57238 Writing Project
Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a
particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 16 cp
Result type: Grade, no marks
Requisite(s): 57041 Narrative Writing AND 57134 Theory and Creative Writing AND 57031 Creative Non-fiction
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 57188 Writing Project 1 AND 57189 Writing Project 2
Description
In this subject, students work independently on a major project in their chosen form and genre. The writing project may be in any genre, depending on its viability and the availability of appropriate academic advisors. Students write and present their projects in a professional manner that conforms to industry standards. They participate in a program of workshopping, contributing feedback to the projects of their peers and refining their own critical skills. On completion of the subject, students are expected to have a substantial and polished writing project that may feasibly be developed further within the industry.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| a. | Develop a comprehensive understanding of the form and genre in which the student is working |
|---|---|
| b. | Deepen and extend their understanding of genre and form through critical comparison with relevant works in the field. |
| c. | Demonstrate skills appropriate to genre and form including: pacing, scene construction, sophistication of language and themes, character development, and accuracy of style and presentation |
| d. | Deliver a substantial creative writing project to a standard appropriate to the form, genre and / or industry. |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject engages with the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs), which are tailored to the Graduate Attributes set for all graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences:
- Demonstrate an advanced knowledge of professional practice in a specific communication industry or field (1.1)
- Apply theoretically informed understandings of a communication industry in an independent research project (1.2)
- Employ research and inquiry skills to independently locate, gather, organise and analyse information across diverse platforms to inform understandings of a specific communication industry (2.1)
- Exhibit intellectual curiosity, reflexive critical thinking and innovative creative practice and be able to plan and execute ethical research (2.2)
Teaching and learning strategies
Two weeks before commencement of the teaching session students submit a brief (up to one page) proposal to the subject coordinator, indicating the form and genre of their project.Advisors provide oral and written feedback upon students’ draft work in progress. Regular workshopping sessions are conducted and led by the students to consolidate critical feedback skills acquired in earlier subjects, foster collaborative support, and assist with meeting deadlines. An end of session ‘showcase’ event gives students the opportunity to pitch, present or read their projects in a supportive environment and in the presence of industry and other professionals.
Content (topics)
Students work under individual supervision to develop a plan that is appropriate for their projects, achievable within the session, aligns with industry expectations or standards, and results in a substantial body of work by the end of the subject. These plans and the writing process will be iterative in nature and any specific recommended readings/viewings and discussions of writing process, craft and technique will be subject to the students’ particular projects.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Project portfolio
| Objective(s): | a, b, c and d | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight: | 20% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 2: Major Project
| Objective(s): | a, b, c and d | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight: | 80% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 8000 words | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Recommended texts
Debra Adelaide and Sarah Atfield, Eds, Creative Writing Practice: Reflections on Form and Process, Palgrave, 2021.
Carmel Bird and Kate Grenville, Making Stories: how ten Australian novels were written, Allen & Unwin, 1993.
James Wood, How Fiction Works, Picador 2009.
Margo Singer, Ed, Bending Genre: Essays on Creative Nonfiction, Bloomsbury Academic, 2023.
Deborah Wardle, Ed, A-Z of Creative Writing Methods, Bloomsbury, 2023.
Charlotte Wood, The Writer's Room: conversations about writing, Allen & Unwin, 2013.