CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP I - 2023/4

Module Overview

This is a Level 7 compulsory module for Creative Writing. It provides a systematic framework for students to receive regular peer and tutor feedback on their poetry, creative prose, and/or other literary forms, which will feed forward to other specialised modules and option modules on the programme. Students may be set weekly writing tasks in advance of or during workshops, and should also be prepared to contribute fully to workshop discussion of their own and each other’s work. Each weekly workshop will centre students’ own writing, with students producing and circulating their work in advance of set sessions and reading the work of the other members of the workshop group. The module will provide students the opportunity to produce, revise and polish their creative writing and will encourage and enable them to reflect on their own creative work and writing practice in a productive and critically-informed manner. Attendance is compulsory.

Module provider

Literature & Languages

Module Leader

SZCZEPANIAK Angela (Lit & Langs)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None.

Module content

The following areas are indicative of topics to be covered:

• The relationship between form and content


• Developing technical proficiencies


• Optimising writing habits


• Drafting, redrafting, revising, editing


• Producing effective critical commentary

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate:

• the development in their creative writing skills in prose fiction, poetry or other creative literary forms by submitting drafts and/or extracts of original writing to the group for peer and tutor feedback, that they will then apply as they polish their work.


• the development of prose, poetry or other creative literary forms which engage with specific technical, formal, and creative challenges (such as voice, style, imagery, tone, atmosphere, character development, intellectual and emotional intensity, and so on) by writing with attention to these details as they come up in class discussions and in peer and/or tutor feedback on their work.


• Students will also learn to respond to peer work from a variety of backgrounds and will therefore productively engage with a variety of cultural and social contexts through collaborative peer work and exposure to a variety of peer writing.


• their understanding of the context of their work in historical and cultural terms, as well as in terms of other creative writing in the field through productive and informed critical reflection on both the creative process itself and the finished work that has resulted from it 


• their development of research and writing skills and, specifically, an understanding of matters relating to the dissemination of research and/or publishing which will increase their understanding of these creative industries and employability.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

* End of semester Creative Writing Portfolio (2500 words creative prose or equivalent for poetry submissions, plus 500 words of self-reflective critical commentary) (100%)

The summative assessment is an opportunity for students to develop their writing into a polished piece of creative work in a form/genre of their choosing. The Critical Commentary element of the portfolio offers an opportunity for students to employ their research skills to determine and develop the literary context of their creative work to better understand where they may fit in a contemporary literary landscape (e.g. literary markets, readerships, or specific publication streams).


Formative assessment and feedback

Verbal feedback and formative ‘feed forward’ is provided through seminar discussions, and peer and tutor feedback in seminars, on short pieces (up to 1000 words of prose, or equivalent in another form) presented as part of the workshopping element of the classes. Each student can expect to present 2-3 such pieces over the course of the semester according to a schedule worked out between the tutor and the student cohort.
As such, writing, presentation and critical analysis skills will be developed and honed which will feed forward to the summative assessment at the end of the module. 
There is the option of a range of other feedback mechanisms agreed between tutor and students in week 1 of the module, such as seminar contribution and writing exercises.

Module aims

• The module aims to help students: gain practice in producing prose, poetry or other creative literary forms which engage with specific technical, formal, and creative challenges (such as voice, style, imagery, tone,
  atmosphere, character development, intellectual and emotional intensity, and so on)
• become more incisive readers of peers¿ work, to develop skills to offer constructive criticism of in-progress creative work and gain confidence in discussing their work and the work of others in a nuanced and closely-observed fashion
• gain experience in responding creatively to informed feedback through independent development, research, and revision of creative projects
• understand an overview of some of the major challenges involved in creating effective creative prose, poetry or other creative literary forms and experiment with different ways of approaching these challenges
• formulate and express their creative aims more clearly, and to reflect productively on the most effective methods of achieving them, including critical reflection on an appropriate literary context for their specific creative works
• develop productive methods of drafting, editing, revising and redrafting creative work

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

• Engage students in exploring and effectively realizing their creative ideas as practical and inventive creative projects (considering creative issues such as formal, technical, or thematic)


• Hone and develop students’ writing skills in prose fiction, poetry or other creative literary forms by deploying a range of editing, revising and redrafting methods to improve their work, as well as by identifying the specific technical challenges involved in a particular creative project, and the creative techniques with which to respond to these challenges 


• Assist students in locating their work in historical and cultural contexts by helping them develop their own creative writing in relation to relevant theoretical, literary, or historical contexts 


• Equip students with the research and writing skills they will need to produce both critically informed prose, poetry or other creative literary forms and creative criticism by assisting them in responding to the detailed and constructive feedback of other students in order to polish, refine and rethink their own creative writing, as well as offering detailed and constructive feedback on other students’ creative writing – and in so doing helping them gain insight into their own writing and how it might be improved 


• Facilitate in students’ productive reflection on both the creative process itself and the finished work that has resulted from it by developing an understanding, through description and explanation of the nature, role and significance of the creative choices they make as writers 

The learning and teaching methods include:

Two contact hours per week over Semester 1. Classes will take the form of workshops; students
are expected to read extensively outside classes and to undertake preparatory work in advance for workshops.
 

Key learning areas and methods include:

• The relationship between form and content: students will discuss a variety of forms of writing and determine which forms best suit particular themes, motifs, or genres, etc


• Technical proficiencies such as dialogue, character construction, plotting and structuring a variety of creative work, and rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, assonance, etc, in prose, poetry, and other forms of creative writing.


• Optimising writing habits: Students will form a collaborative writing community that will benefit from sharing resources via discussion and verbal and/or written feedback on workshop submissions (for formative peer and tutor feedback). Students will also participate in discussions of writing processes to find the best ways they can produce high-quality creative work.


• Drafting, redrafting, revising, editing: Students will learn to provide detailed constructive feedback to peers as well as work with constructive peer and tutor feedback on their own work so that they may employ effective revision techniques to polish their own original creative work.


• Producing effective critical commentary: Through a discussion of appropriate research and writing skills, students will learn to contextualise their creative work within a wider critical and literary context.

The learning and teaching methods include a combination of workshops, captured content, guided learning and independent learning.
 

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: ELIM021

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2023/4 academic year.