What will I learn on this module?
This module is designed for students with some experience in creative writing to further develop their skills in prose and/or poetry, with an emphasis of producing longer pieces of writing. The module will examine the nature of genre, and will explore structure in the novel, novella, short story cycle, long poem and poetic sequence.
Although the focus of the module is on your own writing, we will read and discuss a number of texts in order to improve technique and help you in planning and carrying out your project.
Seminars will run as creative writing workshops in which students respond to writing exercises and learn to offer and receive feedback on their own and others’ work.
How will I learn on this module?
You will attend and participate in two weekly 1.5-hour seminars. Initially these will be tutor-led, introducing and analysing texts, carrying out exercises and planning and beginning creative projects.
Later sessions will be given over to workshopping student work-in-progress.
In the seminars you will read and analyse the work of others, carry out writing exercises, and workshop each other’s ongoing writing projects.
However, at Level 6 the main impetus of your work must come from you: independent writing and study will form the main learning activity, and you must conceive, plan and drive forward your own writing project for this module. It is your opportunity to design and carry out your own piece of creative writing, putting into practice the techniques you have acquired on the degree so far.
You are strongly advised to keep a reflective diary over the course of the module. Alongside your notebooks and drafts, it will provide a record of your thinking, learning and writing processes, and help you to develop your project effectively. It will also provide a foundation for the reflective commentary which you are required to submit as part of your final assessment for the module. The commentary should not simply be the diary, but should draw on it to help you reflect on your creative practice.
How will I be supported academically on this module?
Feedback on summative work will be delivered according to the existing protocols of the Department of Humanities, with comments on feedback sheets. Formative feedback will be provided in the workshops.
Plans for the portfolio will be discussed in advance with tutors, in order to determine that they are appropriate. A draft version of the assessment may be submitted for feedback before the submission of the assessment in its final form
Assignments will be processed through the Turnitin Plagiarism Detection software via Blackboard. Turnitin will help improve referencing skills and help avoid plagiarism.
Further guidance will be made available via Blackboard, from your seminar tutor, and in lectures.
What will I be expected to read on this module?
All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.
What will I be expected to achieve?
Knowledge & Understanding:
Learn how to
1. Understand the nature and production of creative writing as practice-led research
2. To critically examine longer pieces of fiction and the theoretical and practical processes that go into their writing
Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
3. To demonstrate skill in the writing of prose fiction and/or poetry
4. Develop a framework for applying skills of editing, revision and critiquing of creative writing texts
Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
5. An ethical approach to creative composition and reflection
How will I be assessed?
Formative assessment will be provided by tutor and peer assessment of draft work in seminars.
Summative assessment is in the form of a Portfolio of prose fiction made up of:
3,500 words of prose (either part of a novel/novella or one or two short stories in a short story cycle), or poetry totalling 120 lines (MLO 3, 4)
with a 500-word critical commentary (MLO 1, 2, 5)
A single mark is given, based on the literary merit of the creative component, and on the extent to which it applies ideas learned in the module, as evidenced by the commentary.
Feedback on summative work will be provided using the Departmental template and comments on the script.
Pre-requisite(s)
NA
Co-requisite(s)
NA
Module abstract
N/A
Course info
UCAS Code QW38
Credits 20
Level of Study Undergraduate
Mode of Study 3 years Full Time or 4 years with a placement (sandwich)/study abroad
Department Humanities
Location City Campus, Northumbria University
City Newcastle
Start September 2025
All information is accurate at the time of sharing.
Full time Courses are primarily delivered via on-campus face to face learning but could include elements of online learning. Most courses run as planned and as promoted on our website and via our marketing materials, but if there are any substantial changes (as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority) to a course or there is the potential that course may be withdrawn, we will notify all affected applicants as soon as possible with advice and guidance regarding their options. It is also important to be aware that optional modules listed on course pages may be subject to change depending on uptake numbers each year.
Contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with possible restrictions imposed by the government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors if this is deemed necessary in future.
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