Contemporary literary stories and those written in genre draw on historical antecedents and/or current literary and theoretical movements. Fables and fairy tales, experiments with realism or magical realism are all present in various forms of the contemporary short story, and stem from writers being influenced by past narratives and/or by reacting to their peers. This course will encourage students to read a variety of classical and contemporary short stories and to experiment with different styles and genres which have developed over the past two centuries, and which are still being questioned or utilised by contemporary authors.
Students will be expected to write two short stories and/or a few chapters of a novel in this course. Draft stories will be revised. The final versions of students' stories will be arrived at through discussion in seminars and workshops, and through the reading of published fiction. The course will include some consideration of the practical processes involved in publishing stories and longer works.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Create prose pieces in two different genres, drawing on or reacting to a published work or works.
2. Experiment with and revise 2 diverse stories or chapters of a novel, integrating suggestions from writing workshops and/or utilising analysis of published or other students’ creative work.
3. Research, compare and contrast two stories, making a coherent argument about the relationship between these works.
4. Reflect on your own creative work in relation to its context, sources and formal qualities, and discuss your writing with respect to published work in a similar style or genre.
5. Understand and successfully deploy a range of terms and concepts integral to creative writing studies.

Recommended Resources

Whether you are on campus or studying online, there are a variety of online platforms you will use to participate in your study program. These could include videos for lectures and other instruction, two-way video conferencing for interactive learning, email and other messaging tools for communication, interactive web apps for formative and collaborative activities, print and/or photo/scan for handwritten work and drawings, and home-based assessment.

ANU outlines recommended student system requirements to ensure you are able to participate fully in your learning. Other information is also available about the various Learning Platforms you may use.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Introduction
2	Writing and the Editing Process	Draft story or chapter due, August 4
3	Realisms
4	Modernism
5	Intertextuality
6	Fairytales and their Adaptations
7	Postmodernism and Beyond	Draft story or chapter due September 15
8	Writing Diversity
9	Popular and Genre Fiction
10	Writing for Children and Young Adults
11	Publishing and the Marketplace
12		Final portfolio due the following week.

Tutorial Registration

See Allocate+

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Learning Outcomes
Draft Stories	10 %	1
Forum posts	10 %	4
Seminar and Unessay or Essay	25 %	3
Portfolio	50 %	1,2,5
Oral comments on student work	5 %	4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines , which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Extenuating Circumstances Application
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

Students are expected to attend and participate in all workshops.

Assessment Task 1

Draft Stories

Submit two draft stories, memoirs, or pieces of prose of around 1000-3000 words. 

Assessment Rubrics: See Wattle for assessment rubric and due dates.

Value: 10%

Presentation requirements: Name in the top left hand corner; readable font, 1.5 line spacing

Estimated Return Date: Story 1 will be returned by the end of the mid-semester break. Story 2 will be returned by the end of Week 11, if submitted on time.

Assessment Task 2

Forum posts

In several weeks of semester (see Wattle for details) you are expected to prepare written responses to the forum post tasks, as outlined on Wattle.

Value: 10%

These may include:

An idea for a story or chapter, or a draft piece of writing

Comments on other students’ work

A response to a reading

Your forum posts will be checked each week. All forum posts need to be submitted prior to your workshop. Your grade will be determined based on the number of forum posts you have made, although individual forum posts will be checked for completeness and their engagement with the task.

Forum posts will not be accepted after the workshop.

Assessment Task 3

Seminar and Unessay or Essay

Due: Two weeks after your scheduled seminar date, by 11.55 p.m.

Ie. if you do your seminar on Monday the 11th of August, your essay will be due on Monday 18th August, by 11.55 p.m.

Students must submit their essays online via the Wattle site by the deadline. Late work will incur a penalty of 5% per day, excluding weekends.

Weighting: 25%

Length: 2000 words

Presentation: Typed, 12 point font (Times New Roman is preferable), 1.5 spacing

You must include a bibliography. Further guidelines for presentation and formulation of a bibliography will be available through Wattle. See the “Course Readings Bibliography” on wattle for the full reference to the relevant story.

Estimated Return Date (for essays submitted on time): 2 weeks after submission. Essays submitted late may be returned at the same time as the portfolio, after the examination period.

Assessment Task 4

Portfolio

Value: 50%

Presentation:

-      Your portfolio should be typed, in 12 point font (Times New Roman is preferable), and at least 1.5-spaced

-      It must be correctly formatted.

-      You should number every page of your portfolio. 

-      If you have drawn on published work, or referred to or adapted an existing story, you must include a bibliography in MLA or Chicago style.

Contents of the portfolio:

Your portfolio should contain:

- Final versions of 2 stories or chapters from a novel, maximum 3,500 - 4,000 words.

- Draft versions of the stories/chapters. You should include at least 2 versions of each story

- Include a brief summary of the changes you have made to your work, the rationale behind your changes and your influences.

Assessment:

You will be assessed primarily on how your fiction has developed since it was workshopped. If you are submitting two stories, they are expected to be in different styles or genres. If you are including two sections from a novel, try to choose sections which demonstrate the range of your abilities as a writer.

To obtain a credit or above, you must substantially revise your stories. If you are uncertain about how to do this, please consult me.

Estimated Return Date:

After the examiners’ meeting, at the end of the examination period.

Assessment Task 5

Oral comments on student work

Value: 5%

Students are expected to contribute to the discussion of several peer stories or chapters per week.

The oral comments task will be marked on the following criteria:

-contribution to discussion (students who make cogent and thoughtful comments about a text will score more highly than students who stay silent)

-comprehension (students who obviously haven’t read the story, or who have skimmed it, won’t do as well as students who appear to have read the story thoroughly)

-textual analysis—the degree of sophistication of the analysis of the story under discussion

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

• Late submission not permitted. If submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date is not permitted, a mark of 0 will be awarded.
• Late submission permitted. Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Assignment 1 may be re-submitted, if it received a mark of less than 75%.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Access and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents all ANU students