Postgraduate Module Descriptor

EFPM318: Writing: the Future

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

The principal aim of this module is to enable you to develop a stronger theoretical understanding of writing and the teaching of writing which will have a direct impact on your own pedagogical practices and a direct impact on your students’ outcomes in writing.

Specifically, the module aims to:

  • develop your understanding of theoretical models of the writing process;

  • support your ability to make connections between theoretical models and your own classroom practice;

  • enable you to articulate and enact an effective pedagogy for writing;

  • nurture your own writing development and sense of ‘teacher as writer’;

  • develop your subject knowledge of grammar and your pedagogical knowledge of teaching grammar; and

  • support your ability to manage effective classroom talk about writing.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here - you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. demonstrate systematic understanding of theoretical models of writing;
2. demonstrate understanding of students’ learning needs in writing and interpret these learning needs in order to plan, teach, assess and evaluate lessons and schemes of work which involve writing;
3. demonstrate critical awareness of conceptualisations of creative writing and the role of teacher as writer;
Discipline-Specific Skills4. critically evaluate the relevance of writing research to classroom practice;
5. synthesise relevant writing research literature in support of an argument;
6. use appropriate technologies for data handling and writing in education;
7. present data and findings in a form appropriate for educational contexts;
Personal and Key Skills8. manage your own learning and show the independence required for professional development;
9. learn effectively and be aware of your own learning strategies;
10. demonstrate effective communication by expressing ideas and opinions, with confidence and clarity, to a variety of audiences for a variety of purposes; and
11. think creatively about the main features of a given problem and develop strategies for its resolution.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

Introduction:  the place of writing in the language curriculum; an overview of research in writing; learning to write; developing as a writer; articulating a pedagogy for writing.

The Writing Process:  cognitive models of the writing process; process theories of writing; students’ composing processes; the writing process in the curriculum; re-thinking  planning, drafting and revising as classroom processes.

Creative Writing:  theories of creativity; defining creativity writing; teachers’ thinking about creative writing; professional writers’ perspectives on writing;  teachers as writers; the creative writing workshop; developing students’ critical responses to writing; assessing creative writing.

The Grammar-Writing Relationship:  the historical grammar debate; prescriptive and descriptive grammar; grammar as choice; functionally-oriented grammar; metalinguistic understanding;  teaching grammar to support writing development.

Writing Conversations: the importance of talk in the teaching of writing; talk to support the writing process: generation, formulation, revision; managing effective classroom talk about writing; supporting metalinguistic conversations.

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
262740

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities 268 Seminars of 3 hours each (4 Study Days): Face-to-face or online webinar, plus 2 one hour webinars
Guided Independent Study50Independent Study using online ‘Cybergrammar’ website to develop grammatical subject knowledge and undertake self-testing.
Guided Independent Study 40Database searching and reading research articles on writing and the writing process
Guided independent study9Preparation of a research proposal for the research assignment.
Guided independent study40Data collection and analysis for research assignment
Guided independent study50Preparation of a portfolio of creative writing and an accompanying critical commentary.
Guided independent study85Completion of written assignment for summative assessment. Task includes further reading in relation to focus of the project, synthesis of material and drafting/redrafting the final piece of work.

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

Module Dropbox for sharing resources and materials.