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Learning outcomes & discipline specific guidance

Creative Writing guidance


New BA (Hons) Creative Writing units:
  1. Creative Writing 1.1: Essential Writing Skills (CW4EWS)
  2. Creative Writing 1.2: Further Writing Skills (CW4FWS)
  3. Creative Writing 1.3: Developing Your Writing Skills (CW4DWS)
  4. Creative Writing 2.1: Investigation and Experiment (CW5IAE)
  5. Creative Writing 2.2: Skill and Proficiency (CW5SAP)
  6. Creative Writing 2.3: Innovation and Challenge (CW5IAC)
  7. Creative Writing 3.1: Practice and Research (CW6PAR)
  8. Creative Writing 3.2: Your Work in Progress (CW6YWP)
  9. Creative Writing 3.3: Pathways to Publication (CW6PTP)
Teach Out BA (Hons) Creative Writing units:
  1. Writing 1: Writing Skills (CW4WGS) 
  2. Writing 1: Art of Poetry (CW4AOP) 
  3. Writing 1: Scriptwriting (CW4SCW) 
  4. Writing 1: Starting your Novel (CW4SYN) 
  5. Visual Studies 1: Creative Arts Today (CA4CAT) - See Visual Studies guidance
  6. Writing 2: Writing for Children (CW5WFC) 
  7. Writing 2: Writing Short Fiction (CW5WSF) 
  8. Writing 2: Poetry - Form and Experience (CW5PFE) 
  9. Writing 2: Life Writing (CW5LFW) 
  10. Writing 2: Moving on with Scriptwriting (CW5SCW)
  11. Writing 3: Retrospect and Prospect (CW6RAP) 
  12. Writing 3: Independent Project (CW6IDP)
Assessment requirements
When considering the learning outcomes for your course unit, it is important to know what you are being asked to submit. These are known as your assessment requirements. In summary, these will include:
  1. A selection of creative work. This should submit all of your original assignment drafts and tutor reports/annotations, and submit three redrafted assignment pieces in light of tutor feedback and other learning.
  2. Creative reading commentary. This will only be applicable to HE5 and HE6 course units.
  3. Final reflective commentary.
Fortunately, most writers are used to submitting their work online, as that is how we send most of our writing to most external sites, whether it’s competitions or agents or publishers.

You will submit all of your documents via the OCA’s online submission guidelines. The following guidance will help you to understand how the OCA’s overarching assessment requirements apply to you and your work in creative writing. Unlike some of the other OCA degree course units, the Creative Writing course units do not require a Learning Log.

You should submit:
  • Your choice of three creative writing assignments. Choose the ones that – after rewrites – you think represents your best work.
  • All other original annotated assignments and tutor reports, unaltered in any way.
  • You should also submit the final reflective commentary.
  • At Levels 2 and 3, please also submit the creative reading commentary
For each creative writing assignment you choose, make sure you submit:
  1. The annotated, original version (that’s the version your tutor returns to you with comments on).
  2. The accompanying tutor feedback report
  3. Your rewritten version
Please adhere to any word counts in the course materials. If you’re not sure about these - or you need specific advice for Scriptwriting or Poetry submissions - please speak to your tutor.

These redrafts should evidence any changes you have made as a result of tutor feedback or other learning.

You should choose the best of the assignments from your unit. Perhaps use the ones where tutor feedback was most positive. Or perhaps choose the ones that you feel you have improved the most when redrafting. It’s not usual to include your first assignment from any units, although if you have a strong case for doing so then discuss it with your tutor. If it’s a strong creative piece then you may feel it’s important to include. It is usual, though, to include your final creative assignment from any unit. This is because it helps the assessors see how you’ve progressed since the start of the unit. In Scriptwriting units at Levels 1 and 2, it’s essential to include the final assignment, as it demonstrates a specific culmination of skills put together into one piece.

Creative reading commentary. There is no requirement for a critical review (also known as the creative reading commentary) at Level 1. But all course units at Levels 2 and 3 require a creative reading commentary. You must submit your original version, the related tutor report and your redrafted version. Word counts: Level 2 creative reading commentaries should be 2,000 words, excluding your reference list. Level 3 creative reading commentaries should be 2,500 - 3,000 words, excluding your reference list.

Final reflective commentary. All creative writing course units require a final reflective commentary, which should discuss your learning over the unit as a whole. At Level 1, this forms part of Assignment Five. At Levels 2 and 3, this forms part of Assignment Six. In all cases, submit your original version, the related tutor report and the redrafted version. Word counts: The final reflective commentary at Level 1 should be 1,000 - 1,500 words. The final reflective commentary at Levels 2 and 3 should be 1,500 - 2,000 words.

If you have any questions, please contact your tutor or the programme leader.