Course Details in 2026/27 Session

Module Title	LH Boring Beyond Belief?: Uncreative Writing
School	Eng, Drama, & Creative Studies
Department	English Literature
Module Code	09 38978
Module Lead	Dr Rebecca Roach
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	We tend to celebrate creative writing—in fiction, at university, in the ‘creative industries’. But writing isn’t always creative. Sometimes it is deeply boring to do, to edit, or to read—from office reports, emails and slack channels, to technical manuals and workaday programming. While unoriginal, it is also fundamental to much of what we do (and what we get paid to do). Computers were supposed to save us from such writing tasks, but uncreative writing seems to have proliferated. How do we escape the boredom? This module explores writing that is unoriginal, technical, programmatic, constrained—and shows that studying boring writing is anything but! We will write poetry with computers (no prior knowledge needed), do cut ups, anthologise texts, and play word games to think about questions such as: Can computers write poetry? Is jargon ever necessary? Why isn’t there a prize for uncreative writing? Can Microsoft Office make us better editors? Is technical writing ever literary? I promise, it won’t be boring.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Demonstrate advanced understanding of how institutions, social activities and technologies shape the types of writing that gets defined as creative—or not. Critically engage with the key theoretical concepts and methods utilised in the definition, editing and study of (un)creative writing. Effectively analyse and evaluate a range of texts for the models of writing that they demonstrate. Demonstrate understanding of editorial processes via the contribution to an anthology of basic writing.
Assessment
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Method of assessment: Portfolio consisting of a mini anthology (selection of 3 pre-existing texts with a 500-word introduction and appropriate editorial apparatus) (50%) 2000-word critical reflective essay (50%) Method of reassessment: Failed component only Portfolio consisting of a mini anthology (selection of 3 pre-existing texts with a 500-word introduction and appropriate editorial apparatus) (50%) 2000-word critical reflective essay (50%)
Other
Reading List