Course Catalogue

The programme aims to improve its students’ ability to:

• Understand and practice creative, formal skills appropriate to writing at Masters level.
• Write, edit, format and present a range of writing to industry standards to identify and develop their creative voice as writers.
• Develop a comprehensive understanding of techniques applicable to their own research acquire a practical and analytical knowledge of narrative and plot sufficient to inform complex, creative composition and problem
• Analyse texts with a critical awareness of current issues at the forefront of professional practice.

Teaching and learning activities in the programme are designed to develop skills needed to achieve the set Learning Outcomes. Knowledge is acquired through lectures, workshops, tutorials, visits from established industry professionals and through the analysis of craft texts.

The MA engages students in an advanced experience that develops the specialist interests of their practice and engages in industry focussed exemplars of professional practice, production and application. The delivery develops skills across at least two genres whilst providing a close experience of research in the creative process. This deploys the use of ICT in research, citation and formatting appropriate to Level 7 outcomes.

Writers in industry and examples of practice are discussed while students build their appreciation of the importance of accuracy, editing, appraising and presentation to the writing process.  In exploring these qualities in the study and discussion of established writers’ practice, the students become aware of significant trends in contemporary writing as they impinge on or influence the practice of production.

This critical appreciation of production forms the basis for tutor support in the development of research skills and methodologies appropriate to the level, including citation, referencing and bibliography. A key part of the MA experience is the development of reading as a writer – analysing texts systematically and creatively, giving and responding to constructive feedback, making well-informed judgments and communicating conclusions with focus and accuracy. Students engage in creatively evaluating their work comparatively with that of professional writers in relation to professional standards and practices.

The critical research focus deepens and develops students’ practice through reflection, advanced redrafting, self direction and originality in tackling and solving problems. Students learn to restructure material according to genre models, demonstrating a critical awareness of current issues in professional practice.

Students develop their practice through reflection, advanced analysis and redrafting, demonstrating self-direction and originality in tackling the issues of a personal creative process. At an MA level, this implies discussion of ideas and the reductive process of honing creative material without the limitation of preciousness – it can be a difficult and painstaking process aligning one’s creative subjectivity with the objective structures and objects of contemporary industry formats.

Programme delivery helps students build a writerly identity through use of social media, community and literary activities, engagement and literary culture. Students develop skills in formatting and presentation to professional standards, strengthen their resilience as writers but delivery also promotes readiness for professional practice through the emphasis on deadlines, initiative and independent research. These qualities are supported through peer presentation, formative tutor feedback and class presentation and discussion.  Students work toward a substantial project, demonstrating initiative and personal responsibility. Tutors support and supervise the work, aiming to engage students in developing adaptability across, genres and formats according to the demands of complex and/or unpredictable situations and pressures. Analysis, problem-solving and decision making is key to every aspect of the programme and is assessed throughout, as is creativity and enterprise. Students are introduced to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) from the outset and the subject of decolonisation is embedded in all modules. Resources in the programme reinforce messages about our diverse global environment. Works by writers from diverse backgrounds enhance students’ understandings about race, gender, disability, sexuality, gender identity and socio-economic issues.

Study on the MA programme supports the development of a student’s knowledge, skill and practice of writing and the environment in which such work is presented

Students meet agents, publishers, broadcasters and professional writers and they are encouraged to contact relevant figures and companies in these fields. The programme organises regular events and Master classes where agents, publishers, editors and professional writers give presentations, as well as publishing and participating in literary events local, national and international.