Students

ENGL3007 – Publishing poetry and short stories

2025 – Session 2, Online-flexible

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Jimmy Van
jimmy.van@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
By appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
20cp at 2000 level including ENGL2033 or ENGL233
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit focuses on developing skills in the production and publication of poetry and short stories. Students explore and analyse creative writing journals that publish poetry and short stories before conceptualising and creating their own work to submit for publication in Macquarie University’s online creative writing journal, The Quarry. Students learn about the publication process, including structural editing, copyediting, proofreading, approaching publishers, the acquisitions and rights process for authors, and producing an online journal.

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: Acquire and apply knowledge of the different publication venues for poetry and short stories.
  • ULO2: Acquire and apply industry competence to contemporary Australian literary journals, their functioning and role in Australian literary culture and industry.
  • ULO3: Apply skills in relation to craft and technique to the writing of poetry and/or short stories.
  • ULO4: Critique and evaluate their own and other students’ creative writing processes.
  • ULO5: Demonstrate basic publishing skills including editing, proofreading, and formatting for online publication.

General Assessment Information

Late submission penalty

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day to late submissions, up until the 7th calendar day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. 

Important to note:

  • Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs) will be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application.
  • Students should not request an informal arrangement from their tutor, lecturer or Unit Convenor (or equivalent).
  • Where an application for Special Consideration is approved and the outcome is an extension to the due date of a task, submissions that are received after the new due date will be subject to late penalties that are calculated from the new due date. This only applies where the outcome is an extension to the due date – see the Special Consideration Policy for a schedule of all possible outcomes.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Creative Work 30% No 14/09/2025
Workshopping and editing creative work 20% No 21/09/2025
Revision and production of final proof 20% No 19/10/2025
Participatory task 30% No Weekly

Creative Work

Assessment Type 1: Creative work
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 14/09/2025
Weighting: 30%

 

A short story, or a long poem or a series of linked poems produced for editing and publishing.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Acquire and apply knowledge of the different publication venues for poetry and short stories.
  • Acquire and apply industry competence to contemporary Australian literary journals, their functioning and role in Australian literary culture and industry.
  • Apply skills in relation to craft and technique to the writing of poetry and/or short stories.
  • Demonstrate basic publishing skills including editing, proofreading, and formatting for online publication.

Workshopping and editing creative work

Assessment Type 1: Practice-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 21/09/2025
Weighting: 20%

 

Guided workshopping and editing other people’s creative work.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Acquire and apply knowledge of the different publication venues for poetry and short stories.
  • Acquire and apply industry competence to contemporary Australian literary journals, their functioning and role in Australian literary culture and industry.
  • Critique and evaluate their own and other students’ creative writing processes.
  • Demonstrate basic publishing skills including editing, proofreading, and formatting for online publication.

Revision and production of final proof

Assessment Type 1: Creative work
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 19/10/2025
Weighting: 20%

 

Students engage with editorial comments to revise their creative work and provide a proofread, correctly formatted final proof for submission and possible publication in Macquarie University’s online creative writing journal The Quarry.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply skills in relation to craft and technique to the writing of poetry and/or short stories.
  • Demonstrate basic publishing skills including editing, proofreading, and formatting for online publication.

Participatory task

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 30%

 

Preparation for class or online forum discussions, including researching creative writing journals, completing any set readings and writing exercises.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Acquire and apply knowledge of the different publication venues for poetry and short stories.
  • Acquire and apply industry competence to contemporary Australian literary journals, their functioning and role in Australian literary culture and industry.
  • Apply skills in relation to craft and technique to the writing of poetry and/or short stories.

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 and tutorials (on campus, zoom, and online forums) begin in Week 1.

NB: Participatory Tasks are worth 30% and will require participation in online/on campus activities throughout Weeks 1-12.

Lectures must be attended or listened to via ECHO360 before class each week.

Readings are available via Leganto and are accessed via the home page of the iLearn site.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

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

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/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 connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

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

Academic Success

Academic Success provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

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

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

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.

Unit information based on version 2025.02 of the Handbook