From Hungry Caterpillars to Hunger Games: Writing for Young People (11115.1)

Please note these are the 2024 details for this unit
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From Hungry Caterpillars to Hunger Games: Writing for Young People
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods On-campus
 Bruce, Canberra
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.125 3 Faculty Of Arts And Design
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
School Of Arts And Communications Level 2 - Undergraduate Intermediate Unit Band 2 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan Social Work_Exclude 0905)
This unit allows you to develop your writing skills and knowledge in one of the most dynamic, demanding and exciting areas of creative writing. Writing for Children, Young Adults and Crossover readerships is one of the most commercially successful - and critically important - fields of practice in contemporary publishing. In this unit, you'll develop a working understanding of the nature of writing for young people: the genres, styles and ideas that have shaped and continue to influence the field. You'll engage with a broad theoretical framework in which we examine 'the child' as a socially constructed idea, and you'll apply your writing abilities in hands-on writing for a range of readerships from pre-literate readers through to highly sophisticated 'crossover' readerships.

Learning outcomes

After successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1 Write confidently for young people demonstrating an awareness of a range of audiences and the requirements of various markets;
2. Demonstrate reflective and reflexive skills in evaluating and enhancing creative writing;
3. Apply concepts presented in research surrounding the construction of childhood to the writing of literature for children, young adults, and ¿crossover¿ readers, and understand the publication avenues for this kind of writing; and
4. Apply concepts presented in the research literature to the analysis of literature for young people and issues surrounding both audience and literature.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas


Prerequisites

None.

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

7479 Writing for Young People

Assumed knowledge

None.
Availability for enrolment in 2026 is subject to change and may not be confirmed until closer to the teaching start date.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2025 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 28 July 2025 On-campus Dr Tony Eaton
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 10 August 2026 On-campus Dr Tony Eaton
Not available

Required texts

There are no compulsory set external readings for this unit, however students ARE EXPECTED to read the weekly UNIT NOTES (provided in Canvas modules) and to view the weekly video summaries 'This Week in the Notes' on Canvas PRIOR TO each week's lectures and tutorials.

There are a number NON COMPULSORY readings provided in the Canvas reading list. These are generally the pieces referred to in the Unit notes for that week, and are intended for students who wish to extend their understanding or develop their skills further. 

Tutorial classes will require students to periodically locate and bring various children's and young adult works to class for discussion. These can be sourced from the university library, Public libraries, or personal collections.

There are no additional required texts for this unit, however given the nature of the unit it is essential to read widely in young people's literature across a range of readerships, genres and styles.

There is a STRONG CORRELATION in this unit between students who undertake additional reading, both from their reading list on Canvas and the body of creative texts discussed in notes and lectures, and students who receive grades of Distinction and higher.

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

UNIVERSAL EXTENSION:

Students enrolled in this unit have the ability to apply a 1 week Universal Extension to one assessment item, excluding the final assessment (for grading deadline reasons)

The universal is a 'no-questions-asked' 7 day extension to the due date. It does not require you to submit any explanation or supporting paperwork. It can be used up until the due date of the assignment.

To activate the universal extension, students should email the unit convener (tony.eaton@canberra.edu.au) and specify that they would like to apply it to their next assessment item. Note that while the universal extension can only be used once during the course of the semester, if additional extensions to other items are required, students are able to request them through the standard extension request process.

Universal Extension

Note that all students enrolled in this unit will have a universal extension available to them. This is a 1 week extension that they can access ONCE during the semester. It CAN NOT be used on the final assessment item (Major work)

Students can utilise their universal extension by emailling the unit convener at least 24 hours prior to the due date for that assessment item. Retrospective use of the extension is at the discretion of the unit convener.

The Universal extension does not require any supporting documentation.

Students who have used their universal extension can still apply for extensions to other assessments, however these will need to be done following the standard UC extension application procedures: submission of an extension application form and any required supporting documentation (such as medical certificates etc...)

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Participation requirements

Note that lectures for this unit will be delivered In Person on Tuesdays.

Lectures will be recorded and made available via the lecture recording section of Canvas. Notes and weekly recorded mini lectures will also be available on Canvas

Tutorials in this unit are delivered in In-Person, and students are expected to attend whenever possible. Tutorials will include discussion of and time to work on the weekly writing tasks that comprise the foundations of both assessment items 2 and 3.

Required IT skills

Students will be required to access and use Canvas for all assignment submission, and to keep up to date with unit information and reading lists.

Students electing to enrol into the online synchronous tutorial will be required to be familiar with Blackboard Collaborate, be able to access the virtual classroom in Canvas, and have suitable internet to allow effective use of the classroom functions. Students using the virtual classroom for their tutorials are strongly encourage to turn their cameras on wherever possible to allow for a more engaging and positive learning and teaching experience for all involved.

Work placement, internships or practicums

None