Creative writing: an introduction to non-fiction nature writing

Aims of the course

• To explore a range of styles and techniques in writing about nature.
• To develop participants’ skills in observing and capturing nature in words.
• To increase participants’ awareness and appreciation of nature.

Course content overview

• This course offers students fresh perspectives on producing creative nature writing.
• Students will learn how to sharpen their senses and heighten awareness and understanding of wildlife.
• The course will show how nature writing can be ‘enlivened’, making it real to the reader

Welcome week (Week 0)

Purpose:

• personal introductions
• introducing the course
• useful reading
• personal objectives

Learning outcomes:

By studying this week, the students should have: 

• become familiar with navigating around the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and from VLE to links and back
• test your ability to access files and the web conferencing software 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 and what you hope to get out of your studies 

Week 1: What's the story?

Learning outcomes:

By studying this week, students should have:

• an understanding of the multiple possibilities in constructing narratives from observations of nature

Week 2: A feel for nature - how to harness your senses

Learning outcomes:

By studying this week, students should have:

• used their senses to improve their descriptive powers, especially using the under-developed senses of touch and smell

Week 3: Facts are our friends

Learning outcomes:

By studying this week, students should have:

• an understanding that prior knowledge can help them with the selection of subjects
• an ability to use facts to enhance their perception of what they have observed
• an understanding that background knowledge can contextualise natural history writing

Week 4: Landscapes, places and details: a question of scale

Learning outcomes:

By studying this week, students should have:

• learned how to describe places from the very big to the very small
• examined the descriptive language that goes into building images of locations
• experimented with portraying such places

Week 5: Nature and the self

Learning outcomes:

By studying this week, students should have:

• understood how writers can indicate their feelings and state of mind through nature
• discovered how the narrator can, through humour and emotion, gain the reader's empathy
• weigh up the pros and cons of projecting the self into nature writing

Week 6: what next?

• assessment of student learning
• assessment of student satisfaction
• encouragement of further study

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.