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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2023/2024

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures : English Literature

Undergraduate Course: Creative Writing Part 2: Prose (ENLI10115)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Literatures, Languages and Cultures CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryIn this course, students will explore the structures, techniques, and methodologies of fiction writing through both analytical and creative practice. Focusing specifically on the art and craft of the short story, students will examine a range of stories, learning to analyse works from a writer's perspective. Discussions will emphasise unpacking the functional elements of selected works (character, setting, point-of-view, narrative voice, dialogue, scene versus narrative, plot, and so on) with the aim of learning strategies for evaluating, writing, and revising their own short stories. Creative exercises and workshop sessions will complement and enhance these discussions. Students will also draft, edit and revise their own short stories, while also critiquing and offering constructive feedback on the work of their peers.
Course description Approach
Students will spend the first part of the course analysing published stories and exploring fiction techniques and practices through creative exercises. The second part of the course will be devoted to workshop sessions in which students read, analyse, and critique short stories drafted by their peers, bringing the strategies and analytic vocabulary developed in the opening part of the course to bear on one another's short stories.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: ( Literary Studies 1A (ENLI08020) AND Literary Studies 1B (ENLI08021) AND Literary Studies 2A: English Literature in the World, 1380-1788 (ENLI08024) AND Literary Studies 2B: English Literature in the World, post-1789 (ENLI08025)) OR ( English Literature 1 (ENLI08001) OR Scottish Literature 1 (ENLI08016) AND English Literature 2 (ENLI08003) OR Scottish Literature 2 (ENLI08004))
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs Essential course texts
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites A MINIMUM of 4 college/university level literature courses at grade B or above (should include no more than one introductory level literature course). Related courses such as civilisation or other interdisciplinary classes, Freshman Year Seminars or composition/creative writing classes/workshops are not considered for admission to this course. Applicants should also note that, as with other popular courses, meeting the minimum does NOT guarantee admission. In making admissions decisions preference will be given to students who achieve above the minimum requirement with the typical visiting student admitted to this course having 4 literature classes at grade A.

** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course **
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2023/24, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  15
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 196 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Learning Journal
(Coursework - 20%)
Craft Analysis
(Coursework - 20%)
Final Assessment
(Coursework - 60%)
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Academic year 2023/24, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  15
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 196 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Learning Journal
(Coursework - 20%)
Craft Analysis
(Coursework - 20%)
Final Assessment
(Coursework - 60%)
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. identify, conceptualise and define formal elements of craft in within works of fiction
  2. remain open to criticism and respond effectively and creatively to feedback on their own creative work
  3. work from initial conception through multiple drafts to the final version of a short story
  4. analyse works of fiction with a focus on craft effectiveness and articulate strengths and weaknesses in a piece of writing in a constructive manner
  5. transfer editorial skills and creative abilities from one context to another
Reading List
Indicative Topics

Setting and Description. Anton Chekhov's, The Lady with the Dog, and George Saunders, The Wave Maker Falters.

Character; V. S. Pritchett's A Family Man and Muriel Spark's The Executor.

Point-of-View. John Burnside's, The Cold Outside, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's, The Thing Around Your Neck.

Dialogue and Scene. Shirley Jackson's, The Lottery, and Eudora Welty's; Petrified Man.

Plot. The Driver's Seat by; Muriel Spark.

Short story workshops.
Additional Information
Course URL https://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/english-literature/undergraduate/current/honours
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Special Arrangements Numbers are limited and students taking degrees not involving English or Scottish literature need the written approval of the head of English Literature
Additional Class Delivery Information Seminar: 2 hours per week for 10 weeks. Plus 1 hour a week for 10 weeks attendance at an Autonomous Learning Group - times to be arranged
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Patrick Errington
Tel:
Email: p.errington@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMrs Vivien MacNish Porter
Tel: (0131 6)50 3528
Email: vivien.macnish-porter@ed.ac.uk
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