Course specification and structure
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UDCWENLI - BA Creative Writing and English Literature

Course Specification


Validation status Validated
Highest award Bachelor of Arts Level Honours
Possible interim awards Bachelor of Arts, Diploma of Higher Education, Certificate of Higher Education, Bachelor of Arts
Total credits for course 360
Awarding institution London Metropolitan University
Teaching institutions London Metropolitan University
School School of Art, Architecture and Design
Subject Area Art
Attendance options
Option Minimum duration Maximum duration
Full-time 3 YEARS  
Part-time 4 YEARS 6 YEARS
Course leader  

About the course and its strategy towards teaching and learning and towards blended learning/e-learning

The BA Creative Writing and English Literature course is designed to increase students’ knowledge and critical thinking about the production, evaluation and dissemination of literary texts and their own creative practice in relation to these. Students will study general literary history and theory, as well as particular periods in literary history (such as Romantics and Victorians, Modernism, Post-Modernism and contemporary literature) and the genres of poetry, prose and drama. They will also engage with key skills and techniques for the production of key genres including prose, poetry and drama. There are also specialist modules on incorporating research and critical thinking in their creative practice and on specific genre texts. The course is outstanding in offering connections between critical and creative writing: students will have the opportunity to write their own prose, poetry and drama, alongside their study of published texts. Students will also learn about London as a literary capital, with structured opportunities for cultural enrichment through visits to and projects involving specialist libraries, galleries, museums and other centres of culture. Students will study with expert tutors and experience both online support and regular contact hours with scheduled class time for 30 weeks of each year, and regular feedback on their academic progress.

Course aims

  • To facilitate students’ acquiring a sound knowledge of the historical, cultural and theoretical study of literature and location of their own creative practice at a high level of graduate competency.
  • To support and facilitate students’ acquiring a sound knowledge and understanding of ways of engaging with, and producing, the main literary genres of fiction, poetry and drama as well as creative non-fiction genres;
  • To achieve a wide-ranging competence in applying the skills and techniques of literary study, critical thinking and creative writing for the purposes of realizing their own creative potential;
  • To be aware of the literary, cultural, historical and ethical contexts relevant to literary study and their own creative production.
  • To develop and respond to the critical, digital, and communicative strengths, needs and experiences of students and facilitate their taking active responsibility for class-based and independent learning and development in context of study of English Literature and writing as creative practice.
  • To prepare students for employment in a range of contexts drawing on their critical, creative, transferable and subject-specific skills, and to introduce students to a variety of (particularly London-based) workplaces and centres of literary excellence throughout the course.
  • To provide reflective, active and collaborative learning opportunities that enable students to explain, reflect upon and critically assess their own skills and development.

To prepare students for potential careers in fields related to literary study andCreative Writing including publishing, writing, journalism and other creative industries, or possible postgraduate research in English Literature.

Course learning outcomes

The following learning outcomes incorporate and depend on systemic understanding of the key aspects of the knowledge base of Creative Writing and English Literature, emphasising equally an intellectual engagement with literature as well as the sustained development of writing as creative practice with its specific skill set and techniques:

  • Deploy accurately established techniques of analysis and enquiry within Creative Writing and English Literature;
  • Devise and sustain arguments, and/or to solve problems, using ideas and techniques, some of which are at the forefront Creative Writing and English Literature;
  • describe and comment upon particular aspects of current research, or equivalent advanced scholarship, in Creative Writing and English Literature, recognising the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge;
  • Manage their own learning, and to make use of scholarly reviews and primary sources (for example, refereed research articles and/or original materials appropriate to Creative Writing and English Literature;
  • Apply the methods and techniques that they have learned to review, consolidate, extend and apply their knowledge and understanding, and to initiate and carry out projects;
  • Critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, abstract concepts and data (that may be incomplete), to make judgements, and to frame appropriate questions to achieve a solution - or identify a range of solutions - to a problem;
  • Communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences;
  • Exercise initiative and personal responsibility, including decision-making in complex and unpredictable contexts;
  • Undertake appropriate further training of a professional or equivalent nature.

Assessment strategy

Students’ learning of skills and subject matter is assessed by formative and summative strategies. Formative assessment includes: contribution to seminar and workshop, short exercises written in class or during independent learning hours and posted onto the weblearn discussion forum, presentations, essay plans and quizzes: all will receive oral and sometimes written feedback during and between class sessions. Summative assessments include academic essays, set presentations, group work, reviews, and portfolios of critical work. Written feedback on summative assessment is provided within two weeks and tutorial time made available. Generally written feedback on assessments will be made available via weblearn, and tutors will also respond to queries by email and other social media as appropriate.

Organised work experience, work based learning, sandwich year or year abroad

Work-related learning is an integrated and mandatory part of the course, with at least 70 hours working on engagement with live organisations, delivered through establishing contacts with professionals and companies and participating in publishing sector activities and events. The level 6 module SJ6054 Publishing and the Industry is designated as the placement or work-related learning module. Students will experience a competitive recruitment process or pitching for opportunities, and they will be required to reflect on their experience of the project and undertake forward career action planning.

Modules required for interim awards

Level 4:

Theory and Practice of Prose
Theory and Practice of Poetry
Theory and Practice of Drama
Romantics to Victorians


Level 5:

Victorians to Moderns
Writing and Editing Fiction and Nonfiction
Genre Fiction
Plus TWO from: Poetry and Performance; Writing Historical Fiction; The Short Story: Theory and Practice;Research Methodology and Ethics in Creative Writing


Level 6:

Project
The Contemporary Novel in English
Life Writing to Fiction
Plus TWO from: The Literature of Childhood; From Page to Performance: Stage and Screen; Contemporary Poetry: Theory and Practice

Career opportunities

Graduates have gone on to successful careers in publishing, editing and related industries as well as publishing their own creative work. This course is also excellent preparation for further study or research.

Creative Writing graduate and Somali-British poet Warsan Shire recently collaborated with Beyonce on her new album, Lemonade. The album, which sees the American superstar recite extracts from five of her poems, has catapulted Warsan into stardom in the US. Having graduated from London Metropolitan University in 2011, Warsan published Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth that same year and was named the first Young Poet Laureate of London in 2014.

Entry requirements

In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, you should:

  • have at least 280 UCAS points from three or more A levels (eg BBC) or 320 UCAS points from a BTEC National (eg DDM)
  • submit two pieces of your creative work from two of the following three genres: prose fiction, poetry and/or script.

For prose fiction or non-fiction the writing sample must be between 500 and 1000 words.

For scripts, you should include at least three scenes to give an idea of character, setting and development of plot. The scenes should be written in the correct format for stage or screen.

For poetry you should include at least four pages of poetry. This can be a combination of longer and shorter pieces. You should show some awareness of verse form.

If you don’t have traditional qualifications or can’t meet the entry requirements for this undergraduate degree, you may still be able to gain entry by completing the BA Creative Writing and English Literature Extended Degree.

All applicants must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. Applicants who require a Tier 4 student visa may need to provide a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. For more information about English qualifications please see our English language requirements.

Official use and codes

Approved to run from 2013/14 Specification version 1 Specification status Validated
Original validation date 01 Sep 2013 Last validation date 01 Sep 2013  
Sources of funding HE FUNDING COUNCIL FOR ENGLAND
JACS codes W800 (Imaginative Writing): 50% , Q320 (English Literature): 50%
Route code CWENLI

Course Structure

Stage 1 Level 04 September start Offered

Code Module title Info Type Credits Location Period Day Time
SJ4001 Romantics to Victorians Core 30 NORTH AUT+SPR MON PM
SJ4002 Theory and Practice of Drama Core 30        
SJ4003 Theory and Practice of Poetry Core 30        
SJ4005 Writer's World Core 30 NORTH AUT+SPR WED PM

Stage 2 Level 05 September start Offered

Code Module title Info Type Credits Location Period Day Time
SJ5000 Genre Fiction Core 30 NORTH AUT+SPR TUE PM
SJ5003 Victorians to Moderns Core 30 NORTH AUT+SPR THU PM
SJ5004 Writing and Editing Fiction and Nonfiction Core 30 NORTH AUT+SPR THU AM
SJ5052 Poetry and Performance Option 15        
SJ5054 The Short Story Option 15        
SJ5057 Research Methodology and Ethics in Creative Wri... Option 15        
SJ5059 The Literature of Childhood Option 15        
SJ5060 The Craft of Fiction Option 15        

Stage 3 Level 06 September start Offered

Code Module title Info Type Credits Location Period Day Time
SJ6003 Moderns to Contemporaries Core 30 NORTH AUT+SPR THU AM
SJ6004 Why Literature Matters Core 30 NORTH AUT+SPR MON AM
SJ6P03 Project (Creative Writing and English Literature) Core 30 NORTH AUT+SPR NA  
SJ6018 The Writer's Craft Alt Core 30 NORTH AUT+SPR MON PM
SJ6019 Publishing and the Book: then and now Alt Core 30 NORTH AUT+SPR WED AM