Critical Reflection and Creative Work Assignment

Creative Piece Instructions

The word count for this creative piece is 800 words (+/- 10%).

Use vivid descriptions to create a strong sense of place and mood.

The creative piece has to use voice, technique and structure learned from the readings I already sent to you. So please read them first before writing the creative piece.

I will also need an A1 and a plagiarism report for both this creative piece and the critical essay.

Content Guidelines

• The scene begins with the protagonist, Kevin, is sitting in his car across the street from his house (having just pulled up against the curb).
• Describe Kevin’s feelings, and the way his attention focuses and shifts.
• Kevin also hopes he’ll have some future understanding of his present, but puts his feelings and acts into place based on what he has witnessed.
• Have the protagonist notice the small world of the officer as he writes.
• Kevin notes his home as he watches with one of the officers while the protagonist examines the crime scene.
• Use internal reflections to enrich the scene with detail, so he puts his past thoughts into the present.
• He gets out of the car and he and the officer meet each other in the middle while the protagonist walks away to Kevin’s house as a form of conversation before the officer can drive off.
• “It’s Kevin’s job, sir,” the officer says, and he takes the protagonist’s place, representing what the night is going to be like.
• “Yes, sir,” he tells the officer what happened. This is my house,” Kevin says, calmly.
• At that statement, the officer’s eyes stay up, looking at Kevin’s eyes for a few seconds before he looked him up and down, taking in every inch of his three-piece suit.

Interactions With Other Officers

• Then he waved one of the other officers over and passed the protagonist. It is him, watching something about running it through his mind.
• “There’s been a possible burglary at your residence and assault against your neighbor,” the officer explained.
• “She was away when we came here last night and I found her when she returned home saying she had noticed you open, and you confronting her. Then she ran outside to get me.”
• Kevin listens to the explanation, where a paramedic was checking the state of Paul Hennessy.
• In the street there, Kevin is shown, brief smile past the house at his eyes as he walks away. He takes it to be a sort of image of him and his house.
• “And how was he, you think?” the officer asked.
• “Not too bad,” Kevin said.
• And his Hennessy asks you what a woman. Do you know where she is now?”
• “We left the protagonist behind,” Kevin said at the moment, I just left there.
• “And you have witnessed, then can we only leave?”
• “Yes, leave your assault, keeping the investigation. You think she and I broke into our own house?”
• “Right now I’m just adding procedural questions.”
• “What do these tell you about some of me?,” Kevin said. “And I’m becoming good at the technique of the man.”
• “That’s why that’s value,” the officer said.
• “You’ll know that is how to feel it, you expect me, is there anyone you know who would want to steal you…properly?” the police asked, pursing his mouth and trying to find his right words.
• “You played a lawyer, there’s no way to find him, yes.”
• “What about me of your three others,” Kevin said, taking more consideration of the scene. “You have a pretty large collection of documents for helping Kevin.”
• Kevin tilted his head with confusion as he looked to his house over the officer’s shoulder.
• The other kept talking, but the protagonist turned his arm to his startled face at the door, ignoring protests for him to sit.
• Inside, the scene was similar to the first day, with police in evidence everywhere and the suspect lying seated and blinking off different angles of the house.
• The third at the bottom of the stairway that led to the basement was indicated in the legal all laws. 

• Fear iced over Kevins heart, but his feet still carried him forward, slowly but surely, until he was in the doorway.

• He was given sight to walls lined with shelves and glass cases, each one crowded with objects that radiated a quiet, unsettling menace.

• Every inch of the room was filled with the relics of the supernatural—cursed dolls, cracked mirrors, ancient totems, and sinister-looking masks, each one tagged and catalogued.

• Old books bound in leather and filled with handwritten notes rested beside candlesticks.

• The air was heavy with the scent of old wood, wax, and something indefinably cold.

• The room was both a prison and a sanctuary, a place where evil was contained but never truly gone.

• Kevins eyes locked onto the vault across the room, concealed as just another white brick on the wall.

• The vault was also open, wide enough for him to see that the wooden box that was supposed to be locked away was missing, and with it, the spirit of the pain-feeding entity trapped inside its walls.

The word count fo this critical reflection is 250 words (+/- 10%)

You will need to submit a creative work(s) of 500 words and a critical reflection of 250 words. The total word count is 750.

Creative Work

The creative work/s should be redrafted and polished versions of writing begun in class during Weeks 1-4 of the unit. Your creative writing piece can take a variety of forms such as, fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry or a script. It could take the form of one cohesive piece or a series of smaller pieces, such as poems or vignettes, which work together as a series. It must show that you have reflected on the readings, ideas, discussions and writing workshops.

Critical Reflection

Your critical reflection should draw from what you have learned from the readings, lectures, discussions and workshops in order to explain the content, techniques, theories and strategies about creative writing that were involved in producing your creative work/s. Your critical reflection must quote or paraphrase at least one of the readings set for study in weeks 1-4. Your critical reflection should show a deep understanding of why you, as a writer, employed a particular idea, technique or strategy to your creative piece and what this has allowed you to achieve in your creative writing.

NOTE ON CREATIVE WRITING: The formal conventions of prose and academic writing do NOT always apply when writing some creative texts-such as poetry and dialogue, which are modes of writing in which written language conventions are under pressure at all times. Creative writers can break grammatical rules but they do so deliberately in order to achieve a particular voice or affect. Please feel free to do this but also understand that it is obvious when the grammatical mistakes are there because you have not proof-read your work.

Specific requirements include: Appropriate syntax, spelling and general presentation (see below). Your critical and creative writing should be informed by a variety of sources including academic material. When writing your critical reflection, familiarity with the literature is essential but not enough. You need to show that you can engage in critical and complex ways with the arguments that are made in the readings (I've sent the readings to you on WHATSAPP). You need to quote, paraphrase and demonstrate your understanding of another author's work as well as its influence on your own creative writing and its application to the practice of creative writing.

• Query successful

Your critical and creative writing should be organised in a way that shows the logical steps in your argument or development of your ideas with data from various sources being brought in as appropriate. Remember that paragraphs are the organisational building blocks of any written prose and that each paragraph should have a main idea or theme. Good organisation can only be achieved by careful planning and frequent re-reading and revision of your writing as you proceed. Authors who haven't taken the trouble to review and revise their written work before submitting seldom succeed. Never quote or use an author's work in any way without acknowledging it. Always give page references for quoted material.

You must always indicate where in the literature you obtained the facts, concepts and points of view that you discuss in your written work. When quoting an author verbatim always show this with quotation marks and a citation.

You must also provide a reference when you are paraphrasing or summarising someone's ideas. Presentation: Students need to use a clear and consistent referencing style, APA 7th edition.

Assessment Summary and Key Pointers

The assessment requires a combined submission of a creative piece and a critical reflection .

• Creative Piece: This must be a fictional work of approximately 800 words, focusing on the character Kevin. It must use vivid descriptions, create a strong sense of mood and place, and incorporate narrative techniques and structures learned from the provided readings. The story follows Kevin's return home, his interaction with police officers at a crime scene, and his discovery of a missing item from a hidden vault in his house. The final submission also requires a plagiarism report and an A1 report.

• Critical Reflection: This is a 250-word essay explaining the creative process. It must discuss how concepts, techniques, and strategies from the course readings were applied in the creative piece. A key requirement is to quote or paraphrase from at least one reading and demonstrate a deep understanding of how another author's work influenced the creative writing. The reflection must also adhere to specific academic conventions, including proper APA 7th edition referencing.

Approach to the Assessment

The academic mentor approached this assessment by breaking down the requirements into a logical, step-by-step process for the student. The goal was to ensure all learning objectives were met while producing a high-quality final submission.

1. Deconstructing the Creative Piece: The mentor first helped the student understand the core requirements of the creative piece. This involved:

   • Character and Plot: The mentor outlined the key plot points and character interactions required by the prompt, ensuring the student understood the narrative arc from Kevin's arrival to his discovery of the missing item.

   • Sensory and Emotional Detail: The mentor guided the student to focus on "vivid descriptions" and "internal reflections." This involved brainstorming ways to describe Kevin's emotional state (fear, confusion, calm) and how his attention shifts. For example, focusing on the "small world of the officer as he writes" and describing the "quiet, unsettling menace" of the objects in the room.

   • Applying Learned Techniques: The most crucial step was to connect the creative work to the course readings. The mentor encouraged the student to identify specific techniques (e.g., voice, structure) from the readings and consciously apply them to different parts of the narrative. This ensured the creative piece was not just a story, but a demonstration of learned skills.

2. Structuring the Critical Reflection: With the creative piece's direction established, the mentor then outlined the critical reflection.

   • Connecting Theory to Practice: The mentor emphasized the "why" behind the creative choices. The student was guided to explain not just what they wrote, but why they chose a particular technique or strategy. For instance, explaining why a specific narrative voice was chosen for Kevin or how the structure of a paragraph was influenced by a course reading.

   • Evidence and Referencing: The mentor provided clear instructions on how to incorporate evidence from the readings. This involved showing the student how to properly quote and paraphrase, and why it's essential to demonstrate a critical understanding of the source material's influence. The mentor stressed the importance of using APA 7th edition referencing for all citations to meet the academic requirements.

   • Logical Organization: The mentor helped the student structure the reflection logically, ensuring the argument flowed from an introduction to a conclusion and that each paragraph had a clear main point, supported by evidence from both the creative piece and the readings.

3. Finalizing the Submission: The final stage involved refining the work. The mentor instructed the student to:

   • Proofread and Edit: The importance of editing for syntax, spelling, and grammar was highlighted, even though creative writing allows for some deliberate rule-breaking. The mentor explained that obvious errors would reflect a lack of professionalism.

   • Adherence to Word Count and Formatting: The student was reminded to strictly adhere to the word count for both pieces and to ensure proper formatting and presentation.

   • Generating Reports: Finally, the mentor guided the student on how to obtain and submit the required A1 and plagiarism reports, fulfilling all administrative requirements of the assessment.

This step-by-step process ensured the student not only completed the tasks but also understood the underlying principles and objectives. The outcome was a cohesive submission where the creative piece demonstrated practical application of theory, and the critical reflection showcased a deep, analytical understanding of the creative writing process and its connection to academic literature.

Learning Objectives Covered

The assessment and the guided process covered several key learning objectives:

• Application of Theory: The student learned to apply theoretical concepts and techniques from literary and creative writing studies to their own practical work.

• Critical Thinking and Analysis: The critical reflection component required the student to analyze their own work and the work of others, developing a deeper understanding of cause and effect in creative writing.

• Narrative and Descriptive Skills: The creative piece honed the student's ability to create a compelling narrative using vivid language, internal monologue, and character interaction.

• Academic and Professional Skills: The student practiced essential academic skills such as referencing, quoting, and organizing an argument, all while adhering to specific formatting guidelines.

• Reflective Practice: The process of writing a critical reflection encouraged the student to think metacognitively about their own creative process, a crucial skill for any developing writer.

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