Writing Scripts: Stage and Screen(s)
| Module title | Writing Scripts: Stage and Screen(s) |
|---|---|
| Module code | EASM213 |
| Academic year | 2025/6 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 16 |
|---|
Module description
The aim of the module is to educate you in the art of writing scripts for a variety of contexts. These may include
television, theatre, gaming and cinema industries. This module aims to give you the ability to create scripts to a
professional standard, as well as to effectively analyse a range of scripts such as stage plays, teleplays,
screenplays, game narratives, and completed films.
Module aims - intentions of the module
You will need effective writing and communication skills in order to obtain work after you graduate. This module
aims to give you an effective grounding in both writing fiction for stage and screen(s) and the interpersonal skills necessary to present your work to the relevant commissioning bodies.
The module will be taught through a once-weekly, 2-hour writing, reading/watching and discussion seminar.
Student participation and peer commentary on individual scripts constitutes an integral part of teaching and
learning - there will be work-shopping of screenwriting techniques, group discussion and critical feedback.
Research methodologies will be introduced to allow you to pursue your aims independently. Seminars will also
include the critiquing of a range of films and screenplays. Preparation for seminars will include completion of
short writing assignments developed in the writing workshops, reading of critical and creative texts, and the
viewing of selected films or plays. You will be expected to attend all visits and talks given by visiting writers and broadcast media professionals. You will be expected to participate in class discussion and will be encouraged to hold independent small group meetings in preparation for the seminars.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Evaluate the different levels at which a script can work
- 2. Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of critical and practical terminology
- 3. Demonstrate awareness of the range and variety of approaches to the practice of scriptwriting
- 4. Recognise the multi-faceted nature of writing, and its complex relationship to other disciplines and forms of knowledge
- 5. Interrogate and apply a variety of theoretical positions and weigh the importance of alternative perspectives
- 6. Analyse your own writing and re-write effectively
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. Demonstrate an advanced and intellectually mature appreciation of formal techniques and imaginative expression in creative writing
- 8. Analyse and critically examine, at an advanced level, diverse forms of scriptwriting
- 9. Present sustained and persuasive written and oral arguments concerning your own creative writing and the work of other authors
- 10. Independently originate creative ideas and engage in constructive peer review
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 11. Through writing essays and creative work, demonstrate advanced critical, research and bibliographic skills, an advanced and intellectually mature capacity to construct a coherent, substantiated argument, advanced skills of creative expression, and a capacity to write clear and correct prose
- 12. Through research, seminar work and writing of creative pieces, demonstrate an awareness of the audience, the commercial realities of the market, and an understanding of the purpose of formal structures, layouts, and techniques
Syllabus plan
Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:
· Willpower, Logic, Morality, and Emotion
· Suspense
· Dramatic Irony, Reverse Dramatic Irony, and Double Dramatic Irony
· Dialogue and Subtext
· Pitching Your Work
· Character
· Empathy
· Right and Wrong/Investigation and Moral Maps
· Choice
· Problem-solving, Formatting, and Finish
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 278 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 22 | Seminars |
| Guided independent study | 100 | Seminar Preparation (independent) |
| Guided independent study | 178 | Reading, research and essay preparation |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screenplay or script | 75 | 30 pages | 1, 7-12 | Feedback sheet with opportunity for tutorial follow-up. Cohort feedback via seminars. |
| Analysis | 25 | 2000 words | 1-6, 11-12 | Feedback sheet with opportunity for tutorial follow-up. Cohort feedback via seminars. |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screenplay or script | Screenplay or script (30 pages) | 1, 7-12 | Referral/Deferral period |
| Analysis | Analysis (2000 words) | 1-6, 11-12 | Referral/Deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 50%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Core Reading:
These are the standard industry bibles which are required reading for anyone thinking of writing screenplays.
· McKee, Robert, Story
· Campbell, Joseph, Hero With A Thousand Faces
In addition, you will be reading screenplays in the raw, documents actually produced by the writers of the films
described above, downloadable from Screenplays-Online.de - FREE Screenplay Archive and Community or from Screenplays for You - free movie scripts and screenplays- (published screenplays cost a lot and are usually printed in the wrong format, designed for a general reader).
Secondary Reading:
· Oqen, Alistair, Story & Character - Interviews with British Screenwriters (Bloomsbury, 2004)
· Costello, John, Writing A Screenplay (Pocket Essentials, 2002)
· Moritz, Charlie, Scriptwriting for the Screen (Routledge, 2001)
· Seger, Linda, Making a Good Script Great (Samuel French, 1994)
· Selected materials from the Bill Douglas Centre
· Proulx, McMurtry and Ossana, Brokeback Mountain, Story to Screenplay (Harper Perennial 2005)
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 7 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 13/03/2025 |
| Last revision date | 10/04/2025 |
