This course is aimed at anyone who wants to write a biography, memoir or other form of non-fiction. It will use examples and practical exercises to guide students through the skills needed to write interesting non-fiction: research, editing, how to tell a story and ways of using description.
Given the nature of creative writing, it is important that students' use of English is sufficiently fluent to be able to understand in English nuances of meaning and have a familiarity with the structure and grammar of English.
Course Dates
Course details
Tutors
Key Features
Aims of the course
- This course will begin with an introduction to life writing: what it is, its tradition and how it has changed in recent years
- Participants will assess what they know already about their proposed biographical subject or the period they want to write about, and what they need to know
- Each week will focus on a different aspect of life writing: bringing people to life, writing about a place, telling the story and polishing and revising work
- The participant will learn how research can enhance writing and influence the way in which a story is told.
- This course will encourage participants to establish a writing regime.
Welcome week (Week 0)
Purpose:
- personal introductions
- introducing the course
- useful reading
- personal objectives
Learning outcomes:
- become familiar with navigating around the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and from VLE to links and back
- test your ability to access files and sort out any problems with the help of the Technology Enhanced Learning team
- learn how to look for, assess and reference internet resources
- contribute to a discussion forum to introduce yourself to other students and discuss why you are interested in the course
Week 1: What is life writing?
Learning outcomes:
By studying this week you should have:
- an awareness of the range of different styles used to write a biography or memoir
- an ability to see the advantages and limitations of different approaches
- a growing sense of which style might suit your own approach to writing
Week 2: Knowing your biographical subject
Learning outcomes:
By studying this week you should have:
- a biographical sketch of the subject
- a timeline of the events in the person's life
- an awareness of any themes to be explored in that person's life
Week 3: Creating a sense of place
Learning outcomes:
By studying this week you should have:
- an awareness of the different tools available to help the writer recreate a place
- an understanding of what makes a good piece of writing about place
Week 4: Telling the story
Learning outcomes:
By studying this week you should have:
- an awareness of the different approaches to structure
- an understanding of how to create drama
Week 5: Polishing your work
Learning outcomes:
By studying this week you should have:
- an awareness of what makes a good writing
- an understanding of how to improve your work
Week 6: what next?
- assessment of student learning
- assessment of student satisfaction
- encouragement of further study
- derek will give a summary of the course and provide individual feedback
This course is open to everyone, and you don’t need any previous knowledge or experience of the subject to attend.
Our short courses are designed especially for adult learners who want to advance their personal or professional development. They are taught by tutors who are expert in both their subjects and in teaching students of all ages and experiences.
Please note that all teaching is in English. You should have near-native command of the English language to get the maximum benefit from the course.
Each week of an online course is roughly equivalent to 2-3 hours of classroom time. On top of this, participants should expect to spend roughly 2-3 hours of self-study time, for example, reading materials, although this will vary from person to person.
While they have a specific start and end date and will follow a weekly schedule (for example, week 1 will cover topic A, week 2 will cover topic B), our tutor-led online courses are designed to be flexible and as such would normally not require participants to be online for a specific day of the week or time of the day (although some tutors may try to schedule times where participants can be online together for web seminars, which will be recorded so that those who are unable to be online at certain times are able to access material).
Unless otherwise stated, all course material will be posted on the VLE so that they can be accessed at any time throughout the duration of the course and interaction with your tutor and fellow participants will take place through a variety of different ways which will allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning (using discussion boards etc).
Fees
The course fee includes access to the course on our VLE, personal feedback on your work from an expert tutor, a certificate of participation (if you complete work and take part in discussions), and access to the class resources for two years after your course finishes.
Concessions
For more information, please see our concessions information page.
Alison Fordham Bursary
University of Cambridge Professional and Continuing Education is proud to offer the Alison Fordham bursary, which is awarded to students who wish to study on one of our short online courses via our VLE, reducing the fee paid by 50%. The bursary is limited to a single award for each set of online courses.
Application criteria:
- applicants should set out their personal learning motivations since priority will be given to those who are returning to learning after an extended break, or have not previously engaged with fully online learning, or are seeking to use the online short course as a bridge towards undergraduate award-bearing study
- applicants who can demonstrate financial need
For more information, please see our bursaries information page.
A certificate of participation and a digital credential will be awarded to those who contribute constructively to weekly discussions, exercises and assignments for the duration of the course.
