BOOK
English Language, Literature and Creative Writing
Sarah Dobbs | Val Jessop | Devon Campbell-Hall | Terry McDonough | Cath Nichols
(2014)
Additional Information
Book Details
Abstract
A practical, easy-to-read guide that aims to help undergraduate students cope with the demands of English and Creative Writing degrees. Written by lecturers and industry professionals with decades of experience in professional writing and higher education, this book also includes hints and tips from previous students.
Sarah Dobbs received an MA and PhD in Creative Writing from Lancaster University and has also taught at the Open University and Manchester University. Her novel, ‘Killing Daniel’, was published by Unthank Books in 2012 and nominated for the Guardian’s Not the Booker prize in 2013.
Val Jessop received her PhD in Linguistics from Lancaster University and is currently a full-time lecturer in English Language with many years’ experience in teaching undergraduates. She is also the programme leader for the BA in English Language and Literary Studies.
Devon Campbell-Hall completed her MA and PhD in English at the University of Winchester and now serves as a lecturer and course leader for Southampton Solent University’s English degrees. She is passionate about teaching literature and widening participation in higher education.
Terry McDonough lectures in English Language at University Centre Blackburn College, having previously taught at several other UK institutions. He recently completed a two-year research project for the Higher Education Academy aimed at establishing links between academia and local community groups.
Cath Nichols has an MA and PhD in Creative Writing from Lancaster University and has published poetry including ‘Tales of Boy Nancy’ (Driftwood, 2005) and ‘Distance’ (erbacce, 2012). Her ‘Birdie’ was shortlisted for the International Playwriting Student Award.
‘This indispensable guide to language, literature and creative writing for undergraduates demystifies degree-level study, sets out what to expect from a degree programme, and gives useful insights into study skills. A must-read for worried students.’ —Zoe Lambert, Lancaster University
‘This indispensable guide to language, literature and creative writing for undergraduates demystifies degree-level study, sets out what to expect from a degree programme, and gives useful insights into study skills. A must-read for worried students.’ —Zoe Lambert, Lancaster University
A practical, easy-to-read guide that aims to help undergraduate students cope with the demands of English and Creative Writing degrees.
Written by lecturers and industry professionals with decades of experience in writing and higher education, this book also includes hints and tips from previous students. Find out what your tutors are looking for when marking your work, how to avoid common pitfalls, what the difference between clear and creative writing is, how to organise and behave on your work placement, and how to structure and research that all-important first assignment.
This guide demystifies academic language and marking processes so that you can make the most of your degree.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| TitlePage\r | iii | ||
| Copyright | iv | ||
| CONTENTS | v | ||
| INTRODUCTION | vii | ||
| English Literature versus English\rLanguage versus Creative Writing | viii | ||
| Part One English Language | 1 | ||
| 1 ENGLISH LANGUAGE: YEAR ONE | 3 | ||
| Introduction | 3 | ||
| Adapting to University Life | 4 | ||
| What Is Language? | 5 | ||
| So you think you know what language is? | 6 | ||
| Why does language make us special? | 7 | ||
| Isn’t this all common sense? | 7 | ||
| Where did all these ideas come from? | 8 | ||
| What’s This Linguistics, Then? | 9 | ||
| Theoretical linguistics | 10 | ||
| Applied linguistics | 11 | ||
| Descriptive linguistics | 11 | ||
| Altogether now | 12 | ||
| What do linguists actually do? | 12 | ||
| Who does it? | 12 | ||
| Why do we bother? | 13 | ||
| How Do I Survive? | 14 | ||
| Learning tips | 14 | ||
| Reading | 16 | ||
| Writing | 18 | ||
| 2 ENGLISH LANGUAGE: YEAR TWO | 21 | ||
| Introduction | 21 | ||
| Achieving at Level 5 | 21 | ||
| How will my final award be calculated? | 21 | ||
| What is exit velocity? | 22 | ||
| Understanding the Levels: Year 2 / Level 5 | 22 | ||
| Learning Outcomes | 22 | ||
| Examples of learning outcomes from a Level 5 language module | 23 | ||
| Staying Focused | 24 | ||
| Exams | 24 | ||
| Revising with Your Friends | 25 | ||
| How to Be Original | 26 | ||
| Don’t Ignore the Basics | 26 | ||
| Bibliographies and referencing | 26 | ||
| Proofreading: Checking for sense and meaning | 27 | ||
| Spelling | 28 | ||
| Tautology | 29 | ||
| Using Theoretical Frameworks | 30 | ||
| Explain before Applying | 30 | ||
| Academic Tone: ‘Talking the Talk’ | 33 | ||
| Sounding authoritative | 33 | ||
| The right words for the job | 33 | ||
| ‘Signposting’ Your Argument | 34 | ||
| Introductions, Summaries, Abstracts and Essay Titles | 35 | ||
| How to Analyse the Language of a Text: An Example | 37 | ||
| 3 ENGLISH LANGUAGE: YEAR THREE | 41 | ||
| Introduction | 41 | ||
| Welcome | 41 | ||
| Monitoring Your Progress | 42 | ||
| Becoming Independent | 42 | ||
| Being Original | 43 | ||
| Finding Your Own Voice | 44 | ||
| Evaluating and Critiquing | 44 | ||
| Synthesis | 44 | ||
| Writing the Dissertation: Why Do We Make You Do This? | 46 | ||
| Alternatives to the Dissertation | 46 | ||
| The Dissertation: Deciding on Your Topic | 47 | ||
| Writing the Literature Review | 47 | ||
| Conducting Empirical Research (Primary Research) | 48 | ||
| Ethical Issues | 49 | ||
| Keeping Accurate Records | 49 | ||
| Don’t Put Off Writing | 49 | ||
| Making the Most of Supervision Meetings | 50 | ||
| Example from an Undergraduate Dissertation | 51 | ||
| The Last Hurdle | 52 | ||
| Destinations | 52 | ||
| Goodbye and Good Luck | 53 | ||
| BIBLIOGRAPHY | 55 | ||
| Year One | 55 | ||
| Year Two | 56 | ||
| Year Three | 57 | ||
| Part Two English Literature | 59 | ||
| 4 ENGLISH LITERATURE: YEAR ONE | 61 | ||
| Introduction | 61 | ||
| What Is Literature? | 61 | ||
| The literary canon | 62 | ||
| English literature and national identity | 63 | ||
| English as an academic discipline | 64 | ||
| Career possibilities for English graduates | 64 | ||
| Careers in teaching English | 65 | ||
| Demystifying the characteristics of an English degree | 66 | ||
| What to Do before Your Degree | 68 | ||
| What makes a good student of English? | 69 | ||
| Do I need any special equipment? | 71 | ||
| From A-level to degree | 72 | ||
| Mature students and degree studies | 73 | ||
| Making the Most of Your Learning | 74 | ||
| University teaching environments | 75 | ||
| The lecture | 75 | ||
| Taking useful notes | 76 | ||
| The seminar | 78 | ||
| The tutorial | 78 | ||
| The virtual learning environment | 79 | ||
| Deadlines and extensions for assessments | 80 | ||
| How to Pass Your First Assignments and Exams | 80 | ||
| Course learning outcomes | 81 | ||
| Style and formatting for assessments | 83 | ||
| Grade marking | 83 | ||
| Essays | 86 | ||
| Researching for an essay | 87 | ||
| How to structure an essay | 87 | ||
| Other assessments | 88 | ||
| Choosing Options and Their Implications | 89 | ||
| The first year doesn’t really count, right? | 91 | ||
| 5 ENGLISH LITERATURE: YEAR TWO | 93 | ||
| Introduction | 93 | ||
| What to Expect of the Second Year | 93 | ||
| Improving your academic writing | 94 | ||
| What is the point of theory? | 95 | ||
| Reaching towards academic independence | 96 | ||
| Choosing a dissertation topic | 97 | ||
| Achieving the work–life balance | 98 | ||
| Developing as an Academic and Beyond | 99 | ||
| Networking | 100 | ||
| Start thinking about your career | 100 | ||
| Finding work experience | 101 | ||
| If you hope to become a teacher | 102 | ||
| Options for postgraduate study | 103 | ||
| 6 ENGLISH LITERATURE: YEAR THREE | 105 | ||
| Introduction | 105 | ||
| Achieving the Degree You Want | 105 | ||
| Degree classifications | 106 | ||
| Deadlines | 106 | ||
| Damage limitation | 107 | ||
| What tutors really want from their students | 108 | ||
| Great presentations | 108 | ||
| Internships | 110 | ||
| Social networking | 110 | ||
| The job hunt | 111 | ||
| The Dissertation | 111 | ||
| Time frame | 112 | ||
| Fine-tuning your topic | 113 | ||
| Organizing your research | 114 | ||
| Structure | 114 | ||
| Getting the best out of your dissertation supervisor | 116 | ||
| Polishing your dissertation to showcase your best work | 116 | ||
| What can I do with a dissertation after graduation? | 117 | ||
| Conclusion | 117 | ||
| BIBLIOGRAPHY | 119 | ||
| Online Resources | 119 | ||
| Part Three Creative Writing | 121 | ||
| 7 CREATIVE WRITING: YEAR ONE | 123 | ||
| Introduction | 123 | ||
| Beginning Creative Writing: What to Expect | 123 | ||
| What Types of Creative Writing Degrees Are There? | 125 | ||
| What Should I Expect from the First Year? | 126 | ||
| What Will I Get Out of a Creative Writing degree? | 127 | ||
| True or False: Writers Are Born, Not Made. | 128 | ||
| What Should I Do before I Start? | 128 | ||
| What Should I Expect from Teaching? | 129 | ||
| Lectures | 130 | ||
| Seminars/workshops | 130 | ||
| What Skills Will I Need to Demonstrate in the First Year? | 131 | ||
| Ability to generate new ideas | 131 | ||
| Observation | 131 | ||
| Drafting | 131 | ||
| Peer critique | 132 | ||
| The rubric | 133 | ||
| Assessment | 133 | ||
| Portfolio | 133 | ||
| Journal | 133 | ||
| Author analysis | 133 | ||
| Commentary | 134 | ||
| Other types of assessments | 134 | ||
| Creative assignments | 134 | ||
| How Can I Try and Get the Best Marks? | 135 | ||
| Mark schemes and variations | 135 | ||
| Examples of marking in creative writing | 137 | ||
| A Note on Bibliographies | 140 | ||
| What If I’m Not ‘Good’ at It? | 141 | ||
| What If I’m Just Too Busy? | 141 | ||
| Tips | 142 | ||
| What Should I Do Between Now and Year Two? | 143 | ||
| Going from Year One to Year Two | 143 | ||
| 8 CREATIVE WRITING: YEAR TWO | 145 | ||
| Introduction | 145 | ||
| What’s the Difference between First and Second Year? | 145 | ||
| How Is the Marking Different? | 147 | ||
| What Will You Study in Year Two? | 148 | ||
| Full honours | 149 | ||
| Joint honours | 149 | ||
| What Will the Assessments Be Like in Year Two? | 151 | ||
| Intermediate Fiction | 151 | ||
| Other Types of Level 5 Modules/Assessment | 155 | ||
| Critical-Creative Projects | 156 | ||
| Building Your Skills from First to Second Year: The Overt Importance of Subtext | 157 | ||
| Some Things to Remember | 158 | ||
| What If It’s All Going Wrong? | 159 | ||
| What If You Really Don’t Have Time to Put the Work in? | 159 | ||
| How Should I Prepare for Year Three? | 160 | ||
| What Can You Expect from Year Three? | 161 | ||
| 9 CREATIVE WRITING: YEAR THREE | 163 | ||
| Introduction | 163 | ||
| Marked Example of a Poem | 164 | ||
| Dissertation or Final Portfolio | 168 | ||
| Quantity of writing | 168 | ||
| Ordering your work | 170 | ||
| Titles | 171 | ||
| Marketing | 172 | ||
| Work Placements | 173 | ||
| Placement at a library or reading group | 173 | ||
| General advice | 174 | ||
| Continuing Writing and Professional Opportunities | 175 | ||
| Further study: MAs and PhDs | 175 | ||
| Professional opportunities and resources | 177 | ||
| BIBLIOGRAPHY | 181 | ||
| Year One and Year Two: Prose | 181 | ||
| Journals | 181 | ||
| Websites | 182 | ||
| Year Three: Poetry and Script | 182 | ||
| Poetry advice | 182 | ||
| Poetry collections | 182 | ||
| Script advice | 183 | ||
| Some suggested scripts | 183 | ||
| CONCLUSION | 185 | ||
| INDEX | 187 |