Students

ENGL8036 – Manuscript Project

2025 – Session 2, Online-flexible

General Information

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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
Admission to MCrWrit and permission by special approval
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

In this unit and assessed across two stages, students produce a 10,000 word creative manuscript (or equivalent in the case of poetry or other forms), which may be a complete work such as a themed collection of poetry or short stories, creative nonfiction essays, the opening chapters of a longer work such as a novella or novel, or a digital interactive text-based work. There are no compulsory classes or workshops: students work independently with regular written and verbal feedback from a writing supervisor. 

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: Plan, commence and sustain the writing of a manuscript in the genres of novella, novel, short story collection or poetry sequence.
  • ULO2: Exercise higher level editorial abilities through independent reflection, revision and rewriting of the manuscript.
  • ULO3: Locate and appraise appropriate resources to develop the manuscript.
  • ULO4: Utilise professional and mature communication skills and capacity to respond to feedback.
  • ULO5: Identify a relevant potential publisher and produce a book proposal specifically for this publisher.

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 Major Work 1 40% No 14/09/2025
Creative Major Work 2 40% No 02/11/2025
Portfolio Task 20% No 09/11/2025

Creative Major Work 1

Assessment Type 1: Creative work
Indicative Time on Task 2: 65 hours
Due: 14/09/2025
Weighting: 40%

 

Students will produce the first half of their creative manuscript either in the form of a novel, novella, short-form fictions or poetry.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Plan, commence and sustain the writing of a manuscript in the genres of novella, novel, short story collection or poetry sequence.
  • Exercise higher level editorial abilities through independent reflection, revision and rewriting of the manuscript.
  • Locate and appraise appropriate resources to develop the manuscript.
  • Utilise professional and mature communication skills and capacity to respond to feedback.

Creative Major Work 2

Assessment Type 1: Creative work
Indicative Time on Task 2: 65 hours
Due: 02/11/2025
Weighting: 40%

 

Students will produce the second half of their creative manuscript either in the form of a novel, novella, short-form fictions or poetry.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Plan, commence and sustain the writing of a manuscript in the genres of novella, novel, short story collection or poetry sequence.
  • Exercise higher level editorial abilities through independent reflection, revision and rewriting of the manuscript.
  • Locate and appraise appropriate resources to develop the manuscript.
  • Utilise professional and mature communication skills and capacity to respond to feedback.

Portfolio Task

Assessment Type 1: Portfolio
Indicative Time on Task 2: 16 hours
Due: 09/11/2025
Weighting: 20%

 

Students will collate their writing, planning, workshopping, supervisor feedback and communications, as well as revisions to submit as a single document demonstrating their engagement and development over the semester.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Plan, commence and sustain the writing of a manuscript in the genres of novella, novel, short story collection or poetry sequence.
  • Exercise higher level editorial abilities through independent reflection, revision and rewriting of the manuscript.
  • Locate and appraise appropriate resources to develop the manuscript.
  • Utilise professional and mature communication skills and capacity to respond to feedback.
  • Identify a relevant potential publisher and produce a book proposal specifically for this publisher.

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

This is a supervised project which is worked on throughout the semester. Communication with the supervisor will be via email, zoom or phone, or face to face if appropriate. This is arranged between students and their supervisors.

The final project is submitted to Turnitin via the unit iLearn website.

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 2025.05 of the Handbook