- An undergraduate course
in
Arts and Humanities.
Creative writing
- On this page
| Course facts | |
|---|---|
| About this course: | |
| Course code | A215 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 2 |
| SCQF level | 8 |
| FHEQ level | 5 |
| Course work includes: | |
| 5 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-module assessment | |
| No residential school | |
This course takes a student-centred approach to creative writing, offering a range of strategies to help you develop as a writer. The emphasis is highly practical, with exercises and activities designed to ignite and sustain the writing impulse. The five-part course starts by showing ways of using your memory and experience and building a daily discipline. This is followed by demonstration and practice of the three most popular forms – writing fiction, writing poetry, and life writing (biography and autobiography). The concluding part aims to demystify the world of agents and publishers, teaching you how to revise and present your work to a professional standard.
Modules at Level 2 assume that you are suitably prepared for study at this level. If you want to take a single module to satisfy your career development needs or pursue particular interests, you don’t need to start at Level 1 but you do need to have adequately prepared yourself for OU study in some other way. Check with our Student Registration & Enquiry Service to make sure that you are sufficiently prepared.
Register for the course
What you will study
This course is suitable for new writers as well as for those with some experience who would like to develop their skills. It will help you to identify your strengths and interests as a writer by giving you the opportunity to write in a range of genres: fiction, poetry, biography and autobiography. The emphasis is on finding your own directions and styles through experiment, practice and constructive feedback. The course is suitable not only for aspiring writers, but for anyone with a strong interest in reading and writing, who would like to deepen their understanding of the creative process.
The course is structured around five parts. The introductory part, The Creative Process, focuses on developing a habit of writing. It examines a range of strategies including clustering, morning pages, and keeping a writer’s notebook, as well as statements from writers about their own approaches and practices.
Part 2, Writing Fiction, introduces the main aspects of narrative including story structure and genre; showing and telling; character; point of view; and place and time.
In Part 3, Writing Poetry, the role and function of poetry are discussed. The main formal strategies and poetic devices are introduced, including lines; line breaks; enjambment; rhyme and half-rhyme; varieties of metre; stanzas; and forms.
Part 4, Life Writing, looks at biography and autobiography. Some of the central issues raised by life writing are discussed, including the nature of memory and forgetting, the performance of the self, and the representation of others. There are suggestions for finding subject matter, with an emphasis on the importance of memory.
The final part, Going Public, outlines the requirement for professional presentation of manuscripts and an understanding of audience and market.
At the core of the course is a Workbook that takes you week-by-week through the five parts. The emphasis is very much on practice through guided activities, supported by supplementary articles and literary examples including poems, prose extracts and complete stories to illustrate particular methods or strategies. Four audio CDs contain interviews with writers talking about their own inspirations and methods, and with representatives of the publishing industry.
Online tutor-group forums enable peer discussion of some of your work and allow tutors to make general points of relevance to the whole group.
Your tutor will support you through assignment feedback, and through five online tutorials. Your electronic tuition is supported by two face-to-face day schools. Your tutor also offers general support throughout the course, as you progress through the Workbook, which is the principal guide to your learning.
For further information visit the A215 website.
Entry
This is a Level 2 course and builds on the Level 1 courses The arts past and present (AA100), Voices and texts (A150) and Making sense of things: an introduction to material culture (A151). These Level 1 courses develop skills such as logical thinking, clear expression, essay writing and the ability to select and interpret relevant materials. They also offer an introduction to a range of subjects in the arts and humanities.
If you have not studied at university level before, you are strongly advised to study at Level 1 before progressing to Level 2 study.
Your regional or national centre can advise you on where you can see reference copies of Level 1 study materials. Some are also available from Open University Worldwide Ltd. We particularly recommend looking at these materials if you have not successfully completed Level 1 study or studied at an equivalent level elsewhere.
Experience of creative writing courses, provided by adult education departments or by organisations like the Open College of the Arts or the Arvon Foundation, is also relevant.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the Module Regulations and the Student Regulations which are available on our Essential documents website.
If you have a disability
The printed study materials are available in the DAISY Digital Talking Book format. The books are available in a comb-bound format. Written transcripts are available for the audio-visual material. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
If you have particular study requirements please tell us as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Visit our Services for disabled students website for more information, including:
- help to determine your study requirements and how to request the support that you need
- Disabled Students' Allowances (DSAs)
- using a computer for OU study
- equipment and other support services that we offer
- examination arrangements
- how to contact us for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Study materials
What's included
Course book, audio CDs, online forums, website containing study planner, module guide, assessment materials, further links and electronic versions of the study materials.
You will need
Audio-CD player.
Computing requirements
You will need a computer with internet access to study this course as it includes online activities, which you can access using a web browser.
- If you have purchased a new desktop or laptop computer since 2007 you should have no problems completing the online activities.
- If you’ve got a netbook, tablet or other mobile computing device check our Technical requirements section.
- If you use an Apple Mac you will need OS X 10.6 or later.
You can also visit the Technical requirements section for further computing information including the details of the support we provide.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the study material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance both in online forums and by telephone or email. There will be two day-schools that you are encouraged, but not obliged, to attend. Teaching will also be via an online forum, for which full guidance will be provided. Where the day-schools are held will depend on the distribution of students taking the course.
Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper. The end-of-module assessment (EMA), which is an independent project, must be submitted online.
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in October 2013. We expect it to be available once a year.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button.
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Distance learning
The Open University is the world’s leading provider of flexible, high quality distance learning. Unlike other universities we are not campus based. You will study in a flexible way that works for you whether you’re at home, at work or on the move. As an OU student you’ll be supported throughout your studies – your tutor or study adviser will guide and advise you, offer detailed feedback on your assignments, and help with any study issues. Tuition might be in face-to-face groups, via online tutorials, or by phone.
For more information read Distance learning explained.
Undergraduate
| Course facts | |
|---|---|
| About this course: | |
| Course code | A215 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 2 |
| SCQF level | 8 |
| FHEQ level | 5 |
| Course work includes: | |
| 5 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-module assessment | |
| No residential school | |
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