments. For detail, see CONTENT below. | 100% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Resubmit or resit failed elements and/or make good any missing elements |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module students should typically be able to:
1. demonstrate recognition of a range of literary genres and an understanding of how they work;
2. demonstrate an ability to write in a range of forms and genres;
3. demonstrate a developing critical awareness of their own writing practice;
4. demonstrate an ability to express themselves clearly in writing and in speech.
Aims
This module aims to familiarize students with examples of modern and contemporary writing, both critical (the review) and creative (the short story and the poem), and to encourage students to experiment with their own writing in the light of their analytical reading.
Brief description
The module offers students an opportunity to analyse selected examples of modern and contemporary poetry and prose, as well as reviews, and to experiment with their own writing. There will be a strong emphasis on group discussion, whether the focus is on critical analysis or group-members' creative practice. Members of the group will be expected to pursue a relevant but non-prescriptive programme of reading (a list of suggested reading is supplied); and to present weekly, for comment and supportive criticism by the group, anticipatory work carried out during the preceding week and geared to the focal concerns of the coming session. The module will be taught in weekly two-hour workshops over one semester.
Content
1-4 The Short Story
The first session will involve the reading, analysis and discussion of one or more short short stories by a well-known modern or contemporary writer. Subsequent sessions will focus on work produced by students in line with class discussions: these will address such matters as plot, character, dialogue and narrative voice.
5-6 The Book Review
Students will be asked to produce a review of 300 words, geared to a quality magazine or newspaper. Examples of contemporary reviews will be presented and discussed, especially those in which the same item is reviewed in a variety of different journals: this will facilitate discussion of style and treatment.
7-10 The Poem
The first session will involve analysis and contextualisation of a range of contemporary poems. Subsequent sessions will focus on work produced by students in line with class discussions: these will address such matters as the nature of poetry; poetic form and structure; the voices of poetry; and poetic fictions.
Assessment Details
Assignment 1: A short story accompanied by a critical commentary, totalling 2,500 words, of which at least 1,500 and not more than 2,000 must be accounted for by the short story.
Assignment 2: A group of poems accompanied by a critical commentary, totalling 2,500 words, of which at least 1,000 and not more than 2,000 must be accounted for by the poems.
Students wishing to include in their portfolios the results of work carried out in Sessions 5-6 may submit a review of 300-600 words as part of the critical element; it must be included in the word-count for that element, and not substituted for creative work.
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5