In this course, students will come up with an idea for a film or short play. They will write a treatment, short story or synopsis based on this initial concept, and shape the story into a script. Through the workshop process, story ideas will be subject to critique, and students will be encouraged to develop their early drafts. Lectures will address theoretical and practical concerns involved in writing stories, screenplays, film and drama scripts, and will examine several relevant examples. The course will include some consideration of the practical processes involved in the production of screenplays and plays.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. write a screenplay treatment or play synopsis, and a screenplay or play utilising correct and effective style and formatting;
2. develop the treatment or synopsis into a screenplay or short play script, integrating suggestions from writing workshops, and/or utilising analysis of published or other students’ creative work to modify their own;
3. research and analyse a produced screenplay and film, or a work of drama;
4. describe, analyse and make editorial suggestions for peers’ prose, screenplays and short plays; and
5. reflect on your own creative work in relation to its translation of prose to script (either screenplay or short play), their writing process, and works (filmic or theatrical) in similar styles or genres.

Research-Led Teaching

This course is informed by scholarship on writing process, the politics of representation, and genre.

Required Resources

Most material is available on Canvas. Students would ideally purchase:

Proulx, Annie, McMurtry, Larry and Ossana, Diana. Brokeback Mountain: Story to Screenplay. New York: Scribner, 2006

Van Den Berg, Dylan. Milk. Sydney: Currency Press, 2021

Recommended Resources

A screenplay or play formatting program such as Celtx, Final Draft or Fade In.

Orlean, Susan. The Orchid Thief. London: Random House, 2000

Staff Feedback

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

• Written comments
• Verbal comments
• Feedback to the whole class, to groups, to individuals, and focus groups

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). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Introduction and 'Writing the Treatment or Synopsis'	No workshop
2	Writing Short & Feature Films: Structure, Genre & RepresentationThe Art of Adaptation	Workshop on story ideas
3	Writing Plays& A Conversation with playwright Dylan van den Berg	Workshop on draft story and Jonze's 'Adaptation'Assessment 1A Due
4	Brokeback Mountain: adapting a short story into a screenplay & Writing and Formatting the screenplay or play script	Workshop on Assessment 1A
5	Milk & Discussion with Dylan van den Berg about finding markets for Scripts and Screenplays	Workshop on Assessment 1A
6	Revision of Theoretical Material & Texts for Essay under exam conditions Assessment	Workshop on Assessment 1A
7	No formal lecture	Assessment 4
8	Draft Screenplay & Play Workshops	Workshop on Assessment 1B
9	Draft Screenplay & Play workshops	Workshop on Assessment 1B
10	Draft Screenplay & Play workshops	Workshop on Assessment 1B
11	Draft Screenplay & Play workshops	Workshop on Assessment 1B
12	Student consultations as needed
13		Assessment 2 (Portfolio) due

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Draft Treatment or Play Synopsis (10%)	10 %	14/08/2026	07/09/2026	1,2
Portfolio of Creative Work (50%)	50 %	29/10/2026	03/12/2026	1,2,5
Oral and Written Workshop Responses	15 %	*	*	4
Essay under exam conditions (25%)	25 %	*	*	3, 5

* 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 Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

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 ANU Online website Students may choose not to submit assessment items through Turnitin. In this instance you will be required to submit, alongside the assessment item itself, hard copies of all references included in the assessment item.

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 all workshops. If you are unable to attend at least 80% of workshops, please discuss your situation with the convenor. This course relies on student participation and engagement; please select another course if you know that you will be unable to attend in person regularly.

Assessment Task 1

Draft Treatment or Play Synopsis (10%)

Submit a draft treatment or play synopsis of up to 1500 words.

See Canvas for assessment rubric.

Assessment Task 2

Portfolio of Creative Work (50%)

Contents of the portfolio:

1. A final treatment or synopsis
2. A rough draft of a screenplay or playscript
3. A revised version of the same screenplay or playscript (can be a polished excerpt from a longer work)
4. If your planned screenplay or play is feature length, or full-length, include a synopsis or plan for the remainder of the piece
5. Include a brief summary of the changes you've made since the first draft, and the rationale behind your changes (1-2 pages). The rationale is NOT included in the total word count of the assessment.

Additional workshop exercises may be included, but are not compulsory.

Total word count (final drafts only): 3,500 words.

Presentation: please follow formatting guidelines for plays and screenplays on Canvas.

Treatments and synopses should be provided in 12 point font, at 1.5 or double spacing.

Assessment Task 3

Oral and Written Workshop Responses

This assessment item includes participation in discussions in the workshop, worth 5%, and written workshop responses, worth 10%. Written workshop responses will vary in length from 50 - 250 words.

In most weeks, students submit a response to a task listed under the workshop discussion forum, as outlined on Canvas.

This task may consist of:

• A short response to a reading or film
• Two or three questions about one of the readings, written so that they can be addressed to the class
• An idea for a story or screenplay, or a draft piece of writing
• A draft screenplay or play
• Comments on other students' work: these will constitute the majority of responses.

Your written workshop response for a particular week will be submitted to the Canvas Discussion prior to the workshop. It will be marked as complete (1) or incomplete (0) each week to generate your grade for this assessment.

Written responses will not be accepted after the workshop. No entries will be accepted via email; all entries need to be submitted as Discussion posts.

Assessment Task 4

Essay under exam conditions (25%)

This task will take place in Week 7. Students will have 120 minutes to complete this task. Further information and revision sessions will be conducted in the lecture and in workshops, and information about how the essay under exam conditions will be assessed will be available on Canvas.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of our culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically. This means that all members of the community commit to honest and responsible scholarly practice and to upholding these values with respect and fairness. The Australian National University commits to embedding the values of academic integrity in our teaching and learning. We ensure that all members of our community understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with. The University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Visit the following Academic honesty & plagiarism website for more information about academic integrity and what the ANU considers academic misconduct. The ANU offers a number of services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. The Academic Skills and Learning Centre offers a number of workshops and seminars that you may find useful for your studies.

Online Submission

The ANU uses 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. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

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

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

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Canvas site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

Assessment task one will be returned within four weeks of the due date.

Assessment task two will be returned after the examiners' meeting at the end of semester.

Assessment task four will be returned within four weeks of the essay being written under exam conditions.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure The Course Convener may grant extensions 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

If your receive a mark of less than 70% for Assessment 1, and you submitted your first Assessment on time, you may be able to resubmit for a maximum of 70%. No other assessment may be re-submitted for this course.

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 Diversity 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 undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students