module specification

This module allows students to devise, research and write, in a workshop setting and through independent study, feature articles of the type published in magazines, newspapers, online and other journalistic outlets. Creative activity will be informed by critical reading of published work in feature and arts journalism and secondary texts about these fields. Students are required to develop, plan, research and write two or three feature articles with different orientations, based, for example, around a topical issue, arts event, interview, or profile.

This is a core module on the MA Creative, Digital and Professional Writing. It inducts students into the professional levels of research, writing, editing, and market awareness that they will need to develop in order to be published. As such it is a key employability module on the MA.

Aims
• You will learn how to structure a feature article, develop an individual voice, and write to length.
• You will devise, research, write, edit and pitch a variety of feature articles so as to understand their different requirements and imperatives.
• You will develop an understanding of the imperatives and constraints exerted by different markets and outlets for feature articles.
• You will explore the range of contemporary writing about the arts with a focus on related feature articles.

None
Available for Study Abroad? YES

The syllabus will develop students’ ability to identify appropriate subject-matter and markets for feature articles, and to devise, plan, write, edit and pitch them in a variety of forms and orientations. (LO1, LO2, LO4, LO5)

It will introduce students to a wide variety of features, and develop their ability to reflect upon and discuss published features of different kinds, the work of their fellow students, and their own writing in the genre. (LO2, LO3, LO4, LThe syllabus will develop students’ ability to identify appropriate subject-matter and markets for feature articles, and to devise, plan, write, edit and pitch them in a variety of forms and orientations. (LO1, LO2, LO4, LO5)

It will introduce students to a wide variety of features, and develop their ability to reflect upon and discuss published features of different kinds, the work of their fellow students, and their own writing in the genre. (LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5).

Scheduled teaching provides the guidance and foundation to ensure that independent study is effective in addressing the module’s learning outcomes and assessment tasks. The module is taught by a programme of weekly sessions over the semester. The sessions combine workshops, writing practice, seminar discussion, and research tasks. Students are required to reflect critically on their learning and on their personal creative practice, through peer and tutor feedback, workshops, and tutorials. The module may include guest speakers. Independent learning will include guided reading, weekly research and writing tasks, set texts and preparation for seminars/workshops. Students are encouraged to carry out independent research and incorporate it critically into their writings.

In-class activity makes use of varied student-centred approaches. Information is provided through a range of means and sources to minimise and remove barriers to successful progress. The course team seeks to embed the University’s Education for Social Justice Framework. A blended learning strategy will be employed to enhance the learning experience, facilitate communication between students and tutors and develop collaboration among students. Activities, especially workshopping, will foster peer-to-peer community-building, support for learning, and reflective learning. Students’ final coursework will include an analytic commentary in which they reflect on the development of their work.

The School’s programme of employability events and embedded work-based learning within the curriculum supports students’ personal and career development planning. Through these initiatives, students are increasingly able, as they progress through their programme, to understand the professional environment of their discipline, the various opportunities available to them, and how to shape their learning according to their ambitions.

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Subject specific skills
LO1 plan, develop, research, write, edit and pitch attractive and original features, with an understanding of how to structure them appropriately for different platforms and markets;

Knowledge and understanding
LO2 develop advanced knowledge of the different requirements and opportunities arising from different journalistic genres, subjects, platforms and markets, and of how digital media can be used as source, outlet and means of promoting their feature writing;

Cognitive and intellectual abilities
LO3 develop an ability to reflect analytically upon feature writing as a genre;

Transferable skills
LO4 learn independently for the purposes of continuing professional development;

Behaviours and values
LO5 demonstrate creativity, inclusivity and social responsibility in their own journalistic practice.

Students will produce a portfolio addressing the module’s learning outcomes through the tasks and criteria as set out in the assessment brief. These will be detailed at the start of each academic year.

Typically the portfolio will total 5000 words and contain

1. two or three feature articles with different orientations;

2. a pitch to a publication or website for one of the features;

3. a reflective and analytical commentary, with appropriate evidence and reference to critical reading, on the planning and research involved in the development and writing of one of the submitted feature articles.

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