Students

ENGX3032 – Writing the Natural World: Bodies and Landscapes, Art and Science

2020 – Session 2, Fully online/virtual

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group learning activities on campus for the second half-year, while keeping an online version available for those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face to face activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor
Hsu-Ming Teo
Room B212, Level 2, 25B Wally's Walk
By appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
ENGX233 or ENGX2033
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Creative nonfiction has been defined as “true stories that are told well”. In this unit, you will research and compose narrative nonfiction works, including art, science and environmental writing. You will analyse and apply various literary techniques, genres and styles to examine issues such as the embodied self and the cultural construction of the natural world. You will have the opportunity to explore contemporary critical and imaginative approaches to creative nonfiction, nonfiction poetry, lyricism, natural history, science, and public advocacy writing. This unit is particularly relevant to those who want to learn how to write discursive, persuasive or personal essays based on factual research.

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:

  • ULO1: Analyse and evaluate different readerships and audiences within the creative nonfiction market
  • ULO2: Identify and analyse practices and techniques of producing creative nonfiction
  • ULO3: Conduct research appropriate to nonfiction writing
  • ULO4: Apply practical and conceptual knowledge to creative written work
  • ULO5: Critique and evaluate your own research and creative writing processes
  • ULO6: Provide constructive feedback on students’ writing in a workshop context.

General Assessment Information

See the ENGL/ENGX3032 iLearn site for more information.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Participatory task 20% No Weekly
Portfolio 20% No Monday 19 October
Plan 10% No Monday 28 September
Creative work 50% No Sunday 8 November

Participatory task

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 36 hours
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 20%

Preparatory reading of set texts and other students’ creative works. Answering questions in weekly tutorials and contributing meaningfully to in-class discussion. Providing critical feedback on other students’ creative works.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse and evaluate different readerships and audiences within the creative nonfiction market
  • Identify and analyse practices and techniques of producing creative nonfiction
  • Apply practical and conceptual knowledge to creative written work
  • Critique and evaluate your own research and creative writing processes
  • Provide constructive feedback on students’ writing in a workshop context.

Portfolio

Assessment Type 1: Portfolio
Indicative Time on Task 2: 12 hours
Due: Monday 19 October
Weighting: 20%

Portfolio of 5 x 200 word writing exercises done in class, total word length of 1000 words.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse and evaluate different readerships and audiences within the creative nonfiction market
  • Identify and analyse practices and techniques of producing creative nonfiction
  • Conduct research appropriate to nonfiction writing
  • Apply practical and conceptual knowledge to creative written work

Plan

Assessment Type 1: Plan
Indicative Time on Task 2: 24 hours
Due: Monday 28 September
Weighting: 10%

500 word research plan for major creative work and bibliography, due in Week 7


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse and evaluate different readerships and audiences within the creative nonfiction market
  • Identify and analyse practices and techniques of producing creative nonfiction
  • Conduct research appropriate to nonfiction writing

Creative work

Assessment Type 1: Creative work
Indicative Time on Task 2: 42 hours
Due: Sunday 8 November
Weighting: 50%

2000 word creative nonfiction piece and 500 word research statement explaining the research involved and writing techniques used in this work.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse and evaluate different readerships and audiences within the creative nonfiction market
  • Identify and analyse practices and techniques of producing creative nonfiction
  • Conduct research appropriate to nonfiction writing
  • Apply practical and conceptual knowledge to creative written work
  • Critique and evaluate your own research and creative writing processes

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

LECTURES Lectures begin in week 1. Live Zoom lectures will be held every Tuesday in Session 2 from 2-3pm. The Zoom link will be available on the ENGL/ENGX3032 iLearn site: https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/.

These lectures will also be recorded and made available to students through Echo360 on the ENGL/ENGX3032 iLearn site.

 

TUTORIALS You must participate in the weekly tutorial online via the ENGL/ENGX3032 iLearn Discussion Forums beginning in week 1.

 

REQUIRED TEXTS

1. Brenda Miller and Suzanne Paola, Tell It Slant, 3rd ed. McGraw Hill, 2019. Available for purchase as a paperback or e-book through the Booktopia website.

2. Ashley Kalagian Blunt, How To Be Australian. Affirm, 2018. Available as a paperback or e-book from Booktopia.

3. Rebecca Giggs, Fathoms: The World in the Whale. Scribe, 2020. Available as a paperback or e-book from Booktopia.

All other readings are accessible through the ENGL/ENGX3032 iLearn site.

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:

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 published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@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 help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

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

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@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.