Examiners report 2014 EN1022 Introduction to Creative Writing Advice to candidates on how Examiners calculate marks It is important that candidates recognise that in all papers, three questions should be answered in order to get the best possible mark (ensuring that the rubric for the paper has been followed accordingly). Examiners follow a simple mathematical formula when awarding a final overall mark: they give each answer a mark out of 100 (up to three answers only, as required by the exam paper); they then total all available marks; and finally they divide the total by three, thus giving an average overall mark. So, if your first answer is given 57%, your second answer is given 56%, and your third answer 50%, then the calculation will look like this: 57 + 56 + 50 = 163 163 3 = 54.3 Overall mark: 54% Two good essays and no third essay will always bring the mark down. So, if in the example above a third answer was not given, the calculation would look like this: 57 + 56 = 113 113 3 = 37.6 Overall mark: 38% In this case, even if the candidate had written a poor third answer getting a mark of 40% their overall mark would be higher than not attempting an answer at all: 57 + 56 + 40 = 153 153 3 = 51 Overall mark: 51% Note in the example above how the 40% mark, while low, still enables the candidate to achieve an overall mark in the Lower Second category, which is in keeping with their first two marks of 57% and 56%. Not answering a third question would see the candidate lose considerable marks and drop two whole classes. It could also mean the difference between a pass and a fail. Candidates are thus strongly advised to give equal attention across the paper, plan their time accordingly, and attempt to provide three answers of roughly the same length and as full as possible. Candidates are also reminded that it is totally unnecessary to copy out the question again into the answer book; a question number in the margin is sufficient enough, and this will also save valuable minutes. 1
EN1022 Introduction to Creative Writing Examiners report 2014 EN1022 Introduction to Creative Writing 2 General remarks The Introduction to Creative Writing (EN1022) assessment requires a final submission consisting of a selection of original work: fiction, poetry or writing for the stage. Candidates are also required to include a short critical commentary. Although a considerable freedom and individuality of approach is encouraged, the three disciplines are related to previous forum discussions of Virginia Woolf s Mrs Dalloway, Seamus Heaney s North and Samuel Beckett s shorter plays. The expectation is that good writers are also good readers. The Examiners were impressed by the overall good level of achievement demonstrated in the portfolios. It had become clear through the frequent and enthusiastic contributions to the online seminars that a large number of the candidates care deeply about the craft of writing. There has been heartening evidence of mutual support, insightful peer group criticism and increasing confidence in making stylistic choices. The majority of the candidates chose to submit portfolios of fiction, with just under a quarter submitting poetry and approximately 10 per cent choosing to write short plays. The best work in all three genres showed a high level of imagination, rather than simple pastiche. These works explored the chosen genre with enthusiasm, an assured command of literary technique and a willingness to engage in creative experimentation. Structure was an important concern. A strong portfolio avoided filler passages and instead gave a sense of overarching purpose and clear vision. Since the work was supposed to attain a publishable standard, evidence of good editing skills and careful proofreading were also valued (it is not enough to rely on a spellcheck programme). The commentary was also an important part of the portfolio. A good commentary allowed the writer to give an insight into his or her creative choices. There would be some account of why particular formal and stylistic decisions had been made and how they influenced the complete work. Candidates might consider their place in a particular tradition or the appeal that a certain theme held for them. Examples of details that were later changed or rewritten to conform to a developing understanding of the work were also appreciated. There were instances of a candidate s provisional mark improving after Examiners gained a greater understanding of the intentions behind it from the commentary. Fiction Most candidates submitted a short story or portion of a novel. The best short stories contained a solid sense of structure, essential to the form, and a confident narrative voice. The author would establish the situation, the characters and the location through the accumulation of small details rather than rushing to explain everything in the first paragraph. The story as a whole would convey the sense of a significant change in a character s life. This did not have to be a dramatic event such as a sudden death; it could be an understated encounter or a moment which brings a subtle realisation. Given the influence of Mrs Dalloway and the stream-of-consciousness approach, several of the stories suggested a change in perception. We were often impressed by the use of humour or irony to make a point; some particularly
accomplished stories used an unreliable narrator or a character who seems unaware of an important piece of information conveyed to the reader through the subtext. Several of the first person narratives this year seemed particularly outstanding. Stand-alone or opening chapters of novels are more difficult to assess. The Examiner has to weigh the candidate s assurances that dangling plot lines will be resolved at a later stage. There is disappointment when a piece introduces a large number of apparently unrelated characters in very different situations with a breezy promise that all these characters will meet up by Chapter seven. The better beginnings immediately engage the reader s interest with an intriguing situation and keep the focus on a small number of characters. Essentially, portions of a novel often fared best when they dealt with a relatively self-contained episode. By the end of the chapter, a decision has been made or new information has arrived and we want to know what will happen next. As with the other disciplines, good editing skills were paramount. Work which wandered, repeated itself or jumped between tenses without reason, immediately lost marks. Narrative inconsistencies were also read as signs of poor editing. If a first person narrative voice is adopted, for instance, the narrator should only know things that that character might realistically be expected to know. Equally, factual inconsistencies (such as a character who is a dentist on page three and a lawyer on page five) and the unthinking use of clichés tended to undermine the Examiners confidence. Poetry Many candidates who chose to write poetry did a fine job with the critical commentary portion of the submission. Even when the poems themselves were flawed, it was clear that the candidates had thought about the formal aspects of the craft and the tension between self-expression and technical accomplishment. Given that some extremely good poetry can be obscure on a first reading or may not be intended to have a meaning that can be translated into a prose paragraph, those commentaries which gave an insight into the poet s intentions were particularly helpful. The best portfolios showed a good understanding of poetic form. The choice of free or metered verse, the adoption of rhyme or the use of a traditional form such as a sonnet or a haiku should actively comment on and influence the subject matter. Good poems also generally showed a good eye; the poem would convince the Examiners that the poet was genuinely seeing the subject matter rather than just trying to be vaguely poetic or using the subject as a pretext for a moral or social lecture. Seamus Heaney s poems in North give a few examples of such sustained seeing. The decision whether to write in free verse or to use metre and rhyme is an individual one. Both options have their advantages and their weaknesses. Good free verse is characterised by an understanding of the spacing of the poem on the page; importance is given to breathing spaces suggested by stanza breaks and line endings; the poem draws its detail towards a final moment of clarity. Not-so-good free verse is shapeless and lacks a sense of direction; it is randomly chopped up prose and usually quite poor prose. Good formal verse gives the impression that nothing is accidental; the poet chooses a particular rhyme because it means something in itself; when a sonnet or a villanelle, are attempted these tight and demanding forms influence what the poem is saying. Unfortunately, there were examples of poor choices in terms of rhyme scheme: several poets seemed to allow the rhyme to dictate line-end selection and, in an associated way, meaning. Equally, some weaker submissions consistently told rather than showed, a style to be 3
EN1022 Introduction to Creative Writing avoided. Presentation remains an important issue, preferably with each poem placed on a separate page. Examiners felt that in addition to showing a technical assurance, the best poetry submissions revealed a moving engagement with the poet s environment and life choices. There was the excitement of a writer discovering ways in which to say things that mattered to him or her, even and sometimes especially in quite wry or humorous pieces. Writing for the stage The best plays submitted revealed a good ear for speech and some element of experimentation. The candidates also demonstrated an understanding of pace, allowing passages in their work to cover a range of emotions. Given the use of Samuel Beckett s shorter plays on this course, the influence of Absurdist approaches and techniques was notable in several of these texts. Some of the plays made inventive use of props and of the stage area. An important consideration was stage-worthiness. The less successful pieces required technical effects that would be difficult to realise on the stage and were better suited to television or film. Equally, the better plays usually involved a small cast and focused on a single conflict or a struggle for power. A few submissions were direction-heavy, not trusting the dialogue to do the work, while others offered static dialogue with no sense of a forward motion to keep the audience s attention. Also, minimal scene changes or a flexible approach to the acting area often worked well to create atmosphere rather than cumbersome and time consuming set changes. Characterisation and setting were also important elements. Characters revealed themselves in the most successful plays by the way they talked. They indicated something of their background, their social class and their desires. The less impressive plays had characters with minimal traits and might have been set anywhere. Dramatic tension was also an important element with characters only gradually revealing their secrets and their hopes rather than confessing everything as soon as they walked on stage. An awareness of the dramatic potential of humour was also an advantage. This does not mean that comic pieces were preferred to more serious ones but that the ability to use comedy, sometimes to intensify a tragic episode, is an impressive asset. A command of dramatic irony, by which a character is unaware of something which is clear to the audience, could also be extremely effective. The critical commentary It is worth reiterating that the critical commentary is considered when deciding an overall mark. Consequently candidates who contribute a few anecdotal remarks with no attempt at critical analysis did their creative work a disservice. When hesitating between a high and lower mark, the Examiner can be influenced by the insights into the creative process that the commentary might offer. A good commentary describes the development of the candidates ideas and how they contributed to the final piece. Mention of early approaches which were abandoned can be valuable when they give a sense of the candidates increasing understanding of what the completed work should depict. With drama and fiction submissions, this development might involve elements of plot and characterisation. With poetry, this process encompasses the choice of poetic form, the formation of lines and stanzas and even individual word choices. 4
The candidate is not required to give a display of invincibility. The better commentaries occasionally reflected on the weaknesses of the final piece and what the candidate has learned from them. The candidates who made meaningful mention of feedback from the tutor and peers during the course also seemed to have an awareness of the importance of this stage in the writing process and utilised it to good effect. A few candidates quite honestly tracked their own journeys as beginning writers, not posing as anything but novices and this, together with an engagement with genre, informed selfcriticism and a plan for future writing development, made for a compelling exegesis. Some of the best submissions made mention of their own reading and how it influenced their path as writers. Conversely, we very occasionally suspected that a commentary suffered from literary name-dropping. An author or thinker with a formidable reputation would be mentioned to add weight to the discussion rather than because that author s work had genuinely moved the candidate. For this reason it is advisable to explain how the author cited has helped to shape the submission. As with the creative work, the critical commentary s presentation should be of a publishable standard. Bibliographies and references should be present and conform to the MHRA (Modern Humanities Research Association) style guide. The commentary should be well edited to avoid grammatical errors, repetitions and digressions which detract from the overall analysis. 5