Unit information: Exploration for Creative Dissertations in 2022/23

Unit name	Exploration for Creative Dissertations
Unit code	ENGLM0072
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Mimi Thebo
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	n/a
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	Workshop 1 (ENGLM0070)
Units you may not take alongside this one	n/a
School/department	Department of English
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Unit Information

In this unit, students will undertake the initial stages of writing a full-length manuscript, including: research, relevant reading, the creation of ancillary materials (which might include character sketches, maps, mood-boards, timelines, setting descriptions, etc) and planning. The student will also begin experimental writing in parallel with their research, with the clear understanding that early drafts may need considerable revision. A tutor will meet with the student for two hours during the teaching block, usually broken up into three or four sessions of supervision.

Your learning on this unit

An overview of content

In this unit, students will undertake the initial stages of writing a full-length manuscript, including: research, relevant reading, the creation of ancillary materials (which might include character sketches, maps, mood-boards, timelines, setting descriptions, etc) and planning. The student will also begin experimental writing in parallel with their research, with the clear understanding that early drafts may need considerable revision. A tutor will meet with the student for two hours during the teaching block, usually broken up into three or four sessions of supervision.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Work independently on a sustained piece of writing, including by setting goals, managing their own workload and meeting deadlines.
2. Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, demonstrating an awareness of voice, idiom, idiolect, simile, metaphor, analogy, rhythm and media-specific restraints.
3. Examine how reading influences creative practice and analyse the relationship between writing and its commercial and aesthetic contexts, articulating an understanding of the relationship between writing and genre, literary convention, publishing, performance, and different media.
4. Use and develop information retrieval and analytical skills, including the ability to interpret, evaluate, synthesise and organise material.
5. Recognise and articulate their aesthetic sensibility in relationship to appropriate models and develop an understanding of their own processes of intellectual inquiry.
6. Anticipate and accommodate requirements that may change when creating an original work. Be able to work productively and negotiate creative contexts that are ambiguous, uncertain and unfamiliar.

How you will learn

This is creative practice, led by the student, but supported and informed by the tutorials. It is important to note that in Workshop 1, which runs concurrently, students will have additional feedback about their creative work, and that some of the work submitted for feedback in Workshop 1 may be submitted for assessment in this unit.

You will submit work to your tutor and discuss it with them. This may include them marking up your work editorially, discussing other writing with you (you will be expected to read suggested work), discussing your work with you in line edits or summaries.

How you will be assessed

Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):

A portfolio of writing to include:

1 x 2500-word summative creative writing assessment (or equivalent, in the case of poetry/script) of original creative writing, to assess learning outcomes (100%) [ILOs 1, 2, 6]

1 x 2500-word formative folder of research, reading notes and/or ancillary material demonstrating that the student’s dissertation project has been developed with an appropriate awareness of relevant contexts (0%) [ILOs 3, 4, 5]

When assessment does not go to plan

When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the format or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the year. 

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. ENGLM0072).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.