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ENG-20118 - Module Specification
School of Humanities
Faculty of Business, Law, Humanities & Social Sciences

For academic year: 2026/27 Last Updated: 17 March 2026

ENG-20118 - Genres, Forms and Modes
Coordinator: Ceri Morgan Room: CBB0.055 Tel: +44 1782 7 34076
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 5
Credits: 30
Study Hours: 300
School Office: 01782 733147

Programme/Approved Electives for 2026/27

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2026/27

This module will develop and deepen your understanding of how narrative forms, genres and modes are used in creative writing. It introduces you to forms of creative prose besides fiction.  It asks questions about how genre writing and creative nonfiction are formed, how writers read other literary texts – not as critics, and not necessarily as fans, but as practitioners – and aims to equip your own texts with the structures and techniques which are necessary to develop your own writing.

Aims
To develop students' understanding of the characteristics of narrative and poetic genre, form, and mode.
To equip students with the skill to employ their understanding of these characteristics to control the structures of pieces of creative writing.
To provide students with an awareness of the developed traditions of genre and mode through focused 'writerly' readings of literary texts.
To provide students with an awareness of the traditions and tropes of the literary context of their own writing.
To strengthen the students' engagement with creative as well as critical practice and to further explore the relationship between the two.

Intended Learning Outcomes

investigate and interpret the distinctive tropes and techniques of a form, genre or mode: 1,2,3
write creative pieces that demonstrate an engagement with the critical questions raised on the module: 3
reflect critically on the creative practice (of themselves and others): 1,2
reflect on the work of authors whose practice is relevant to one's own: 1,2
situate their work within existing literary landscapes: 1

Study hours

11 hours of lectures
33 hours of reading groups/writers' workshops (alternating weeks, 3 hour-blocks)
4 hours of individual consultations
Preparation for reading groups: 48
Preparation for writers' workshops: 60
Preparation for assessments:
1 (research paper): 40
2 (critical commentary): 34
3 (portfolio): 70


School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Research Paper weighted 20%
A 1000 (+/= 10%) critical overview of contemporary literary landscapes
A 1000 (+/- 10%) words critical overview of contemporary literary landscapes as these relate to a chosen genre, form, or mode, e.g. nature writing, creative nonfiction, prose-poetry, dialect poetry, horror, fantasy, YA fiction. Students are able to choose their own genre/form/mode within parameters established by the module tutor, e.g. no erotica/pornography.

2: Exercise weighted 20%
A 500 (+/- 10%)-word critical commentary on the pieces submitted in the creative portfolio
Students will write 500 (+/- 10%) words of critical commentary on the original writing submitted in the portfolio.

3: Portfolio weighted 60%
A 2700 (+/- 10%) word portfolio of original writing
A collection of original writing in prose 2700 (+/- 10%) words (fiction/creative nonfiction); or Poetry (6-8 poems) demonstrating a creative engagement with a particular form/genre/mode.

The University undertakes a continuous review of its teaching and research provision to ensure programmes are of a high quality and changes may be made to modules where it is necessary and reasonable to do so. Please be aware that minor changes to modules, such as a change to an individual assessment, can occur up until enrolment, although we endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes. Details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/legalgovernancecompliance/governance/actcharterstatutesordinancesandregulations/studenttermsconditions/

Last Updated: 17 March 2026