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Module

SEL1000 : Introduction to Creative Writing

  • Offered for Year: 2024/25
  • Module Leader(s): Professor Alex Pheby
  • Owning School: English Lit, Language & Linguistics
  • Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
  • Capacity limit: 135 student places
Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Semester 1 Credit Value: 20
ECTS Credits: 10.0
European Credit Transfer System

Aims

To develop the student’s imaginative capacity, confidence and technical skills in writing poetry, script and creative prose.
To introduce them to the teaching methods of Creative Writing.
To encourage them to read as writers, and to discuss critically their own creative writing and that of others.

Outline Of Syllabus

There are a series of lectures which introduce students to the principles, methods and techniques of Creative Writing. These are accompanied by seminar teaching, where students may be given exercises to help them write creative texts; engage in close reading of exemplar texts; or bring in creative work which will then be discussed by the workshop members. There is also an individual tutorial to discuss submission. Responding to project work set in lectures and exercises given in seminars, students build up a portfolio of work independently and maintain a creative journal.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities
Category Activity Number Length Student Hours Comment
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesLecture72:0014:00Lectures introduce students to the course, including principles and methods of creativity.
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesSmall group teaching10:150:15Individual tutorial to prepare for submission
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesSmall group teaching92:0018:00Seminars
Guided Independent StudyIndependent study1167:45167:45N/A
Total200:00
Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The lectures give an overview of the course's aims and introduce the students to the principle methods of learning creative writing: the writing exercise, close reading of exemplar texts, and the group discussion of creative texts, as well as formal issues about the composition of poetry, creative prose, and script. The seminars encourage students to create and discuss texts. Students build up a portfolio of work independently: this is then discussed before submission in one-to-one tutorial.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Other Assessment
Description Semester When Set Percentage Comment
Portfolio1A100See rationale for details of portfolio
Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Submitted portfolio of creative texts, which may consist of either 10-12 poems, 2000 words theatre script, 2500 words screenwriting, 3000 words of creative prose, or (if discussed and agreed with the tutor) a combination of these elements, or an equivalent amount of work completed as assignments.

Reading Lists

Timetable