University of Essex

LT219-5-SP-CO:
Writing the Short Story

The details

Year: 2024/25

Department: Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies

Campus: Colchester Campus

Term: Spring

Level: Undergraduate: Level 5

Status: Current

Start date: Monday 13 January 2025

End date: Friday 21 March 2025

Credits: 15

Last updated: 25 July 2023

Requisites for this module

Pre-requisites: (none)

Co-requisites: (none)

Pre and / or co-requisites: (none)

Prohibited modules: (none)

Key module (requisite for): (none)

Key module for

BA W800 Creative Writing,
BA W801 Creative Writing (Including Year Abroad),
BA W803 Creative Writing (Including Placement Year),
BA W808 Creative Writing (Including Foundation Year),
MLITQ392 Creative Writing,
BA PW38 Film and Creative Writing,
BA PW39 Film and Creative Writing (Including Placement Year),
BA PW88 Film and Creative Writing (Including Foundation Year),
BA PWH8 Film and Creative Writing (Including Year Abroad),
BA QW30 Literature and Creative Writing,
BA QW31 Literature and Creative Writing (Including Year Abroad),
BA QW33 Literature and Creative Writing (Including Placement Year),
BA QW38 Literature and Creative Writing (Including Foundation Year),
MLITQ393 Literature and Creative Writing

Module description

This module will explore, through practice and discussion, the discrete art of the short story form. Students will read a diverse selection of short stories drawn from various literary and cultural traditions, both historical and contemporary, to inspire and form the writing of their own short stories, attending to the specific qualities and techniques of this literary form.

Module aims

To increase student awareness of creative possibilities of form, story structure and style within the confines of the short story, and encourage original responses to these.

To continue the practice of giving, receiving and redrafting work in response to feedback within the workshop environment.

To increase the understanding of the history of the short story, in terms of how it can inform their own creative practice.

Module learning outcomes

After successful completion of the module, students should be able to:

1. Identify the significant short story conventions of form and structure.
2. Conceive, plan and execute an original creative response to short story conventions.
3. Display self-awareness of writing technique and the process of revision and redrafting of fiction,
4. Develop the skill to give and receive feedback in a peer environment in a way that contributes positively to the subsequent development of that work.
5. Practise the habit and discipline of regular creative composition and delivery of work in the form of the short story.

Module information

No additional information available.

Learning and teaching methods

Anticipated teaching delivery: Weekly 1-hour lecture and 1-hour seminar

Bibliography

Guy de Maupassant (1884) The Necklace. Available at: https://americanliterature.com/author/guy-de-maupassant/short-story/the-necklace.
Chekhov, A.P. and Bartlett, R. (2004) About love and other stories. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hills, L.R. (2000a) Writing in general and the short story in particular: an informal textbook. Revised edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1626379.
May, C.E. (1994d) The New short story theories. Athens: Ohio University Press.
Joyce, J. and Johnson, J. (2000a) Dubliners. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1468728.
Joyce, J. and Johnson, J. (2000b) Dubliners. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1468728.
Woolf, V. and Kemp, S. (1993) Selected short stories. London: Penguin.
Halpern, D. (1999b) The art of the story: an international anthology of contemporary short stories. New York: Viking.
Mansfield, K. (2018) The garden party & other stories. [S.l.]: PAPER + INK.
Hemingway, E. (1993) The first forty-nine stories. London: Arrow Books.
David Herman (2008b) The Cambridge companion to narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available at: https://login.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/publication/2050395?accountid=10766.
Helen Simpson (2001) Hey Yeah Right Get A Life. New Ed edition. Vintage.
Carver, R. (1995) Where I’m calling from: the selected stories. London: Harvill Press.
Hills, L.R. (2000b) Writing in general and the short story in particular: an informal textbook. Revised edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1626379.
Burroway, J. (2015c) Imaginative writing: the elements of craft. Fourth edition. Boston: Pearson.
Hensher, P. (ed.) (2015a) The Penguin book of the British short story. London: Penguin Books.
George R.R. Martin (1983) Sandkings. London: Futura.
Packer, Z. (no date) ‘Drinking Coffee Elsewhere’, The New Yorker [Preprint].
Dick, P.K. (2000) We can remember it for you wholesale. London: Millennium.
Suzuki, I. (2021) Terminal Boredom. London: Verso Books. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6519973.
Hensher, P. (ed.) (2015b) The Penguin book of the British short story. London: Penguin Books.
Hensher, P. (ed.) (2015c) The Penguin book of the British short story. London: Penguin Books.
Black Box | The New Yorker (no date). Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/06/04/black-box-2.
Butler, O.E. (2005) Bloodchild and other stories. 2nd edition. New York: Seven Stories Press.
Ryunosuke, A. and Malenfant, R. (2003) Rashômon. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?pq-origsite=primo&docID=3157634.
Hensher, P. (ed.) (2016a) The Penguin book of the British short story: Volume 1: From Daniel Defoe to John Buchan. UK: Penguin Books. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/617329.
Hensher, P. (ed.) (2016b) The Penguin book of the British short story: Volume 2: From P.G. Wodehouse to Zadie Smith. UK: Penguin Books. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/616508.
Daley, J. (ed.) (2017) The world’s greatest short stories. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.
Updike, J. and Kenison, K. (2000) The best American short stories of the century. Expanded ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Gebbie, V. (2013) Short Circuit: a guide to the art of the short story. Second edition. Cromer: Salt.
Cox, A. (no date) Writing short stories: a Routledge writer’s guide. Second Edition. London: Routledge. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1253351.

The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam	Description	Deadline	Coursework weighting
Coursework	Portfolio and Commentary (5,000 words in total)	14/04/2025	95%
Practical	Participation		5%

Exam format definitions

Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework	Exam
100%	0%

Reassessment

Coursework	Exam
100%	0%

Module supervisor and teaching staff

Supervisor: Mr Matthew De Abaitua, email: mjdeab@essex.ac.uk.

Teaching staff: Dr Jon Crane

Contact details: LiFTS General Office – email: liftstt@essex.ac.uk Telephone 01206 872626

Availability

Available to incoming Essex Abroad / Exchange students: Yes

Available to Outside Option: No

Available to Audit: Yes

External examiner

Name: Dr Eleanor Perry

Institution: University of Kent

Academic role: Lecturer in Creative Writing (Poetry)

Resources

Teaching materials: Available via Moodle

Lecture recording: Of 4 hours, 4 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.

Further information

Department website: Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies

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Module Directory

LT219-5-SP-CO:Writing the Short Story