Overview

To introduce students to the skills and knowledge of practices, techniques and technologies required by a professional writer of short non-fiction and to investigate and critically engage with concepts and processes of non-fiction writing.

Requisites

Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  • Demonstrate understanding of principles of a range of forms, contexts, media, styles and purposes of non-fiction
  • Investigate and apply elements of non-fiction
  • Investigate and apply a range of approaches to writing non-fiction
  • Investigate source material
  • Review, revise and edit writing
  • Communicate ideas clearly in non-fiction

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)
Face to Face Contact (Phasing out)
Seminar		3.00 12 weeks 36
Specified Learning Activities (Phasing out)
Readings		3.00 12 weeks 36
Unspecified Learning Activities (Phasing out)
Independent Learning		6.50 12 weeks 78
TOTAL150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULO's
Feature Article Research and WritingIndividual 40% 2,3,4,5,6 
Planning and Writing a Feature StoryIndividual 20% 1,4 
Written AssignmentIndividual 40% 1,2,3,5,6 

Content

  • The purposes of short non-fiction
  • Analyse the level and scope, length and style of non-fiction
  • Investigate material for non-fiction; and write and redraft non-fiction
  • Feature articles
  • Opinion pieces
  • Corporate documents
  • Obituaries
  • Reviews
  • Travel stories
  • Biography
  • Auto-biography
  • Training manual
  • Guide book
  • Children’s non-fiction 

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.