Short course
Memoir: New Techniques, New Approaches
Course status:
Applications being accepted
Dates and time:
18/01/2027 - 22/03/202710:30 - 12:30
Study format:
In-person weekly
Fees:
£315.00
This course is for people who would like to write about themselves. We shall concentrate on memoirs by contemporary men and women and the experiences which have shaped them, with a view to prompt our own writing. We shall explore elements of our lives which we can present to others. No experience is necessary, just the desire to write.
This course considers innovative ways of approaching writing about our lives. Memoir: New Techniques, New Approaches is a standalone course and complements Memoir: Begin Writing Your Life.
Book this course
Book your place online using the button below.
Course starts 18 January 2027
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Mondays, 10.30am-12.30pm.
Week 1: On your marks. Starting places.
Week 2: Dip the toe or jump in the deep end?
Week 3: Scuba diving or flying? Perspective.
Week 4: Tabloid and broadsheet – style issues.
Week 5: Historicisation and narrative.
Week 6: Variety is the spice of … Textual variation.
Week 7: Last orders, please. Let’s talk about time.
Week 8: Ha! Very funny!
Week 9: You say ‘ether’ and I say ‘eye the’.
Week 10: Springboards and high boards.
Course aims
To provide students with an insight into how to approach writing memoir by exploring the writing of others so that they can embark on writing about their own lives.
This course will enable students to:
- be able to recognise the constituents of which memoirs are made;
- demonstrate techniques by which these constituents can be utilised individually or in combination;
- encourage the production of life writing through exercises designed to further students’ ability to hone their skills progressively.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
- respond to different forms of life writing with growing confidence and understanding;
- be able to write in a manner which engages and sustains the interest of the reader; and
- be able to transform their own experiences into original writing.
Level and demands
The Department’s Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, i.e. first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.
Teaching methods
Discussions, Group work, Pair work and Individual study.
Feedback from the tutor AND from the group.
Analysis of exemplars.
Assessment methods
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Assessment
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Mr Jeremy Hughes
Jeremy Hughes has published two novels – Wingspan (2013) and Dovetail (2011). He was awarded first prize in the Poetry Wales competition and was short-listed for an Eric Gregory Award. He also publishes short fiction, life-writing and reviews. He studied for the Master’s in Creative Writing at Oxford.
Academic credit
Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme (CATS Points)
Please note, students who do not register for assessment and accreditation during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun. If you wish to gain credit from completing this course you must register to do so before the course starts.
Only those who have registered for assessment and accreditation will be awarded CATS points for completing work to the required standard. Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail.
Learn more about the Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme.
If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee for assessment and accreditation.
Digital certificate of completion
Students who are registered for assessment and accreditation and pass their final assignment will also be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Information on how to access the digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course attended. You will be able to download the certificate and share it on social media if you choose to do so.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course fee (with no assessment) | £315.00 |
| Assessment and Accreditation fee | £60.00 |
Funding
If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, or are a care-leaver in the UK, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Concessionary fees for short courses
Recommended reading
Recommended reading is optional and you are not required to purchase these books to study this course.
Library facilities
All weekly class students may become borrowing members of the Rewley House Library, part of the Bodleian Libraries, for the duration of their course. Prospective students whose courses have not yet started are also welcome to use the Library for reference.
- More information about the Library can be found on the Bodleian Libraries website.
- This guide for Weekly Class students also provides further information.
Preparatory reading
- Writing Life Stories: How to make memories into memoirs, ideas into essays, and life into literature. / B. Roorbach
- Meeting the Devil : a book of memoir from the London Review of Books. / LRB
Module code: O26P482CRW
How to enrol
Please use the ‘Book now’ button on this page.
How to register for accreditation and assessment
To be able to submit coursework and to earn credit (CATS points) for this course, if you wish to do so, you will need to register and pay an additional £60 fee. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun.
If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.