Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Marcelle Freiman marcelle.freiman@mq.edu.au
Credit points	Credit points 3
Prerequisites	Prerequisites ENGL120
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status
Unit description	Unit description This is a practical unit that introduces students to various approaches and ways of thinking about creative writing. The unit consists of a series of workshops and lectures covering a range of creative writing skills and topics. Students are encouraged to be experimental and adventurous in their writing. Each seminar addresses a different creative writing topic so that students can engage with different genres, methods and approaches. The workshops are interactive; they aim to increase understanding of the process of creative writing. Assessment of each student's creative work is based on development and realisation of a topic, language use and the writing skills, structure and overall presentation as well as demonstrated engagement with unit topics in all set assignments and on-course writing exercises.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

Compose several pieces of conceptually developed creative writing and understand the value of drafting and revision.
Reflect on student’s own creative writing processes.
Identify, engage with and apply concepts of narrative form in creative writing.
Employ written and language skills in different creative writing contexts.
Participate in group-interaction and collaborative learning environments.
Demonstrate professional skills appropriate to the unit.
Practice academic honesty in scholarly and creative writing.

General Assessment Information

*Criteria for marking for each assessment are included in the details of the assessment tasks in iLearn. Students should familiarise themselves with these criteria before attempting, completing and submitting each assignment.

Students should also consult the marking rubrics for each assessment task, in iLearn, as they provide the standards against which the criteria are marked.

Note: There is also a compulsory Peer Mark feedback activity in this unit. This will be completed in Weeks 4 and 5, so that students can benefit from feedback well before Assessment 3 is due.

Assignments for this unit are submitted and marked via Turnitin. The links for submission of each assignment are on the iLearn website under ‘Assessment’.

Submit only Word documents.

* Submit each assignment as one document directly to the appropriate Turnitin Assignment link, eg. creative writing + reflective statement as one document (Assignments 1 & 2), or the creative writing + reflective essay as one document (Assignment 3) for each of these assignments.

Return of marked work

Marked work will be returned to students via Turnitin.

Extensions and Disruption to Studies

Late Assignments: Department of English policy states: Late assignments will attract a penalty of 2 marks/day (or part thereof), including weekends. This calculation assumes that the assignment is marked out of 100: e.g., if an assignment were awarded 74% and is submitted 3 days late, a mark of (74-6) 68% would be recorded.

You should also contact your tutor before the due date if you think you will not be able to submit your work on time. If you are having any problems to do with the unit and your studies, please contact your teacher or the unit convenor as early as possible.

Extensions required because of disruption to your studies - submit request via ask.mq.edu.au

* Assessments: an extra note on word length, criteria and penalties for written assessment tasks.

Word or line lengths and marking criteria are provided in the details for each assignment.

It is necessary to set word or line limits for assignments, though we have no wish to restrain your creativity. It is important to learn to write concisely, clearly and with a direct style. Avoid submitting ‘wordy’ stories that are way over the word limit (penalties of 5% per 100 words, or part thereof, over or under the limit will apply), or very short poems (if your poem is made up of very short lines, then you need to submit more than the minimum 60 or 80 lines respectively). Your work should be substantial enough to show your full engagement with the unit topics. If you aren’t sure, check with your tutor.

There is 10% wriggle-room on prescribed word length. No penalty applies to students who remain within the 10% leeway given.

Note the relative weightings of the assessment tasks.

In this unit, marks are given for demonstrated progress in your work and the development of your writing skills and concepts, your willingness to revise, rewrite, edit, and reconsider your writing during drafting, and for your engagement with unit topics and strategies.

Please retain all drafts of assignment work – early handwritten notes, hand-annotated printouts, computer drafts. You are not asked to submit these with your assignments, but markers may ask you to provide them at a later stage.

NB: It is a requirement of this unit that all creative work handed in for workshops or as assignments is new work written during this unit and engaging with unit topics. Work from a concurrent unit or previous units or studies must not be presented for workshops or assessments. Creative writing written prior to the unit commencing cannot be presented either.

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Hurdle	Due
Quizzes on readings	10%	No	Ongoing
Writing ex. and PeerMark	5%	No	25 Aug
Creative writing & reflection	25%	No	19 September
Creative writing & Reflection	40%	No	12 November
Participation (10 + 10)	20%	No	Week 7 & Week 13

Quizzes on readings

Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 10%

Students must complete the quizzes on the weekly readings where prompted to do so in the iLearn modules. These must be completed prior to the Monday lecture of the weeks in which they are set.

The purpose of this task is to encourage students to read and engage with the readings prior to the lectures and seminars. This will help you to be well prepared for discussion of these readings and to gain maximum understanding of their relevance to the creative writing topics to which they are linked. The questions in the quizzes are targeted to ensuring students do this reading in time for classes.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Identify, engage with and apply concepts of narrative form in creative writing.
Demonstrate professional skills appropriate to the unit.

Writing ex. and PeerMark

Due: 25 Aug
Weighting: 5%

This is a short task to help students learn how to reflect on their creative process and writing. It is a creativity exercise generating creative writing, and a reflection on this process. Creative writing and reflection are uploaded to the PeerMark link in iLearn, and other students, and teachers, provide feedback on the reflection only.

Marks are given for providing feedback to other students using PeerMark. The task is done anonymously. Each student must provide feedback, based on set questions, to at least two of their peers. Feedback is due in PeerMark by 5 September latest.

Full instructions for this task are provided in ENGL121 iLearn, and will be discussed in class.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Compose several pieces of conceptually developed creative writing and understand the value of drafting and revision.
Reflect on student’s own creative writing processes.
Employ written and language skills in different creative writing contexts.
Participate in group-interaction and collaborative learning environments.
Demonstrate professional skills appropriate to the unit.

Creative writing & reflection

Due: 19 September
Weighting: 25%

This assignment requires the submission of creative writing and a short reflective statement.

Word length - Creative writing: prose 1250 words or poetry minimum length - 60 lines total even if you do more than one poem; a 350 word reflective statement. You may write one long poem, or several shorter ones – maximum 5 poems.
See iLearn for full details on this assignment.
Submit to Turnitin as one document.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Compose several pieces of conceptually developed creative writing and understand the value of drafting and revision.
Reflect on student’s own creative writing processes.
Identify, engage with and apply concepts of narrative form in creative writing.
Employ written and language skills in different creative writing contexts.
Practice academic honesty in scholarly and creative writing.

Creative writing & Reflection

Due: 12 November
Weighting: 40%

Word length: Creative writing: prose 1,750 words or poetry 80 lines minimum, 5-7 poems; and a 550 word reflective essay.
See iLearn for full details on this assignment.
Submit to Turnitin as one document.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Compose several pieces of conceptually developed creative writing and understand the value of drafting and revision.
Reflect on student’s own creative writing processes.
Identify, engage with and apply concepts of narrative form in creative writing.
Employ written and language skills in different creative writing contexts.
Practice academic honesty in scholarly and creative writing.

Participation (10 + 10)

Due: Week 7 & Week 13
Weighting: 20%

This mark is for participation in seminars and in-class workshops

Students are expected to attend all classes and lectures. Absence from more than 2 seminars without documentation will have a serious impact on your participation mark.

Participation includes the requirements that students:

attend and participate in all seminar classes and workshop activities whether they are scheduled that week or not;
do the online quizzes each week;
come prepared for classes having done the readings for each week prior to the seminar;
bring printouts of the workshop pieces for that week’s class – a student’s (when scheduled) own and others’ also scheduled for that week;
Students must upload their workshop writing as an attachment to their iLearn website class forum by Mon 9 am latest in the week’s workshop forum of the week they are scheduled to workshop, to give other students and teachers time to read them and prepare for class.
*Submit your writing to the workshop forum of the week you are scheduled to workshop, not any other week. Each week’s workshop forums are for that week only;
bring copies of other students’ work for each week which you have downloaded, printed and read;
bring a printed copy of your own work to class when you are scheduled to workshop;
give feedback notes and constructive criticism to other students, written on their scripts (this can be done in class when we workshop, but should also be part of your reading their work before class);
participate in class discussion of the readings.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Compose several pieces of conceptually developed creative writing and understand the value of drafting and revision.
Participate in group-interaction and collaborative learning environments.
Demonstrate professional skills appropriate to the unit.

Delivery and Resources

Unit Requirements and Expectations

The university Assessment Policy states that in order to pass a unit, a student must make a serious attempt at all pieces of written assessment.

Students enrolled in this unit are expected to:

Attend or listen to lectures each week – lectures cover essential concepts and information for the unit topics.

complete and submit all assessment tasks on time;

attend and participate in all seminar classes and workshop activities whether they are scheduled that week or not;

complete all online quizzes as required;

come prepared for lectures and classes having done the readings for each week and be prepared for workshops as outlined under Assessment Task 5 Participation.

* It is a requirement of this unit that all creative work handed in for workshops or as assignments is new work written during this unit, and engaging with unit topics. Work from a concurrent unit or previous units or studies must not be presented for workshops or assessments. Creative writing written prior to the unit commencing cannot be presented either. See the University Academic Honesty Policy.**

CLASSES

For classrooms please consult the MQ Timetable: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au. This website will display up-to-date information on your classes and classroom locations. Students must attend the classes in which they are enrolled.

Further information about classes are on the iLearn website.

** Absence from more than two seminars without written explanation (medical or counselling certificate) will have an impact on your participation mark. **

Lectures

* Lectures start in Week 1.

Seminar classes begin in Week 1. Students are expected to attend or listen to all lectures and attend all seminars.

Please check the university timetable for lecture and class venues.

Lectures are delivered as live lectures, and recorded. Recorded lectures available in Echo 360. The seminars each week will cover readings and topics dealt with in the same week's lecture.

REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED TEXTS

Required (prescribed) reading

Required weekly readings for this unit must be accessed via Unit Readings ENGL121 in Library Multisearch http://www.mq.edu.au/on_campus/library/

It is recommended that students access, download and print the readings well before the scheduled weeks, so that the readings can be read and annotated. Annotating your readings promotes active reading and comprehension, and enables you to make notes on your reading responses.

This texts is also prescribed:

Kate Grenville, The Writing Book: A workbook for writers, Allen and Unwin.

Recommended

Mark Tredinnick, Little Green Grammar Book, UNSW Press

Hazel Smith, The Writing Experiment: Strategies for Innovative Creative Writing, Allen & Unwin, 2005.
John Singleton and Mary Lockhurst (eds), The Creative Writing Handbook: Techniques for New Writers, Macmillan, 1996, 2000.
Hodgins, Jack, A Passion for Narrative, McClelland & Stewart, 2001.

UNIT WEBPAGE AND TECHNOLOGY USED AND REQUIRED

Online units can are accessed at: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au/.

PC and Internet access are required, Broadband or WiFi connection is essential. Basic computer skills and skills in word processing are also a requirement.

Students must be able to upload, download, and print Word documents for workshopping and for other students to access for feedback.

ILearn is used for extensively, for access to recorded lectures (Echo), for quizzes, for submission of workshop writing and Turnitin assignments, for PeerMark and for communication and for access to all unit materials via the library or directly in iLearn.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html

Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html

Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

Creative and Innovative

Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Compose several pieces of conceptually developed creative writing and understand the value of drafting and revision.
Identify, engage with and apply concepts of narrative form in creative writing.
Employ written and language skills in different creative writing contexts.

Assessment tasks

Creative writing & reflection
Creative writing & Reflection

Capable of Professional and Personal Judgement and Initiative

We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Reflect on student’s own creative writing processes.
Identify, engage with and apply concepts of narrative form in creative writing.
Employ written and language skills in different creative writing contexts.
Participate in group-interaction and collaborative learning environments.
Demonstrate professional skills appropriate to the unit.
Practice academic honesty in scholarly and creative writing.

Assessment tasks

Creative writing & reflection
Creative writing & Reflection
Participation (10 + 10)

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Our graduates will have enquiring minds and a literate curiosity which will lead them to pursue knowledge for its own sake. They will continue to pursue learning in their careers and as they participate in the world. They will be capable of reflecting on their experiences and relationships with others and the environment, learning from them, and growing - personally, professionally and socially.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Compose several pieces of conceptually developed creative writing and understand the value of drafting and revision.
Reflect on student’s own creative writing processes.
Employ written and language skills in different creative writing contexts.
Participate in group-interaction and collaborative learning environments.
Demonstrate professional skills appropriate to the unit.
Practice academic honesty in scholarly and creative writing.

Assessment tasks

Quizzes on readings
Writing ex. and PeerMark
Creative writing & reflection
Creative writing & Reflection
Participation (10 + 10)

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Compose several pieces of conceptually developed creative writing and understand the value of drafting and revision.
Reflect on student’s own creative writing processes.
Identify, engage with and apply concepts of narrative form in creative writing.
Employ written and language skills in different creative writing contexts.
Practice academic honesty in scholarly and creative writing.

Assessment tasks

Quizzes on readings
Creative writing & reflection
Creative writing & Reflection
Participation (10 + 10)

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Compose several pieces of conceptually developed creative writing and understand the value of drafting and revision.
Reflect on student’s own creative writing processes.
Identify, engage with and apply concepts of narrative form in creative writing.

Assessment tasks

Creative writing & reflection
Creative writing & Reflection

Problem Solving and Research Capability

Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

Compose several pieces of conceptually developed creative writing and understand the value of drafting and revision.

Assessment tasks

Creative writing & reflection
Creative writing & Reflection

Effective Communication

We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Compose several pieces of conceptually developed creative writing and understand the value of drafting and revision.
Reflect on student’s own creative writing processes.
Identify, engage with and apply concepts of narrative form in creative writing.
Employ written and language skills in different creative writing contexts.
Participate in group-interaction and collaborative learning environments.
Demonstrate professional skills appropriate to the unit.

Assessment tasks

Quizzes on readings
Writing ex. and PeerMark
Creative writing & reflection
Creative writing & Reflection
Participation (10 + 10)

Engaged and Ethical Local and Global citizens

As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Participate in group-interaction and collaborative learning environments.
Practice academic honesty in scholarly and creative writing.

Assessment tasks

Writing ex. and PeerMark
Participation (10 + 10)

Socially and Environmentally Active and Responsible

We want our graduates to be aware of and have respect for self and others; to be able to work with others as a leader and a team player; to have a sense of connectedness with others and country; and to have a sense of mutual obligation. Our graduates should be informed and active participants in moving society towards sustainability.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Participate in group-interaction and collaborative learning environments.
Demonstrate professional skills appropriate to the unit.
Practice academic honesty in scholarly and creative writing.

Assessment task

Participation (10 + 10)

Changes since First Published

Date	Description
18/07/2017	Changed final assessment task date to 12 Nov as requested