Quite a few of us are having a bit of a debate about this at
the moment. Some students study creative writing because they are on a
programme with the words “creative writing” in the title. Others take the odd
module as an elective. Is it right to expect the same standard from both types
of student? You can’t possibly expect a student to acquire the same skills in
one semester that another has after three semesters on a programme, can you? On
the other hand, wouldn’t it be wrong to leave someone with the impression that
they really have it in them to be a writer because we give them a first on their
assignment that is only actually testing a few selected skills?
Pathways in programmes
We face this problem even within our creative practice
programmes. For instance, our English and Creative Writing students study autobiography
and fiction in Semester 2 in the first year. At this time our Drama and Creative
Writing students are working with the English and Drama students on their performance
skills. So, when the students come to
studying on life-writing and fiction modules later on, the English and Creative
Writing students have a distinct advantage over the Drama and Creative Writing
ones.
We also run several hybrid modules where the final assignment
can be a critical essay or a creative piece. Many of the literature and performance
students on the module opt to produce a creative piece. I find this fine: as Liz
Cashdan, NAWE’s Chair points out in Writing
in Education 59, a creative response to a task can often give a student the
opportunity to show real understanding of the topic, rather than producing a critical
response that is formed mainly of other people’s ideas.
The question then is, however, do we expect the same skill
in achieving pace, forming story structure, showing not telling and creating
convincing characters as we would in more experienced writers?
Awarding marks
We have our grade descriptors and we award marks for a eight
criteria. All of them to some extent refer to general creative writing / writing
skills, though under “Technique” we might be looking for those module specific
skills. It seems logical to get away from this pattern yet I find myself curiously
reluctant to do so. I want an absolute standard but then need to mitigate where
this might penalise a student.
Mitigation within our marking system
As look at eight different a student can be weaker in one
area and stronger in another. So, for example, a non-native speaker of English
may score less well under “language” skills but can still get a high mark on “presentation”.
Even so, though, is it fair that the more experienced writers would be able to
score on “Expression” and “Style”? Especially as as they go up the levels more
is demanded within each mark category and generally elective modules are only available
to second and third year students?
Extra support materials
We create and put on our programme and module sites a set of
“masterclasses”. These are self-study units, Open University style, that coach
the student in some general writing skills. On any module the students who
perform the best are the ones who put in the extra study time. This seems fair.
This is what we ask them to do here. They need to go and learn a set of skills
that we don’t have time to teach in our classes.
The writing workshop as mitigation
There is a writing workshop in all creative writing modules.
Again, those students who participate well in this tend get the better marks. Even
the less experienced writer who joins in this well can gain skills very quickly.
Choice alone is mitigation
The chances are anyway that those students who choose a creative
writing elective module or the creative task within a hybrid module are those who
have some experience and enjoyment of writing. They’re probably also avid
readers and keen readers often make good writers. They’re actually not all that
far behind those students who study “creative writing”.
Going for gold
My conclusion is, then that I want to go for an absolute
standard. It seems right to maintain the standards of the university. However,
if we do this we must be careful to provide the students with all the tools
possible that will help them to improve their skills.
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