Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Fiction for Young Adults

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
COMM2470	City Campus	Undergraduate	345T Media and Communication	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2013, Sem 1 2014, Sem 1 2015, Sem 1 2016, Sem 1 2017, Sem 1 2018, Sem 1 2019
COMM2470	City Campus	Undergraduate	375T Vocational Design and Social Context	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2020
COMM2470	City Campus	Undergraduate	515T Creative Industries	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2022, Sem 1 2023, Sem 1 2024, Sem 1 2025

Course Coordinator: Dzintra Boyd and Sarah Vincent

Course Coordinator Phone: +61399254269 (Dzintra)

Course Coordinator Email: pwecoordinators@rmit.edu.au

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Prerequisites

None

Required Prior Study

Successful completion of COMM2456 Building a Strong Narrative

OR

Alternatively you may be able to demonstrate the required skills and knowledge before you start this course. Contact your course coordinator if you think you may be eligible for recognition of prior learning.

Course Description

This course focuses on writing fiction for older children, teenagers and young adults. By reading examples and discussing themes, character development, plot and style you will learn the conventions that govern this market and develop ways to make your writing relevant and appealing to a younger readership. You will explore options for publication within both the trade and education markets and identify publishers specialising in young adult fiction.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

Program Learning Outcomes

This is an option course, which will complement the Program Learning Outcomes you are developing in your program.

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course you will be able to:

• identify and discuss different style, genres and trends in young adult fiction
• write original texts suitable for teenagers and young adults, creating a credible narrative voice and characters that appeal to this readership
• identify and manage issues such as gender, ethnicity, sexuality and censorship that arise when writing for this market
• critically review and give feedback on peers’ writing, and use feedback to improve your own writing.

Overview of Learning Activities

The learning activities included in this course are:

• lectures, which provide the framework for exploring novels and other texts
• completion of class exercises designed to clarify course content and practice relevant skills
• writing workshops to assist development of writing techniques with feedback from peers and teacher
• independent study, working through the course requirements as presented in classes, online and through learning materials.

Overview of Learning Resources

RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through our online systems.

A list of recommended learning resources will be provided by your lecturer, including books, journal articles and web resources. You will also be expected to seek further resources relevant to the focus of your own learning.

The University Library has extensive resources for Professional Writing and Editing students. The Library has produced a subject guide that includes quality online and print resources for your studies http://rmit.libguides.com/wcprp. 

The Library provides guides on academic referencing https://www.rmit.edu.au/library/study/referencing and subject specialist help via your Liaison Librarian.

Overview of Assessment

You will be assessed on how well you meet the course’s learning outcomes.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task 1: Writing voice and character (20%)

You will produce a piece of creative writing that focuses on voice and character.

Aligned course learning outcomes: 1

Assessment Task 2: Novel opening (30%)

You will develop a concept for a young adult novel and write the opening section of the novel.

Aligned course learning outcomes: 1–3

Assessment Task 3: Novel excerpt (50%)

You will write an excerpt from a novel. written for young adults or older children. You will be expected to analyse any feedback you receive on your work and use this to improve your writing. 

Aligned course learning outcomes: 2–4