Overview
This unit is a component of the Master of Letters course. This unit requires you to complete the preparation of a dissertation as commenced in HUMT20016: Research Dissertation Creative Writing A. The final dissertation consists of two (2) interrelated parts: a sustained piece of original creative writing (either Fiction, Poetry, Drama or any other approved mix), and; an accompanying theoretically informed critical commentary (exegesis). The Dissertation will be formatted using the Harvard (Author-Date) Referencing style and the maximum combined length of the creative work and the corresponding exegesis should be between 15 000–20 000 words.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisites: HUMT20012 Elements of Creative Writing I HUMT20013 Elements of Creative Writing II HUMT20014 Writing Short Fiction HUMT20015 Writing Poetry and Short Dramatic Pieces HUMT20016 Research Dissertation Creative Writing A
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2020
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 12-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 25 hours of study per week, making a total of 300 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Unit moodle forum post
' ... it took a bit to change into my research cap, but I eventually did. The freedom to create revealed I had much more to say than I first thought. I thought poetry was all I could write and kept my creative writing for my academic research papers.'
The unit coordinator will continue to assist students in making the necessary transition into research and critical reflection necessary for the writing of the exegesis portion of the creative artefact. Students in this unit not only undertake coursework study in research skills, including the capacity to conduct creative writing research, students also receive instruction on the processes of referencing research appropriately and, indeed, apply the requirements for writing an exegesis.
Feedback from Unit moodle forum post
'Thank you for all the time you've put in for me Nicole. It's been extremely nice working closely with you. It's also be great working with other creatives, it makes a huge difference to the final artefact.'
The unit coordinator firmly believes in working closely with students to not only enrich the students' learning experience, but to provide the necessary support for students to really explore the creative dimensions and possibilities of their learning journey at this level of creative enterprise.
- Demonstrate initiative and judgement in the scholarship and critical practice of investigation in one or more disciplines or areas of creative writing practice
- Apply knowledge and skills with personal responsibility and accountability in one or more creative writing disciplines or areas of practice
- Demonstrate some independence in the planning and completion of a sustained creative writing project and accompanying exegesis in one or more disciplines or areas of creative writing practice
- Review, analyse, consolidate and synthesise knowledge to independently solve complex stylistic problems in one or more creative writing disciplines or areas of practice.
N/A
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 10% | ||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 40% | ||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | ||||
| 2 - Communication | ||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | ||||
| 4 - Research | ||||
| 5 - Self-management | ||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | ||||
| 7 - Leadership | ||||
| 8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 10% | ||||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 40% | ||||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
Additional Textbook Information
Additional Textbook Information:
All prescribed and recommended readings for this unit will be available (in digital form, e.g., links, PDF documents, etc) on the unit moodle site.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Zoom account (Free)
- Zoom app on your smart phone or access to Zoom on your laptop
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
n.anae@cqu.edu.au
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WEEK 5: FINESSING THE EXEGESIS - FORMATTING AND REFERENCING
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WEEK 6: CHECK YOUR PROGRESS - EXEGESIS TIP SHEET
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WEEK 7: COMBINING DOCUMENTS - THE CREATIVE ARTEFACT AND THE EXEGESIS
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WEEK 8: CREATING YOUR DISSERTATION PROPER - UNDERSTANDING DOCUMENT REQUIREMENTS
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WEEK 9: DRAFTING YOUR DISSERTATIONS PROPER - INTEGRATING ALL REQUIREMENTS INTO A SINGLE DOCUMENT
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WEEK 10: EDITING YOUR DISSERTATION - REVISE, REVISE, REVISE
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WEEK 11: MOVING TOWARD SUBMISSION: CHECK, DOUBLE-CHECK, AND RECHECK AGAIN
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WEEK 12: DELIVERING ON THE PROMISE - MAKING YOUR DISSERTATION SHINE
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Written Assessment 2 - Exegesis Due: Week 12 Friday (5 June 2020) 11:45 pm AEST
Written Assessment 3 - Final Complete Dissertation Due: Week 12 Friday (5 June 2020) 11:45 pm AEST
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Note:
Like traditional dissertations, the two components of the Master of Letters (Creative Writing) completed in HUMT20016 (creative artefact) and HUMT20017 (exegesis) are assessed on a single dissertation submitted for examination. The final creative artefact together with the exegesis as a combined Dissertation document will be assessed by external examination involving two separate examiners. This process mimics the 'blind review' method adopted for MA (Creative Writing) and PhD (Creative Writing) examination. This process will be undertaken at the conclusion to HUMT20017 Research Dissertation: Creative Writing B. The external examination process typically takes around 6 - 8 weeks. Be aware therefore that while you will receive feedback on all assessment items for HUMT20016 (and HUMT20017), you will not receive a final grade until the external examination process has been completed. As such, an interim letter grade of DA ('Deferred Assessment') will appear on your transcript (for HUMT20016 and HUMT20017) until the external examination process has been completed. That is, once your complete Dissertation comprising the creative artefact and the exegesis (completed in HUMT20016 and HUMT20017) has been submitted for external examination and returned, only then will your final letter grade (based on said external examination) appear on your transcript. As before, the external examination process typically takes around 6 - 8 weeks.
1 Written Assessment
Student will submit an Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review with their final submissions (creative artefact and exegesis) for this unit. Please see the unit moodle site for details/
Reference:
Cayla Buttram, David MacMillan III, & Dr. R.T. Koch, Jr 2012, 'Comparing the Annotated Bibliography to the Literature Review', UNA Center for Writing Excellence, viewed 6 February 2019, https://www.una.edu/writingcenter/docs/Writing-Resources/Comparing%20the%20Annotated%20Bibliography%20to%20the%20Literature%20Review.pdf
Week 12 Monday (1 June 2020) 11:45 pm AEST
Exam Week Monday (15 June 2020)
Return of this item is subject to the external examination process, which typically takes around 6 - 8 weeks.
The Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review will be assessed based on the way the submission:
- Establishes creative writing research territory;
- Establishes significance of creative writing territory;
- Establishes creative writing research niche. (Briefly reviews what has been found, and then identifies a gap. Discusses what has been found, but points out inconsistency of results.);
- Motivates next part of creative writing literature review;
- Further justifies the need to investigate the impact of research methodology on creative writing praxis;
- Reviews the chronological development of research in creative writing (an approach that is useful at times, but not always the best). Discusses one key paper at a time by describing its methods and key findings, but then identifies weaknesses in the method and/or limitations in the findings. Then discusses how the next researchers tried to address these problems;
- Presents a flawlessly prepared item including close attention to grammar and a perfected approach to Harvard style referencing.
- Demonstrate initiative and judgement in the scholarship and critical practice of investigation in one or more disciplines or areas of creative writing practice
- Apply knowledge and skills with personal responsibility and accountability in one or more creative writing disciplines or areas of practice
- Demonstrate some independence in the planning and completion of a sustained creative writing project and accompanying exegesis in one or more disciplines or areas of creative writing practice
- Review, analyse, consolidate and synthesise knowledge to independently solve complex stylistic problems in one or more creative writing disciplines or areas of practice.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
- Leadership
2 Written Assessment
The exegesis should be constituted by a piece of critical writing focused on the processes of creating the creative artefact. The exegesis will be the result of extensive research into the various aspects of the creative writing project: the characteristics of the genre, the theoretical and literary influence of the context and the shaping elements in a literary work of art. To satisfy the requirements of the degree the exegesis must demonstrate substantial conceptualisation of the characteristics of the genre, the influence of the context and the shaping elements in a creative work.
The exegesis will be assessed as a contextualisation of the research undertaken in the form of critical writing, and not as a separate research paper. In other words, the creative writing component constitutes the research outcome and the exegesis is intended to comment on that research as it was applied to the student's creative process.
Week 12 Friday (5 June 2020) 11:45 pm AEST
Exam Week Monday (15 June 2020)
Return of this item is subject to the external examination process, which typically takes around 6 - 8 weeks.
The exegesis ('explanation or interpretation') is a piece of 'critical' writing (to distinguish this from the 'creative' writing of the artefact). Typically, an exegesis is no more than 25-33% of the dissertation/creative artefact.
To satisfy the requirements of the degree the exegesis must demonstrate substantial conceptualisation of the characteristics of the genre, the influence of the context and the shaping elements in a creative work.The exegesis will be assessed as a contextualisation of the research undertaken in the form of critical writing, and not as a separate research paper. In other words, the creative writing component constitutes the research outcome and the exegesis is intended to comment on that research as it was applied to the student's creative process.
Supervisor feedback will be given on this piece, but no grade will be assigned.
External examination of the Exegesis (completed in HUMT20017) will be based on the extent to which the Exegesis:
1. Makes a contribution to knowledge and creativity
- Characteristics of the corresponding interrelated creative exegesis demonstrating a substantial and original contribution to the knowledge/s of the discipline/s.
- The exegesis represents a theoretically informed critical commentary of the enterprise of literary creativity.
2. Indicators of significance and potential impact
- Significance of exegesis in making a contribution to knowledge in the area with which it deals (including original and new knowledge within the genre discipline/s)
- Proficiency of the exegesis in its analysis of the chosen medium and/or genre, and the extent to which it affords evidence of originality in conception, inquiry, and/or execution
- Potential significance and impact of the exegesis in relation to informing creative literature and/or literary practice
3. Indicators of quality research
- Discussion of research findings in relation to the creative component using theoretical and/or reflexive discourse
- Scope of literature consulted, synthesised and interpreted
- Use of selected theories/concepts
- Analysis and interpretation of findings
- Use of primary and secondary sources
- Choice, accuracy and rigor of methodology
4. Indicators of presentation
- Clarity and cohesion of writing and argumentation
- Quality of English expression and grammar
- Quality of editing and proofreading
- Quality of layout, presentation
- Quality of referencing using the Harvard (author-date) style
Please see the unit moodle site for more detailed and comprehensive information.
- Demonstrate initiative and judgement in the scholarship and critical practice of investigation in one or more disciplines or areas of creative writing practice
- Apply knowledge and skills with personal responsibility and accountability in one or more creative writing disciplines or areas of practice
- Demonstrate some independence in the planning and completion of a sustained creative writing project and accompanying exegesis in one or more disciplines or areas of creative writing practice
- Review, analyse, consolidate and synthesise knowledge to independently solve complex stylistic problems in one or more creative writing disciplines or areas of practice.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
- Leadership
3 Written Assessment
Students are required to submit for assessment a Dissertation comprising a major piece of creative writing (or a body of work) together with an exegesis, as well as associated information specific to the arrangement of the Dissertation document (e.g., Outside front cover, Title page, Signed declaration, Abstract, Table of contents, etc).
Both the Creative Work (the creative artefact) and the Exegesis must be produced during candidature and under supervision. Typically, the word length of the dissertation proper will be no fewer than 15 000 words, and no more than 20 000 words. With the exegesis portion of the document (completed in HUMT20017 Research Dissertation Creative Writing B) accounting for around 25% - 33% of the total word count, the word length of the creative artefact will typically range between 10 500 - 14 000 words.
To satisfy the requirements of the degree, the Dissertation must make a significant contribution to knowledge concerning literature, creative literary expression, and display mastery of the field.
The Dissertation represents the end result of extensive research into the various aspects of the creative writing project, including, but not limited to, the theoretical and literary influence of the context and the shaping elements constituting the literary work of art.
Week 12 Friday (5 June 2020) 11:45 pm AEST
Exam Week Friday (19 June 2020)
Return of this item is subject to the external examination process, which typically takes around 6 - 8 weeks.
Supervisor feedback will be given on this piece, but no grade will be assigned.
Examiners of the Creative Writing Dissertation will be asked to indicate whether:
- the creative work makes a significant contribution to knowledge concerning literature and culture, and displays mastery of the field
- the exegesis demonstrates substantial conceptualisation of the characteristics of the genre, the influence of the context and the shaping elements in a creative work
- the complete work contains material worthy of publication in a form suitable to the discipline
- the format and literary presentation of the creative component and the exegesis are satisfactory.
- Demonstrate initiative and judgement in the scholarship and critical practice of investigation in one or more disciplines or areas of creative writing practice
- Apply knowledge and skills with personal responsibility and accountability in one or more creative writing disciplines or areas of practice
- Demonstrate some independence in the planning and completion of a sustained creative writing project and accompanying exegesis in one or more disciplines or areas of creative writing practice
- Review, analyse, consolidate and synthesise knowledge to independently solve complex stylistic problems in one or more creative writing disciplines or areas of practice.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
- Leadership
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
