Freelance Writing

This subject is not offered in 2014.

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Admission to the Masters of Creative Writing, Publishing and Editing; or fourth year honours with some demonstrated experience in creative writing (with permission from the coordinator).

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For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.

The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

In this subject, students will explore aspects of writing in the real world, including writing to a brief, commissioned writing, writing for museum curatorship, writing to deadlines, research skills and interviewing skills. Students will practise writing feature pieces such as profiles, personal-investigative essays, political essays, sports-writing, science-writing, food-writing, music-writing and film-writing, while learning to cater their writing to a range of potential audiences and demographics. Guest freelance writers will be invited to speak about their experiences as working writers.

Students who complete this subject will be able to:

• use a range of techniques to tap creative ideas;
• plan feasible creative projects for a given time-frame and word length;
• use structure and style with economy and power across a range of genres;
• participate effectively in group discussions and collaborative learning; and
• demonstrate an understanding of the wider public significance of their knowledge and skills.

An oral presentation in response to weekly readings 10% (due during the semester), a folio of freelance writing 5000 words 90% (due in the examination period). Students are required to attend a minimum of 80% (or 10 out of 12) classes in order to qualify to have their written work assessed. Any student who fails to meet this hurdle without valid reason will not be eligible to pass the subject. All required written work must be submitted in order to pass the subject. Essays submitted after the due date without an extension will be penalised 2% per day. Essays submitted after two weeks of the assessment due date without a formally approved application for special consideration or an extension will only be marked on a pass/fail basis if accepted.

A subject reader will be available.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Students who successfully complete this subject will acquire skills in:

• critical thinking and analysis;
• thinking creatively;
• openness to new ideas;
• communicating thoughts and knowledge;
• written communication;
• time management and planning; and
• practices and ethics in the field of creative writing.