Students

ENGL121 – Creative Writing 1: An Introduction

2018 – S2 Day

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Marcelle Freiman
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

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

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.

See University Academic Integrity Policy

https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/academic-integrity

Absence from more than two seminars without written explanation (medical or counseling certificate) will impact significantly on your participation mark.

Assignments

Word lengths, criteria, and penalties.

  • 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 or very short poems. Penalties of 5% per 100 words, or part thereof, over or under the limit and beyond the wriggle room will apply. If your poetry 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 work that remains within the 10% leeway. 
  • 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 (numbered). Do not submit these with your assignments, but markers may ask you to provide them at a later stage.

 

Presentation of assignments

  • Ensure that you have proof-read your assignment carefully before submitting it.
  • Use double or 1.5 spacing and 12 point font and leave sufficient side margins for comments. No fancy fonts – Times or Arial or other plain font.
  • Single spacing is not acceptable.
  • Insert page numbering and the word count at the end of the document.
  • Marks will be deducted for failure to comply with these presentation requirements.

Assessment submission via Turnitin

  • Assessment tasks for this unit are submitted and marked electronically, via Turnitin. The links for submission of each assignment are in the iLearn Assessment section.
  • Please 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 2 and 3) for each of Assessment Tasks 2 and 3

 

Extensions and late submission of assignments – Faculty policy:

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.

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 speak to your teacher or the unit convenor as early as possible.

Special Consideration

https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration

The Disruption to Studies Notification must be completed and submitted online through https://ask.mq.edu.au/ within five (5) working days of the commencement of the disruption.

*Please be aware that if you apply for Special Consideration, your unit convenor might not be alerted and might not process your request, so please alert them separately by email when lodging a Special Consideration application.*

For any issues relating to university policies and processes, please note that the Student Advocacy Service and other support services are available.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Quizzes on readings 15% No Ongoing
Creative writing & reflection 25% No 16 September
Creative Writing & Reflection 40% No 11 November
Participation (10 + 10) 20% No Week 7 & Week 13

Quizzes on readings

Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 15%

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.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Identify, engage with and apply concepts of narrative form in creative writing.

Creative writing & reflection

Due: 16 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 Word 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: 11 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 Word document.

This is the final assignment for the unit.


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 marks are given for the following criteria. Students are expected to:

  • Attend and participate in all seminar classes and workshop activities whether they are scheduled that week or not;
  • 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 Thursday 5 pm of latest in the week prior to their scheduled workshop. As classes start on Monday of each week, this is 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.
  • 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 and other class activities.

 


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 counseling 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 the Leganto link in the unit iLearn website.

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, 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 (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/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/study/getting-started/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
  • Creative writing & reflection
  • Creative Writing & Reflection

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 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.

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
  • 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 task

  • 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)